Le Pain Quotidien – Spring Valley

Three of us stopped in this place after attending a funeral mass at a nearby church for a light bite to eat. It was a Thursday at noon and the place wasn’t busy The bill was $ 35 and my husband left a measly $ 5 tip because the food was average and the server was snippy with us because we weren’t ready when she asked us if we wanted to order.
Next day, the credit card alerted us to this charge pointing out that a $ 15 tip on a $ 35 bill was out of keeping with our tipping profile. Obviously, someone in there had added a «1» to the «5» to make the $ 5 tip a $ 15 tip and changed the total. I was appalled. I am appalled. Capital One has fixed it but really… who has the nerve to do this. It’s illegal for goodness sake.

This is our go to place whenever we are in Spring Valley. The staff is warm and had strong menu knowledge. The atmosphere is open and full of sunlight.
The menu is full of fresh ingredients, prepared simply. I loved the goat cheese and butternut squash quiche. It was a great combination of flavors. Our 5 year old is always able to find something of the well thought out children’s menu.
Take home a fresh-​baked loaf of bread, some amazing desserts or even some of their condiments. Yummy!

The place is clean hip. Staff efficienct and courteous. They appear to work as a great not too happy about 13 dollars for a salmon aka tartine sandwich

Terrible service, waited 15 mins no one came to take order or even giving me menu so I left to he other side of the road to try Thai food! I’m sorry but you failed, just a fancy look and so called organic food!

I was waiting for an appointment, so I walked in for a late lunch. The place was really clean and inviting. As soon as I found a seat, the server, Chelsea, took my order.
I ordered a crispy quinoa cake and merlot. I adored the taste of the wine. The quinoa cake was delicious, but it was so small. Don’t get me wrong; this may be my new favorite dish. It is completely vegan although I added pesto. I’m not sure if the pesto is vegan but it is a great complement to the dish.
Overall, Chelsea knew the menu and was helpful, and I found a solid dish. I will definitely return!

When entering Le Pain, I thought to myself «wow, what a cute little French themed bakery». Feeling proud of myself as I brought a date here, I was pretty excited to get a nice cup of coffee and a pastry. Unfortunately, after I left, all I had to say was «meh».
Short review here: First batch of coffee came out cold. Not hot, not warm, but cold. Really. It can’t be that difficult to serve coffee, but hoe hum. We shared a small brownie after finding out they were out of blueberry muffins, and the brownie was decent. Would have been amazing if they warmed it for us, but we didn’t ask so I won’t hold it against them.
The second cup of coffee came out hot, but was pretty weak for my taste. Overall, it was nothing to write home about. I will probably be back to try out a meal item and give it another shot to see if it can beat its abysmal performance the first time.
For now, I’ll stick to starbucks a bit longer.

Fourth time dining there… and, not a charm!
Dined there, last evening. Combination of slow service (despite only a few patrons at 6:45pm), poor menu recommendation (chili was far too spicy) and, upon complaint, the replacement order was painstakingly slow and not what was ordered. No water refills and little service engagement.
Server was apologetic and told us that the chili recommendation was his fault that he would comp the replacement order. Not the case when the bill came…
Paid up, gone and not to return. Regrets.

My husband wanted to take me out for a bit of brunch today, so a quick walk and we were at Le Pain. Yay! Tartines and delicious coffee! It’s been a few months since I’ve been here, so I was interested to see how the service might have improved following my last review.
Wow.
Was I disappointed.
I asked that someone ask a family whose child was banging his legs against the bench to stop as it was making an uncomfortably loud and distracting noise. I asked to speak to a manager — explained the situation. Let him know we would need to cancel lunch and leave if it couldn’t be handled. He said he’d speak to them.
Imagine my surprise when the banging continued. I asked to speak to a manager again. A second manager came out, said the other manager had explained the situation but he couldn’t do anything because he didn’t want to upset the parents. I asked if he could at least speak to them because they were disturbing other patrons. He said he would not, thus making clear that I was somehow a less valued customer than others. Not sure how that works, but okay.
We asked for the check. I was asked what could be done by my server. I said no because other than asking that they make a request of another set of customers because they were being disruptive, all I wanted was the check. Our waiter replied rather snidely to that, then brought the check.
Apparently, disturbing a younger couple with no children takes back seat to making a simple and reasonable request of a disruptive group. And you know what’s crazy? We wouldn’t have cared if the kid was crying or yelling! It was the banging!
And to be clear: I’m NOT upset with the parents or child. My issue is with the customer service and the poor way my request was handled.
The OJ was very good as was my mocha. I’m sure the food would have been delicious as well.
Too bad the customer service experience was one of the worst I’ve ever had or read about at this place. So disappointing to be treated so poorly.

I love Le Pain. They have excellent coffee and food and what’s even more awesome is it is almost all organic so you can feel good about eating here. Servers are friendly. The place is cozy, a fireplace, but with extensive table space if you are looking for a place to get work done.

Great job Joseph! Your service is excellent and you went the extra mile to try to convert us away from Starbucks by bringing us a great cup of coffee prepared extra hot as LPQ often has luke warm coffee. Great job!

Went here on a whim and was not disappointed in the least! The mint lemonade was amazing. Had the chicken chorizo omelet with cheddar. Very tasty and light. I could have had more chorizo but it was very good. Also had the ham and cheese on a croissant which was very good as well. The coffee was fresh and very pleasant.
Not sure about the staff issues other people have had, we had a great experience. It was not very busy maybe that was key, but she was super nice and helpful.
Personally, I am not a fan of the one long table in the middle of the room. I prefer small tables for some privacy and space from other diners, maybe I am the weird one?
It can get noisy but it was not an issue for us. I will be back!
(The prices are quite high, but the food was worth it)

This LPQ is the most spacious that I have seen. The people are friendly and patient, but they take care of your order quickly. They can be chatty or quiet, and it depends on you.
There is plenty of outdoor seating here, so the local can enjoy a beverage on a sunny day. The location is convenient for parking or bicycling or bus, sort of.
The food is fresh but like all LPQ’s, the price could make you balk. Still, it’s the best café option in this part of Tenleytown!

Interesting menu, hard working servers. But very busy and slow at lunch, and incredibly NOISY!

I like the chain pretty much everywhere: the bread, the salads, the desserts, the space filled with light. Plus this restaurant is close to my house and that of my friends so a convenient place to meet for a quick lunch or coffee. And luckily during off-​meal hours the place is not too crowded so relatively quiet. Wifi does not work though.
The menu items are overpriced and the servings very small, but the food quality is quite good.
Unfortunately the service has consistently been a bummer: borderline unprofessional and slow, but I am afraid this plagues the whole chain. Once I asked a server (at another branch) not to come to ask us if we needed anything every ten minutes, because we were trying to have a conversation, and he said that his supervisor would punish him if he did not come. What kind of service training is that? Where do they get these ideas? Also, servers are scarce during the busy hours. I would expect for such a successful chain to be more aware of staffing for peak times.

Old, terrible coffee. I knew I should have gone to the gas station a couple of neighborhoods over.

I brought a job candidate here for breakfast on Tuesday morning. The waiter approaches the table. He seems to be aiming for a kind of cool, detached manner. He misses it by a mile. Instead it just comes off as weird, insecure, and rude. He gave us a lot of attitude when we ordered, as if our questions were dumb. He brought me regular coffee when I asked for decaf. I only figured that out later. I am highly sensitive to anything other than trace levels of caffeine, so this little mistake on his part made me sick and screwed up most of my work day. I asked him for sweetener for my coffee. He left to get it and never came back. The only positive aspects of my visit to Le Pain Quotidien were our seat near the window and the oatmeal with berries. The error in my coffee order made me physically ill, and the annoying, rude service was tough to take.
The manager of the restaurant ought to consider teaching the waitstaff that it is cool to be good at what you do. Save the attitude for the nightclub.

The Curse of Bagel City Cannot Be Broken (apparently):
I live in the neighborhood and have been desperately seeking a good food option from this space since back when it was the tragically dirty and disgusting Bagel City.
I was so excited that LPQ opened, because I truly enjoy the atmosphere, food and service in the other LPQs in town (I’ve been to the Bethesda and Georgetown branches many times). But for whatever reason, the service and the wait for food in this branch of the restaurant is absolutely inexcusable — in fact, I’ve run out of time and walked out of the place not once but twice. (Yes, shame on me for going back, but the extremely convenient location, free wifi, and lack of options nearby sometimes forces my hand.)
Every time I go, I hope that the massive problems will be fixed — but they never are.
The last time I came, it took a half hour for me to get water (and even then I had to ask). The waiters and waitresses seem to magically disappear for huge chunks of time, so even getting to ask someone for the basic service of water can take a considerable wait. It also took 36 minutes for my 6-​minute egg to arrive. (What did my egg spend the extra 30 minutes doing, I wonder? It felt like it had enough time to see at least some of the sights on the Mall…) Getting the bill has required me to get up from my table and seek my waiter, or any waiter, from where they are hiding.
Once the food arrives, it is generally high quality, though you pay a hefty price (over $ 5 for a lemonade, really?)
I hope something can be done to train the staff and improve whatever bugs are ni the system to add a half hour to every trip. Otherwise this place will stay open only because of desperate folks like me who have nowhere else to go in the neighborhood.

Loud and expensive – that’s the only way to describe this place. I was trying to kill time in the city before I picked my wife up from work and thought I stop here for lunch. On the plus side, they have free Wi-​Fi and electric sockets are available. On the down side, that place really isn’t worth the money.
First, when you think of a common table restaurant, it often brings to mind pictures of a quaint restaurant where strangers stop and socialize over a pastry, coffee, or a Belgian stew. They have the former two, I didn’t notice the last, and I know it isn’t quaint. While the tables are unfinished wood and the walls are painted tan, the ceiling is exposed and the ductwork is visible. This means that there is nothing to dampen the acoustics in the place. Thus, it seems as if two people could make it loud. A lunch crowd makes it almost unbearable. So as a writer it was very hard for me to work here.
Second, the food isn’t worth the price. I tried the scrambled egg and salmon tartine, and it was good. However, it wasn’t $ 12.50 good. The organic eggs were basically tasteless. (So much for organic food tasting better than industrial food.) While the salmon was tasty, it wasn’t special, and there wasn’t much of it. Luckily, it had a strong smoked flavor, which gave the tartine flavor. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have had any. The Belgian hot chocolate was good, but not something I would order again.
Finally, there is always the matter of parking in Spring Valley. You either park close and pay for a parking lot or a meter, or you park over in AU Park and walk. Neither is a bad option, but it adds time or money to your trip.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I tried this place, I just don’t think I’ll be back.

Pricey! That’s the one word I will use to describe Le Pain Quotidien. I’d tried LPQ before in LA and don’t believe the prices were as steep as at the DC locations.
I ordered a tartine. More specifically, I ordered the Prosciutto & Mozzarella di Bufala, which came with sun-​dried tomatoes and basil pesto. It was quite delicious, but not quite worth the amount I paid for it, and the basil sauce was quite oily and irritated my throat. The bread was also quite coarse and also a throat-​irritant.
The quality of the food is fine, but it’s just not worth the price and I have not eaten at Le Pain Quotidien in DC since that experience.

This restaurant is a nice addition to Spring Valley — much better than the predecessor, Bagel City.
Anyway, the feel of the place is very calming: lots of light colored wood. There are both small tables for groups of 2 to 4 but also large communal tables, which are comfy as long as the place isn’t too crowded.
The menu is great — basic with lots of options and lots of freshness. I had the Parmesan and pesto omelet, which I thought was creative (though perhaps a little small — how many eggs was it?). I also like the tofu salad.
The prices are nothing to write home about, but, hey, it’s Spring Valley, right?
Great for friends and families.