la voie francaise

i was so excited to find thisdeliciousfrench bakery earlier on this year but despite the amazing food and bakery, i was shocked how bad the coffee has become the last few weeks. i have noticed that there is a new girl working there now and i have given her a few chance to get it right but it just never got there. once i ordered a latte and i noticed she was about to use trim milk for my coffee which i never asked for! i'm so disappointed at the quality of coffee that it has become lately. i felt totally ripped off to pay for it. if the cafe is reading this review, please train the girl properly as she is really turning your customer away. (sorry it's nothing personal as she is a very nice young lady but has no idea how to make coffee!)

this is sooo good.. come here purely for the croque monsieurs with its cheese anddeliciousoozing white sauce but everything else is very good too .. prices are great considering the products they provide.. always make sure to get in early as it always sells out fast

literally everything we ordered was the mostdeliciousitems ever to have eaten from a bakery. the bread is sooo lovely- crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. omg the praline macaron! god it was to die for. the chocolate and coffee mouse cake the absolute best. absolutely divine. i went at 11am on a sunday and there were about 8 groups in the line in front of me. got in about 10-15min later and i could see there was food already sold out so i’m coming at opening time next time!

i have been trying their bread ever since they opened. i must say that i have yet to encounter a better bakery in all of auckland .

the pastries are crisp and flaky while the sandwiches combines theirdeliciousbread and fresh ingredients to create the optimum savoriness. i have tried all the sandwiches they offer; in my opinion the best sandwich they offer is the ham and cheese. in terms of pastry, the croissants are simply the best (chocolate, normal or almond, they are all equally delicious). the cravate they offer deserve an honorable mention since it contains the optimum combination of sweetness through the use of slightly bitter chocolate and brioche bread , however, the chocolate usually only cover 3/4 of the bread, resulting in 1/4 of the cravate being simply sweet bread (still, not too bad if eaten with coffee).

the bread they have on offer completely crushes all other bakery in all of auckland. whether is it the baguette, white loaf, brioche.etc, they are all of the highest quality. i particularly enjoy their baguette, which has a crunchy exterior and a chewy interior. it tastes so good that one could eat the whole stick by itself as a snack without needing any sauces or fillings.

all the desserts they offer are all sublime( eclairs, chocolate tarts, mousse slices, macrons .etc). one cannot go wrong with trying any of them, but in my opinion the chocolate tart surpasses all other desserts. the chocolate tart contains three pieces of meringue placed around a tower of sweet cream on top of it. when one bites into the tart,&; all of three components harmonize together to form a crunchy, silky, chocolaty, not-overbearingly-sweet flavor.

the coffee they offer is quite smooth anddeliciousas well, however, i am not an expert coffee drinker so i cannot really make any absolute judgement. i have to say that it does go well with their bread and dessert offerings.

in terms of interior design they have renovated quite a bit since first opening. their latest look prioritizes line efficiency, allowing people to reach the counter and ordering quickly(line could be 10 people long and in less than 3 minutes one could place their order). it is also quite beautiful and modern. note, i do not care too much about ambiance of a bakery as long as it looks welcoming and clean thus my opinion could potentially differ from others.

one of the most important factor influencing someone buying from a bakery is the price of the products. i am happy to state that this bakery is extremely fair priced, especially when the sheer quality of its products are so high. most pastries most go over $5, desserts usually well below $6 and sandwiches around $5.5. i usually buy 1 dessert/pastry, 1 sandwich and 1 small coffee and i pay around $10 each time. taking into account their high demand, they could have most likely increased the price of their products significantly but their price has not changed too much since opening (accounting for inflation).

overall thedeliciousproducts, low cost and modern ambiance pushes this bakery well above all others in auckland.

out of 100, 100.

the only place in auckland i know that sells clavate. chocolate and custard sandwiches brioche. i first ate them in nice and never thought i’d walk into one in nz.

you have to be quick if you want to get the best range, head there before 9 am, regardless of weekday or weekend.

the price is very reasonable, and although the sandwich seems small it’s very filling and satisfying. really good value for money is sausage inside sourdough pastry - has some mustard inside. it’s verydeliciousalthough quite cheap. good coffee too.

if they had seats to dine in, it would be amazing.

this place is so good i almost didn't want to write this review and just keep it to myself. everything isdeliciousbut the standouts for the me are the brioche (so light) and the canelles (perfect...crunchy outside and custardy in the middle)
the bread is excellent too.
they have a couple of tables where you can have a coffee and eat, and parking is generally fairly good with space directly outside

almost everything we try here is so yum, the best sandwiches are the salmon and tuna, the bread used for salmom is especially soft and yum. the eclaires aredeliciousand so are their macarons, our fave flavours are chocolate, lemon and berry. you must get there before 10,30 on the weekends to get something as they often run out. the coffee is a bit too strong for our taste, the staff could be a tad more polite ( as they often seem flustered and irritated) and i would suggest they figure out a better more organised way to get the order as it seems to happen at random.

la voie française is a badly kept secret. this wonderful french patisserie in the most unlikely of location (the quiet end of dominion road), has queues lining up for baker tetsuya namekawa’s breads, pastries, sandwiches and all manner of delectable baked treats. tetsuya trained in paris under the famed pierre herme (the undisputed king of macarons).

the team of bakers bake throughout the day as well, so there are fresh, warm baked goods coming out of the oven at different times of the day. these breads and pastries are served at some of the top restaurants (e.g. meredith’s, the grove, clooney) and cafes (e.g. the grassy knoll) in auckland.

their baguette is justifiably the best in auckland (and probably new zealand). i am addicted to their baguette rolls (5 for $3), which are a perfect portion for one. they are brilliant for dinner parties, and i buy them in lots of twenties for when guests come over. they reheat beautifully, and have the perfect crust with a fragrant chewy centre. i have converted several people; or rather i have ruined several guests’ ability to eat mediocre bread.

for a treat, i indulge in their croissant aux amandes (almond croissant). i could wax lyrical about the perfection of the flavour of the almond paste, crunch and buttery-ness… there is also a selection of pastel-coloured macarons ($1.70 each) in flavours or pistachio, blackcurrant, hazelnut, lemon and others.

their sandwiches are excellent as well; my favourite is the roti poulet ($5), which has chicken shreds in a peppery mayonnaise dressing, lightly pickled carrot ribbons, mesclun salad between slices of their pain de mie (soft white bread). the croque monsieur is cheesy, mustardy and just plaindeliciouswarmed up.

for the rest of the review and more photos, see http://easyfoodhacks.blogspot.co.nz/2013/12/la-voie-francaise-mt-roskill-auckland.html

updated 22/04/2013
i can't stop coming back to this place! the bread is omg amazing... they've spruced up the place since i went there and it has a nice clean and warm welcoming atmosphere.

the breads that are our fav are:
pan de mie = white loaf bread that has a slight sweet scent and a soft, chewy texture.

poulet roti = chicken sandwich served in generous slices of the pan de mie with a salad mix

fruit croissant = speaks for itself, and it looks even better... heaven in your mouth decorated with strawberries, blackberry, peach, custard, chocolate creme .... enough said.

canelé = a crunchy caramelized exterior with soft, fluffy insides. the way this was made was incredible and words can't describe howdeliciousthis one small piece of baking genius is.


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december 2012

i can't believe i finally found a real bakery in auckland. i have searched far and high for a great place to buy decent bread and bakery items (without breaking the bank) and i finally found one.

it's run by a talented japanese baker that studied under one of the greatest french bakers in the world. as a result here he is sharing the goodness of what real bread is supposed to taste like.

the prices for their breads are incredibly reasonable and i would really like to go back there everyday!

the only thing i would like from this place is some more eating space for those that want to munch on thedeliciousbreads as soon as they come out of the oven. :)