Paul Maison de Qualite

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Paul Maison de Qualite has not one but multiple locations in Miami, FL. I had the pleasure of visiting Paul for the first time on my numerous travels to Shanghai, China. My love for their baked goods was reignited in Paris. I ate their croissant each time I passed their stores and even brought back their macaroons for my family. The buttery goodness of croissant, their flawless and creamy quiches, decadent macaroons, oh my! I could eat a dozen right now.
Naturally Paul’s was the first stop on my recent mini vacation to Miami. I couldn’t wait to share Paul’s sublime goodies with my family. I chose to visit their café in the luxurious Aventura Mall. Even though it was Memorial Day weekend, the café was relatively empty. Conveniently located on a corner lot, Paul’s has a decent size patio ideal for basking in the gorgeous Miami sun.
Even though I knew entirely too well the menu, for my family’s experience I wanted to order a variety. The staffs per se weren’t too forthcoming in clarifying the ‘French’ titled dishes or patient enough for customers to fully grasp the menu before ordering. The first two things that I ordered weren’t available since they were ‘seasonal’. Well then why showcase them on the menu?
Anyhow, we rushed into ordering a croissant, an apple tart slice, croquet monsieur and crepes. To my utter disappointment, the dishes had no resemblance in taste or for that matter appearance to my recollection. The croquet monsieur was under cooked and blah. The croissant was rubbery and stale smelling. The crepes were simply a blob of white sauce doused in heavy cheese.
I left absolutely disillusioned wondering if maybe my opinion was biased. Perhaps everything simply tastes and smells better on vacation and in reality Paul Maison de Qualite was not worthy of the standards I am accustomed too with French Artisanal Boulangerie and Patisserie.

I had no great expectations before the visit to the, at least based on number of guests, hugely popular bakery/​café/​restaurant Paul. Still it managed to be an enormous let down. We were there in the morning/​around lunch. Had some very bland cold bread (unlikely that it was baked on premises and if so the person respsonsible should look for other employment) with only butter offered. The orange juice was fairly ok while the coffee was horrible. Granted the origin of Paul’s is French but there is no need to adopt the French way of ruining all coffee. Service was uninspired at best. Go elsewhere as there are much better options

I hate mall food courts (unless you’re giving me a sample of teriyaki chicken)… so whenever I visit Aventura, I try to stop in at Paul. I was so sad when they closed down the storefront on Biscayne in North Miami… that this is really the only way I get my fix.
Lunch on a Saturday afternoon involved the goat cheese and tomato open faced sandwich with a side of salad. Also ordered the tuna sandwich.
It’s a nice change to sit inside and have a leisurely lunch… and while it’s a bit pricey… I always love it.
Next time I’ll spring for a quiche… because my open-​faced sandwich didn’t really fill me up.

The service idea is great — u pay at the register, get a number and a runner brings the food once it’s ready. This is where the good experience ends. This restaurant hides behind a French image trying to disguise the distasteful food they serve. The eggs are over cooked the toasts are a combination of supermarket cuts and cheep cheese slapped together with some bled of mayonnaise and balsamic vinegar. When I asked where is the fresh basil they offered to give it to me on the side as if someone can eat a side of fresh basil. Overall a terrible experience. Stay away from this ‘French ’ patisery!!!

This location is not nearly as good as the one on Lincoln Road. I ordered the same delicious chicken salad I had on Lincoln Road a couple of weeks ago and alas is wasn’t as good. The chicken salad was missing the lovely mustard flavor. The side salad was a pile of wilted almost rotting greens and there were no potatoes. We also had to interact with a nice American at the counter and not a French woman. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but service was pretty bad. We watched our food sit at the counter for about 5 minutes before anyone brought it over. This location doesn’t have a very large dessert display case and the blueberry tart we ordered had a soggy crust. The sandwiches alone would deserve 3 stars, but this place as whole is a 2 star restaurant. They should really fix this location up, it’s bringing the chain down as the Lincoln Rd location is so much better.

Meh… its alright. Did not like this place that much. I ordered a ham and cheese crêpe. Although the crêpe was pretty tasty, it was not worth the price. For one crêpe and a small glass of wine, my bill was 20 bucks. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is a little too pricey for a little restaurant in a mall. If I’m paying almost 15 bucks for a crêpe it better be worth it. This was not the case at Paul’s.

A bit pricey yes, but worth it once in a while. Great soup in a bowl of bread, and other great dishes.
Also best fruit tart you can get in miami! (and I’ve tried them whenever i can get my hands on them!).

I’ve had a few things from the takeout bakery area while shopping at the mall. The breads and pastries are pretty food. Some things have been better than others, and nothing is consistently great.
I’ve never encountered a pleasant or efficient employee either. I’m just not a fan of this place.

Congratulations, Paul, you are going to be my 300^th Unilocal review! You totally made my day!!! Merci beaucoup!!! I can’t believe such low ratings you are receiving from the Floridians, you need to move to NY!!!
You have no idea how much I was psyched by this unexpected discovery of Paul kiosk at Aventura Mall, I blinked my eyes in disbelief!!! What??? Paul in Miami? Pas possible!!! And you are telling me there are more than one Paul store in Miami alone??? And none in NY? HUH? What’s going on??? It doesn’t make sense!!! Anyways, Paul is my absolute favorite boulangerie in Paris, it’s one place I always make sure I visit without fail every time I go to Paris. Now it’s conveniently located inside CDG airport too!
Anyways, my long overdue reunion with Paul’s chocolate macarons was so moving, my mouth was filled with joy and memories of our love!!! Oh oui, c’est l’amour!!! Mmmmmmm!!! And your tarte tatin… mmmm still so seductively tasty as usual! I’m all yours!!! J’adore Paul mon amour!!! Bisous bisous!

As a connoisseur of croissants… delicious find and decently priced. Small price of $ 1.95 for chocolate croissant = sustenance for my 3 hour exploration of the mall.

One star for the front customer service. Food zero. You order one thing you get what they want you to eat. Disappointed overall.
Happens every time I go, last week I ordered a cappuccino with no foam, they give me a latte…

/​God! I worked here for literally 3 days.
I applied online, was called same day, went to an interview at their corporate head quarters, was hired, was asked to start 1 week from that day. I was to provide my own uniform either white pants or a white skirt. They called me the next day and asked if I could start that day. I only had one white beach skirt. I explained it to the manager and she said that it sounds fine. (I was in college at the time and didn’t have time to get a normal skirt) Just my luck the owners of the chain are at this particular location, the owner whom is French and a woman came up to me shook and head and said in her snooty french voice… «oh no no no no you cannot wear that here! You look like a slut!» I was mortified, being 18 and stupid at the time I apologized and promised I would get new attire before my next shift. I didn’t even tell her that they hired me in one day and changed my start day and the manager said my skirt was fine. I didn’t show up to my next shift, and they refused to pay me for my 3 days of work, screw it… I got to take home at least $ 80 in pastries and bread!
Anyway about this place: The only thing I like are the almond croissants, olive loaf bread and baguettes. All of the bread is baked fresh (this I can attest to!) The pastries are frozen, flown in and baked on site.
The entire menu is overpriced and consists of stuff I can make at home.
The waitstaff is rude and belligerent. They literally fight over tables, and it is apparent to the customers.
The counter people are always in a rush, act as if you are inconviencing them and in general just not pleasant.
This is the place to go to if you have a lot of money and a lot of time, want to show off to your south beach friends, are really old with a lot of money and really love breakfast.
When the day comes for me to go back to Miami I will have to pass this place up and perhaps give it the finger.
I do not recommend!

Went here a couple of times for lunch to go but it was a panic fest — just like Nydia says… about ten people running around behind the counter bumping into each other serving maybe three or four tables and nobody working the register. I have to admit I haven’t been here since before the summer so maybe they have changed. But I agree with Nydia on the service. They have the potential to be great because the food (when it comes) is good. I really hope they get their act together.