Les Douceurs de la Tentation

This is NOT a French bakery. I am actually insulted they have a French name. We went to get a baguette and they were sold out so the lady suggested a sourdough loaf as she said it was baked this morning. We also tried a spinach pie and lemon tart.
We took it all home. The bread was no good eaten fresh. We had to toast it.
The spinach pie was bland but the worst was the lemon tart. I could have had a better one at Starbucks. The pastry wasn’t flaky and that definitely wasn’t a lemon curd. In fact I couldn’t really identify what it was.
I should have known from the overcooked croissants they had at the store that this bakery was going to be no good but after reading some good reviews about it we thought we’d try it anyway.
Moral of the story, don’t listen to the positive reviews. This place doesn’t deserve to call itself a bakery, especially a French one.

I feel guilty, really guilty. You know that, use it or lose it feeling, when something you love is near to you, but closed do to lack of local support? Well that’s how I felt for a very brief time, but no more.
This great little artisan bakery, café, coffe shop is only a few hundred yards from my flat. I had not been here for a year, yet I love the place. Pehaps it is its closeness, I don’t know. Two months ago, I walked past and ths shutters were down. At first I thought that they were closed for a short holiday. A month passed and the shutters were still down. I panicked thinking that perhaps the lack of local support (including mine) had caused the business to close. I felt sick that the best little bakery and coffe shop was no longer part of the community, and perhaps, in part, my lack of support had caused it’s demise. It was with such pleasure that I passed today and it was fully functioning again.
I spoke to Dimitra Agapidis, whos business it is. It had been closed due to he undergoing surgery on both hands. As she makes all the bread, cakes and pasties herself she had no option to close until she recovered. I was so happy to see it open.
I’ve been here for breakfast and the food is great, and such good value. The smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on home made toasted bread was devine. A bonus is that it was less that six pounds. Even cheaper is the Eggs Benedict. Where else in London would you be able to get such a freshly produced bargain.
They do lovely lttle bags to take away of small pasties. Ideal as a token gift. I used to get my mum freshly baked amaretti biscuits in a little gift bag. she loved them. They also make custom made cakes to order.
If you live close by, or are in the neighbourhood, I would urge you to give Les Douceurs De La Tentation a try, and support a local business. I’m surprised that there has only been one other review of this place, and that was from a trusted Unilocal reviewer who’s reviews and recommendations I have taken account of when going to places in the past.
It won’t be long before I’m Duke here and intend to keep it that way, as I don’t want to have that guilty feeling of loss again!

Les Douceurs de la Tentation is probably the best bakery in Maida Hill and without question a great place for a French or English breakfast.
A sunny Saturday morning and I was walking across Maida Vale to meet some friends for breakfast around Maida Hill Place. I did not know the place we were going to and was surprised when I arrived — Les Douceurs de la Tentation is an excellent artisan bakery, boulanger, whatever you want to call it. And recently they began to start offering dinner as well.
The coffee was okay, not outstanding, but the rest of the breakfast was great. Delicious croissants, tasty bread and jam — overall definitely a place to remember and I am sure that I will be back soon.