L’Amande Bakery

Of course it is delicious. Its made by threatened, scared and underpaid human beings who deserve a chance. They’re too scared to be laxxed…

This bakery was closed after officials learned of their abuse towards the Filipino workers they hired under the guise of a work visa. Instead of just working at bakeries and restaurants, they were forced to do personal home repairs, construction work on apartments they owned and paid less than $ 2 an hour. I’m sure these owners will try and find a way to open some other type of business if the $ 15.3 million settlement didn’t break them. They should do jail time. Read the LA times for yourself

If you’re wondering why this place closed, please read this article. Shameful, inhuman and disgusting owners.

The pastries and sandwiches made by migrant workers who were trafficked to the US and held hostage by the owners of the bakery were delicious! The exploits of their labor were barely worth the satisfaction to my palate. I knew something was missing from their croissants and sandwiches: compassion and love.

Wanted to stop by Izakaya Iccho– when I saw the highly rated l’Amande Bakery. Both are in the Rollings Hills Plaza which is an outdoor mall that meanders & comes in confusing groups of buildings. L’Amande has a very inviting front patio framed by a climbing rose full of roseate blooms and a very chic minimalist interior marked by warm wood panels, red café chairs, blackboards written in neat script listing their menu. The counters behind sparkling glass are laden with various breads, croissants, Danish, quiche as well as a refrigerated section with all sorts of pastries containing crème Chantilly, custards, ganache.
I was taking pictures for my Unilocal review & the young blond salesman jokingly told me he’d have to charge me for taking a picture of him working behind the counter. Actually, he was most affable & helpful. I asked him of the goods that were left at five in the evening, what would he recommend for a pastry that was a savory & another that was sweet. He told be that the Quiche Lorraine was not his favorite, but it was the best savory presently available. He also suggested the Pain au Chocolat which is like a croissant with a chocolate filling.
1) Quiche Lorraine is basically a tarte filled with egg, usually gruyère cheese, lardon/​bacon, dash of cream. The major change was Blackforest ham in the American style was substituted for the bacon. For me, smoky lardon would have given a better meatiness & smoke since the blackforest ham lacked a high flavour profile. The pâté brise style pastry was either underbaked or the moisture from the egg filling soaked the pastry to the point the crust was leaden & a bit mushy. A piece of blackforest ham was placed on top of the quiche which after baking turned out to be hard & dried out into a lifeless piece of salty meat. However, there was a good cheesy, buttery flavour which paired well with fresh, bitter, peanut oil smelling silver-​green arugula grown in my yard which acted as the perfect palate cleanser, refresher.
2) Pain au Chocolat was pretty classic in a millefeuille pastry that was nicely lightly flakey, dark golden brown. There are two pencil thin cylindrical plugs of sweet dark chocolate embedded inside the millefeuille pastry. I took this home and paired it with a strong, dark brew of Irish Breakfast tea with mellow yet strong tannins that would be a good foil to the rich, sweet, dark chocolate.
3) Since the friendly counterman noticed I was ever interested in food, he offered me a piece of Batard bread which is similar to a small French baguette. The texture is hard & chewy on the outside & softer & moister inside. There is a nice yeasty flavour and pleasant faint natural sweet sourness. The soft yellow butter he included was a nice complement to the yeasty bread. Next time, I will have to buy bread to ascertain the competence of l’Amande as a boulangerie.
As an initial try, 3+ Unilocal stars until I get to try more of the pastries & breads. Many thanks to the enthusiastic, young counterman who helped me in this initial introduction to l’Amande.

Went there this morning and was shocked to see they closed their doors forever! What a shame… seems as if they are being sued by many of their employees (ex employees now) for what they report as slave labor and human trafficking???
Well I’m not sure if those charges have merit or not but one thing is for sure, the best almond bakery around is now closed… how disappointing!

Sad to say this place is closed.

Went here for Lunch on Sunday. I got the Chicken Panini and it was freaking delicious! Came with a salad too and dressing was light and yummy.
My friend had the Chicken Salad Sandwich and was impressed as well.
The hand shaken pomegranate iced tea was great too.
It has a quiet ambiance and lots of seating indoors and out.
I didn’t try any of the pastries but they looked super tasty.
Service was good. I will definitely be going here again.

I was here for late breakfast and I enjoyed the food and atmosphere.
I ordered prosciutto omelette and it came with slice of baguette and salad.
It was complete meal for reasonable price and it was also delicious.
However, I was disappointed with the chocolate croissant. I think
it could’ve used more chocolate inside.

They have so many different croissant variations here, each one better than the first. I love the croissant filled with strawberry jam, nutella, and the feta/​spinach combo. They will warm them up upon request. L’Amande is my go to for fresh baguettes. They are baked in house and so good. I am a fan of their continental breakfast: Fresh Baguette, pastry, and croissant with their home made jelly and a cup of tea or coffee. It gets busy in the mornings.

Wow. I’m so glad I found this place! Today after lunch, I was craving for some sweets/​pastries… and this place really nailed the spot :) I ordered a pistachio tart to share with the bf, and for $ 2.95, it wasn’t ridiculously expensive. But boy, was it delicious! It’s similar to pecan pie except not that sweet… the texture and taste was spot on. I would come back just for this!
We also got a hazelnut/​chocolate croissant and ham/​cheese croissant for tomorrow’s breakfast. The croissants are a bit pricey, but they looked so good, we had to get them. We haven’t tried them yet, so the 5 stars would just have to be for the pistachio tart.
Looking forward to coming back to this cute bakery!

This is a fun little French influenced bakery. The food is good, the staff is professional, and they have nice outdoor seating. I recommend it for breakfast.

My second time here at this café. This time we came around 10:30am on a Saturday and it was pretty crowded. Inside seating was full but they have plenty of seats outside. There was a line of maybe about 5 people but it moved pretty fast and it was the perfect amount of time for indecisive me to decide on what I wanted.
I don’t remember what I got last time but this time I opted for the Parisian Salad. It comes with a whole lot of blue cheese, cranberries, walnuts, and caramelized apples. I rarely order salads at restaurants but this was really good. The blue cheese got a little overwhelming at the end and the apples were a bit sweet for my liking, but it’s something I would consider ordering again when I want a light brunch dish. My salad also came with a baguette and that was REALLY GOOD.
My friend got the Croque Madame which comes with a side salad and it looked great.
I also got some pistachio and almond croissants to take home for my parents. I tried the pistachio when I got home, and I usually do not like croissants at all but the croissant itself was good, a great balance of buttery yet flakey. I didn’t like the pistachio filling though, which was odd because I like pistachios… maybe I was just having an off day. I would want to try a chocolate croissant next time and I’m sure it’ll be delicious. Keep in mind the croissants are a bit pricey. I think the almond croissant was around $ 4 and the pistachio $ 4.50.
A friendly lady, it might have been the owner, came out to update the chalkboard menu while we were there and mentioned they had some chocolate banana cream pie or something which they only make twice a year. We were too full so we didn’t try but I’m beating myself up now so if they have that when you’re there, you should give it a try, and let me know how it is! They have a great selection of pretty tarts too, that I’ve yet to try.

I was craving Pasteis de Nata a Portuguese Custard pastry. Since I didn’t want to drive crazy far for one figured I’d attempt to find the next best thing, a Papillon. Found L’Amande via Unilocal.
With mixed reviews, more towards the positive I decided to try.
The Papillon was perfection. But all of the pastries are delish too! The Pain aux Raisins is another favorite of mine. Worth trying.
I’ve tried other items including the salads and sandwiches. The daily soups are so good. I haven’t had one yet that has not been good.
The only gripe I have is when placing a phone order for your office they don’t allow you pay cash when you pick up. Which sucks when everyone is giving you cash.

This week I had the French Toast ($ 9.00) at L’Amande Bakery. It was very good, basic french toast. You get four half pieces with strawberries and bananas. I liked how it was very slightly crispy on the outside then nice and soft on the inside. I ate the whole thing.
You order at the counter, then they call you when your food is ready. Our food took less than 10 minutes to make when the restaurant was half full.
The restaurant is nicely decorated and clean. There’s also an outside sitting area if you enjoy being outside.
Overall, a great neighborhood spot for some French Bakery food. My sister and her friend had salads and they enjoyed them very much.
Please see my pictures!
Xie Xie!

Fantastic gem in Torrance within Rolling Hills Shopping center. Amazing and authentic french pastries along with breakfast menu. My wife and I truly find time to have breakfast here every month or so and this place makes it easy because the food/​coffee is top shelf and the service is fast/​courteous.
Most recently we ordered a few items that we havent had in a while. My wife ordered a fresh hot chocolate and a ham/​cheese croissant. Buttery, flaky croissant along with delicious ham/​cheese. Unbelievable taste. And hee hot chocolate came with a small chocolate cup so she could mix right in.
I had the croque madame and a black long. Black long was fantastic. Rich americano-​like taste and fresh roast hit the spot. The croque madame was tasty goodness all the way around. The poached egg was done perfectly as was the bread and ham/​cheese. I also enjoyed the side salad it came with. I had to add tabasco because my taste buds arent complete without that!
Finally we wrapped up breakfast with a papillion which is a delicious pastry that has a custard lining on the inside. yum!
Can’t wait to come back!

A nice quiet French Bakery in the Rolling Hills plaza. L’Amande = almond, is used in their pasties and made fresh everyday. They do sell out their baked goods, so come early if you want it. Most pastries are made with traditional recipes. They also have a moderate selection of hot and cold beverages. I would recommend the Valencia, for you chocolate lovers.
I do still need to try and come here for breakfast. But so far, from ambience, the service, and the food… I’m impressed

A crispy pastry is the sign of the authenticity! Well, I just made it up LOL. But in my opinion, a good quality pastry has nice crispy crests but still keeps moisture in it. That’s what you get here. If you want to get some coffee and sweets around South Bay Torrance /​PV area, this place could your choice.
Warning !! — Don’t take a word for how authentic it is. I am not a master of French bakery.
Food: they have nice pastries. I love their buns. First I thought it was a cinnamon roll. But it was actually a roll. I had a run with blueberries and ram raisins. It is pretty good here. And you can see they are actually making their pastries back of the café thanks to its open bakery.
I didn’t know but they also have salads other morning dishes, so you can come here for breakfast as well. They are not cheap pastry, but not expensive neither (If you think about paying starbucks’ over priced pastries. You know what I mean…)
Atmosphere: clean and modern design. It is up to you if you feel comfortable or not. I like more made-​made and earthy design instead of cool and modern design. But it is just me.
Service: friendly and fast service.
Parking: this place is located next to trader joes and whole foods. Even though they have plenty of spaces. They could be filled up quickly.

After I had a bite of the pistachio croissant, I couldn’t put it down. It was literally the best croissant I ever had so far. I had some good ones when I traveled to New York, but I think the pistachio croissant is the best without doubt.
I also got the salted caramel chocolate almond pie and it was very very scrumptious. A little too sweet even for my sweet tooth but bearable.
Two cons: limited indoor seating & more pricy than what you pay for a regular croissant (but you won’t regret buying it!)

Decided to go here for a Sunday brunch one morning. We came at around noon, the place was not very crowded which is a big plus for a super starving girl.
You order what you want and then you self seat inside or outdoor. It was really nice to have option to sit outdoor, they have umbrellas for shades.
Ordering was a breeze, and we waited about 15mins or so for our food to be delivered to our table.
Here’s what we ordered:
— mushroom ham quiche: this was their special of the day. Portion is not too big, just enough for one person. It’s nothing super impressive, the edges are kinda dry.
— croque young man: SO SO GOOD! Their bread is amazing. It’s very soft bread but crunchy and cheesy, which makes it a very tasty combination. Bacon on top, omelet, and mozzarella cheese inside. Comes with the salad, very well tossed.
— feta spinach croissant: this was also quite good, just pales in comparison with the croque. It’s a bit dry, very flakey. Perfect for a lighter breakfast.
— orange Valencia chocolate: very good! Not too sweet or bitter or too thick. Strong orange taste, perfect ratio of milk and chocolate.
— lemon tart: delicious and sour, it’s a good way to end the meal. I just wished the
crust was a bit crispier.
Overall a very pleasant experience. Will be back again for sure