On a very cold, rainy, September morning we stopped in, before going to Versaille. Speaking French, we ordered coffees and croissants. The woman behind the counter was very sweet and helpful.
The cafe has a couple of tables by the sidewalk, a long coffee bar runs along the right side and a single row of tables along the left. The croissants are in baskets on the coffee bar. The woman threw two into one basket and told us to have a seat. We took our basket to a table and she came over with plates and napkins, followed by coffee.
The coffees were good and on a cold morning, soothing. The croissants were fresh and addictively delicious.
Shortly before we left, a small group of Americans came in and did a quick job of annoying the older male staff member. He was already in a lather about their rudeness when they managed to pour an entire cup of coffee all over the bar.
By the time we were ready to cash out the man was 'fit to be tied'. As this cafe is also a tabac, we asked to buy bus tickets for our return to the metro station and he refused to sell them to us! That caused a problem for us and was particularly irksome as we were not the rude Americans that had caused him grief.
We walked down the road to another tabac which was happy to sell us the bus tickets (they come in a pack of 10), but as a caution, if you do not speak French, and/or are not familiar with French etiquette, you may want to avoid the morning shift here. read more