A couple of years ago, I ordered my favorite pastry, éclair au café, in this chain of restaurant/bistrot. And I was delighted because of how good it tasted, despite the fact that we were in Sweden. I'm partially living in France so I know how a delicious eclair should taste like. The secret is in the crème pâtissière. I live in Stockholm and I recently moved to the West cost so that's why I could revisit this restaurant.
But A LOT has changed since my last visit... Le Pain Français in Gothenburg is a horrible place. This was confirmed more recently when I visited the place a Sunday in February 2016.
I was a bit early for the brunch. So I ordered an eclair and a cappuccino and waited in the lounge. The eclair was horrible.
This brunch is completely different from what the name of this restaurant entails: Le pain Français. There is absolutely nothing French about this brunch, and the focus isn't on bakery bread from a boulangerie or pâtisserie at all. It's an ordinary breakfast buffet, just like the ones served in most restaurants around Sweden, including on the day-trip ferries to Finland. The only difference is that there was a huge bowl of humus, unnecessary varieties of pasta sallads and some of the worst pastries I've ever had in my whole life. This is coming from a constant hungry foodie.
But overall my experience was a disaster.
There are two different sittings for the brunch on Sundays: @12:00 and 14:00. I came about 30 minutes earlier to the restaurant and asked some general questions about the buffet. The lady working at the bistro asked me to wait in the lounge.
An unfriendly waiter with slick back hair was taking drink orders. I was hesitant to even mention him but since he made my experience a lot worse, I couldn't hold myself. Indeed, only the tasteless coffee in the huge container is included, and tea (bags) in the brunch buffet. The milk to mix the coffee with is cold. Consequently, the coffee tastes terrible.
The only pleasant moment for me while eating there was the decor. Yet it seemed a bit kitsch but was way more entertaining to glaze at than the ghastly brunch...
My final judgment is that it's better to avoid Le Pain Français at any cost. Besides, Gothenburg has better restaurants to offer! read more