Boulangerie Patisserie
Epcot
Dinner
Date of Visit: 9/29/2007
Time of Visit: 18:35
Adults in Party: 2
Children in Party: 1
Total Cost: $20.60
Average Price Per Adult: $8.30
Ten Point Scale
Food: 9.3
Value: 10.0
Service: 8.5
Environment: 7.5
Overall Rating: 8.8
Squeezed into a corner of the France pavilion, the Boulangerie Patisserie mascarades as a simple shop, or at most a snack stand. Often it sports lines out the window. A passer-by might be forgiven for thinking people are coming here only for a dessert or perhaps a single croissant, because most folks are. Yet it's entirely possible to assemble multiple items here into a meal, particularly since there are a couple sandwiches on the menu.

We found the turkey sandwich ($5.50) reasonably priced, since it was quite enormous, and of course baked on fresh wheat bread. The meat itself was thinly sliced and very tasty. There was nothing else on the sandwich, though mustard and mayonnaise packets nearby were all we needed. The real surprise and a gem at Epcot was the ham and cheese croissant ($3.25), astoundingly priced low and offering almost a full-sized sandwich experience. Best of all, it had marvelous flavor. Everything was fresh. Sprinkled atop was a layer of cream cheese and parmesan shavings, an extra step they could easily have eschewed, but which made the sandwich taste great. For this item alone, we'll be back.

We otherwise split up a couple desserts in the form of a lemon tart ($3.20) and crème brulee ($3.50). The crème brulee was served cold, and was a perfectly functional dessert with no problems, but it was also not remarkable. The lemon tart offered real lemon flavor with only sweetness, and the healthy portion of meringe on top was welcome. It was also fairly large as a dessert. Lastly, we had a chocolate croissant ($2.85), which was authentic to the Continental experience, meaning it was freshly baked and not overly sweet, but just sweet enough. Overall, it was easily enough food for two adults and a pre-schooler.

The serving lines, of which there are two inside, move slowly. This is not due to any fault of the workers, but to the guests themselves, some of who don't make up their minds quickly until they see the food. Acoustics may not be the best here. We ordered two drinks but only got one (of course, we were only charged for one).

The major downside to making a meal out of breads, croissants, and pastries is that there are few tables to do this at. Should it not be raining, your choices are expanded to several outdoor ones, but if it is raining, ducking inside the nearby shop to find tables will probably only yield tables with people already sitting at them. We made do by sitting on the ground in a corner. It was better than getting wet, but a far cry from anything ideal.