Chez Marie Bakery is cute and quaint, but that's it. The service wasn't friendly or welcoming. My family and I (four adults) were the only patrons at the time and were greeted with a blank face. It felt as though they didn't care we were there. We informed the lady behind the counter in our broken French that we do not speak French and asked if she spoke English. If not, we were prepared to use our trusty language translator app on our phones. Thankfully she spoke English well enough to explain what she had available. There was also a very large man behind the counter who did not speak to us, but gave a slight smile. We ordered our pastries (yummy), but when my mom ordered a slice of bread with maple butter, the woman cut the bread in front of us without using gloves!! She handled the bread with her bare hands and scraped the butter out of a large bowl that had been sitting on the counter for who knows how long. Ewwwww!! We sat in the large dining area of the bakery to munch on our treats, and then spent a few moments to enjoy being in an old quaint French Canadian building. We didn't bother to look at the souvenirs on our way out because they were cheap items and looked as though they had been there forever. We noticed an older woman had joined the two others behind the counter, and they all seemed to be just as curious about us as we were about them. :-) I don't plan to ever go there again, but it was an interesting place to stop for a treat. If this bakery was in the USA I'd never patronize it, but since we were on a cultural tour of Quebec my family was excited to experience as much as we could. Unfortunately, we were not aware Chez Marie is a tourist trap and not worth visiting. Do I recommend it? No. BUT, I am happy we had the experience.
Additional notes:
There are restrooms for men and women on the premises.
There is plenty of seating and free parking.
A group of women on their bicycles arrived as we left and seemed to have no problem parking their bikes.
The bakery seems to be wheelchair accessible, but the dining area is not. There are a few steps to walk up to get into the dining area.
We paid cash, I'm not sure if they accept credit cards. read more