Patisserie Melanie - San Diego, California

Glen Moss

Was so happy to see this open in our neighborhood. My wife loves pastries and I love a great cafe experience and having something we could walk to was exciting. After my first experience here I will never step foot in this store ever again. Extra star for the pastries because I want to be as fair as possible. The pastries were good. I didn't think they were exceptional, we didn't finish all of them, but I wasn't sad about them at all. The apricot filling was especially tasty. The tea I had was good too, steeped appropriately and just what I wanted. The atmosphere is fairly nice. They have custom ceramicware which is pretty if a little impratical in the way the handles are shaped on the cups. The problem came with the service. We sat in the cafe for our breakfast and the employee that rung us up proceeded to come out and "clean" tables less than 5 feet from us for an uncomfortably long time (over 15 mins). We were one of the first people in the store, it was pristine already. Then he finally left and proceeded to come sweep less than 5 feet from us for over 10 mins. We were some of the only customers in the lobby. The whole time he kept looking over to our table, I caught him straight up staring at us more than once. We felt very unwelcome and honestly a little creeped out. I'm a pretty boring person and we weren't talking about anything particularly interesting so not sure why he felt compelled to listen in but we ended up leaving early. Never ever again.

Tracy H

We saw that the patisserie was open after 5 pm, so we'd originally stopped by before dinner to hopefully pick up some pastries. It turns out they have regular dinner service during those hours, but they did have 2 boxes of leftover croissants. We got a box of 2 butter, 2 chocolate, and 2 cheddar paprika for $15+tax - they were all delicious and had excellent lamination.

The next morning, we stopped by because many reviews mention the kouign amann, which is my favourite viennoiserie. However, there was only the kouignette, which was disappointingly dense and somehow filled with cinnamon - this was closer to a 3D palmier than a kouign amann. Not saying palmiers aren't delicious, but I would've expected something with softer, fluffier layers for something with a similar name as kouign amann.

Vivian Anne

I read about Patisserie Melanie many months ago so I was very excited when they finally opened up. We went to the shop on a Saturday at around 10 am and there was a short line. There were about 6 different pastries available when we got there and no kougin amann. We got a ham & cheese croissant, chocolate croissant, pistachio croissant, and pan aux raisin. We also ordered a noisette and chocolat chaud. The staff was very friendly but the drink orders took quite some time. Overall, we were really underwhelmed with the pastries we got. Most of the pastries were $5.50 or $6 and they were very small compared to other bakeries that sell croissants for the same/similar price. All of the filled croissants we got (ham & cheese, pistachio, and chocolate) didn't seem very well filled and didn't have much flavor. I thought the pan aux raisin was OK. The noisette was quite sour so we didn't like it but we thought the chocolate chaud was good. Just as we were leaving, they brought out a fresh tray of kougin amann so we got back in line for one. It was warm, which was nice but it felt similar to one that I could make myself and wasn't anything special (again $5.50 for a small kougin amann compared to other bakeries). Overall, I would not recommend coming here for viennoiseries. We didn't try any of that savory items and they didn't have any other baked goods on their menu available like macarons, sables, etc. so those items may be good when they are available.

Nathalie Hofer

6 stars for the croissant dough- buttery, flakey awesomeness! I also love that the pastries are not as sticky sweet. I'm Swiss and its the closest I found in Northpark to the french pastries I know from home. Everything I tried so far tasted very fresh & they seem to use high quality ingredients. The catch: there is very little filling, often concentrated in one small spot. While I don't mind that in the sweet versions as much I was disappointed with the savory... for 6$ there was only a tiny piece of ham & the cheese had either mostly leaked out during baking or there just wasnt as much to begin with.

Staff is always friendly & the place very airy and clean. Quite polished modern decor which feels a bit cold/sterile to me, could use a bit more color & warmth to feel more inviting.

My Le

I had high expectations for this bakery and will need to come again at an earlier time to get better options.

We ended up with pepito that’s rolled up in a shape of a cinnamon roll with chocolate and cream. The dough is soft and it had lots of melted chocolate.

Also got citron presse which is a French lemonade. Meaning fresh lemonade. Came with fresh press lemon juice, simple syrup and carbonated water. You mix all 3 to your liking. Very refreshing and gives you a pick me upper type of feeling.

Anastacia V

Very nice place if you're looking for a small bite with a coffee for breakfast. Their pastries are delicious and their coffee tastes delightful. As someone who came here from Europe I find it extremely satisfying to get not a loaf sized but a normal palm-fitting goodie. We've been here already twice (and definitely will be coming back) but to be fair - we have yet to try their brunch and lunch options. Nice interior and welcoming people.

Savory pastries - loved them absolutely.
Sweet pastries - liked them but for some people they might be not sweet eough.
Coffee - 11/10 for sure.

Might seem pricey but so is everything in SD at this point, lol. Wether it's worth it - I'd say yes, but it is up to every individual to decide for themselves of course.

Jake Wong

Delicious beautiful pastries in a beautiful, clean shop. The pastries seem to rotate frequently, no line at 9am, I appreciate that their doing a 6 max per party so that they can share. We got 6 pastries and shared for a great morning treat. Staff are friendly and welcoming :).
North park needed a good pastry shop and they seem like they'll fit right in.

Erin Dollar

DELICIOUS! So delighted that Patisserie Melanie is finally open in North Park — it was worth the wait to visit this artful bakery where every detail is considered. The croissants and pastries were fantastically buttery and crisp, of course, but I also appreciated the care and artistry that went into the plating (on gorgeous handmade ceramics) and the fresh flowers throughout the space (from fave florist Native Poppy).

Such a beautiful, relaxing space to enjoy an espresso and an artisan made treat — highly recommend the pistachio croissant if it’s available.