Restaurant Reviews are back! This new French patisserie in downtown Menlo Park is a popular new breakfast and lunch spot with a calm atmosphere and delicious French cuisine.

Eliza Crowder | Copy Editor  

The addition of the new French patisserie “Mademoiselle Colette” to Downtown Menlo Park is very bittersweet in my heart. While my dining experience there was a very positive one, I couldn’t help but reminisce about Menlo Park’s old and well-loved candy shop, The Sugar Shack. Before it closed in early 2014, The Sugar Shack sat in Madame Colette’s current location, 816 Santa Cruz Avenue, for eight years, catering to countless Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Atherton, and Woodisde locals. The Sugar Shack was a retro, old-fashioned candy and soda pop shop that served as the social scene for many young families in the neighborhood.

Though I will miss The Sugar Shack, I must admit that I am very content with its replacement. Mademoiselle Colette is a French patisserie that is decorated beautifully and run by staff entirely from France, making the whole dining experience very authentic. The owner, Debora Ferrand, who grew up in France and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, has been seeking an opportunity to start her own restaurant since she moved to Atherton about a year ago. Lucky for Ferrand, the closing of The Sugar Shack opened up some doors for her.

Mademoiselle Colette offers breakfast and lunch menus and also serves daily hand crafted baked goods, including eclairs, macaroons, truffles, and more. When deciding what to order, it became clear that Mademoiselle Colette prioritizes quality over quantity. While the menu is not very large, it was nearly impossible to choose which dish to eat since everything looked delicious. After flip-flopping between a salad option and a panini and soup option, I eventually went with the Arugula salad with chicken, which was an excellent choice. My mom ordered a different salad with kale, ham, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, and artichoke, also a delicious and fresh-tasting option. Both salads are picture below. 

There were only two minor downfalls to Mademoiselle Colette that I encountered in the thirty minutes I spent there. One, the language barrier made communication difficult at times. Because nearly the entire staff speaks French as their primary language, it was slightly awkward and difficult at times as we tried to figure out how much our meal costed or where we were supposed to sit. Secondly, I was disappointed by the fact that I never got the chance to enjoy one of their delectable pastries, since the restaurant was completely sold out of all their treats by noon. However, with all of the responsibilities the restaurant staff has when scrambling to open up a restaurant and please customers at the same time, it is understandable that they ran out of treats. I guess I will just have to wait until next time to sink my teeth into one of their chocolate eclairs.

One of my favorite parts of Mademoiselle Colette is the outdoor seating option. When choosing where to sit, my mom and I unanimously agreed that eating outside was the right choice. Just behind the restaurant hides a beautiful seating area with a calm atmosphere and just the right amount of shade that kept us cool. Despite the busyness that comes along with opening up a restaurant, the waiters and waitresses at Mademoiselle Colette managed to bring out our dishes in a short five minutes. Prices on the meals ranged from $8 to $15, making it a nice option or a relatively inexpensive lunch date.

Overall, although Menlo Park lost an all-time favorite and local candy shop, the city may have redeemed itself by making room for a new, delicious, and authentic option that can satisfy almost anyone’s taste buds.

Come back next week for more!