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La Provence Cafes bring a quaint French village culture to Los Angeles. From French macarons to paninis, you can’t go wrong with a visit here.  The ambiance is casual and non-pretentious.  It’s order at the counter and find an available seat style.  The baked goods here are delectable (more on that later).  The food is consistent and great. I’ve been coming to the Beverly Hills location since I was in middle school, nearly 15 years now.  The portions are a good size at very affordable prices.  I can generally get lunch for less than $15 which is great for Beverly/Brentwood.

I love the sandwiches and paninis at La Provence, they are served on baguettes that are nicely toasted on the outside and a bit soft on the inside–a nice crunchy panini.  There is an option to get half a panini with soup, chili or salad so that’s what I usually go for.  They also have one of my favorite soups in town, the country vegetable.  It’s a pureed soup and tastes more like tomato soup, but that’s just how I like it.  One of my favorite paninis is the Autogrill Special [pictured here], with prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, basil and black olive tapenade ($10 + $1 with soup). My other favorite panini is the prosciutto with sauteed mushrooms, goat cheese and arugula.

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They have great salad options.  All the salads are nicely chopped and quite large portions and served with slices of freshly baked baguette.  Half salads are also available with half panini or chili. Among some choices are the Nicoise, organic chicken curry, grilled wild salmon,  Greek, Cobb… Their classic salad is the Chopped Salad, with a choice of kosher salami or home cooked turkey (I like to get half & half), garbanzo beans, Swiss cheese, tomato and olives in a red wine vinaigrette ($11). I love their turkey chili as well so one of my favorite meals to get is a bowl of chili and half the chopped salad ($13).

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Another fan favorite is the Mexican Cobb, with grilled chicken, fresh jicama, roasted corn, avocado, tomato, black beans, pepitas and cahita cheese in a lime cilantro vinaigrette ($11).

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Additionally, what great French cafe doesn’t offer quiche?  I love their spinach quiche, they also offer Quiche Lorraine.  La Provence serves a large slice of their quiche which is very light, a bit cheesy and pillowy in pastry crust with their house salad ($10).

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I love that breakfast is served all day, and there are many great options from breakfast paninis, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, scrambles, waffles, french toast,  “other goodies” and more.  Here is the Eggs Benedict on toasted croissant with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce with spinach and avocado added ($10, without add-ons).  I really enjoy the seasoning on the eggs.

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A more French breakfast option is the Croque Madame (they also offer Croque Monsieur) ($9).  This is basically a Black Forest Ham and Gruyere grilled sandwich with 2 fried eggs on top.

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For a sweeter breakfast option the Belgian Waffles are the way to go, served with the most adorable syrup-filled tin in the shape of a little French country cabin.  This one has fresh strawberries and whipped cream ($10, 2 eggs scrambled or sunny side up +$2).

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Finally, no trip to La Provence would be complete without trying a dessert.  They have a space a couple doors down in the shopping center where the cakes, pastries, baguettes and famous macarons are baked daily.  The display cases in the cafe are filled with these delicious treats, most famous for their French Macarons but also their cakes.

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The Chocolate Roulade is one of my all-time favorite cakes consisting of a thin layer of chocolate cake wrapped around chocolate truffle with chocolate
mousse, fresh cream, strawberries and a chocolate dipped strawberry on top.  Whole cakes or slices can be purchased.

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The fruit tarts are another great option, such as the kiwi and blueberry.

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BUT, the La Provence absolute must try is the French Macarons.

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Some of my favorites are the rose and lavender, but they are all delicious in their own right, soft with great filling.

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French Macaron Flavors ($2 each):

Lemon: Fresh Squeezed Lemon Curd
Chocolate: Chocolate Ganache
Pistachio: Ground Pistachio Buttercream
Lavender: Lavender Infused Buttercream
Hazelnut: Noisette Buttercream
Raspberry: Puree of Raspberry Buttercream
Vanilla: Pure Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Orange: Essence of Orange Infused Buttercream
Coffee: Espresso Reduction Buttercream
Rose: Rose Water Buttercream
Pumpkin Spice: Fresh Pumpkin Butter Cream (seasonal)

After many years of being a customer at La Provence I still come here as often as I can.  The BH location has FREE parking in the garage below, a rarity in LA, and I always leave feeling very satisfied with my meal.  I haven’t tried something I didn’t like yet. One Macaron bite and you’ll be hooked….

La Provence Patisserie & Cafe
http://www.laprovencecafe.com/index.htm

Beverly Hills Plaza
8950 W. Olympic Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 888- 8833

–Please note hours of operations–
Monday: 6:30 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.
Tue- Fri: 6:30 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.

Brentwood Gardens
11677 San Vicente Blvd. #315
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 442- 1144

–Please note hours of operations–
Monday- Friday: 9:00 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday: 8:00 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.