Le Pain Quotidien — Restaurant in Washington

I came here yesterday. Unfortunately I had a bad customer experience service that really threw my off. I recently had a major surgery in one of my legs ( knee transplant) and because of this, I have to walk around in crutches and my mobility is very limited and challenging. However, despite my mobility problems, I decided to go out to grab some coffee with a friend of mine who is an older woman ( she is in her 70's) Upon my arrival, I spotted an empty table for ourselves in the outdoors sitting area and immediately sat down. Since I cant walk around much, my friend went inside and ordered and paid for both of us. After a couple of hours we had to use the restroom. With my friend's assistance we walked inside the restaurant, and asked for it. However, we were told that they didn't have a restroom for the public and that I had to walk down the street and and ask at the other businesses in the street if anyone would let me use their restroom. I told them I understood that these were their rules but we insisted if they could make an exception for me, as I really needed to go and it was very difficult for me to walk down the street ( given my situation, I am usually picked up and dropped off by car whenever I have to do something outside of the house) So, we asked if I could possibly use their staff restroo ( just me, even-though we both had to go) They told us that their staff restroom was only for their staff and that they had made this very clear to their customers by placing signs in the restaurant. We tried to explain to the person we were talking to that walking down the street was very challenging for us, but that didn't change his mind either. So we respectfully asked to speak to his manager, hoping that maybe he/ she could make an exception for me. He told me that he was the manager and that those were the rules and that he could not make any exceptions. I am writing this review because even-though I believe rules are important, I believe that there is also times when there should be exceptions. I understand that some people have not gone through a challenging health situation and can't possibly understand how difficult it is to navigate simple things like walking or even finding a comfortable position while sitting down on a chair, but I would like to let this business know that a little bit of empathy would've been much appreciated and would have made my day so much easier that day! To finish the story, we decided not to spend more energy trying to make the manager understand and headed out to walk down the street to find another business. We found another restaurant, and once we managed to walk inside, we asked the waiter if we could use their restroom. Fortunately he was kind enough to help both of us and let us use it. i want to end up by saying that I like supporting businesses in my neighborhood but after this experience, i don't think I will be going back to this Le...

FWIW, this is the first review I've ever given with fewer than 3 stars.

I ordered an Americano "for here" with lots of room. When I asked for a splash of oatmilk (I can't have cream) he charged me $1.00 so I declined the surcharge. No extra charge for cream tho ... My drink was served in a to-go cup, no room. I asked to have it put in a ceramic mug and all they had were gigantic bowls, no handles. I have small hands and would have been required to use 2 hands to lift a really hot bowl. So I asked them to keep it in the to-go cup.

Throughout the ordering experience, they kept asking if I wanted table service. It is really confusing if the space is a coffee shop or a cafe. The counter service felt like any coffee bar with pastries and a drink menu but they also have wait service and a breakfast menu.

I sat at a table to drink my coffee and catch up on emails and it became apparent I was expected to use table service ordering if I intended to take a table. It was awkward because I already ordered.

I then took a sip of my Americano and it was scalding hot. I order americanos 3 to 4 days a week and have never scalded my tongue .

At this point, I left the restaurant and the Americano.

It's a shame because the space is ideal for enjoying a coffee alone or with friends. I'm not surprised the place was nearly...

This is my first time to Le Pain Quotidien and May be my last. I’ll just start off with the good stuff before reporting about the bad and ugly.

The store location and atmosphere inside this location is really pleasant. The place is pretty clean and is not packed and crowded (I visited on a Friday afternoon around 5pm). Food looks great and though it’s DC food prices, the quality was fair.

Now, I will explain what, to me, will make or break a restaurant for me. CUSTOMER SERVICE! The young lady (T.R.) who assisted me was not welcoming and appeared stressed out. I even heard her complaint about processing someone’s credit card for what I am guessing is a mobile order.

When she took my order, I didn’t quite know what to order but she seemed to not have time for me as I chose what to order. As I chose a chocolate croissant (pretty good by the way), she quickly grabbed the croissant with a pair of tongs and threw it in a bag. When asked if she could warm it up, she mentioned something about her manager or chef was not around. Not quite sure what that has to do with anything but it was totally not pleasant.

For this, I award this restaurant 2 stars. This is all thanks to that...