La Boulangerie

4600 Magazine St  New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 269-3777

If you’re looking for a place for Parisian style people-watching, this recently updated French bakery is the perfect spot.

Treat yourself to a chocolate croissant or a delicate pastry while watching the passers-by as they try to escape the rain. Take a table by the near floor-to-ceiling windows and immerse yourself in a captivating novel.

On Sundays, expect a crowd.  The bakery serves as an after-church staple in Uptown, and due to limited seating, you may find yourself waiting in a long line only to be taking your bakery loot home with you.  Trust me, when you see and smell that delightfully golden, flaky croissant, it won’t survive the car ride home.

Instead, take advantage of the hours when most of the city has clocked into their nine-to-five.  If you have the luxury of freedom on such mornings, you’ll be able to fully enjoy the atmosphere the way I imagine the owners intended at the bakery’s inception (they just happen to be from France, which adds dramatically to the authenticity of the bakery when you hear their accents echoing in the background).

If your mornings are spent locked away elsewhere, but you find you’re able to slip away for a brief lunch break, La Boulangerie is the ideal place for a light afternoon meal.  Be it a traditional French croque monsieur or another one of the bakery’s savory sandwiches, you won’t be disappointed.  Top off the afternoon with the latest addition: one of their indulgent flavors of gelato.

Finally, if you find you are only able to slip in for a brief moment after work, pick up a perfectly crusty baguette that will compliment any meal.  Every other loaf of bread will fall drastically short once you’ve crossed this line.  Go ahead and discard your Whole Foods bread card.  If you live in this neighborhood, you will probably want to make coming here a daily routine.

Helpful information:

The Bakery is closed on Tuesdays.  If you spend under $10, make sure you have cash as they bakery charges an extra 50 cents if you use a card.  Consider shopping for genuine local art as the walls of the bakery play host to a world of creativity for sale.