Paul Maison de Qualite: Where is the Quality?

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Paul Maison de Qualite has not one but multiple locations in Miami, FL. I had the pleasure of visiting Paul for the first time on my numerous travels to Shanghai, China.  My love for their baked goods was reignited in Paris. I ate their croissant each time I passed their stores and even brought back their macaroons for my family. The buttery goodness of croissant, their flawless and creamy quiches, decadent macaroons, oh my! I could eat a dozen right now.

Naturally Paul’s was the first stop on my recent mini vacation to Miami. I couldn’t wait to share Paul’s sublime goodies with my family. I chose to visit their café in the luxurious Aventura Mall. Even though it was Memorial Day weekend, the café was relatively empty. Conveniently located on a corner lot, Paul’s has a decent size patio ideal for basking in the gorgeous Miami sun.

Even though I knew entirely too well the menu, for my family’s experience I wanted to order a variety. The staffs per se weren’t too forthcoming in clarifying the ‘French’ titled dishes or patient enough for customers to fully grasp the menu before ordering. The first two things that I ordered weren’t available since they were ‘seasonal’. Well then why showcase them on the menu?

Anyhow, we rushed into ordering a croissant, an apple tart slice, croquet monsieur and crepes. To my utter disappointment, the dishes had no resemblance in taste or for that matter appearance to my recollection. The croquet monsieur was under cooked and blah. The croissant was rubbery and stale smelling. The crepes were simply a blob of white sauce doused in heavy cheese.

Check out the two photographs below. The watermarked one is what we ate and the one below is the  photograph I downloaded from Paul’s website. Isn’t this false representation?

I left absolutely disillusioned wondering if maybe my opinion was biased. Perhaps everything simply tastes and smells better on vacation and in reality Paul Maison de Qualite was not worthy of the standards I am accustomed too with French Artisanal Boulangerie and Patisserie.

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