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. fresh ingredients, fresh bread, and off the chart flavor. be prepared towaitand 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!!!

the food is really, really good. thewaitis terrible and it's, just different. having said all of this it is probably best to get the food as take out as there is not a lot of room to sit. i would go here only if you are not in a rush. again the food is great but just make sure you have enough time.

best kept secret in jacksonville! french pantry never disappoints. be sure to get there around 11:00 am or after 1:15 if you don’t want towaitin long lines.

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 good fresh strawberries and a very good fresh strawberry puree to cover it with. the top layer was full of blueberries. they were good, but not very flavorful. perhaps they were fresh which 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 towaitin 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 with fresh ingredients and large portions. i love that you order your food before being seated, that way it's being made while youwaitfor a table. so even though they are always busy thewaitisn't as bad as it looks.

some of the best food in all of north east florida. you willwaitin line for this amazing experience. nothing you order will disappoint! you may also be seated with friendly strangers of good company as seating is first come first serve on rotation. be polite, be patient and you will find the experience nothing less than magical in any respect.

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 the fresh bread also delivered to the table, but i couldn'twaitand 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 a fresh concept and you can really tell they take pride in what they sell. definitely quality food is what seperates them from corporate owned restaurants. can'twaitto 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...

bad service. from what i have had, the food is good but is it worth having towaitin line and have horrible service? worse yet, my dealings on the phone to try to order a cake were horrific. so many better places to try with less hassle.

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 decentwaitto 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 complimentary fresh bread 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.

worth thewaitbut the place is so small. i've attempted to eat here numerous times but never could eat because of the longwait& i was short on time. wish you would expand! great concept, food & pastries are delicious!

one of the best hidden gems in jacksonville!. this place never disappoints- everything from the warm bread they bring out when you sit down to the amazing desserts makes the longwaitworth it. i would definitely recommend getting there early. or go when it's rainy.

we finally went!!. the reviews are quite accurate. thewaitwas a good ten minutes. we arrived there at 1:15 and there was still a line. we were fortunate to get a table and we sat next to three wonderfully kind women. the food was fresh and amazing!! because i didn't know what to order, i asked the cashier lady to give e her most popular sandwiches. we were extremely impressed! we were able to pray and fellowship with them as well!!!

god is so good!! :)

what a surpise!. not a traditional looking restaurant from the outside, i would have missed it, if not for my daughter. long wait, parking issues but worth the effort. my bruschetta was excellent and the serving was large enough to share. could not eat desert then but took it home and the italin wedding cake was the best i have eaten. can'twaitto try some of the other entree and desert items. i will definitely eat here again and bring my friends.

love the food, hate the wait.... i finally took the plunge and dedicated my lunch hour to seeing if this place really lives up to the hype, and i've gotta say, nothing about this place is over-hyped, either the food or the wait! first off, don't even bother unless you have at least a full hour for lunch, and even then, you may end up having to take it back to work and eat it at your desk like i did! i got there a few minutes before noon, and it took a full 48 minutes of standing in line to finally get my order. as the tables had long since filled up, and my lunch break was nearly over, i had to take my shrimp po boy and tiramisu back to work with me.

having grown up on the gulf coast, in and around new orleans, i know a good shrimp po boy when i try one, and this one definitely qualifies! a different take on french bread from what i'm used to over there, but a very delicious one, nonetheless. the shrimp were huge and perfectly cooked, and the salad greens and tomatoes that "dressed" the sandwich were delicious and very fresh. it's been many years since i've had a "po boy" that lives up to my memory of the term, but this one absolutely makes the cut!

their baked goods looked and smelled amazing, and the dessert yummies are not to be missed. i had to try the tiramisu, and it is already on a very short list of the best ones i've ever had - de-licious!

the only problem is that, at least with the job i have now, thewaitis just too prohibitive and it will be a very rare occasion when i can go back and experience it again. they're obviously doing very good business, and i truly feel that they could be an even bigger success if they'd just move to a bigger location and increase their serving capacity, and that the quality of their product would not have to suffer for it. i dunno, the whole "exclusivity"/"earn the right" thing gives the place a bit of a soup nazi air to it, and you're completely screwed if it rains, so bear all that in mind before you try the french pantry, but also count on one of the better meals you can get in this town, something that makes thewaitmuch more worth the while.