Hello everyone - I%26#39;ve been following this board for several months in anticipation of my upcoming trip to Paris. One of the favorite spots seems to be Laduree. I put it on my list of things %26#39;to do%26quot;. Well..... today I found the official Laduree web site and now I%26#39;m feeling a bit intimidated. I thought it was sort of a small place serving tea and pastries. The pictures on the web site were amazing. OH SO FANCY!!!and I must say a little expensive (6 euro for tea???). I%26#39;ll be traveling with my two boys (age 8 and 10). Are the wait staff just going to look at me like I%26#39;m crazy to walk in there and order tea and pastries!!! I promise we won%26#39;t wear our white tennis shoes, but even still I feel like we are not going to be welcome. I did notice they serve hot chocolate and milk shakes which my kids would love.... but I%26#39;m really having second thoughts about going there. Any words of encouragement would be appreciated.
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Of course you can go to Ladurée with your sons, they would love it and nobody would think you are crazy to go there with children !
I use to go sometimes in their shop rue Royale with a little girl of my family. The staff is really nice with children.
If you go there at 10.30 or 11 am, it%26#39;s not crowded and you%26#39;ll feal more comfortable. In my opinion, the rue Royale shop (the oldest one) is more intimitate than the new ones, especially if you go upstairs.
And you can also go to Le Nain Bleu, the most famous toys store of Paris. Tell your boys in advance that it%26#39;s only to see, not to buy anything ! (very expensive !)
Le Nain Bleu 408 rue du faubourg St Honoré
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It%26#39;s a high end place, Ladurée, and they%26#39;re used to tourists from all over the world. Dont%26#39; worry.
However, expect a hefty bill.
Usually, I just get some macarons there. I am not really longing for paying those prices, except for the macarons. Choose the small ones, to taste more flavours (called %26#39;gerbes%26#39;).
Skip dinner, if you have to, but I believe, Ladurée must be %26#39;done%26#39; at least once in your life. Go for it. Now!
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By all means go and enjoy yourself.... I%26#39;ll tell you a little secret!
I too was prepared with my best behavior, dressed as %26quot;ladies who lunch%26quot;... complete with scarf, full make up and traditional Parisian handbag, on a Saturday late afternoon just down from Place St. Madeline, expecting a delightful chic- froufrou lunch... and while I wouldn%26#39;t trade it for the world, it was the LEAST refined meal I had the entire trip!
Lord they do a bustling business there. I%26#39;m sure Saturday 4 pm is peak time for them. My Laudree %26quot;table cloth%26quot; was slapped down along with the cutlery, a%26#39;la truck stop dinner, and make no mistake I wasn%26#39;t just having tea, but the plate of smoked salmon along with wine, cafe and a macaroon!
Again, I repeat, worth every penny... and delicious, but nothing to be intimidated by even with kids!
And don%26#39;t skimp on the dessert.... I picked one of the plainer ones, and though SPECTACULAR tasting.... it sure looked sad and lonely all by itself on the plate with no garnish, for a few Euros more get an assortment!
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Hi mustseeparis,
If you are still intimidated by Laduree by
September 18, how about you, your boys,
my wife and I go there after our 4PM informal
gathering ? Let me know then.
Randy
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I think Laduree is elegant but not intimidating.
Prices are on the high side but so are most fancy places in Paris (or other big cities).
You can go and do take out. Just order at the counter and eat your macarons on a bench. That%26#39;s their specialty and you get a lot of 100 grams since they are very light.
I love the lime and basil ones.......
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Hey Randy --
How about pick me up on your way to Paris and I%26#39;ll go to Laduree%26#39; with you! Orrrrr, you could stop be Charleston on your way home and bring me a big ole bag of macarons! How%26#39;s that grab ya? If I only knew then what I know now, I woulda bought a lot more when we went there.
Mustsee, just be yourself. They don%26#39;t care about how you look or that you have your kids with you, they are in the business of making money. And you don%26#39;t make money by intimidating folks. Enjoy your trip and enjoy your macarons!!!!! Have one for me, please!
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Dear Mustseeparis:
I agree with the other posters. Laduree is one of my favorite haunts in Paris. I, too, like the one near the Place de la Madeline best, although I had a nice lunch at the one on the Champs Elysees, and was delighted to find one on the Left Bank. I do believe that Laduree has the best macaroons in the world. I would rate their hot chocolate second only to Angelina%26#39;s. Both hot chocolates are so rich that they need to be thinned by heaping spoonfuls of whipped cream!
Enjoy!
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Thanks everyone - I knew I could count on my TA friends to help me with this little anxiety. And thanks for your very kind offer Randy but I think we%26#39;ll be o.k. - I%26#39;m planning on doing Laduree on Monday as we do our CE walk. Now... convincing %26quot;reluctant%26quot; hubby to go to Laduree instead of McDonalds may take some effort :)
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I%26#39;ll tell you a little story about my first visit to La Duree that illustrates just how un intimidating they can be.
My daughter (17 at the time) and I went there mid afternoon and ordered two Pepsi%26#39;s and two pastries each. I had this book that had great pictures of each of the major patissieries in Paris featured.
In my pedestrian French I showed the photo of La Duree to the waitress and asked: c%26#39;est ici? and she shook her head no. We were in the Champs location and the photo was of the original location which explains the difficulty finding the grand staircase.
Well a few minutes after we sat down the hostess came by our table with a box of a dozen assorted macarons that we had not ordered. I waited for her to come back to retrieve them for their rightful owner but she never did.
As we were leaving I went up to her with the box and said that these were left on out table by mistake. She just smilled and said no, these were LaDuree%26#39;s gift to us.
As I remember, their kind gift was more than we had spent.
So, fancy yes, elegant yes, pretentious or intimidating not at all.
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Hi - I just had a pastry and iced tea at Laduree about two hours ago (the location on Rue Royale) for the first time. I too was intimidated, but I was willing to overcome the intimidation factor in order to sample the desserts.
It%26#39;s totally non-scary. The menu is in English and French, the waiters were very sweet, and I felt very comfortable sitting by myself.
The Rue Royale location was very small and quite pretty. I would say that it wasn%26#39;t quite the mysterious, romantic place I thought it might be and the room seemed to be split 50/50 between locals and tourists - but it was hard to tell. Anyway, don%26#39;t be scared at all.
And the pastry I ordered - called a %26quot;divin%26quot; - was absolutely delicious. The iced tea, which was about 8 dollars, was less exciting.
Have fun!
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