Patisserie Françoise

Delightful French style eats in a sweet continental style café ideally located in the middle of Byres road.
I had simple scrambled eggs on toast which were really well cooked and cleanly presented. Lovely wee cup of tea rounded off a tasty brunch which was good value for money.
Efficient but not dreadfully friendly waiting staff.
With really stiff competition locally you’d need to be prioritising your taste for a continental experience to choose this place over nearby favourites.

Without actually sitting in this shop, I’m giving it 2 stars. While it looks quite cozy as you walk in, the ladies behind the counter are quite off putting and rude. I wandered in after a lunch date, looking to buy some macaroons. Having never had a macaroon, they looked just as delicious as the ones often made on the best of cookery shows. Boy were they an absolute disappointment. I decided to get lemon and strawberry flavored ones and upon first bite, almost spit them out. They were stale and tasteless. I thought maybe I was in the wrong and just wasn’t a fan of macaroons, but a friend has had many macaroons and vouched for my distaste. Yuck!
I suppose my search for a good macaroon in Glasgow continues.

This place gets a really poor write up online. To be honest, I wouldn’t have tried it had I read beforehand. I found it to be ok — nothing to greet and moan about.
My full review is here:
Indoors it’s a cosy tearoom — I did expect it to be more of a boutique and more ‘French’, but it was warm and seemed cute enough. The ceilings are Victorian styled with absolutely gorgeous leaf chandeliers! I want one. Around the café are cabinets of home baking, sweets, syrups, coffee, sandwiches, juice and then towards the back of the room there are some pieces of handmade jewellery. I reminded me of tearooms found up north!
Both our desserts — a chocolate mousse cake and a vanilla marshmallow mousse cake — were served with a big dollop of swirled cream and coated in chocolate powder. The mousses were both so light and creamy — even though I’d already eaten a decent lunch, they went down an absolute treat. The cakes in general looked nice but simple. For both of us it came to just under £10! That’s all it was worth, but still. If its raining and you want a cuppa, go for it.
I have to say: the staff are bloody miserable.

I make fantastic macarons, have I mentioned that? I can’t ride a bike, play guitar, give you directions, or throw a pot; so I take pride in the few skills I have and will repeatedly tell you about them given the chance. Occasionally, I like to buy macarons in and around Glasgow so that I can feel smug and superior when mine are inevitably better. Nice amn’t I?
This was one of those occasions. I spotted macarons in the window and thought they looked nice. However, not only were they bowfin’, they were actually stale. Dry, bland and with a dusty smell. Which spoiled my enjoyment of my own self-​satisfied smugness as I felt I had been deliberately ripped off at £1.25 a pop for fousty French macaroons.
When good, macarons are one of the most delicious things on the planet, so If you’ve tried a Glasgow macaron and you think you don’t like them — I’d suggest you’ve had a bad one.
I would not rush back to this café on the strength of that.

I was on my travels down byres road and fancied a cuppa so l popped into Patisserie Françoise. I didn’t feel that french vibe that people are raving on about as there was only three people in the café myself, the waitress and the cook. There was no music playing in the background. I sat in one of those seats that face the bar but you had to pull the table out to do that. The cakes in the display where basic nothing that l would brag or tell others about, one of the other display fridges had vegetables on display l would understand if it where a nice display but it wasn’t, a lime cut in half and left on it’s own in that big bowl, the shrivelled carrots a three of them also in a big bowl next to the cabbage. The service ok and so was the cake was fine if l hadn’t been told this was french style l would not have known, I would have thought eastern european.

This place caught my eye when the BF & I were on a ‘coffee crawl’ break in Glasgow and as he likes all thing Frenchified, thought going ‘old skool’ would make a little change from all the lovely indie coffee shops we’re visiting.
I did fancy sitting outside but the sun hadn’t quite raised it’s head over deserving Glasgow so just inside it was to be. The main main draw for me though was the warm chocolate croissant I had my eye on for a couple of days and sadly they had run out at 11.30 in the morning! Nooo!
We’d already been crossaint-​ed out this morning and I didn’t fancy another plain one so just had a little bit of shortbread, seeing as we’re in Scotland and all that, with my average coffee. The BF had a much better value for money toast but too thin for my liking (yes he did share it). All in all, could do better as the ambience is ace!

Used to go here frequently as part of West end walking/​café stop circuit. Would try to get into Kember & Jones first but would mostly be too busy so went into the ‘French joint’ instead as it was quiet on a saturday morning. Décor is quite atmospheric with high ceilings and period features. Wouldnt go pass the bacon roll and coffee deal. The bread was toasted ciabata and coffee was Bei and Nannini. The croissants were nice and big and light, but often we were in before they were delivered. The older woman was surly and not a great server at all, but the younger girl was pleasant enough though. Then they changed the coffee to Grand Milano — why? Tried this in a couple of places and I don’t rate it at all. So won’t go back until they get their coffee sorted!

Tacky, laminated menus. Surly staff. A décor which tries to achieve French café charm (and would probably do if you hadn’t seen the real thing), but falls short. The main meals are overpriced — a tiny salad will set you back almost £5, and it’s swimming in balsamic vinegar. The cakes looked ok and seemed quite well priced though I can’t vouch as to their taste as I didn’t try them.
Probably won’t be coming here again what with the other much better offerings on Byres Road.

Patisserie Francoise has looked like this since forever, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
A lovely wee French style café on Byres Road, it has the feel of airy, continential eateries (just minus the good weather, unfortuantely). On the odd occasion it’s sunny in this dear dreich place, you can sit outside and slip your dog a wee nibble of pastry under the table.
As far as I’m aware the prices haven’t gone through the roof over the past few years, which sees PF turning over a healthy amount of business. It’s consistently busy but not usually so bad that it would deter you from nipping in.
As Chris D has said, its main allure are the cakes — they will make you go ooh la la! (Sorry). Great place to grab some brekkie and a wee cup of coffee before strolling around this boutique district of Glasgow.

For those longing for the quaint yet metropolitan feel of a french café in the west end of Glasgow then this is the place to head to. With a definite frenchy feel to this joint aided by both the grub on offer and the interior décor… oh and the name, its a throw back to a tea room where service is king, quality is expected and pricing is not important.
With some of the most mouth watering cakes on offer this side of Heaven, Patisserie Francoise is the ideal place to indulge your sweet tooth. Add to this some exquisite coffee, excellent service and a relaxed atmosphere and you have yourself a unique joint in the west end. A word of warning though, be prepared to experience the disappointment of a lack of seating as this place can get busy come the weekend, but hey so does ever where.

The Patisserie Francoise feels slightly out of place on Byres Road: most of the cafes have more of a student atmosphere, whereas this one makes a real effort to express class and quality. It can get busy, very busy, but that is no reason not to wait it out for a table.
The cakes are among the best in Glasgow, and despite the large numbers of customers, it still feels relaxed and elegant. The service is attentive, the cleanliness spotless, the coffee rich. It feels like another oasis of calm, especially against the more automatic atmospheres of other cafes in the area.
It may not be cheap, but it adds a dimension of refinement to any coffee date.

When you first step into Café Francoise, you feel like you’re stepping back in time (in Paris). You do really feel quite French. All the tables and chairs are typically dark wood — same with the boothes. Again, a full French experience.
I absolutely love sitting in here on a rainy day with a book. The old French music in the background, the smell of strong coffee, and a pastry (pain au chocolat to die for, not to mention the chocolat religeuse… mmmm… mouth watering chocolately…) — I feel like I’ve disappeared out of Glasgow, and I’m in some French café… lovely.
When it’s nice, there’s also seating available out front, however, in Glasgow, these days, sunny weather is few and far between, so I rather enjoy the inside… haha!
Everything tastes fresh, and you can buy the coffee/​pastries, and the old style cookery books and other cooking utensils dotted around the shop.
The prices reflect the quality, so don’t be put of by the slightly expensive croissants, trust me, they’re worth it!

This little café and deli has been on Byres Road for many years. Although it is part of a chain it has a different feel to other branches, mainly due to the building and location. There is seating both inside and out (during good weather!) and they serve a range of hot and cold pastries and drinks. It is a great place to go for breakfast or a snack, although it is a little expensive. The takeaway items are yummy as well, and the staff are friendly and efficient. It is easy to get to either on the bus or from Hillhead or Kelvinhall tube stations.

Stopped in on a busy Sunday afternoon for coffee and cake. We got the last table which was right next to the door, so a bit cold and busy every time someone arrived or left.
We ordered large lattes and cake each. When the latte arrived in was in a small glass — why do some places do that? — and was certainly not what I would call a large portion.
The cakes arrived straight away and I was happy with my vanilla gateaux. The bill came to £10 which was okay for what we got.