Laptops Out at L'Atelier Cafe

Josh Ong | Oct 19, 2012 4:00 pm | 1 comment | 2378 reads

By fault of my own stupidity, the Internet at my house shut off last week, which meant I needed to find a cafe to get some work done. L'Atelier in Central Park turned out to be the perfect place.

It's fitting actually, since "atelier" means workshop in French. While I was busy humming away on their surprisingly reliable Wi-Fi, the L'Atelier team was busy at work crafting delicious things to eat.

L'Atelier bills itself as a patisserie, boulangerie and cafe, and it holds up to all three quite well. An almond-chocolate croissant (RMB 16) was lovely, as was a meringue (RMB 10). A large latte was well-made and cost RMB 32. For lunch, I had a simple beef sandwich (RMB 40) with a side salad (RMB 10). Just on flavor alone, the price felt a tinge high, but not when I took into account the service and atmosphere (and the fact that I was mooching off their Wi-Fi all morning).

The cafe's small, and most of the space is dedicated for the bakery operations, but there's a life-giving feel to it. Maybe it was the coffee's doing, but I definitely felt more productive while I was there.

Service was great too. I appreciated that they bring over little pitchers of water and swap them out throughout the day. (On a related note, staff was also happy to watch my stuff while I ducked out to use the restroom.)

I'm definitely looking forward to visiting again. Now that my Internet's back on, I won't have to be afraid of overstaying my welcome.

L'Atelier
Unit 102, Tower 20, Central Park, 6 Chaoyangmenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (6597 0724)
讲麦堂, 朝阳区朝阳门外大街6号新城国际20号楼102

Photo: Josh Ong

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marilynmai's picture marilynmai Submitted by Guest on Fri, 10/19/2012 - 19:34

I don't often do this, but I would just like to say that that meringue was more than "lovely." It was ever-so-gently crisp on the outside, with an ethereally soft, gooey inside laced with ribbons of dark chocolate. It was pretty much fantabulous. I regretted every moment that I had walked past that shop without stuffing one in my face. Just thought it'd be a shame to not let people know that.

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