french pantry

this place has some of the best food in jacksonville hands down. if you consider yourself a foodie, you have to check this place out.freshingredients,freshbread, and off the chart flavor. be prepared to wait and trust me it will be worth it. the desserts are huge and beyond awesome. the napoleon is the best i've ever had. check it out!!!

as good as we expected. great lunch. we've been waiting to go for a while and we were impressed. shrimp po boy was superb, excellent flavor combinations. bruschetta was delicious. napoleon for dessert was superb. we will be back.freshbread makes all the difference.

ate lunch here today -french dip w caesar salad and brown butter cake. the sandwich was good to very good. most of the flavor was in the dressing. the beef was moist, tender and ample. it wasn't huge, but adequate. the bread served on was good -had a nice crust, but not very flavorful. the salad was good and fresh, but had little flavor. the asiago roll served w was very good -nice texture and flavorful. the cake was topped with very goodfreshstrawberries and a very goodfreshstrawberry puree to cover it with. the top layer was full of blueberries. they were good, but not very flavorful. perhaps they werefreshwhich this time of year usually have little. the crust was excellent. for $23 plus drink it was pricey. overall, most all they have are sandwiches which is easy enough to make at home so i probably wont be back. i can do better at home. 3.2 stars.
i did take a danish home which proved to be excellent -great pastry dough had terrific texture and wonderful flavor. that was the clear best item i tried. since they do have a separate register/counter for take outs there's no need to wait in line with those who dine in. i may stop in when nearby to get another to go. on a return i will skip the meal and head straight for their danish. it's a gem. that i will be back for and highly recommend.

very delicious food withfreshingredients and large portions. i love that you order your food before being seated, that way it's being made while you wait for a table. so even though they are always busy the wait isn't as bad as it looks.

there is not a better place in jacksonville than french pantry. only open for lunch, you have to get there early because once they are out, they don't make any more. it is walk up and order with a slew of breads and desserts you can also get to take home. the goat cheese rolls are phenomenal. all meals start withfreshbread and olive oil. i went with the shrimp and goat cheese bruschetta. we also couldn't resist the strawberry napolean. if you haven't been you must go. they also just recently bought edgewood bakery so i am anxiously awaiting the new location!

i wish i could eat here every day. seriously great food, simple but so well executed! we got there at 10:30 (they open at 11) and there was already a small line that got longer quickly. they opened the doors a few minutes early and the order taker worked quickly, so by 11 we had already ordered at the counter and sat down. there were 2 women delivering food, so it didn't even take 5 minutes to get our drinks and desserts. yes, they apparently follow the "life is short" motto and brought desserts first. i saw some people put them to the side in favor of thefreshbread also delivered to the table, but i couldn't wait and dug into the heavenly tiramisu. rich cake, light topping, a noticeable hit of alcohol that kept me on my toes (and happy i was going to have time to metabolize it). my companion had the vanilla cheesecake, which was apparently also a winner, but didn't interest me enough to try some. our sandwiches showed up quickly, and we're also delicious. how can they make a simple french dip taste so much better than other places? all in all it was wonderful, although i can understand the complaints about the wait- the line continued to be out the door the whole time we were there. i've heard that the owner doesn't want to expand because the quality would suffer, so i'm willing to put up with it for the fantastic food they're putting out.


-----17 apr, 2015-----

tiramisu. this was so good it was almost sexual


-----17 apr, 2015-----

the parisienne french dip. so delicious!!!

jacksonvilles best kept secret. every time i drove past here while making deliveries i noticed a line out the door everyday before 11 a.m. i was always curious as to what people were standing in line for so curiosity got the best of me and i decided to be nosey and find out. i quickly realized that it was a small quaint restaurant. they seat you with other people at tables. but the food and desserts are definitely worth the wait. i've had sandwiches both times i visited this gem. they were both very tasty. i'd love to try a salad but i'm not big on field greens. this restaurant is afreshconcept and you can really tell they take pride in what they sell. definitely quality food is what seperates them from corporate owned restaurants. can't wait to bring my mom here to try you out as she is quite the picky eater. i'm sure she'll get one of the bruschetta plates and fall in love at first bite!


-----14 apr, 2015-----

french dip. sliced beef with cheese on baguette served with warm au jus...

best place in jax. from the bread to the sandwiches and even dessert everything isfreshamazing a home made. wish it was open on saturdays every time ive been there i had the best service they are always busy so dont exspect to have them waiting hand and foot on just you


-----08 sep, 2014-----

my favorite. this place is the best place to eat my favorite restaurant so nice

roast beef sandwiches are the best i have every eaten, the herb rolls with goat cheese are fantastic, any of the desserts. all the food isfreshand delicious

this hidden gem is worth the wait!. this is hands down one of my favorite restaurants in jacksonville. i learned of it from a friend of a friend (a self-proclaimed 'foodie') and i had to check it out. they're only open on week days for a few hours during lunch. the place is so nondescript that we drove by it and were confused by our gps telling us that we had arrived. the signage only consists of a green awning with the words 'french pantry' on it. we had to park around back because the small front lot was full and the line was out the door. there was a decent wait to order, but it was absolutely worth it.

while you're waiting in line, take the time to go over the menu board that's outside. there was also one posted on the door and a menu board right inside the front door. with so many phenomenal menu items to choose from, i had a difficult time deciding. i ended up ordering the portebella panini (yum) and my boyfriend and i split a piece of wedding cake. the inside is small, but quaint. you will be most likely be seated at a table with people you don't know, but it just adds to the charm. the staff isn't overly talkative, but they are super busy and they answered any questions we had about the pastries politely. they serve complimentaryfreshbread with eat meal. i knew when i tasted the bread that my main course was going to be outstanding! the panini was excellent - i loved the portabella/cheese pairing (i can't remember the type of cheese it was). onto the monstrous slice of wedding cake ... i was skeptical as i really don't like cake. this took me by surprise - it's more of a shortcake? it's very light and the cream cheese icing is perfect, not overly sweet. the slice is served with a strawberry drizzle. their strawberry, cake, icing is a winning combination.

i would highly recommend the french pantry - although it's worth every second of the wait, just be sure you have the time.

  french pantry is a teeny tiny sandwich place that only has about 10 tables. they are only open for lunch monday through friday from 11am to 2:15pm, and you better get there early! the line usually starts forming outside around 10:30am. every. day. it’s that good. now i know you are wondering how a sandwich place can be that good. reason number one? the bread.   they make all of their breadfreshdaily. it’s so good that many jacksonville chefs buy it to use in their own restaurants! when you get a table (which is family style, so make some new friends!) you are given complimentary bread with oil and spices. i know it’s hard, but you must pace yourself! don’t fill up on bread; remember that the good stuff is coming next!   favorite menu items: turkey bacon swiss guacamole sandwich pastrami on rye   dining tips: get there early! i am not exaggerating! i got there around 11 one time and stood outside for 45 minutes. yeah i know that sounds crazy. but once you have invested so much time,

absolutely delicious! just the bread the sandwiches come on is worth the wait. last trip, i had the hot italian. the combinations of meat, bread, cheese and mustard (a grainy mustard) really put the italian sandwich over the mark for me.
my friend and i shared chocolate cake and cheesecake, both topped withfreshstrawberries and accompanied with a strawberry sauce. her cheesecake had this thick, graham cracker crust yummy. mine had a thick layer of chocolate fudge icing.
we also split the truffle fries. we both agreed that the sauce that comes with it is up there with peruvian and shrimp sauce lol one of our new favorites.

french pantry is definitely a treat. you definitely have to plan this trip out and get there early. or, later. i am hopeful they will expand some day, but until then, we roll in early or not at all.

amazing food...but. only open on the weekdays and if you are not there by 10:30...the lines out the door. i dont undertstand why they dont get a bigger place. i dont want to have to take the whole day off of work just to eat there..i would eat there more often. and only one cashier for the whole restaurant???? really! the best desserts madefreshdaily and the breads are to die for!!

pastry heaven!. this place takes a lot of planning to visit. the hours are a bit weird, and plan on getting there early if you want to get in at all. i've arrived 15 minutes before opening, and there was already a line 20 people deep outside (not including those they let in early, because it was a cold morning, which i found very considerate). the food is pricey, but worth it! i always have a bruschetta of some sort, and a pastry and devour it there. i also take a pastry home for later, and always a baguette.freshbread, oil and balsamic are brought to your table with your meal, regardless of what you get. the seating area is small, and almost everytime i've been there i've had to share a table with a few other parties, but that just adds to the intimate feel of the place. if you are in to amazing pastry and very good food, try this place!

go early! loved it. finally had some time to make the pilgrimage to what is commonly referred to as having the best sandwiches in town. i arrived around 10:45am to a mostly empty restaurant, so i had plenty of time to chat up the employees about what items are most popular and all that.

taking my time, i ordered the shrimp po'boy and a blueberry cheese tart. while waiting for my food, the line of patrons appeared from out of thin air...even on a rainy, late monday morning. i was in and out within 15 minutes, and the food was amazing. po'boy was flavored to perfection, toppingsfreshand crisp, and the bread was delicious. the tart was not overly sweet withfreshblueberries and a flavorful crust. in short, i will definitely come here for lunch again provided i can make it over before 11am.