I haven't been to gay Paree yet, but I have a sneaky suspicion that the food here isn't quite authentic. ("REAALLLLY?" you ask) Doesn't matter, though. Somebody else is making the food and it tastes alright, so why quibble? It's got all the typical French stuff you'd expect, and I've got to say most of the stuff I tried tasted pretty decent. I personally like the potato galette which is carb-licious and comforting, and the spinach pochette which is a mouthful of crispy fluffy cheesy goodness. The desserts are pretty average too. I wasn't WOW-ed by anything (the tiramisu was entirely forgettable), but anything here is good if you're craving something sweet. If I had to pick only one dessert, I'd recommend the strawberry napoleon. You can tell that they use good quality ingredients, which is great. I just wish they wouldn't detract from that by using so much grease. But then again, I guess you shouldn't expect better from a restaurant, non? Thumbs up for the fireplace and the comfy seating. read more

I keep on coming back for pastries and take it to go. In the past, I was annoyed by the lack of communication at the counter but the guy at the to go counter, I get more attention and I'm out of there in few minutes to head home to my dogs. read more

I am always so happy when I stop in here!!! The deserts in the pastry case are always fantastic and fresh! And their coffee drinks have always been great. I love coming here to study or to meet a girlfriend for coffee and a chat! read more

So this place was so so. I had the French breakfast which included bacon, some concoction of has brown, 2 eggs over easy. Croissant was awesome, flaky outside and soft in the middle. Eggs made perfect. Hashbrown was not so great it had down hard pieces. 3 stars cause the staff was instantly depressing. If they had a heartbeat they must have accidentally cooked it and served it to customers. Coffee was good but the initial onslaught of depressing employees was too much to overlook. 4/28/2015 @0800 read more

la Madeleine - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Columbia, Maryland

The food here was okay, it wasn't bad. The little food pies are something I don't recommend at all but the mushroom soup was good. I recommend only coming here for desserts and that's it. The reason for my low rating was because the service here was terrible. As someone who's worked in food industry this is just insulting. My caramel macchiato didn't come out for at least 20 minutes and when I went up to the front for help, the lady at the cashier didn't serve me until 4 people, whom only 1 of them I was in front of. She pushed me to the side and said ' just one moment ' and never came back Then someone who I think was the manager asked what was wrong and I told her about my macchiato not coming out. She made the drink in less than 2 minutes. I wouldn't have really cared if they apologized and didn't choose to ignore me because this stuff happens a lot and I understand. But the manager didn't even say sorry and continued on with the next order. It wasn't that busy up front so I didn't understand the rush. I don't think I'll come back unless it's for a small stop by snack. read more

This was my first time at La Madeleine. Upon walking in, I was pleased with the cute french decor, coffer mugs, large windows, and warm fireplace. It was about 3pm, and the place was crowded with fellow patrons; including a group of cute older ladies playing games. However, my pleasant attitude quickly changed as I went to order. The service is similar to cafeteria style which would be fine, except the staff was no where to be seen. There was no one at the salad or soups. The only person I could find was dealing with another customer who was charged incorrectly for her order. I asked if this was self serve, seeing as I had never been here before, and was mocked by the staff. Once I got my food, (strawberry spinach bacon salad with chicken, and a french onion soup) it went cold before I could ringup, at which I was taken back at how much it cost for the amount I got. The ice tea was clearly spoiled, and when going to ask for another glass (I didn't want another drink to be in the same cup as the spilled tea) I was ignored by the staff, before grabbing myself a new glass. The food was nothing to talk about. Salad was flavorless, dressing had nothing to it. The soup tasted cold and like cleaning chemical. Tables were left unclean, napkins and straws were thrown all over the place. I would be kinder if the staff was anywhere to be seen but the only ones were talking amongst themselves, rude and ignoring other customers, hiding behind the soda fountain, or in the bathroom on the phone. Had to rush to the bathroom, believe I was food poisened by the chemical soup. There was toliot paper all over the place. Unclean feminine hygiene trashcans, make you feel like you may pass out on this God forsaken place. You can however learn french, as they project lessons of basic french phrases like "let's meet at La Madeleine" or "this soup is great". What you will not hear is "The chemical soup at La Madeleines gave me the squirts", I guess that is considered advanced french. Bottom line is this place is a bad representative for french cuisine. Will not be going back unless I'm looking to remove a few pounds from both my wallet and waist. read more

I love the food a La Madeline, but the Columbia, MD location leaves alot to be desired. Their staff have the worst attitude and today when I got a caesar salad, I literally got a box of lettuce and a lemon wedge. Oh, and a nasty attitude when I asked for croutons. I'm not paying $10 for lettuce. They should take a trip a few yards to Mission BBQ and learn something about customer service. read more

Had Brunch there. Nice ambiance with the fireplace in the middle of the room. I agree that it's a bit confusing, as I was forced to order as soon as I walked in before I could even see what was son the cafeteria buffet. But the food is decent and I respect their attempt at the French Cafeteria style way of eating. read more

Absolutely garbage. Worst food, bees and birds eating my food too. No customer service, trays from last group still at my table. Self service. Don't come here it is terrible. read more

We are new to area and yelped this restaurant. The location was hard to locate, but was so impressed with overall experience. Was greeted with a welcoming greeting at the front and they had a great menu! I ordered the breakfast croissant and it was amazing! Also ordered a vanilla latte and it was one of the best lattes I've had. Service was really good, servers were attentive and friendly. read more

Although I very much enjoy the fruit tart and some of the other desserts here, I feel that their food is nothing special. The entrees felt like they were from canned foods. I've ordered soup and pasta here before and the soup tasted like canned soup that wasn't even hot while the pasta sauce seemed to be from a canned pasta sauce. The environment and ambiance is quite nice to dine in with a fire places and brick walls with wooden seats and tables. However, I wish the food tasted better. read more

Delicious food - we ordered a plain croissant, an almond croissant, a quiche Lorraine, an eggs benedict, a side of bacon, and orangina. Food was ready very quickly. Limited indoor seating when we were there (10:30am on a Saturday) but there is also some outdoor seating. Good place to bring kids. read more

I've been to several branches of La Madeleine around the country, and this is the worst of the bunch. There's no pride in this kitchen, at least as far as I can detect - everything I ordered appeared to be frozen and then microwaved. There is no evidence that anyone in the kitchen has any idea of to season of salt food; everything tastes pretty boring. For example, take the potato galette I had this morning with breakfast. At other La Madeleine's, this side dish is yummy, crispy, and hot. In Columbia, the galette was on the soggy side, unappealing. Combine it with one of the worst croissants I have had in a long time (again, undercooked) and a lousy caffe latte like I did and you have a second-rate breakfast. Dinner last night was a little better. The chicken with mushrooms was pretty nice, The accompanying broccoli was steamed and plain, completely flavorless. The green beans were loaded down with bacon and on the fatty side, but they still tasted pretty good. The coconut cake was mediocre. Normally my favorite dessert - if I don't like the coconut cake, it has to be pretty bad. Since I haven't been to a La Madeleine in a couple of years, I don't know if the whole chain's gone downhill or if it's just this branch that's a bad apple in the bunch. Their prices haven't gone down any, though. I still like the concept, and I'd gladly pay the price if the food were good. But if it's descended to the low quality level found at the Columbia branch, I will be bidding La Madeleine adieu. read more

Awesome soup!!! Get the tomato soup - you will not be sorry! The nicoise salad is also quite good. I'm not sure some of the food is very healthy (le croque monsieur, anyone?) but there are healthy options. And there is a fireplace which is really nice in the winter. My only real complaint is that the service at the bakery/coffee section is terrible. Man, I've had to wait forever to get a hot cocoa. But besides that, this place is really good. read more

I'm writing an update to the review based on our visit last evening. We went at the dinner hour on Sunday in hopes of ordering soup, pastry and in my husband's case an entree. When we got in, we discovered that the pastry case was just about EMPTY - the first time I've ever seen that at any La Madeleine. During the course of the meal they did put a few more things in the case but it was very pedestrian stuff like chocolate chip cookies for the most part. None of the Linzer cookies that are always a favorite with me. I was prepared to overlook this and just figure "oh, maybe today they sold out, the truck didn't come, etc." but then we got our food. We both ordered soup - I got tomato and husband got potato - and it was COLD. It was like they forgot to turn the heating elements in the pots on or didn't fill the pots in time for the soup to warm up. It was kind of disgusting but I had to eat something and the staff seemed like the usual shorthanded and kind of incompetent workers you get at this particular La Madeleine (getting good restaurant help is a constant problem all over Howard County in our 20-year experience of living in the area), so rather than make a fuss I just had extra cups of hot coffee and extra slices of free bread which at least they didn't mess up. I think in the future I'm just going to buy the jars of tomato soup and heat it up at home. I like La Madeleine food in general but as this is the second or third bad experience we've had at this particular outlet, I believe in the future we'll go back to driving out to Bethesda. Oh, and just to add: The setup they now have here for ordering is that you're confronted by someone sticking a menu at you the minute you walk in the door, when you're in a little 10-foot space prior to the start of the cafeteria line. You don't get to see what's on the cafeteria buffet, so if you don't already know then you're out of luck and have to order food before you see. And making people order as soon as they walk in creates major congestion between the head of the line and the door, as there is only a 10-foot or so space, and new people are coming in and trying to join the line and being shunted off with menus. I solve this problem by just never ordering from the menu and always getting soup, salad or something like a friand from the hot bar, but it's a really confusing and bad way to take orders. They used to take your sandwich order from behind the hot food bar after you'd had a chance to look at what was available on the line as well as on the menu, and I think that worked way better than having a waiter jump on you when you're one foot inside the door. (and maybe then said waiter, who was also working the soup station, would have remembered to heat the soup up!) read more

food can be great but if you are willing to wait for close to 1 hr on a monday then go for it... i used to go there for lunch but not anymore read more

My husband and I dropped by this location midday on a Saturday. As it is sort of cafeteria style, we ordered our meals and got the sides that were already prepared. The girl working the order was rude and pouty (it was midday Valentine's Day, maybe she had a bad day but that doesn't warrant her attitude)- she seemed less than happy to be there and was taking it out on us. My husband and I are both fluent in French and upon placing our orders the girl corrected us on our pronunciation of words such as Monsieur and Provencal while rolling her eyes. I don't even have words for being reprimanded for pronouncing words correctly by an eye-rolling teenager. The food was bland and room temperature (even my soup). We were running errands and not expecting much from the impromptu lunch so at least our expectations were met by a pouting teenager and mediocre food. read more

*turkey bistro (Smoked turkey, crisp bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, melted provolone and sun-dried tomato pesto* spread on a toasted sourdough roll; I obviously got this without bacon but this sandwich hit the spot!!! The turkey was good and I loved the bread; it was simple yet very satisfying, not oily thank god; I got this with fruit salad instead of chips which was an additional $1.59 charge) *fresh squeezed orange juice (what can I say? it's OJ haha); potato pancake (good but quite oily, the flavor was good and it was a good size though) *french toast (omg, SUPER SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was drowned in syrup and I honestly don't even know how the french toast actually tasted, this was terrible) *roasted chicken (this chicken was awesome! very juicy and tender and not tainted by a lot of flavors; this came with rice and broccoli; it was a great deal since it was half a chicken on the plate) This place is super cute and service is good, I don't know how the kitchen keeps up with the orders since we can be sitting anywhere in the restaurant and they have to come find our seats; it's similar to a Panera or Corner Bakery Cafe read more

This place is really cute inside. Driven by it many times and never realized it was a bakery. The fruit tarts I had were tasty and I would go back. The prices seemed ok for the deserts but not great. Worth a try. read more

Good location, friendly staff, liked the creme brulee but can do better on the taste on tomato and spinach crossaint. Need to try their lunch menu items yet. read more

Beautiful location, but so dirty. Such a shame. Appears to be understaffed, and dirty tables were left unattended the entire time I was there. Food on the floor, dirty bathrooms. Ruins any sense of atmosphere. Other locations (such as Bethesda or Renton) have been better. read more

Love this place! Everyone here speaks fluent French, and I must say, it really makes the experience better. The employees really to their best to take care of the customer. It can get busy at times, but early in the morning, this is proven to be one of the best places to grab a bite and sit down with my computer. read more

Terrible service!!! The food took forever to come out. No one knew what we ordered. We had to come back up multiple times to ask where our food was. Do not waste your time eating here. Food was not that good either. read more

I had the chicken crepe; it was excellent. Sat outdoors - awesome vibe.

This is the worst La Madeleine I have ever been to! The manager is rude, the girl who helped us was in a hurry and also rude. I asked twice if my QR code scanned, and she said yes, yes. Well, it didn't scan and I missed out on my reward points. The manager rudely said well there is nothing I can do and was not even apologetic. The food was mediocre. I will never go to this La Madeleine again! read more

Liked lunch very much. They had a nice business I thought for a Wednesday, must be the operational fireplace on a winter's day. Thought the sandwiches, soup and pasta salad reasonably priced and it was all good. Coffee divine. Took home some pastries and a whole cake. Only thing awkward was...where to tip. You order and your card is swiped, proceed down the line as cafeteria style. Because of what I ordered, they brought my French Dip sandwich and the soup to the table. Where do I tip? We finished leisurely, which was much appreciated as I had wi-fi work to do with my lunch companion. Went then to the bakery section and I asked....where do I tip? She wasn't able to add a tip to my bakery order. There was a small tray there and I used it with a few dollars, had left two dollars for the bus help to clear the table, but I felt that I wanted to tip for the pleasant time, good service and ambiance of the room. I've been to Rockville Pike and Bethesda many times, don't remember worrying about the tip. Anyway, food is good, reasonably priced, room is lovely and inviting. Made a nice memory today....live fireplace included. read more

A much better tasting alternative to fast food. In a pinch or looking for a quick bite to eat, this place is great.

I met a girlfriend for breakfast on Saturday at La Madeleine in Columbia. We both ordered a fruit cup and the Quiche Loraine. The quiche had absolutely no taste. It was so bland that neither of us could eat even half of it. It was very disappointing and I wish would have spent $12 somewhere else. I probably will not return. read more

I've been a patron since 2000, and have been bringing my children here ever since. The food is always fresh and ambience just perfect. Valentines Day is coming up and certainly intend to pick up a pack of their heart shaped cookies. read more

La Madeleline is a nice little cozy place. They are a bit expensive for the little amount of food you get. The food was good, but I definitely needed more. Opt for the large portions of the salad. The employees were nice as well as the atmosphere. Not a bad place to go if you are looking for a decent conversation over average food. read more

Waitress attempted to serve me a prepackaged salad container that fell on the floor, that she then resealed. Maybe she didn't think I saw it fall. Very disappointed by her response when I asked her, when she said that it did not open, so it's still fine. Spoke to manager on duty who apologized. However, the waitress didn't think she did anything wrong. Makes me wonder how many other customers got served take-out food that fell on the floor previously. A (now former) regular La Madeleine customer at this location since it opened years ago, but no longer. read more

I found that this restaurant is the so-called "French" version of old country buffet. The first thing that you see when you enter, is a very untidy restaurant. You are uncertain whether you're supposed to go through a line or get a table. It is a buffet of sorts. We waited in line and we weren't even acknowledged as having been standing there. When we were finally spoken to the person behind the counter was so soft-spoken that we just could not hear her speak. We ordered food and both of our dishes were not good. I had the paella and my wife had the chicken lla Madeline. The signature dish. The restaurant was filthy we couldn't find a clean table and we eventually did just sit down at an open space. There were trash and food on the floors and it just was very very messy. I cannot strongly enough recommend avoiding this restaurant. read more

I've always adored this place. Great food great ambience such a cute little establishment. I particularly like how I can choose my menu from different combo sandwiches to salads to luscious desserts. The Columbia location has friendly staff very clean interior. Will always have this on my favorite lunch place list. read more

This place sounds fancy. This place makes me feel fancy. Not many things make me feel fancy. Buffet style line where people zombie shuffle with hunger eyes. Is that a hot coffee in your hand? Well let me push you so you spill it. The staff could have been friendlier but that may be because I was making hunger eyes at everything in front of me. But can you blame me?! God I love their hats. The food selection was pretty varied and the breakfast sandwiches were amazing. Big croissants that filled me up. Only small issue was that we ordered our food to go and the croissant wasn't warm. First world problems. Don't let them hold you to one meat on your croissant. Treat yourself. You deserve it superstar. read more

Came here for breakfast. Selection is limited. Decor is old. Service was fast though. Columbia needs to take a tip from DC breakfast spots. Variety, zest, expansive selection. Possibly may come back but not soon. read more

All the "country elegance" is faux, friends. This place is in serious decline. The afternoon staff were lethargic, could hardly talk, and ran out of mushroom sauce to put over my order. The disheveled, sullen server just went behind the counter, opened a plastic bag (in full view of all customers), slopped the contents into a pot and ladled it onto my plate. Didn't even heat it up. Why go there for sullen servers and lukewarm, pre-fab food? I get the feeling they're going to be out of business pretty soon. read more

Just ok. Not as high of a standard it seems as the ones in Bethesda and Silver Spring. My food was warm but didn't taste as good or fresh as I've had in other locations. The coffee is consistent though. It's also pretty noisy. I would not recommend to come here to read or study. read more

Crepes were lukewarm. Side orders on menu state green beans almandine. Beans tough and no almandine . Rice provencal as a side dish (no provencal just plain white rice}. La Madeline has a lot of potential, but needs better culinary educated managers. Staff couldn't properly explain what menu items were composed of. If all else fails look up recipes on cook.com or the food network. You don't need to be a Cordon Bleu trained chef to work at La Madeline's. read more

Food was good, not exceptional but pretty good. This place had a Panera kinda of real to it and wouldn't be supposed to going back. I wouldn't probably make a special trip to go back but if I was hungry and in the area I would stop there. read more

For a place that seems to be in the middle of nowhere, its pretty popular. Overall, I would have to rate it average and just like the others in the chain--no better or worse. On the up-side, there are a lot of semi-private tables that are good for catching up on reading or work, even at busy times. read more