PAUL Assembly Row

I like the ambience and the staff are really nice but this is the third time where my order
1. is not heated thoroughly, the quiche is cold in much of the middle
2. the lettuce has rot in several places
I really don’t think I can do this place anymore because of that.

I had an amazing Gourmandise with Lavazza coffee! I was served by the hijabi girl, she’s very friendly and welcoming! I would highly recommended this place for the awesome taste of French pastries served with first class customer service!

Stopped by after walking around the stores at Assembly. The café is super cute and has a romantic ambience. Their pastries are so beautiful and I wish I tried the donuts and croissant. I got the lemon meringue and strawberry tarts. The filling for each was good but the crust itself was super hard. I could barely cut the one for the strawberry tart with a knife. Are these stale or over-​baked? Either way, it was unpleasant. My boyfriend got the turkey and bacon sandwich and he had the same complaint about the bread. To top it off, it was $ 8.45 for a tiny sandwich. Some people think sandwiches at Starbucks are a rip off, but this is far worse. $ 8 for stale bread and two pieces of turkey and bacon? In addition to food, I got an iced coffee that tasted like water.
I’m not sure if I just ordered the wrong items for my personal preferences but I’ll come back to try the other pastries and drinks.

I’ve tried the cakes and macarons here and have to say that the quality is very good with fair prices. However, as many reviews have mentioned the customer service/​experience needs a lot of work! The young people they have working up front just seem so miserable! No enthusiasm whatsoever and really not knowledgable about their products. I asked how long the macarons would last in the fridge and thankfully one of the managers or chefs happened to be right there and was able to tell me they last for 3 days, but the girl helping just said «uuuuhhhhh…» This really makes me question the enthusiasm and leadership from management and the company as a whole
The hours are also so odd! Don’t really open that early and don’t really stay open that late… Bummer.
The tasty macarons are light and crispy on the outside with a chewy core and just enough filling. Fairly priced too for ones that are said to be from France.

First: great pastry!
Second: Bad customer service. Went there with a friend that wears a hijab, the lady at the cashier told her that the pastry has wine/​alcohol in it and looked at her surprised when she said its ok, she said its on the top layer of the mille feuille. She was still waiting to cancel the order, but my friend didn’t! Thats not all! The cashier (who is wearing a hijab) went and chatted with her friends on the side and were looking at us all the time!
That was disgusting and uncomfortable!
Its non of your business if she has alcohol or not! Just do your job! You dont want to serve alcohol go somewhere else! Plus no need for the gossip!
We never went there again!
I passed by the other day to check if she is still there!
I was so mad!
Live your life and let us live our lives, your not God!
One star for the delicious pastry. Minus 4 for the horrible behavior of the staff.
So sad that a few workers there can affect the business like this; they should have learned how to respect the differences and to act more professionally and friendly.
P. s. I don’t wear hijab.

Food and drink were good. That’s the three stars. The service needs a lot of work. Four people working all moving at a snails pace and giving out incorrect orders. When I left there were tables still to be cleaned from people that were leaving when I arrived. And there was no line at that time.
Once the line did start it was almost comical to see how many people it took to complete an order.
They have a good place here and a good establishment but the service needs retraining and some confidence and oomph! Starbucks and dunkins employees hustle harder than this above average Panera.

Absolutely my favorite coffee shop! I just love everything about my experience. I make a trip there at least once a week. The food from baked goods to their sandwiches and salad are delicious. I’ve lived in Europe and have have been to other Pauls outside the US and the quality of food is very comparable. The atmosphere is cozy and fun and the staff are very helpful when I wanted specific adjustments to my order. The staff is on top of making sure the store is kept clean. I’ve brought co-​workers and friends to this place and they’re hooked. I’ve also ordered my birthday cake this past month from there and it was just amazingg!!!
Overall I’m an extremely satisfied regular costumer of the Paul assembly, I couldn’t be happier with the service, the quality of food is unparalleled, the store is always clean and the atmosphere is utterly welcoming! Props to this place!

I stopped by here after I saw their case of pastries from outside the windows. I am a sucker for pastries and baked goods so I had to come in here. Automatically I saw their donuts and knew I had to order it. They have a good selection of desserts, which I love. I ended up ordering a loaf of their raisin bread and their chocolate donut. The raisin bread is a sourdough bread with raisins — very unique. I never had anything like it, but had a great chew to it with the perfect amount of raisins. The donut was PERFECT. It was a super light donut with a really yummy chocolate filling. Almost tasted like nutella but more dense. The interior of the restaurant is super cute — I love their tables and chairs! They have actual food here too, which I will try another time because it looks equally as delicious.

I am a regular at Assembly Row and cannot believe I never noticed this place before.
Space — it’s not big and and it’s not a small bakery. They have decent searing as well as comfy big one seater chairs. It’s literally like a bakery you see on tv in terms of atmosphere and scenery.
I haven’t tried to many items but I have tried about 3 different pastries and all were delicious and contained chocolate lol. One I will race about is the chocolate croissant, it’s heaven and they will warm it up for you if you ask. It’s a square croissant filled with chocolate and an almond paste and topped with slivered almonds. The prices are fair, the cost of the chocolate croissant was $ 4.
Service — the cashier wasn’t the most friendly but it was close to closing time and getting quite busy. There was another employee who was on the floor and he was extremely helping and very catering to us. We needed an extra chair and he went out of his way to find one for me and was very polite. He is always helping all the customers with every and anything they need. Great customer service always deserves a A+ in my book. I will def return.

2 stars and that’s already being generous. The two stars are because the baked goods are good.
Paul is the chain from Paris that I love. So I expect the same standards. You know. Bring me my coffee in less than 30 minutes? Before I finish my pastry? It would be OK to come to pick up pastries to go. Don’t bother with drinks. It’ll take you another 30 minutes. The staff are terrible, they don’t know what pastries they have, they don’t have recommendations if you ask a normal question. They only «remembered» my coffee because I asked them about it. Really? If you’re going to use the Paul name, please treat it with respect and act within its standards. I can’t see Paul surviving here. I think this has to do with the staff hired for this job too; lack of training, lack of understanding, and lack of communication. Maybe they need a handbook like the other cafes.

I am familiar with PAUL from France. When I saw that it was PAUL, I thought «Wahoo! no more cr@ppy coffee! I can get a real grand crème.» Instead I walked in to what is a fair-​to-​poor café with a French name on it. It does not live up to what PAUL is in France.
First DON’T BOTHER with the grand crème. It is really just crummy «jus de chausette*» in a cup that says Paul on it.
Second, don’t bother with the pastries as they are not as good as they are in France. The crust on the tartlette au citron and the tartlette au framboise was rock hard. If only my abs were that hard, I would be on the covers of ALL the gym magazines!
Third, save your money and go to a real PAUL in France because this place is tres, tres, tres expensive for what it is, and what it is is FAUX FRENCH. You would never pay eight Euro for a Parisian sandwich with ham and butter on a baguette which is what they are asking for at PAul. In France it is a 3 to 4 Euro sandwich. Two faux gran crème and two tartlettes cost about $ 20. In New Jersey they would say fuhgetaboutit, and so should you.
Fourth, the counter staff needs to learn French because most of the cards describing the pastries are in French! The clerk who helped me did not know fraise (strawberry) from framboise (raspberry) Total. Experience. Killer. Qu’est-ce que c’est. Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa…better run, run, run, run away and get your food and coffee elsewhere.
My sincere hope is that the problems I experienced today at the Paul in Assembly Row will be resolved and this will be more representative of the excellent experience I have enjoyed at their stores in France. Vive La France!
* jus de chausette translates as sock juice — BTW this is a genuine French expression unlike this café.

Not worthy of whatever hype causes the line out the door. After standing in said line for a while, I had the pleasure of dealing with a cashier who was openly frustrated with a coworker that didn’t relieve her (I watched the conversation unfold in front of me and the rest of the line behind me), and she wasn’t pleasant at all do deal with. The pastries certainly weren’t worth the hassle, as the almond croissant wasn’t even in the top 10 that I’ve had. The tart we tried was dry and went unfinished (a rarity for me/​us). Oh, and those two things were almost $ 15 with a small bottle of water. So we paid a fairly hefty price for a disappointing snack.
The space is packed, so you’ll also need to stalk some tables to grab a seat, which only adds to the frustration of the entire experience. Perhaps other locations are where PAUL earned its reputation, but this location seems set on bringing the brand down. We won’t likely return…

Came here for a little snack before a very late brunch. Ordered the chocolate croissant and chocolate frappé. Obviously had an overdose of sweetness to start off my day. The chocolate croissant was good, but could’ve definitely been warmer. I don’t think it was properly heated up, if at all. The frappé was sub-​par for me. Nothing out of the ordinary. Tried a bite of the asiago pretzel which was probably my favorite thing out of everything I tried.
Also while ordering the chocolate croissant, for some reason the girl at the cash register couldn’t understand which one was the croissant (wasn’t because of a language barrier or anything). All the bakery items were properly labeled and there was only one item named chocolate croissant, so I didn’t understand her confusion. Perhaps she was new there and was figuring out the ins and outs of the place, so really no biggie. Just a bit strange.
I’ve definitely experience better. Won’t go out of my way to be back here, but it’s a nice place to sit and order something sweet.

A-​OK for a quick breakfast and good coffee. We stopped by on a cold, Saturday morning. The pastries lined along the counter windows were beautiful, but I opted for a croissant, egg, cheese and ham breakfast sandwich. The croissant was very tasty and flakey, but a little under-​toasted (part of it was a little cold). I’m sure they would have been accommodating if I had requested a re-​heat, but it was good enough.
The fresh-​squeezed orange juice was absolutely delicious. You can watch them squeeze the oranges right in front of you. Good stuff.
The black coffee was as expected. It did the job.

y

Ordered a small hot chocolate…
1– it was cold
2– it was $ 4.76
For almost 5 dollars, the «hot» chocolate was not even close to anything special. Do yourself a favor and go to JP Licks for their fall drinks– hot cider included!

Sooo overpriced and not good. Grabbed lunch here because the surrounding restaurants were on their midday bar menu without many food options. Was so disappointed. Had the combo of sandwich + soup + iced tea and it was $ 17… I might have gone to a nicer restaurant if I was going to pay that much for a mediocre sandwich.
Had the Toscan sandwich w/​prosciutto, mozzarella, tomatoes, and lettuce. Chose the tomato and basil soup and a green tea to go along with it. The sandwich was sad. Bread was really hard and like 80% of the bite was bread. Minimal prosciutto (like it was pretty much invisible) and the mozzarella didn’t have much flavor to it. The soup was flavorful and helped make the sandwich more bearable cause I could dip the bread into the soup. Tea was good.
There are too many options in Assembly Row for me to want to return here and get $$$ sandwiches. The pastries do look good so I may only be back to try that next time but definitely not for the food.

What a waste of a well established french pastry/​café!
The food and sweets are pretty good, esp the sweets as other reviewers noted. however, the service or staff knowledge or capability is at ZERO. no one knows what’s what, whats in it or anything about the french pastry. this is when you realize, staff training is key to a business’ success.
we were brought the wrong ice tea. we ordered reg black tea, was brought decaf. no apologies. the lady that brought it barely spoke eng. a real turn off in a french café where everything is so upscale and nicely decorated. the cashiers didnt know what prosciutto looked like. had to ask another cashier. REALLY?
it’s not held at the best standard that PAUL should be at, esp coming from France and aiming to be a high end café that it is. need a major management change ASAP. someone needs to have a head on their shoulders here soon before they ruin the brand.

First of all, this place is super pricey. Most of the pastries are over $ 5, including the macarons. (They’re oversized, but not THAT oversized.) The caneles look like they were baked in a thimble and cost over $ 3. I could maybe swallow these prices at a Newbury Street location, but we’re in the middle of nowhere at Assembly Row, so let’s not pretend we’re in Paris.
Secondly, when I came here in the late afternoon, everything in the display case looked picked over and sad. The mille feuilles were sagging, and the croissants had lost their crispness. I love rhubarb, but the rhubarb tart was kind of falling apart, so it almost looked like scrambled eggs. So I wasn’t too eager to order anything, just like the people behind the counter didn’t seem particularly eager to help me.
I ended up getting a loaf of olive bread to take home. It had a good crust and the black olives were nice and briny. However, I still was left feeling like this place is a bit of a gimmick, so I probably won’t be back.

I’m not much of a chain fan, but if it’s from France…
The plain croissants are rather good here and they’re legit. They’re crusty/​flaky on the outside and soft/​light in the middle. The pain au chocolat is quite good as well. I haven’t really gone beyond the croissants. So Paul would be one of the handful of places with croissants I’d go for in the Boston area.
Prices are slightly higher compared to a lot of bakeries around, but it’s tolerable. However, the service here is inconsistent and it’s nearly impossible to find a seat during peak times.

As someone who has never been to France, I know I’m going to love it there if their cafes are truly like this. Their patisserie display is absolutely beautiful. If you haven’t seen the Japanese movie Patisserie Coin de rue (洋菓子店コアンドル), I highly rec. It’s a movie that’s a feast for the eyes and wonderful for dessert lovers.
Have fun with the menu ’cause all the choices are in French. Butcher pronouncing it all :)
Croissant lovers, Paul is definitely a place for you to rejoice. My man loved it so much he bought a box of various croissants to go.
My only qualm about the café is the service. Rebecca was the lady who took my order. There was no one in line behind me and yet I felt rushed when she took my order with quick prompts of «anything else.» No smile. It really felt like I was ordering at Mc D’s.
The odd thing was when I ordered ‘eggs benedict’ she asked «baguette or croissant» which I found really odd… to which I chose baguette assuming it was a side piece of bread they provide after all we’re in a French café. She did not give me a receipt. When it came to waiting for the orders, they brought out an egg baguette sandwich to which I said I ordered eggs benedict. It didn’t help I didn’t have a receipt. It took about 30 minutes for the correct order to come out. That miss hap and fast food ordering experience put me in a slightly bad mood, though I’d love to come again just because I haven’t seen anything else like this in Boston.
Recs:
++Hot chocolate– heart shaped art
+ Eggs benedict, though it wasn’t hot. Comes on wheat toast and ham with a side of greens.
++Strawberry fans, go for their Frasier (strawberry cake). It’s so pretty and the custard filling inside is delightful.