La Provence Patisserie & Cafe Palm Desert — Restaurant in Palm Desert

The place is adorable. The decor plates table settings, everything really cute. however… You have to wait on yourself so you have to order and then get a number. You take the number back to your table and wait for your food to be delivered to you. on the day I was there with two of my friends. We each paid for our own lunch so we had three numbers sitting on our table. We sat there for a long time probably 20 minutes and waited for our food. One of us got served in 20 minutes. That was a hot entrée and my friend felt uncomfortable eating it in front of us since we hadn’t gotten anything to eat yet. as we continue to wait, we saw waitresses walking around with food, trying to figure out where the people were whose food they we trying to serve. all of the waitresses and waiters looked completely lost. I had ordered a turkey dip which was really dry. The Au jus was not delicious. It almost tasted canned. By the time we all got served, it really had taken over an hour and remember we had waited on ourselves, so I won’t go back there unless they change the system. They need to have waitresses that have some idea who you are and what you ordered. They offered 3 cold croissant and a muffin for free to make up for this situation. So I may go in and get a to go muffin or pastry from time to time or perhaps a coffee, but I can’t sit down and eat in there and be frustrated...

Our experience at Provence Café was downright unpleasant, thanks to the unprofessional and condescending behavior of the manager. When one of our group members simply asked a coworker (already in line) to place an order for her, the manager inserted herself into the situation and rudely told her to go to the back of the line. It was completely unnecessary and dripping with attitude.

Not long after, she marched over to our group to scold us for moving a couple of tables together so we could sit inside as a group. There was no sign anywhere stating we couldn’t move tables, and with the temperature over 100° outside, it was the only way to accommodate a larger party indoors. Instead of offering a solution, she accused us of being “disrespectful to the restaurant.” Her tone was condescending, her demeanor unprofessional, and her overall attitude was a disgrace to customer service. Even her own colleagues didn’t look happy to be working under her, which speaks volumes.

We came in ready to spend our money and enjoy a meal, but instead we got hostility, zero hospitality, and a manager who clearly thinks running a café means running off customers. We will never be back, and I would strongly warn anyone planning to visit with friends or colleagues to take their...

I'll start off by saying the food is absolutely delicious all around. I've had a few menu items from a few different categories and every one blew me away, even the coffee is the best I've had.

The salmon eggs Benedict is a personal favorite. The strawberry matcha had a very balanced flavor and wasn't too overpowering in any category.

The service is also phenomenal, a man who I believe to be the owner was reserving tables for people in line (it was a long line) as they became available. The cashier and wait staff were very polite and efficient. It is evident they are passionate and care about their role. They were very good at navigating the extremely crowded space.

On that note, the space was EXTREMELY crowded. This is the only reason I am not leaving 5 stars. There are way too many tables for the amount of space available. The volume is amplified in the cafe and we could clearly hear conversations all around the room. There is a constant loud chattering background noise, and never a quiet moment, or even close to one. I understand there is some conversation expected at a cafe, but this far exceeded anything I've visited before, and was very overwhelming when trying to...