Le Cordon Bleu London

Read a lot of good reviews about this place so thought to give it a try. We arrived early in the morning to a room full of very noisy pastry students chatting, shouting, and laughing, which made the place very unpleasant to enjoy breakfast. These students were completely oblivious about the customers coming into the shop. This well-known institute might also need to train their students to be mindful about running a business. The croissants were good, but the coffee was average. Recommend coming after the noisy students are off to their course.

They treated their students abhorrently, showing discrimination and offering no support during my most difficult times. Their response to any issue was always, 'It's not within our policy,' devoid of any empathy. Despite claiming to be considerate, their actions were solely profit-driven, lacking humanity. I'm relieved to have severed ties with this institute. If anyone is considering joining, feel free to reach out—I'll paint a truthful picture of what you might encounter.

The Le Cordon Bleu Cafe is a good place to rest your feet & enjoy a cup of coffee after visiting the British Museum. The blue berry pastry is very tasty - would definitely been better if it’s just out from the oven! Friendly Service too.

Teaching chefs have abundance of working experience, but administration processes are poor. Teaching chefs, invigilators and the exam board and essentially the same people with no transparency provided on how the exam was conducted and marked. Admin staffs are slow to respond. More to be shared.

Cheese and wine pairing event was nice, there were 6 kinds of cheese and 6 kinds of wine. The sommelier was a bit late and overall we only tried the first pair at the end of the first hour and therefore had to rush a little bit in the second hour to try the rest of the pairs. The sommelier told us a lot of information about the cheese and wine and it was great that he had a screen where he could Google and show us some pictures. There were no extraordinary pairings but I liked most of the cheese and a couple of wines. The building and room itself were a bit old-fashioned while they present themselves as the state of the art building

I have not gotten coffee here yet, but the tiramisu is a favorite of mine, and it’s consistently fabulous every time I’ve gotten it. Got an oyster mushroom sandwich there yesterday (served hot, with some kind of cheese, and I believe a pistachio pesto) and it was absolutely amazing.

Really enjoyed the vacation to London And the short course I took was I was there. Now I prepared French Inspired Southern dishes. Creamed Collards with a subtle hint of shaved Parmesan cheese.

I had the full experience of both worlds, but it left me in a long state of turmoil in its aftertaste. I was drawn in by the movies and posters, but I kept questioning myself,"How is this going to help me?" along the way. I feel that I should have put more weight on the bad reviews. If you understand Chinese, please do research on YouTube. chefchouchou did a very apt video on the experience in le cordon bleu. It sums it up pretty much and explains why the school is not available in some places. Feel bad for other chefs like me, as the experience was not entirely bad, but we really don't have a good experience. There can be some very nice people around, but it can't compensate enough. It feels like an expensive bag that can be really difficult to get rid of. So, really really do reconsider your options before coming here. And please do more research.

My favorite place for tea & breakfast in Bloomsbury. Great breakfast and a wide selection of French pastries - to die for!!!

Get there before 11am for the hot bfst - the egg and bacon sammy's are glorious. Worth paying a bit extra to eat in and bask in the warm atmosphere.

Cafe attached to a the cooking school. Very clean, delicious pastries and baked goods. Good coffee. Outdoor seating on a nice day.

Great little place to pick up coffee and breakfast items. Was staying at a nearby hotel where they were charging $24 p/p. Here I could get two americanos, pastries plenty enough for two for that same amount. I went back there every morning. Everything tasted good. I mean come on, its Le Cordon Bleu. Oh it's attached to their school located in London, found in the rear of the building.

On the way to the British Museum and wanted a quick and light snack / lunch. Walked by the famed Le Cordon Bleu (UK version). I figured the pastries had to be good at the very minimum. The visit did not disappoint. It is a nice cafe through the back of the school. We liked everything we tried; the service was professional but also stern if we ordered something that was on the menu but too late to be served, like the breakfast items or something sold out.

This cafe which is attached to the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school has a lovely range of baked goods on offer. The macaroons at 4£ each may seem a bit expensive, but they are so delicious. Flavours change daily, so you never know what to expect. They serve tea cakes by the slice or you can buy a whole pound cake to take home with you. They have both indoor seating and outdoor seating (in a courtyard behind the building) They do offer some savoury eats too, but since I've only ever been here after 6pm, I haven't had the chance to try any of it (they make limited quantities that run out quite quickly) I can however vouch very heavily for the cakes / pastries and other sweet bites on offer. The coffees are perfect to take away and they are quite obliging in serving you coffee, even if you arrive 2 minutes before they close (unlike a lot of other cafes in this area)

Best. Bread. Ever. The other stuff is delicious too, even if you're like me and you aren't into desserts or sweets in general. Full disclosure: I studied here 7-8 years ago, so I may be a teeny bit biased. On the other hand, I think it also means I know what I'm talking about. THE FOOD Nothing beats the smell of bread, still warm from the oven, and begging you to rip off a hunk and eat it then and there. I managed to resist temptation since I had cheese waiting for me back at my hotel. I've had a hard time finding decent, much less good, baguettes and croissants in an awful lot of places (Sydney, Honolulu, New York, LA, San Francisco, to name just a few). You probably wonder what makes the bread and pastries special. Well, it's made onsite. Daily. Not in a huge factory somewhere. And it was the only croissant I could promise wouldn't disappoint my boyfriend after a pretty unexciting one at breakfast. He had to add butter to eat it and he left part of it behind. THE PRICE People complain that the prices are high. Um, no. For example, the crappy croissant my boyfriend had at breakfast? £2.50 (plus 12.5% service charge) and look at it below. The Cordon Bleu one is a perfect example of what laminated dough should look like. If you can't see the layers, why even bother? The boulangerie, viennoiserie, and all the other food is prepared by Cordon Bleu chefs, and if a student is good enough to be hired by a place like the Ritz or other fancy restaurants and hotels, those students *might* hired to work in the cafe kitchen. Also, the ingredients - they use really good ingredients. I haven't looked in the kitchen personally, so I couldn't swear it, but I would guess that the same ingredients are used for the cafe offerings as what we used in class, and what we used in class was the good stuff, like dry butter for puff pastry. You can taste/feel the difference. Think of it this way. If you were at the Fat Duck or the Savoy or the Ritz, would you complain about the prices? Because those are the places where these students are headed, and from where the chefs were recruited. Any comparisons to Patisserie Valerie when comparing prices fails to take into account the quality of what you actually get. A limited run of a painting or something is worth way more than something mass produced. So please, don't compare an apple to an orange, then bitch and moan about how they don't cost the same. Yes, I mixed my metaphors, but not nearly as much as some of the other reviews confused what they were comparing. THE AMBIANCE - CLEAN AND BRIGHT This isn't a restaurant-y cafe. It's a cafe attached to a cooking school. The courtyard is wonderful, weather permitting. It's clean and bright inside. What's to complain about? Aren't you there for the food? Personally I think the clean, bright space has a beauty all its own. I never worry about whether I have to watch people's hygiene, which makes me so happy. If you want slouchy sofas to hang out on, then no, this place isn't for you. If you like really good food, and appreciate wonderful ingredients managed with expertise, then go immediately. (In my case, it was the latter combined with not having enough space to make my own at home, not to mention mine still need work.) ALUMNI - DISCOUNT! I didn't realize this, but alumni also get a discount from the boutique. It didn't occur to me to try at the cafe, so who knows? I didn't remember my student number, but they looked me up on the system and gave me a discount on the extra probe I bought to take home.

Stumbled upon this shaded secluded courtyard after escaping the crowds of the British Museum where I spotted this cafe. I later found out that this is the first cafe in Europe opened by the culinary institute, Le Cordon Bleu. Inside they had simple sandwiches, patisserie (éclairs, tartes au citron), boulangerie (baguette, pain aux olives, pain de campagne) and viennoiserie (croissants, pains au chocolat, brioches à tête) and these colorful sugar sculptures. Student "projects" I'm sure. There's seats inside but shared a passion-fruit macaron and a cappucino in a shady area of their courtyard. It was fairly quiet with a few businessmen lingering over lunch. Definitely a very French/European experience! PASSION-FRUIT MACARON W/ WHITE CHOCOLATE | £3 Light & flaky crust with a rich passion-fruit gelee. Noticeably larger, they remind me of the ones from the Bouchon Bakery in Yountville. The filling was a little cold and dense from being stored in the cooler (created a distinction between filling and cookie). I'd suggest letting them warm up to room temp. Delicious and very good but Ladurée is better and cheaper! Definitely would come back! More like 4.3. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/GWeEuO9SvFKldRJBVJFBcw?select=_MnrzH2U8aZz3pF8gJjcqw#_MnrzH2U8aZz3pF8gJjcqw)

Cute little cafe off the side of the school. It has a comfortable seating area next to the cafe, great pastry, lunch, and drink options. The espresso-based drinks are heavenly, especially the mocha which is layered in a long cup. Not overly sweet or creamy. Great ambiance right in the square behind the London Review Bookshop. Kind staff and clean facilities. Can get a bit noisy when classes break and students flood the area to eat lunch, but it's quite neat to see them in their uniforms--future Michelin chefs in training. :)

Nice, quiet cafe in a quiet, almost hidden location. Smiling service topped it off. Had the sandwich de la mer which had fresh, tasty crayfish in a tangy mayonnaise sauce. The salad was a bit small but overall good balance.

Oh 'tis neat to be Elite! I celebrated my 2015 badge with a hot chocolate here, based on the lovely reviews below. It's a super quiet spot for Holborn especially - well lit, clean and with an array of fancy baked goods. One tiny quibble is that the prices seem high, unlike as mentioned below, but still twas a good spot to natter with my bestie, and will for sure come back and sample some food! The real treat was this gorgeous pattern on my foam: http://instagram.com/p/xfEiR1tpvB/

The croissants are delicious freshly baked. The coffee is very good too . It is not cheap but it is worth the price. The service is excellent . What a nice place to have a coffee! The smell of the viennoiserie takes you to Paris!

This Le Cordon Bleu is attached to the cooking school (I feel like I'm required to start my review this way... as everyone else has) and has an understated atmosphere, almost hotel lobby-esc. While the atmosphere is nothing to write about, the food is. Delicious pastries, soups, and sandwiches. It takes a bit of time to prepare--seems like it's a grab and go type kitchen--but they carefully prepare the items that need fixing. Very good.

We had breakfast here every day the week we were in London. The food & price can't be beat. They have a limited menu but what they have is delicious. The croissants and pastries are excellent! Staff are friendly and welcoming. Highly recommended.

Tucked away in an adorable courtyard off of Bloomsbury Square, Cafe Le Cordon Bleu is something of a hidden gem. When I first visited a few weeks ago it was mid morning and there were only a handful of patrons despite the fact that the cafe is only about a block away from the British Museum. If I'm not mistaken this place is run and staffed by the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, and it shows. Inside you'll find what looks like a typical cafe, only everything is just a little bit nicer than what you'd expect. At the front is the till and lovely selection of gorgeous pastries, including croissants, pain au chocolats, fruit tarts, macarons, and lots of different breads. I went with a latte and a croissant, while my dining companion opted for a pain au chocolate and a coffee. The coffees were great, but the pastries were even better. This is not a delivered-frozen-from-a-truck-every-morning type of cafe. Everything here looks like it's made fresh. The best part about Cafe Le Cordon Bleu is that they don't charge gourmet prices. You can easily grab breakfast here for under £6 and avoid the crowds of the British Museum while you're at it. That's a win-win in my book.

We happened across this great little find, secreted away in London after a trip to the British museum. We had just left the museum and were thinking about having something to drink and we spotted it by chance. We were very glad we did. We went in and found they had very polite and good humoured. I had an Americano coffee, and my companion had a tea with 3 macaroons. She was in heaven. My coffee was very good too. We sat outside and enjoyed the sun and watched the day and people pass us by. We had a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon together. Anytime we go near to the museum or in this part of London we visit them.

We were staying at a nearby hotel and found this place a couple of days into our trip; wish we had found it sooner! Best croissants I've ever had hands down- the almond was my favorite. Good coffee and hot chocolate too. It's very quiet, which is saying something in this part of London, especially since it's so close to the British Museum- we were the only tourists there both of the times we went, which was a nice change of pace!

Came to this cafe everyday whilst doing my patisserie diploma, best service, best spiced Apple cider during Xmas, and lovely chai lattes. Also good for the price too. Highly recommend, also try the cakes, muffins and cookies. Its all made fresh in the LCB kitchens by the cafe bakers. Absolutely love! Some of the best memories of my life were created here.

If you're looking for a traditional French cafe off the beaten path (read: quiet) in London, try Le Cordon Bleu cafe in Bloomsbury Square and very near the British Museum. Tucked inside the famous Le Cordon Bleu, you'll find true French pastries, breads and an assortment of sandwiches. Our group of four chose a variety of breakfast items and coffee drinks and were pleased with our choices. The apricot croissant was filled with whole sections of the fruit. The ham & cheese croissant was tasty but light in both fillings. A traditional baguette (with real French butter) was classic. Lattes and hot chocolate were presented nicely in a Le Cordon Bleu cup and saucer. Service was friendly and attentive. Prices were a little more than elsewhere in London for a similar type of cafe. Take time to sit and enjoy the cafe indoors or outdoors. The school is upstairs so don't be surprised to see students in chef garb walking around. There is an assortment of LCB items on display and for purchase, including dish towels, cooking utensils, spices, and other souvenirs marked with their logo. Check website for Open House and workshop/schedules if you're interested in bringing out your own culinary art.

Nice place with a great outside area, a little bit hidden but very central. Good spot relax a bit, enjoy some coffee and pastry while enjoying the sun (if there's any) and get away from busy Tottenham court road.