La Gourmandine Lawrenceville — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

This French pâtisserie is a standout. Their pastries are spectacular. Their croissants, in any variety, are buttery and lucious, but there's another one I love even more, their Brioche Bostock. This not so little gem is far more than the sum of its parts, a sublime melding of sweet almond paste with the invigorating tartness of raspberry jam encapsulated in a crispy baked brioche envelope topped with sliced almonds and a fairy dusting of powdered sugar. It shouldn't be missed.

On their savory side, their Parisien sandwich of chewy crisp and tender baguette smeared with French butter and filled with ham and Swiss cheese is a trip to the Seine. Another standout is their quiche. Whether their version of Lorraine or their vegetarian offering, the custard in their quiche is next level. It's impossibly light, almost melting away on the tongue. Its buttery pastry case offers the most decadent crisp foil to the yielding custard. It's what egg gods eat in egg heaven while lounging on meringue puffs floating on a Hollandaise river. You won't find better.

Their cakes are very French. The Marquise is a rich chocolate mousse with a crême brûlée veneer of crunchy caramel and vanilla cake layers hidden under a coating of cocoa dusted mousse. And it's not too sweet!

In short, GO! I simply named some of my favorites, but everything I've tried here is...

I was looking for a nice cake for my wife's birthday, and wanted to find a spot that also wasn't too far from my house. La Gourmandine seemed to fit both of those needs, so I put in a pre-order and took my 2 year old son over to Lawrenceville. I have have had baked goods from La Gourmandine a couple times in the past, but had never previously visited myself.

Both the interior and exterior had a comfy yet refined touch, which fits well for what they are doing and the area they are in. The staff was very nice and accommodating, and the woman who gave me my cake offered my son a free Chouquette for the road, and he was very excited with his treat.

My wife loved the Marquise cake I chose for her, as did my son and daughter. It is a delicious combination of cocoa heavy chocolate mousse, layers of creme brulee and caramel crunch, and a base layer of sturdy vanilla sponge cake- and it tastes as fancy as it was presented.

The cake was unsurprisingly higher priced than you would pay for a simple sheet cake or something similar, but the quality belies the price tag, and we all had a good sized slice and still had a couple slices for later. Overall, it was a nice and simple experience, a pleasant and thoughtful staff, and a decadent and tasty birthday gift- and you can't ask for much...

What an excellent place to get delicious pastries. Especially French pastries. I thought the prices would probably be quite excessive, but this isn’t the case. Quite reasonable actually. I got to try out their clafoutis, abricotine (apricot pastry), and chouquettes.

All 3 were very good. The clafoutis was wasn’t exactly like a pudding that I imagined. It was a lot more firm. Still, it was quite tasty and not too eggy. I loved the touch of cherries in there. Good portion for the price too.

The chouquettes were a very lovely little pastry. Nice little snack and very cheap, but they are also very small. Plenty of sugar beads surrounding the patty, and the inside is a great firm texture as well. But buttery inside.

The apricot was my favorite. It was somewhat like a danish with an apricot in the middle, but also somewhat like an apricot croissant. You have to try one of these out. Not too sweet. Goes very well with morning coffee. Buttery pastry. Nice!

All in all, a very nice bakery in Lawrenceville. I’d love to come back and try out more items, but everything I...