Belle Journée - Palisades Park — Restaurant in Palisades Park

I’ve come to this café a few times during promotions and recently returned because I liked the tables on the right side as they seemed perfect for studying. The cashiers are always friendly, and the drinks and pastries are great. However, I’m really disappointed by the way the higher-ups here treat customers. While I was sitting at one of the tables against the wall, a group of staff—who seemed like managers or admin, not just regular employees—sat next to me and had brunch. After they finished eating, two of them stayed behind and began arguing. I understand Korean, so I could tell the man was calmly defending a staff member's mistake, but the woman wouldn’t listen. She kept repeating, “I don’t understand,” while raising her voice, sighing loudly, and speaking in a harsh, aggressive tone. As someone with severe anxiety, I can handle louder conversations, but tone and tension really affects me. I moved three tables away, but I could still hear them clearly. I was on the verge of a panic attack after nearly 40 minutes of this and finally went up to say something. I politely told them I understood they were having a serious discussion, but asked if they could move elsewhere, and I explained my anxiety. Neither of them apologized. I directed this towards the woman as well, but she looked at me like I was the problem and showed her displeasure really obviously. I returned to my seat but left soon after because I had a panic attack. I just don’t understand how people running a business think it’s acceptable to have such a long, heated argument in the middle of a customer seating area—especially when one of them was clearly wearing a Belle Journee shirt, so there’s no mistaking them for customers. I’ve had good experiences here before and was really excited to make this a regular study spot. But after seeing how management behaves and treats customers and even their own workers, I’m not sure I can support this...

Bad design and bad manners.

I'm a pretty big coffee person, have tried every cafe in the area and was still excited to see another one. That's why I like the neighborhood. But skip this one if you can.

First impressions, design is pretty bad, furniture is fine enough but the layout is miserable. Everywhere feels like you're in the way. On top of that they have this advertisment wrap on the windows so you can't even enjoy the view outside if you are seated by the windows.

Manners are also pretty bad. Being a big coffee person I will usually stop in to get a coffee to go during a run with my baby or a walk with my dog. This time I wanted to pop in to get a quick iced coffee while walking a puppy king charles cavalier.

I picked up the puppy and held him in my arms so he wouldn't bother anyone, he'd just been groomed so super clean. Probably cleaner than most people (no judgement). The kid at the register was nice enough and took my order, but then the owner/manager? ran over started whispering in his ear and he told me to go outside and they'd bring me my coffee.

No sign at the door, no "sorry" from the manager, no asking if he was an emotional support animal. Just get out. She didn't even look me in the eye, or try to be kind to a customer.

Had a latte there once before and it was pretty trash (which is what I'm seeing from other people here too), was just giving them another shot.

In closing, there are so many great cafes, I'd go to any other one. Two better ones are...

There was a wide variety of pastries to choose from, and the employees were constantly restocking to keep everything fresh. The ambiance was warm and inviting, with plenty of comfy seating.

I went on a busy Sunday, but everything was still great and prepared in a timely manner. I brought my boyfriend with me to try everything, and he loved it just as much as I did! We shared the pistachio chocolate-covered croissant, cheese corn mayo pastry, spinach feta pastry, and tiramisu donut. They were all super flavorful and unique. We also had the new crème brûlée bingsu, which was a great sharable dessert for two. I loved that it had crème brûlée bits at the bottom. The green tea matcha tiramisu tart was another standout, and I’m excited to come back and try more of their chilled desserts.

For drinks, I tried the black iced coffee and the strawberry ade. I’m not usually a fan of black coffee, but this one tasted really smooth and good on its own. The strawberry ade was on the sweeter side, so I’d recommend it if you enjoy sweet drinks. They have a variety of different flavored ades.

Huge shoutout to Gloria, the manager, who made the entire experience even better with her warmth and hospitality. They also sell super cute merch like Belle Journée hats and tote bags, which makes the whole experience even more fun.

I’ll definitely be back for brunch and...