Paul

One of two Le Café de Paul locations within a couple blocks of one another in Marylebone, this café was the second one to open in all of London and has been here for thirty years now. The front of the store lures you in with the most incredible pastry and sandwich display. We went to the back, however, and enjoyed a sit down breakfast. The café is quite small with only one booth in the very back and otherwise comprised of small tables for two. The décor is very nice and people will think nothing of sitting back with a book or waiting to meet up with someone, so table turnover can be quite slow.
Nevertheless I’m glad we were patient and waited for a table to open up because breakfast and the service was very good. I wanted to try one of those amazing pastries but was too full after my order of eggs Benedict to try one.

I’ve had a few experiences with this location, most recently with my travelling companions for a sit down breakfast. We had a somewhat bad experience. Two of the three of us had our orders messed up. That being said, the bakery items are always excellent. I’d say the service staff isn’t entirely competent, which makes the sit down experience a definite pass.
On this most recent breakfast experience, our drink orders were messed up when one of the coffees was brought out with watery skim milk instead of regular whole milk. Our waitress then messed up my friend’s poached egg order by bringing it on white toast instead of wheat. The waitress then offered for my friend to eat her meal without the toast while the kitchen toasted the correct bread. The waitress was quite rude about the mishaps, and my friend opted to switch her order to a bakery item to conserve time and eat her food with us. She really enjoyed the ham sandwich that she switched out the poached egg dish for. Me and my other dining companion ordered the same chèvre and leek sandwich and both enjoyed it. The chèvre was strong and paired with an olive tapenade spread. It totally hit the spot.
I ordered a piece of the tomato and pesto pizza to go so that I could have it in the park later. Unfortunately, I did not check the package before I left and was very disappointed when I found myself with a piece of ham and tomato pizza when I was all set to enjoy my picnic.
Hit or miss. I’d say speak slowly, check your items before leaving, and pass on the sit down experience. If you stick to the take out you should be ok.

I used to eat breakfast here every morning but because its a fairly open area and the bloody door doesn’t self close, it was almost as cold as the glare I gave to whichever unsuspecting customer was last to leave the door open.
For the price, it’s a decent breakfast. Reconstituted mushroom so I’d avoid them, I usually for for a couple of fried eggs. I know, crazy. Sometimes you just gotta live and see what happens.
As far as the bakery goes, fairly yum. Cakes are superb and anyone who knows me is aware of my incessant sweet tooth! The only problem is most of their sandwiches contain pork, more variety please!
Cute place, decent food, disgusting toilets.

I huge fan of the luxury hot chocolate here. Its about 2.55 for the small and 2.70 for the medium. For the small price difference the size difference is quite significant so I always go for the medium. Since its quite close to where i live so i definitely go there about once a week to pay homage :)
The only other thing I have sampled as far as pastries go is the lemon tart which I thought was delicious. I have always gone for the take away option so I am not sure how great the table service is. I think they offer quality stuff so I would highly recommend a visit here.

Our hotel was right across the street from Marylebone Station, so we hit up this Paul a few different times during our stay. It was convenient, with friendly employees who were even cheerful about making change for a tube machine. There were extra charges for eating in, so we always took out.
The food was fair, and probably a little bit better than you’d get at a Pret or other like places. I like that some of their sandwiches do not have mayonnaise. I tried baguettes with salami, gherkins, and butter, and ham, cheese, and butter. Both were fine, though I noticed they were cold when we got them and tasted better after a few hours. Croissants and pain au chocolat were tasty and filled with butter. They were also affordable, and available as minis. The only things I would avoid at Paul are the macarons. I got a raspberry macaron and it was horrible. It was bready with muddled flavor, and I couldn’t even finish it.
It seems that most major tube stations are equipped with some sort of eatery, and I would imagine Paul is better than average. It was a useful stop for us, and despite the awful macaron, I rather like the place.

This is one of two Bakeries on Marylebone High Street.
Of the two this is the nicer sit down experience. This has a very calm atmosphere and is the kind of place you can take your paper, buy your cake and eat it in peace.
The staff are nice and quite diligent. The cakes look delicious and the ones I have tasted have been nice.

This is yet another installment of the Paul French Bakery franchise, but unlike many with just a counter, this shop has a full restaurant that feels a little bit like a something out of an old hunting lodge. The room is paneled with dark wood and the furniture is heavy leather and dark green. It’s a cozy little find along Marylebone high street that you wouldn’t notice unless you ducked inside of Paul for a croissant first.
I find the service at this branch to be better than others for some reason. The staff is really friendly — they greet every person who walks through the door multiple times with a cheerful «hello, bonjour!» and on occasion they will make my favourite sandwich for me if they happen to have run out. I still think it’s one of the better places to buy a baguette, particularly as they bake fresh batches several times a day and get rid of the bread once it’s more than a couple of hours old. It’s as close to Paris as you’ll get in London.