Many pastries are not always what they seem. They either look pretty and sickly sweet or they taste fabulous without anything to catch a consumer’s attention.
Well, look no further for the perfect combination of beautiful and tasty in the Le Roi French Bakery, tucked in between a Ben & Jerry’s and clothing boutiques. Pastries tempt customers with beautifully crafted pastries and tasteful creations.
The French words Le Roi translates to the King and for good reason. This bakery, located on the corner of Champlain and Perrin inside the Piazza del Fiore Shopping Center, seems to be the king of bakeries.
After a little searching around the tan stucco walls of the patio area, I found the Le Roi, with a specials menu posted outside the door. The specials gave a little clue as to what I would find inside: albacore sandwich, salad, and potato soup. The pastries and cakes were also advertised as 50% off on Monday-Thursday from 6 P.M.-8.
Inside, I found displays of bite-sized cookies made with vanilla or chocolate, some topped with cherries or nuts and all glued together with jam. Bags of the Mediterranean dish, balaclava, sat available below the counter for 50 or 90 cents for the smaller sizes. There was even a batch of vanilla cookies designed as swans. The French interior designed added much ambiance, from the laid-back color scheme to the Eiffel Tower salt and pepper shakers.
The cake-like pastries ran from $1.15-$3.50, fair prices for such filling desserts that are almost too pretty to touch.
I ordered a Napoleon, the fastest-selling treats priced at $3.15. It consisted of flaky bread-like layers stuck together with custard and topped with either powdered sugar, apricot jam, or white chocolate. The powdered sugar reminded me of an improved shortbread cookie, but the jam topping was definitely the best of the three.
The employees’ favorite was tiramisu, a springy dessert made from Irish whiskey, coffee and pasted together with the custard. One tiramisu along with two bite-sized Napoleons, which could easily serve and satisfy two, costs a little over two dollars. A pound of the tiny decorated cookies, which tasted unique due to the different types of chocolate and also cherries, cost $11.95.
Sandwiches are served for lunch, the most common fillings being chicken or ham. ‘Super salads’ are also available, with anything from Romaine lettuce to chicken and steak all in one. They cost no more than $10, but the cheapest only costs about five dollars.
In the morning scrambled eggs are available, alongside an array of caffeinated drinks.
The Le Roi French Bakery is worth anyone’s time if they have not been satisfied with the common bakeries available in Fresno. A voracious sweet tooth is guaranteed to be content within the bakery and even those in search of a good sandwich and espresso will be pleased with what they find.
For more information, call the Le Roi French Bakery at (559) 433-8818.
