After the heads up from reader Tearitup, I decided to take Kim and my parents out to brunch at Pardon My French Bakery and Wine Bar which is located in the Thomas Lake Center between Pilot Knob and Johnny Cake Ridge Road.
We pulled into the parking lot and it seemed crowded for 8:30 AM on a Saturday. My parents were concerned that we’d have to wait once we went inside. Thankfully the space is absolutely gigantic, way more than they will ever need, and there was no waiting. While my wife and parents looked over the options available in the display cases I took some pictures of the interior. The place was decorated like many bakery/cafe’s with a fireplace in the middle, a lot of tables, and a counter ordering format. This place, as I said above, is entirely too large and the area behind the counter is so large it reminds me almost of a cafeteria. For some reason it didn’t have the busy, yet comfortable, feel that so many of its cousin restaurants do.
I joined my family at the display cases and looked over the options. Most of what they offered for breakfast were too dessert like with pastries, tarts, cakes, etc. I gravitated towards their quiche and sandwich selections and ended up choosing their Asparagus, Tomato, Chicken Quiche (quiche are two for one) and a mushroom for Kim. They are priced at $6.50 and while that would have been astronomical for one it seemed reasonable for two. In addition to the quiche I also picked up a Prosciutto Déjà Vu sandwich which is described as a buttered poppy seed baguette with prosciutto, swiss cheese, tomato and lettuce also for $6.50. My father ordered their Versailles Croissant which is ham and swiss on a croissant with Dijon mustard, hard boiled egg, tomato and lettuce for $6.50. My mother nabbed another mushroom quiche and we had her get a Quiches Lorraine as well. Our total, after they had to add my father’s sandwich which they forgot, came to just over $31.
The food took a long time to come back to us even though it was already prepared. Instead of delivering it all at once to the table they heated the pastries up in the microwave and brought those out first along with the quiche. We dug into those first and then after that our sandwiches came out, we realized one was missing, and we got that straightened out before digging in to the rest. The asparagus, tomato, and chicken quiche was excellent. I really enjoyed it and found it to be quite enjoyable for $3.25. The mushroom was nearly tasteless and while the Lorraine was acceptable, I would only recommend that you stick to the chicken, asparagus, and tomato quiche if that’s what you’re into. The sandwiches were just “eh”. I wasn’t impressed at all with the Swiss cheese as it seriously looked like processed Kraft singles and the sandwich really didn’t do anything to make me say, “YAY, I am so into this.” The pastries were ok but nothing that I would suggest that you go out of your way for. Honestly, they weren’t anything above and beyond what’s available at Panera and if one of their locations are closer, just drive there as you’ll probably pay less and be more pleased with the result. The sandwiches and quiche came with a choice of side salad or crudité, neither of which are appropriate for breakfast or even brunch items. I could see ordering them with the sandwiches but they really ought to offer a few more options if they expect those options to be successful.
The staff behind the counter were helpful and seemed at least somewhat knowledgeable about the various options they were offering even with it being so close to the opening date. While they didn’t do everything perfectly they did a decent enough job for me to tip 20%. I wished that there had been a better ordering and serving format but perhaps that will change in the near future.
Honestly, this place is a flash in the pan. There was nothing exciting about the options we ordered today and there’s nothing there that would make me want to return anytime in the future especially when I could probably make the sandwiches or buy the pastries and quiche at any number of other restaurants or grocery stores and be just as pleased with the taste. While I realize that Pardon My French has only been open for a short time (the woman at the counter said they opened “last Tuesday” but I’m not sure if that means this week or the week before) but they certainly didn’t come out of the gate with anything other than yet another mediocre South Metro restaurant that probably won’t be around much after the New Year.
If you have eaten at Pardon My French Bakery and Wine Bar located in Eagan, please let us know what you thought — we’d love to hear your opinion.
Address:
Pardon My French
1565 Cliff Road,
Thomas Lake Center
Eagan, MN 55122
Phone:
651-454-2233
Hours:
Monday – Thursday 6 AM to 8 PM
Friday – Sunday 6 AM to 10 PM
See all pictures from Pardon My French on Flickr here (camera).