Belleville

I was excited to finally try Belleville, and I must admit- the croissants are delicious! The cold brew, however, was on the weaker side though I do appreciate that they don’t charge for oat milk. I have to echo some other reviewers and say that the service felt a bit cold. Overall, it’s a great place for croissants but maybe better enjoyed to-go.

We've been wanted to try their pizza forever. Finally both had the day off together. Sadly we were very disappointed. The initial girl behind the counter made us feel like we were bothering her. We both order one slice of margarita each. There was zero basil and crust was too flaky.

Belleville Bakery (or BLVL, as is printed on the front door) offered a relatively limited selection of pastries, most of the laminated persuasion. I had a cardamom bun, which was very good, though it had only a hint of cardamom taste. My friend had the morning bun which was satisfying, but nowhere near as good as Bread & Friends’ offering. What set this bakery apart, however, was the subpar customer service. “Subpar” is being generous. The one employee present when we walked in did not greet us, did not ask if she could help us, did not even change her expression—which could only be described as surly—as we approached the counter. In fact, the only time she spoke was to tell us the total amount we owed. No “thank you”, no “enjoy”, no “have a nice day”, nothing. When another person appeared to make our drinks, the energy in the bakery felt as though the two employees had been quarreling just before we arrived and now were not speaking to each other. Tension. In. The. Air. The second person made an Americano for me, which was fine, and a hot chocolate for my friend, which had a beautiful design in the whipped cream topping, but was lukewarm and tasted like Swiss Miss®️ powdered hot chocolate. The barista did not announce our drinks when they were ready and did not say a word or even glance in my direction when I retrieved the drinks and said, “thank you”. My friend and I agreed that the lack of even the most basic of “customer service” niceties left us feeling we would not want to return to Belleville.

The croissants, the pan au chocolate, the maple brioche bun and the lemon brioche were delicious. Staff was friendly and the kids loved the hand pressed orange juice bottles. The cafe and espressos were very good with the pastries.

Belleville is such a delight. They truly have some of the best pastries in Portland. Everything is baked to perfection and their service is kind and welcoming! I would recommend their morning buns (10/10) and their new (special) Salty Honey Latte was amazing! Get there early because they usually sell out or switch to Pizza. That’s right. PIZZA! It’s awesome! There is street parking, only, so be prepared to parallel park. It is so worth the drive to Munjoy Hill. Enjoy!