La Boulangerie — Restaurant in New Orleans

I’ve never written a review in my life and I don't ever want to hurt or speak badly about any business, but I left this bakery so hurt and embarrassed. I was excited to visit for the first time yesterday, after seeing it recommended online. I arrived with my friends around 11:30 AM. Instead, I walked away feeling small & unwelcome. I was carrying my miniature dachshund in a small dog purse, when the cashier, who is an older, thinner woman, told me I couldn’t be inside because of my dog. I completely understood & respected that there might be a no-dog policy, & I was ready to comply without issue. I later learned there is a personal patio in the back of the bakery, & instead of explaining to me I could sit out there with my dog, the cashier urged a coworker to quickly guide me outside, in front of the bakery, to place my order. Minutes later, another young woman about my age and white, came inside with 2 dogs in a stroller. The SAME cashier who had forced me outside took her order inside with no issue, smiling, welcomed her, while other employees petted the dogs. The contrast could not have been clearer. I want to clarify that my dog was no bigger than hers. It was never about my dog. Meanwhile, I stood outside, trying to squint at the menu through the window, trying to order, while others passed me to go inside. There are 0 words to describe how alienating it felt to be treated differently right in front of my friends and strangers. I even asked the younger employee taking my order why I wasn’t allowed the same courtesy, & she just stayed silent. That silence said everything. To be fair, not every staff member was unkind. The 2 younger employees who later brought me my order, a tall blonde young man and a young woman with black hair and a septum piercing, apologized sincerely when I told them. I truly appreciate their kindness. But an apology from those who weren’t responsible cannot undo the discrimination. This is the most uncomfortable, unnecessary experience I’ve ever had. I don’t want to accuse anyone unfairly, but from my perspective, it felt like prejudice disguised as “policy.” And a “policy” is only meaningful if it is enforced consistently. This cashier needs to learn to treat every customer with the same respect, no matter what they look like & be overall educated better. That, to me, should be common sense and the bare minimum of human integrity. If you are Asian please be cautious about visiting here. I wish I could say otherwise, but I cannot in good faith recommend this bakery while that cashier is representing them. It was SO simple really, either tell that customer to order outside as well, like me, OR she could’ve taken my order inside and there would be no issues.

RESPONSE: Saying my experience “was not racially motivated” is dismissive. Your explanation only proves I was not given the SAME courtesy because I am not white. Your response downplays, and deflects from what happened. Proper protocol is to first ask if an animal is a service animal before enforcing policy. The cashier never asked me; she immediately told me pets weren’t allowed the SECOND I walked in. Meanwhile, a white woman with 2 dogs, with absolutely NO indication they were service animals, was allowed to order inside and had her dogs petted. I don't understand why/how she would assume they were service dogs. Why didn’t your cashier tell her she wasn’t allowed inside with her dogs right away? Why was mine automatically ASSUMED not to be a service animal, while hers was? Both dogs were the same size, behaving the same way, in carriers of some sort, & she walked in just minutes after me. Like you explained, the cashier didn’t question her right when she stepped in, so plz tell me what the difference was? I was there for 40 mins. visibly upset, & at least 3 employees knew of the situation. If what you claim were true, there was more than enough time for someone there to clarify. No one did. This wasn’t a misunderstanding; it was inconsistent treatment in plain sight. And the ONLY clear difference was the...

First, I’ll say the atmosphere is great and the food has always been excellent. This was one of the first place I ever went in NOLA and I have been back many times. Bread pudding, baguettes, bagels, croissants, salads, sandwiches — I love them all.

I’m leaving a negative review though because recently management has adopted an extreme no substitutions policy. My wife is allergic to dairy. Because of this new (newly enforced?) policy we have not been able to enjoy La Boulangerie like we used to. Before proceeding, we know French food inherently has lots of dairy, and my wife is willing to work around the restrictions her allergy presents. For instance, she orders her sandwiches on sourdough or a baguette (dairy free breads) when the bread it comes on a bread that contains dairy. But this is apparently too much trouble for the La Boulangerie to deal with. Seriously, is it too hard to make a sandwich that’s normally on white or multigrain on sourdough?!? Anyway, as a result of the inflexibility she is often not able to order anything on the menu, which means I also don’t get to eat.

Look, we get chefs’ visions and efficiency, but that should be balanced with the hospitality of granting small requests that don’t have impacts on food costs for guests that have...

Traditionally, La Boulangerie is one of the best spots for coffee and breakfast. Today it was one of the poorest experiences that we have had there.

Our children requested that we go there before the Cafe opened so that we could beat the line and get the items that they love so much fresh.

We ordered a cheese straw, a blueberry muffin (which the cashier didn't ask if she wanted it warmed but instead my wife had to tongue in cheek ask to have it warmed since it was directly going to the children waiting) and a large breve latte for me.

What we got was a cheese straw that was presented folded in half in the bag (this is not a typical of La Boulangerie. Typically they would leave it whole and double bag it like a baguette. When my wife addressed it with management and they gave her a new one), muffin was fine, and a breve latte where the cup wasn't even full. When I presented the drink to management he asked if I wanted topped off which made no sense because it is a specialty drink that has to be made fresh and can't simply be topped off and that they did that to leave room for cream and sugar; however the drink is mainly cream.

At the end of the day, although they were accommodating this not the standard that we have been accustomed to for...