Paris Baguette Cafe

Interior view of Paris Baguette CafeHere’s another in our mini-series of recently opened Buford Highway eateries. Paris Baguette, sort of like Quickly is actually a huge international company that started in Asia and is just creeping into the US. Known by some as “the Starbucks of Korea,” there seem to be nearly 3,000 locations in Korea alone, and up to another 500 throughout the rest of Asia. Here’s a great link about a Paris Baguette in Seoul.

In the States, the company is known as Paris Baguette Cafe. There are a bunch in California, a decent number in New York/New Jersey, and one location each in Pennsylvania and Georgia – well, two now. I think the one in Duluth may have come first, since this one is so new, and the website doesn’t yet acknowledge there being two in Georgia.

An abstract photo of the ceiling and inside. And us :)

An abstract photo of the ceiling and inside. And us 🙂

Baked goods at Paris BaguetteTongs and traysThe inside looks pretty nice, just as nice as Sweet Hut or Mozart. Clearly, this chain is a french concept for the commonly seen asian bakery. This must seem pretty exotic in asia, huh? Even here, too, because the aesthetic is carried so far that the employees wear black berets and striped shirts! It’s really something, but I don’t have a photo for you, because I was too shy to ask if I could take one.

As is typical with the higher-end kind of these kind of joints, we grabbed a tray and tongs, and wandered around, all agog over our variety of choice. Eventually, we settled on a raspberry cream cheese pastry, custard-filled tube thing, and a savory cheese ball thing. Sorry, not everything is listed on their extensive online menu.

Our Paris  Baguette pastries

Our Paris Baguette pastries.

Yogurt frappes

Yogurt frappes.

Paris Baguette espresso

Espresso in its sweet little cup!

Coffee frappeAdam and I each also had a frappe – he got kiwi, I got strawberry. These were good, but they didn’t blow us away, and they weren’t as cheap as Quickly.

Ash and Steve got an espresso, coffee frappe, and some assorted pastries. Ashley says: “The frappes were about the same as those at Sweet Hut, but the milk teas and other teas were significantly more expensive (around $4.25 at Paris Baguette compared with around $2.50 at Sweet Hut and Quickly). The pastries all seemed to be more in the $2-$2.50 range (with Sweet Hut being more $1.50-$2).

I think they are nice for trying to go for something more sophisticated with their pastry options, unfortunately Stephen and I both observed that our different flavors of pastries overwhelmingly tasted of butter with only a hint of the advertised flavors. They did have some conscience-friendly options with free-range eggs and gluten-free options, but I just don’t see it as worth it. I think I would more readily go to Sweet Hut, Quickly, or Milano for my various Asian cafe related needs. Maybe they just tried too hard for my taste. Overall, 3 stars.”

Cocoa powdery flaky cake-y thing

Cocoa powdery flaky cake-y thing…

There were plenty of other amazing things that we could not try, due to the sheer volume of what was available and our somewhat limited stomachs and wallets. The cakes in particular look super-amazing.

Green Tea Chiffon cake

Green Tea Chiffon cake… oh my.

Other delicious things at Paris Baguette

Other delicious things.

This little niche of the market is super-saturated, so let’s see where Paris Baguette Cafe fits in to the scene… Not quite as good as Sweet Hut, but probably the closest so far for vibe and variety of items and – as Ashley pointed out – the prices are not quite as good either. About the same as Mozart in terms of atmosphere and variety of pastries. Overall, certainly a better experience than Honey Bits, Master Bakery, Oriental Bakery, or Kung Fu Tea. So, above average. 3.5 stars.

Paris Baguette
5252 Buford Highway NE
Doraville, GA 30340

Paris Baguette on Urbanspoon

emily

Nerd. Foodie. Gamer. Homecook. Perpetual planner. Gardener. Aspiring homesteader. Direct response graphic designer. I use too many damn commas.

8 thoughts on “Paris Baguette Cafe”

  1. Oh my goodness, E! That looks delicious! I was green with envy when I was back in the States and trying all the Asian pastry shops — it’s not something that’s reached Scotland or most of England. Though I have to say the croissants you can buy at our local Sainsbury’s are way better than anything from Alons — so maybe I’m just being a spoiled European brat?
    Even though Paris Baguette Cafe is more expensive than Quickly or SweetHut I think I would still go just for the server outfits. I love a good stripe and beret!

    • Next time you’re around, I’ll happily take you, L!

    • Oh no, I must have missed them. Are they good? The one I had from Star Provisions was very underwhelming.

    • Oh, those do look tasty! I’ll have to swing by and pick one up.

  2. This is one of our favorite places for Sunday morning pastries and coffee. We really like the cronuts — they have a really nice citrusy, creamy flavor. But they don’t often have them out when we come early. I’m a big fan of the pain au chocolat here (although I’d probably like chocolate+pastry from just about anywhere). They also do some delicious fruit-filled pastries, like the strawberries and creme croissants.

    We’ve lived in the “California Modern” Northcrest neighborhood for 10 years and have been enjoying our own Buford Highway expedition in that time. We just found your blog, and I’m excited to see that many of your favorites are new to us. We’ll definitely be checking those out. Thanks for sharing your adventures!

    • Hi Scott and welcome! Thanks so much for visiting and for your kind comment. (I absolutely adore your neighborhood by the way – that is my favorite style/era of architecture. Just great.)

      I hope you find the stuff here on the blog useful in your adventures, and if you can any experiences contrary to what we’ve seen please feel free to leave a comment on the appropriate post so people are aware!

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