La Bou Express

I love their teriyaki chicken combo with their Chinese chicken salad… and of course the «to die for» dill dip with a whole baguette

I live in the city where I’m able to visit a few LA Bou locations. This one is nothing like the others. We bought 2 sandwiches with very little meat and all bread. My Chinese chicken salad was probably the only good thing. And that wasn’t anything great. I wont be visiting again.

I LIKE the privacy in the back room where today I had a business meeting with Charlie Gibson who seemed satisfied with his latte («hot») served up by attentive Owner Arlene. I enjoyed my egg/​cheese/​tomato basil sandwich (under $ 5) at home. I also enjoy the tomato basil soup and delish egg salad sandwich. Owners Arlene/​Tong and son Andrew always have a friendly greeting.

This is by FAR the best La Bou within 40 – 50 miles. I commute to Sacramento a few days a week and have had sandwiches at the other locations — they are okay but nothing like the Auburn location. Friendly owners and delicious food!

Went in to the new location for the first time today and, I have to say, it’s disappointing. The old location was cute and homey while this one reminds me of a hospital cafeteria. I say… but out some decorations and play some music or something. Then… I paid close to $ 7 for a simple sandwich which did not come out for over 20 minutes. I actually went up to the counter thinking my order had been lost but with no apology or offer of a free coffee or something, I was told it would be another 5 minutes. Bad customer service. :(

I was so happy see there was a La Bou when I moved to the Gold Country. I used to go to the Elk Grove location but I’m not sure why this one is labeled as an express café. The menu is very similar and has lots of places to sit. My first time eating here I had a Chinese chicken salad which was crisp and fresh. This time I got a chicken and pesto panini and my daughter got a ham croissant sandwich. Both did not disappoint. We also shared a bowl of spicy Thai chicken soup which wasn’t too spicy but full of flavor. Their French baguettes are fresh and goes really well with their soups. Service was good and overall fairly clean. I will definitely keep going.

The employees were loud and pushy. Expensive for a small sandwich. The «fruit smoothie» consisted of a liquid out of a carton blended with ice. Needless to say, I’m not going back there.

La Bou has moved. It’s still on 49, but further south. Since I didn’t go in this time, it remains at 4 stars. I’m sure it’s still good.

I’ve been here a couple times since they moved and ordered the BLTA on a croissant. It’s SOOO good. Today’s was on a less than fresh croissant. BOO!!! Overall though we definitely will keep going back.
Getting in and out of this location is a friggin nightmare though.

House salad for $ 6.40. Lettuce, couple thin tomato and cucumber slices, spoonful of guacamole, and a tub of olive oil ½ full of dried oregano. And a mound of white bread. I really expected a lot more. 2 stars because the place was clean and the ice was cold. I won’t bother going back.

Don’t waste your time or money here… This La Bou is nothing like a real La Bou. The food and service sucks!!!

I came here with a co-​worker the other day (Wednesday) because we were an hour early for a meeting. I got an apricot jam stuffed croissant which was good, but nothing to write home about. ($ 1.99)
My co-​worker had a bacon and egg breakfast sandwich on a plain bagel. He said that the bacon tasted like plastic. It looked pretty sad. It was 90% bagel, 10% odd looking egg, and 10% plastic bacon. ($ 3.25)
We should have gone to Bel-​Air for breakfast. It would have probably been similar priced but WAY better. Sadness. It was my birthday too. Epic sadness.

The food is ok, the bread is good but the dill dressing is amazing! He clam chowder is one Of the best I’ve had. Service is ok but the food is way overpriced for the amount and quality… Their house salad that has avacados just gives you a tablespoon for your giant salad, a few small slices of tomatoes and cucumbers, a sprinkling of cheese and an overwhelming array of different sliced lettuces… Including the hard core of the lettuce… I needed a knife to cut up some if the super big pieces. They must not pay too much attention to their prep or even care…

NOT a good value at all! I ordered the ½ sandwich and salad and the plate comes with bread, bread and bread. Seriously… the breadiest roll ever, two little slices of turkey, hardly any veggies, only a small handful of lettuce as a salad, huge pile of croutons plus two slices of a baguette. I should have gone to Subway or Belair or the BBQ place down the street.
The salad was fresh! If I ever got dragged back, I would stick with a full order of a salad. Those looked good on other peoples tables.

Delicious bread but why pay so much for a sandwich that’s filled with pre packaged meats. Is it too much to ask for real meat in my $ 8 sandwich?

What kills me here most is the service. I asked for a side of Dijon mustard and the lady acted like I asked her to step outside and wash my car. Needless to say they put cucumbers in my sandwhich when I asked to have my veggie sandwich sans cucumbers. I paid $ 8.44 for a half Sammy n small salad, pretty pricey, but it all tasted pretty good…

Definitely not worth a second visit as far as I’m concerned. I paid $ 13 for a half sandwich, bowl of soup, and a salad.
The salad had barely any tomatoes, the sandwich had two very thin slices of turkey, the soup was probably out of a can.
Not worth my $ 13.00, MAYBE worth $ 8 if they’re lucky.
I was left hungry afterward… also, no ice?!
Not coming back!

I used to work here in high school and the food was so good I had to quit since they weren’t going to pay for my gastric bypass.
I picked up sandwhiches from here yesterday and it all came back to me…
A fresh baguette with the house made dill dip is like a double orgasm, everybody should try it more than once.
Their breads and pastries are cooked daily in house and all delicious.
My favorites: almond croissant, wheat bread, chocolate chip cookies and macaroons!!!
Are their soups good? Does a rooster have a pecker? Their Italian Wedding and Chicken Dumpling soups are to die for. I almost want to bathe in them.
Oh, and the Mocha Freeze — sooooo good!

I guess there are only two things that I have against the place: the nasty sandwich I had and the ridiculous prices.
I got a vegetarian sandwich without tomato. It was the most bland sandwich ever assembled, I swear. It consisted of wheat bread, provolone, mayo, cucumber, and lettuce. REALLY? Really La Bou? Why don’t you put veggies on your vegetarian sandwich? Also, they only remembered to pull out the tomato at the last minute, leaving giant red gobs of tomato. I asked if there were more vegetables that I could add to my sandwich and they said no. Just like that. They also said the sandwich came with avocado but I sure didn’t find any. I would have paid for onion, sprouts, pickle, bell pepper, ANY vegetable. Is it too much to want a sandwich with a little flavor?
And the worst part about this place:
½ sandwich and ½ a salad
one sandwich
2 small drinks=
$ 19.90
Blah to this place.

A go to spot when I am home for a visit. The Asian Noodle Salad is sooooo good. Fresh bread for sandwiches. Fresh soup and pastries. We used to order baguettes and dill dip in high school for lunch regularly. I usually order the half salad and sandwich with the turkey on wheat with mustard and the Asian noodle salad.
I’m getting hungry just thinking about this place.