Le Pain Quotidien – Georgetown

This is a tough review to write because the food is SO good and the menu options are great… The problem with LPQ is that the service is horrible. Came here twice in the last week and assumed the first experience with bad service was a fluke. We came back again today because we enjoyed the food, but had an equally bad (if not worse) experience with the service. We watched our tray of food sit by the servers area just waiting to be given to us for quite some time. Finally when they brought it over, the ham and Gruyère croissants were no longer warm. Was a bummer.
So, if you have plenty of time and aren’t starving — LPQ is great. If you’re hungry and in a hurry, go somewhere else.

The worst service of any restaurant I’ve ever been to. I only come back here because the food is decent. The waiters and management do not care about the customers. No one shows up to take orders ever!!!

Fresh and light are the best words to describe the food experience at Le Pain Quotidien. A wonderful little restaurant which sits on the edge of Georgetown. Outdoor sitting as well as shared sitting inside, a perfect place for brunch with friends. The French cuisine is perfect to start a day of shopping, with the omelettes (I had the goat cheese and mushroom egg whites) and bread spreads, the highlight of my meal.

AVOID THIS LOCATION. AVOID AVOID. After reading the other reviews I was hesitant to come here. I should have listened to my gut.
Terrible staff who seem like they barely know how to do their jobs (or they honestly just don’t care), dirty menus, dirty tables. My husband and I both got egg dishes, which arrived cold. We brought this to the attention of the manager. My husband had his dish made for him again, but I was so disgusted by the place I just decided to eat bread. They did not charge us for my meal and the manager took an additional percentage off our bill as well. While I’m glad they rectified the situation it didn’t make up for the overall terrible experience.
I also want to mention that we weren’t the only ones complaining about the service. The people next to us were talking about how terrible everything was as well. We visited a Le Pain Quotidien location in London that was fantastic, but this place was the complete opposite.

Excellent Berry and Rhubarb Oat dish and smooth iced latte. Gorgeous European country design.

This location is really badly managed. The bathrooms are filthy, the patio is neglected when it comes to service, especially in the afternoon when restaurant isn’t busy. I’ve been there many times and the servers aren’t even bothering going outside to hand you the menus unless you ask for them.

This is a great spot. Their food is authentic, fresh and delicious and the servers are super friendly (especially Frank at this location was very nice to us). We had breakfast outside this morning and the Petit Dejeuner literally had everything you could ask for — a croissant, a boiled egg, freshly baked bread, spreads, butter, orange juice and a hot drink. Made for a great morning — will definitely return!

the food is nice, some vegan alternative, the service was slow a little bit forgettable, although the place is nice, especially the backyard, with some sun and shade a nice place to stop by in georgetown

Great Food! Great Environment! Great Service! We were invited in by Omar! He served us well! Strongly suggest this place to everyone!!!

Eat before you arrive, because if you come here hungry you’ll have to resort to cannibalism to keep from starving. Service was extremely slow and our sever never once came back to ask if we needed anything else. Took 30 minutes just to get lukewarm coffee… which you must drink from a bowl with no handles, WTF, did the handles cost extra? After another 30 minutes and no coffee refills your food may arrive, but you better be quick about asking for anything else because they aren’t coming back to check on you. I actually had to flag her down to get the check and get out of there. Simple lunch cost me 90 minutes and a sanity check. Later that day my stomach felt a little queasy, not sure if it was their food but I have a hunch. Never again!

Wow, this was surprisingly bad. I travel solo a lot, and I often visit Le Pain Quotidien locations. The communal table makes eating alone less lonely, and I love the avocado toast.
Unfortunately, this is the worst location I’ve been to. I can’t even believe how bad the service was. A few examples:
— I was barely greeted. When they acknowledged me, one guy told me to wait and the other told me to sit down… ?
— shouting across the restaurant and into the kitchen seems to be how the staff communicates
— a server filled up a water glass for the patron next to me and completely ignored mine
— my server truly seemed annoyed that I was even there
— tables weren’t cleared until someone sat down at them
— the coffee area was a mess. If I had seen it before I ordered my coffee, I wouldn’t have ordered it.
I hope the company will do some mystery shopping at this location and get it straightened out. A terrible representation of a good brand.

things i asked for more than once: silverware, menus, water, a plate.
things i gave up on asking for and just got it myself: jam, the check
things i thought would come with my meal: respect, service
things i didn’t expect: to see a «suggested» 18% gratuity and the always present (at someone else’s table) waiter appear less than 2 min after i signed the check asking if i were done.
the only reason i gave a 10% tip was because the busboys were nice. what a waste of $ 25.

If I lived in DC this would be my lunch spot! Their menu had so many great items; healthy open faced sandwiches, salads, etc. I had the avocado toast and I highly recommend it!
The ambience is very cute and they have an outdoor patio in the backyard. The staff was very kind, and the prices were reasonable. Overall a great lunch spot!

Where ever I go le pain never lets me down.
Ordered their french toast and an avocado tomato omelette. Everything was absolutely delicious and will forever return to le pain.

Great place for brunch while you’re in Georgetown.
The Belgian waffles and hot chocolate are a must.

The 3stars rating has nothing to do with the food. The brioche French toast is outstanding. The coffee is great and the variety of spreads complements the bread basket perfectly.
Where this place misses the mark is service. While the host and and waiters are all friendly the service is painfully slow. From ordering food to being served and getting your check. It’s s very long process to the point you have to ask.
If you are in a rush, you may want to explore other options.

I was meeting an associate for breakfast and she picked out this gold nugget.
AVOCADO TOAST! AVOCADO TOAST! AVOCADO TOAST!
…order the Avocado Toast.
The atmosphere was traditionally relaxing and the staff were incredibly friendly.
There’s a large table down the middle of the restaurant where you can sip chamomile tea next to a stranger.
Go here for breakfast or a meeting.

This a very clean place with good service. Food selection has many healthy and organic options. Service seems to be very good as well. I recommend this place.

THERE WAS A MOUSE RUNNING AROUND ON THE SECOND FLOOR.
HORRIBLE SERVICE. Server came once to take our order, and didn’t come back for 15 – 20 minutes. Food took 5 minutes to prepare. Seem strange? Yes, that DID mean that our food came to us 10 – 15 minutes after is was cooked. It was luke warm. By that time, we also had no water or coffee left. Also, one of the staff (think manager?) asked me 3 times if I wanted something after I said no. NOT acceptable.
Also, food wasn’t even that good. Despite the mouse and service, I’d only give them 2 stars.

We enjoyed our time at Le Pain, but it defintely had its pros and cons…
Pros: fresh/​high quality food, rustic look
Cons: price, slow/​inattentive service, long wait, tight atmosphere
All in all, the food at Le Pain was delicious — especially the bread and coffee as I’m sure you can imagine. We ordered the ORGANIC BAKER’s BASKET (picture attached) which is served with three tasty spreads and various bread options, all of which were fresh and could have been enjoyed as a meal in and of itself. As a main course, I ordered the seasonal omlette (esentially a combination of ham and cheese alongside a salad and more bread) which was enjoyable but nothing outstanding. The food is organic (almost all homemade ingredients) and the seasonal options are typically very good. This restaurant is also great for vegan options, as they have many vegan baked goods (the vegan carrot cake is to die for) and a lot of the spreads are vegan!
However, Le Pain is almost notorious for how slow/​inattentive the service can be. The seating is extremely crammed so you’ll likely be sitting at the same table with another group or be seated at least a foot away from another couple. I would recommend trying this restaurant if you are in a small group or even ordering some of the bread to-​go. But if you are in any sort of hurry or in a large group (or with kids) I can easily see this being a bit frustrating.

Nur 2 Meilen vom Botschaftslviertel entfernt inmitten von Georgetown, einem Stadtteil von Washington D.C., findet man das Café Le Pain Quotidien. Auf den ersten Blick eine Bäckerei, wie jede andere. Aber weit gefehlt, geht man an dem Verkaufstresen vorbei gelangt man in einen großen Raum mit hoher Decke. Die Wände sind roh, die alten Ziegel unverputzt.
In der Mitte ein riesig langer Tisch, der den Raum beherrscht, der sogenannte Communal Table (Gemeinschaftstisch). Hier sitzt man mit wildfremden Menschen und kommt eigenlich relativ schnell, auch als Auswärtiger, in Gespräch. Will man alleine oder zu zweit sein, so setzt man sich ein einen der kleinen Zweiertische, die an den Wänden des Restaurants stehen.
Die Speisen sind Zutaten aus biologischem Anbau zubereitet. Warme und kalte Speisen werden serviert. Vom Frühstück, über Brunch bis hin zu warmen Gerichten am Abend (ab 5 PM) wird hier alles geboten.
Die Sandwiches sind appetitlich angerichtet und schmecken wirklich gut. Auch die Salate sind frisch zubereitet und man merkt, dass das kein Supermarktgemüse ist. Die süssen Sachen sind ebenfalls sehr zu empfehlen.
Aber, Qualität und Frische habe Ihren Preis. Günstig ist es nicht. Ein Grilled Chicken Sandwich mit Mozarella schlägt mit 10,85 $ zu Buche.
Alles in Allen ein super Laden mit einem genialen Konzept, aber halt nicht ganz preiswert. Dennoch lohnt es sich, dort mal auf eine Kaffee hereinzuschauen.