Boulangerie — Restaurant in Opelika

Alum visiting from Atlanta with girlfriends. Unfortunately, it was sort of a weird visit. Not sure I’d be back.

Layout is odd. The bar is large and was the first thing we noticed walking in. No one was sitting there and it seems to take up a massive amount of space. The bakery items are all in the back with a tiny counter, almost like the bakery items are an after thought? Most bakeries I feel like I walk in and am hit in the face with a big case of items.

We were there in the mid afternoon on a weekday and there wasn’t a lot to choose from. Their online menu shows tons of options but in person, there were 2 flavors of cupcakes that were pretty generic, 1 cake, 2 flavors of macarons, 1 quiche and 1 kind of croissant. Maybe 1 or 2 other things, but the case was mostly empty. There were also only 2 cookie flavors, with one flavor only having 1 cookie left. I was just expecting a much bigger variety.

I also didn’t appreciate that some bakery items were on plates just out in the open for anyone to breathe on. Just doesn’t seem very hygienic or healthy in this day and age.

The girl who took our order was very sweet but the whole process of ordering items was semi-chaotic and took way longer than it should have. Not her fault, but the register kept messing up and then her and another employee couldn’t find bags and had issues with the boxes closing.

We ended up ordering macarons and some croissants. I found it odd that macarons are $3/piece or 6 for $12. We ordered 4 then saw the sign - and were like oh, well let’s do 6 for the same price. The staff seemed confused when we explained we’d rather just get 2 more for the same price. I figured that would be something the staff would mention in order to upsell you from just getting a few.

The weirdest part though was seeing who I imagine was the owner/manager loudly talking with some other employees/friends right next to the counter where we waited on our items. She was talking about how she “didn’t like to be messed with! don’t mess with my business!” It just felt really unprofessional. Then she grabbed a dessert they were selling from the case and they all started standing around eating it. None of them acknowledged our presence and it was just weird watching them all eat and loudly talk with one another while there were students there obviously sitting around doing work. It didn’t mesh well with the vibe of a quaint little bakery.

On a positive note, the macaron I had was tasty. I love the idea of a French bakery but this one really missed the mark...

I never leave bad reviews… but let me tell you the story: Once upon a time, there was a gorgeous pink restaurant, with fluffy chairs, and cases overflowing with delicious French pastries. The coffee and tea were delicious and you could enjoy at taste of Paris in downtown Auburn, Al. This beautiful place moved and, for a few months, we wished to visit. Today we planned time to find our favorite pink palace and visit. A dark cloud loomed both figuratively and literally. The menu board outside was similar to what we cherished, so we happily skipped inside. We should have known by the vacant dining room that this was not the same experience we were used to. Someone has placed a curse upon the Boulangerie!!!! The service was slow, but we didn’t care about that. They no longer had tea, but we didn’t really care about that. They had a lunch menu and we decided to try it! How do you mess up a grilled cheese sandwich? It was cold, and the bread tasted like stale wonder bread. No tangy sour dough that the menu promised. No crunch cheese bits, or warm, melty cheese. The tomato bisque was not a true bisque and also… it was cold. The outer ring was warm, but the center was iced. There were no croutons or fresh grated Parmesan. The princess ordered a croissant sandwich. It also was cold. She didn’t like that it had a very generous amount of mustard that dripped everywhere. The Brie was congealed over the cold ham and the slightly stale croissant. Water was never refilled. Drinks were never offered after the first round was finished. On a last ditch effort to save our opinion of our favorite now “unpinked” bakery, we ordered an assortment of pastries. They no longer had any macarons. 😢. The said that it would be 10 minutes. It was more than 30 minutes. We ordered almond cream and were given pistachio cream. They apologized for the wait and blamed the kitchen. It was pretty clear that it wasn’t just the kitchen at fault. So, alas.. I hope this sad story doesn’t make you cry. We aren’t crying. But, we won’t go again. On to our new favorite place that has yet to be discovered. The End Hope our story helps prevent someone else for wasting money and 1.5 hours of study time on an...

Ridiculous pricing on coffee. They charge $4/espresso shot. That makes a double capuccino $8 and a triple espresso $12. Additionally, the cinnamon rolls were not fresh, which was disappointing. I’ll be passing on this place for now.

Edit: Dear owner, if you take the time to respond to reviews, at least be honest about it. I never said I wanted Starbucks pricing. What I pointed out is that you charge nearly 400% of what Starbucks charges for a similar product. My two cents, dishonesty and attitude are not a great bussiness plan.

Edit#2: I am not interested in picking a fight with you. This is a review. If you think my opinion is extreme, you should reconsider your coffee pricing.

"We replied directly to your feedback and respectfully discussed things with you in the store." Your response was: "You should have asked about pricing before you ordered."

"When you didn't like the answer, you left a one-star review and now continue to escalate online." I left a one-star review because you were rude, your coffee pricing is insane, and the cinnamon roll was stale. I am not escalating—just correcting your inaccuracies.

"We wish you luck and hope you find a place where you get what you want." Thanks, best of luck to you too.

"and wonder, especially given the escalation and disrespect of staff, whether things are ok with you, whether you are friends with (or are) a direct competitor, or whether there is some other issue." It's not okay to charge $12 for three espresso shots in Auburn. I don’t need to be a competitor or associated with one to point this out. I never disrespected your staff; however, you, on the other hand, disrespect...