Pat’a Chou

This place re-​opened with the same owner as :
La Petite Sourie
2801 MacArthur Blvd
Ste A
Santa Ana, CA 92 704

I came here around 5pm.. .the place only had one person dining in. I heard abt this place from a customer that came into my store. I bought a dozen macarons for a dinner with my friends. I got 2 of each, rose, lavendar, mocha, pistashio, chocolate. It was $ 1.30 each.
This establishment offers free wi-​fi as it is advertised on the windows.
The stars are for the location and serving macarons!

My most wanted nepolean cake was gone right after I arrived the bakery store, a group took the last two pieces… *tears*
Surprisingly, the Opera cake was very delicious, soaked in coffee syrup, layered with ganache and coffee butter cream, and covered in a chocolate glaze. I like it for its rich flavor and beautiful layers, sweet and bitterness.
Macarons: Pistachio and Mocha ones were my favorite here, and Violet and Camel ones were too sweet for me.

I came here strictly to try their macarons and though they had a couple interesting flavors, their macarons are nothing to brag about. I was here back in July on block leave and my mind cannot remember any flavor (s) that stood out in a good way. The violet one smelled and tasted exactly like soap, so if you’re into that, give it a try.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a sucker for sweets. Top that off with the current fad, and again, I’ll admit it… I’m first in line to try. First it was cupcakes (and still is for me), then the Chamango smoothie, now it’s the macaron. Yes, my current obsession.
Were they worth it? Um, maybe. We tried about 4 flavors, the best of which was the salted caramel, although there was no salt to speak of. A bit on the sweet side, but tasty nonetheless. The texture of the macarons was a bit off for me. Softer on the outside without the normal crisp, and less chewy than I had hoped. They are on the smaller side, but priced at $ 1.20 each, they weren’t too bad.
Oh that’s right. We actually had breakfast before the macarons. Boy do I get tunnel vision sometimes.
We had the salmon quiche with a side salad. The greens weren’t very fresh but were better with the dressing, which was a simple balsamic vinaigrette. The quiche was decent. We also had a 4 cheese panini, which was delicious. It’s got mozzarella, brie, swiss, and goat cheese with tomato. You know what happens to tomatoes when you grill them in a panini? Yeah, I do too, but seemed to have forgotten as I couldn’t wait, bit right in, and pulled out the scorching hot tomato slice onto my lip! Wow, not sure if a 2^nd degree burn was worth it.
The kiddo had a strawberry crêpe and by the looks of his empty plate, I guess he liked it. I did see a fair amount of strawberries and custard ($ 5).
Service was efficient, place was clean, but on a 80 degree morning, felt a bit warm.

So I discovered this place while running… and today decided to go in for lunch… seem like a nice quite café… for the time that I was sitting there it was mostly older people… or people with business meetings… they have free wifi but you need to ask them for site key… that’s the only thing I find not very convenient. I end up not even using it and just sat there and read my kindle.
I ordered the salmon quiche with a side salad… now the side salad is really just plain romaine lettuce with nothing else… it’s just the lettuce and they give u dressing instead of mixing it in for you… which I didn’t mind at all since I usually like the dressing on the side anyways. Well the quiche was really good… and I was going to get a pastry but nothing was appealing to me… so I skipped the dessert. I like how this place is not like corner bakery or panera bread… it’s really a lot more quiet and not a lot of people but their food is good.
Will definitely come here again. and i can’t believe they have macaroons too… I mean I’m tired of eating macaroons for now… cause I have had them for a week or two and you can get tired of good things. haha but it’s nice to know that when I’m not sick of them I have a place so close to my house to get them.

Perhaps the only place in Orange County with delicious macarons! I highly recommend the pistachio, praline and chocolate flavors. The only one I tried that I wasn’t too satisfied with was the raspberry macaron. The filling was a little too sweet and jam-​like inside. Reasonably priced at $ 1.20 each vs. most macaron places that charge approximately $ 2 per macaron.
As far as sandwiches goes, the Chicken Sandwich was delicious and healthy. I would recommend it over the Homemade Recipe Sandwich. The Homemade Recipe Sandwich was drenched in too much mayo for my taste but still not bad.
I would definitely recommend this place over Corner Bakery or Panera. If the sandwiches don’t do it for you, the baked goods definitely will!

Good sandwiches & macaroons
The $ 6.99 Combo (Sandwich, Soup, Salad) is quite the deal.
I recommend the Homemade Recipe Sandwich

This place looked so happy and cute! Lots of light, plenty of tables, and amazing desserts in display, waiting to be bought (not an issue of course).
Came on a Sunday a bit before noon, and it was pretty packed. They had 19 flavors of macaroons that day, so I’d assume that would be pretty normal on a daily. I bought a bunch to bring back to NorCal (of course some made it into my tummy before I got back).
Just to make sure, I called the store back to ask how long they would last. She was very helpful, and told me it’d last about a week if I kept them refrigerated.
I gave most of them away, and only heard compliments. Personally, I didn’t like all the flavors, but still glad I bought all of them. The pistachio was a hit!

Ladies love macarons. Welcome this new café to the area. In a clean area by South Coast, Pata Chou has sprouted up. Very nice looking with FREE wi-​fi! They offer coffee, desserts, and sandwiches here. I can’t forget to mention the 17 different macaron flavors.
The macarons here were good but a little smaller than other places. It’s 1.20 for a Macaron and they have 16 different flavors to choose from. The flavors range from mint to chocolate to pralines. They were all delicious. The problem I had with this place is that the server was not on point. I asked for my order of 14 macarons to be boxed. and he bagged them. Really? I just asked you to box it. With the Macaron craze going on this is the place to get your fix.

In case you missed this:
Installments in the quest for LA/OC’s Best Macaron have dramatically slowed. Oh, please wipe away those tears because the gripping suspense is now over!
You’ll recall ‘Lette Macarons’ Pasadena location was where our journey last ended, a mere two months ago.
Pat’a Chou is located in a very obscure strip mall which can easily be missed, but thankfully, Der Wienerschnitzel serves as a highly visible landmark. So if you would like to visit Pat’a Chou, please keep this in mind.
Some very wonderful characteristics of Pat’a Chou include:
* Abundance of Parking
* Complimentary Wifi
* Spacious Dining Area (
)
* Relatively Calm Ambience
* Fantastic for Studying or Reading
* Nook with Couches and a Coffee Table
* Clean Facility Throughout, Lavatory included
* Delightfully Cheery and Friendly Staff
* Wide Variety of Beverages, Pastries, & Food Items
As you may have gathered from other reviewers, Pat’a Chou’s roots stem from Vietnam. While speaking with the charming lady behind the register, she confirmed its beginnings and also stated that the French gentleman who emerged with frequency from the kitchen area was in fact, one of the owners. It was very enjoyable listening to his friends speak French. Ladies speaking French? Ooh La La!!!
But I digress. Shall we commence with the throwdown? Of note, macarons were now $ 1.20 each, which is still a phenomenal bargain…
Pistachio: ²⁄₅
As one of the primary flavors used to measure a patisserie’s macaron strength, Pat’a Chou’s rendition did not satisfy. Pat’a Chou’s macarons share a similar characteristic as most Asian bakeries making macarons: Overly sweet! While containing a moist, soft chew, this macaron possessed a soft shell lacking crisp. Failure to deliver a fragrant pistachio buttercream rendered an overpowering almond taste. Its pistachio flavor was faintly evident in the aftertaste.
Rose: ³⁄₅
Yet another primary flavor in my opinion. There was no mistaking the flavor of this macaron as it possessed a more pronounced flavor yet still paled in comparison to other more well-​known patisseries. A very fragile shell housed a semi-​moist, medium firm cookie.
Strawberry: ³⁄₅
Pat’a Chou’s use of jam in favor of ganache attributes to their downfall. Macarons and their fillings should not taste like it came from a jar of Knott’s Jam! That’s how Pat’a Chou’s macarons taste. This macaron had a nice crisp shell and moist cookie.
Raspberry: 3.25÷5
Possessing most of the qualities of their strawberry macaron, raspberry tested higher due being most ideal in all areas, except in filling.
Iced Coffee: ³⁄₅
This beverage served as my palate cleanser. With lower expectations, I found Pat’a Chou’s Iced Coffee to be bold, moderately bitter corrected by a dash of Half and Half.
This 3 star review brings me no pleasure to post. Pat’a Chou seems to deserve a higher rating on all accounts (barring macarons and the fact that I have yet to sample any food item or other pastries), but the review must stand.
My recommendation/​request to the owners of Pat’a Chou: Please explore the use of ganache filling and make them less sweet. Create a more consistent product (shell, texture, taste, appearance). I’d certainly be willing to pay more if you create a higher calibre macaron.

In my ridiculous quest to consumer macarons, I found myself stumbling into pat’a chou. First off, lies… this place doesn’t open till 8 p.m. Second, what mini macarons?
Price :$ 1.20
These little suckers weren’t half bad, the shell was hard and a bit dense. Some of the fillings weren’t to my liking because I’m not a fan of jelly anything. The butter cream ones where a bit heavy, I could really taste the butter. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a subtle hint of the flavors? I didn’t get much of that .
Good:
–Raspberry: surprisingly not as sweet as I would have imagine
–Green tea: yummmmie
Decent:
–Coffee
–Coconut
–Vanilla: Me’h I didn’t gag but I wasn’t impressed
Bad
–Pistachio: overwhelming butter cream, where is the nice hint of pistachio?
–Passion fruit: what a mushy gross filling
Overall
— nice place to chill
— some tasty sweets
— decently price

OMG this is my new hangout. There’s free wifi and plenty of tables. If you’re here for café food and dessert, you won’t be disappointed. A plus is that they serve breakfast all day. For under $ 5, you can get 2 eggs, a heap of bacon, baguette with butter, and coffee. I got this plus a slice of excellent cake for under $ 10.
They have a huge variety of macaroons. I tried the passionfruit and lavender macaroons and the flavors were distinct and spot on. Delicious.

First, they open on Sundays!
Second, I came today for macarons. They’re $ 1.20 a piece and I am surprised at how many flavors they offer! Yay! However I opted to get the 7 piece box– $ 9.40. Yes, if you decided to do the math 7×1.20 is 8.40, they charge an extra dollar for the box. boooo! It is a pretty box and for valentine’s day I thought I shouldn’t be so cheap and got the box deal.
Caramel, chocolate, rose, lavender, pain d’epice (gingerbread tasting), vanilla annnnnd… I forget what the last one I got.
I really like all of them except the caramel but boyfriend liked all of them except the vanilla. I guess to each their own. All in all, they were a great valentine’s treat! =D

3.5 stars.
We bought boxes of macarons and pastries.
Tons and tons of them!
Okay, maybe just 30 macarons, 2 pastries (gifts. not all for me…. XD)
They come in pretty little gift boxes with ribbons on ‘em
great for gifts.
There are about 10? different macaron flavors…
ranging from the common vanilla to exotic passion fruit, and some other
flavors i can’t remember.
We sampled 6 of ‘em …
Favorites were the pistachio, rose, and. the one that cannot be named!
(literally, since i can’t remember, but it’s their signature… it’s an orange color).
Each ‘cron is priced at $ 1.30. Flavor is good and texture is fairly consistent
but the size and shape varies greatly. Some were a little on the sloppy side.
. but fear not, taste test showed them to be good. Glad they were not too sweet
like the ones at ‘lette.
We also got a mini rasin danish and some
twisty thing (sorry, wasn’t paying attn) which I thought were on the meh side.
Cute little café, great for studying and passing the time. :)
We’ll have to try their sammies next!

How could I have forgotten to review one of my favorite breakfast places: Pat a chou!
First of all, great great baristas working here. They’re always welcoming and friendly. Second of all, they serve breakfast pretty much all day. My favorite on the menu is their french toast which comes with scrambled eggs, hash browns, fresh fruits and a cup of Joe. all for around 7 bucks!
In a couple of weeks, I’m going to be moving to a place within walking distance of this place =) which means I’m gonna be here a lot more often. I still have yet to try their lunch sandwiches but I will once I settle in my new home. See you soon.

Mouth-​Fullah-​Macarons
Located just across the street from the South Coast Plaza is a little Parisian inspired café that’s home to some pretty swanky sandwiches, salads, baked goods, and pastries. Today, I came strictly for their macarons.
Being pressed for time really made it hard to enjoy the total macarooooning experience, even if it were only for take out. My friend needed to get back to work and hurried me through every second I was there. So, I made the best of it and went with the flow. My mind was racing but I had to keep my cool and just pick SOMETHING for goodness sake!
I quickly decided on a few strawberries, raspberries, pistachios, passion fruits, and a pinkish one that was said to be a popular flavor (started with an ‘A’- I’m upset I didn’t press my photographic memory button at that moment). These little pieces of heaven were $ 1.20 a pop which isn’t too bad per macaron considering the competition.
So, what’s the verdict?
Cosmetically, they are by far the worse I’ve ever seen. I’m use to places that take pride and that extra time to make sure they take care of their macarons presentation especially when they range from $ 1.50 to $ 4.00 a piece. Some were squished, while others didn’t have their entire shells intact. As for texture, their shells have that slight crispness that everyone loves. You’ll find the center to be more «gooey» and less on the chewy side. Total preference thing as far as macarons go and I happen to like them both just fine. Depending on what flavor you receive it’ll be a cream or jam filling (or specified by flavor like the caramel).
Out of the 5 flavors I indulged in, the only one that didn’t tickle my fancy was the pistachio. I usually kill for a pistachio macaron but sadly these were just a little too artificially flavored and tasted more like almond extract. Really, I give these sugar & calorie infested treats 3.5 stars. They simply are better then some of those crunchy fakes you’d find @ other locations. The .5 bump up would be for their stores overall presentation of goodies around the shop. Also, for the high possibility that their savory menu items could make an irresistible breakfast or lunch time getaway.
Not only will I be ordering other macaron flavors during my next visit, but I’ll also be tempted to snag a Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich). I have high hopes for you Pat’a Chou!!!

Wow what a great find!
I honestly could not believe it, first when I heard about this place thru Unilocal and then when I went there and tried for myself. A real Parisian café in Santa Ana!!! Impossible! Even after walking in and seeing the amazing display of baked goods including about a gazillion kinds of Macaroons, croissants, canneles and French cakes. It was too good to be true, but all looked so yummy that we set out to order a massive amount of food that no two people should consume in one sitting (it was my b-​day, so we splurged).
We got an egg plate, quiche lorraine (ham and cheese), tons of macaroons, canneles, ham and cheese croissant and a pain chocolat and cappuccinos. Everything was very very yummy. The canneles are to die for, they are kind of a crème Brûlée bread pudding, the ham and cheese croissant was custom made to order and was amazing. And here is the thing, the food was being prepared by the master chef himself, the staff told us that he moved from France and barely spoke any English. We thanked him before leaving and he was very nice.
I have to say I read in some of the reviews that the food takes a while to be ready, I agree some of it did take long, but I felt it was because it was being made with care and frankly the quality showed. Well worth the wait for me! The place also has free wifi, is very nicely decorated, and also serves a number of sandwiches and salads. Oh, and I almost forgot very cheap!
Can’t wait to go back!

The owners of Pat’aChou owns a bunch of similar cafes in Vietnam and I was told that the rent is so much higher there but the food is sold at a much cheaper price. How does that even work?
The café looks really inviting and the display cases have some impressive desserts to boot. The staff are so friendly and helpful and we had tons of questions to ask.
Our party of 4 ordered a bunch of things to share including:
French Onion Soup — no croûton just some shredded cheese thrown into the soup which was watery and not very flavorful. The onions weren’t caramelized enough and the beef broth was too weak.
Chicken Enchilada soup — very tasty, flavorful with bits of corn kernels interspersed throughout. This was definitely a winner. They have 4 soups to choose from daily.
The #19 — Trio — includes 3 smaller sized sandwiches:
Provencal is a basic tomato, cucumber, egg, tuna, olive, anchovy and olive oil
Parisien is a ham butter and gherkin sammie
Chicken includes tomatoes, red onions, Swiss cheese, mushrooms and lettuce.
The sizes are pretty big for a mini sandwich trio but unfortunately, none of the sandwiches were anything special. It was anything you could throw together at home. I was expecting the baguette and ciabatta to be a lot better than what was served.
The #46 — Hot Goat Cheese Salad — was actually the best item we ordered. Goat cheese is served on crostini and drizzled with honey and served with bresaola. It was delicious and for $ 7 it was more than enough for one person.
#16 — Texas — is a roast beef sandwich with tomatoes, salad, gherkin and «American sauce». The sandwich itself was unimpressive. The filling was too skimpy for a sandwich but it is a European-​style sandwich and that’s what you get in Europe. It’s just not what Americans are used to when a sandwich comes to mind.
Quiche is the quintessential French lunch time food and they have several types available. We got the chicken and mushroom which was quite good. It could’ve been served warmer than it was but it was one of the better items on their menu.
For now, this café is only hitting lukewarm for me. I hope the lunch selections improve in the next few months. 2.5 stars for now.

A French Bakery-​Vietnamese Style! 3.5 Stars!
This is a chain of bakeries in Vietnam. I am not sure if it is the same owners. I had a nice talk with the staff. They affirmed it was the same as in the bakeries in Vietnam.
I had very high expectations because I heard the Vietnam locations were yummy. Dining room is spacious and nice. They have free wifi. Very clean place. A great place to chill. They also have outdoor tables and chairs. I did not order banh mi, but they said the sandwiches were made on baguettes. They also gave one free sample of macarons. I purchased the rest.
~Macarons –3.5 Stars
The texture was a bit off for me. They were also stored refrigerated. I probably should have let them warm just a tad.
–Strawberry was my favorite –4 Stars
–Salted Butter Caramel– 3 Stars.
–Pistachio– flavor was ok-​3 Stars
~Pecan Tart– 3 Stars.
AOK. Very pretty looking.
~Apple Tart-​2 Stars
The tart was off. The apples were very chewy and not very flavorful. The crust portion had a strange texture. Maybe it was not that fresh. It just did not taste very good
~Ambiance and Service
This is a new bakery. Open only a month. I love the décor and the vibe. I will come back. It may take some time to get things clicking. For now, AOK. The place has a very «Frenchy» feel to it. Service was great. They were nice and friendly and I love that they gave a sample of the macaron.
Pat’ A Chou, Costa Mesa… another reason the OC is the best place to live.