If you’ve been craving a taste of Paris near Ballwin, then you’re in luck. Tous Les Jours, a French-Asian cafe, has opened on Manchester, bringing flaky croissants, soft bread, and a chic cafe vibe right near Parkway South!

When you first walk into Tous les Jours, you’ll notice it’s not a typical cafe experience. Signs direct you to grab a white tray and a pair of tongs, of which you’ll walk through two columns to pick out fresh-baked pastries in glass display cases. The pastries display the name and price of each item, including hot and cold display cases for cold or hot treats. You’ll then be directed into a line, where you can view different cakes and macaroons, or view their coffee menu. There are two registers you can be checked out at, making the line experience fairly quick. You pay for all of the pastries you picked out, then you can wait at the pickup counter to collect your coffee or tea. But how does this experience shape up to any other cafe quality wise? Here are my thoughts.

Service: 5/5✭

The service at Tous Les Jours pleasantly surprised me. The cashier greeted me with a smile, and immediately noted all the pastries I picked out on my tray, ringing me out with surprising quickness. After ordering a slice of cake, I was offered the option to wrap it up to go or to place it on my tray. In the dining area, all of the tables were extremely clean, and the trays were picked up to be cleaned in a timely manner.

Atmosphere: 4/5✭

The atmosphere was also extremely pleasant. The area was quiet, with background music of piano that was very relaxing. The only negative aspect of dining in at Tous Les Jours is that it is slightly cramped, especially if the area is busy. People are constantly walking in and out of the dining room for delivery or pickup orders, which can also be pretty loud. The area where you grab a fork is also right next to the coffee pick-up area, making it very difficult to step around people just to grab a fork. Other than that, I would recommend dining in at Tous Les Jours, as long as it isn’t busy!

Food 3/5 ✭

The pastries, overall, were a mixed bag. I recommend trying a slice of cake, or a chocolate croissant. The croissants were buttery and flaky, and were a fairly good price for the size you get, and the cake was probably one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. I tried the Chocolate Cloud piece, and the texture and taste was rich and perfect. The pastries I don’t recommend would be the strawberry croissant. The croissant and cream was delicious, but the strawberries tasted like they were left out for a bit too long, and weren’t very fresh. The mango cream donut was also very good in general, but for some strange reason, the fruit it came with had a weird aftertaste that reminded me of nail polish.  I also felt like some of the pastries, while they tasted good, would’ve been infinitely better if they were warm. For example, the spinach feta danish tasted very good, but if I were to get it at home, I probably would have stuck it in the microwave for ten seconds, and enjoyed it more.

Drinks 5/5✭

The area of the menu that really stood out to me is the drinks. I got an iced tiramisu latte, and it genuinely wowed me. Not only was it extremely delicious, but the coffee was rich and strong. They had snap lids as well! The cup size was big in comparison to its competitors, and the drink lasted me around two hours. Despite the ice slightly watering down the drink, it stayed tasting good throughout those two hours, which is important to me as someone who drinks coffee pretty slowly.

Price. 4/5✭

The prices at Tous Les Jours surprised me in a very good way. In total, I got Five items. Four pastries, and one small drink. The total was around 28 dollars. In comparison to Starbucks, One small drink, three pastries and a cake would be closer to thirty dollars. Combining this with the fact that Tous Les Jours has better tasting cake and pastries, I would definitely say the price is fair.

Overall 4/5✭

Tous Les Jours is definitely an experience you should try at least once! If you go, I recommend trying a slice of cake and a cup of coffee! Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, and maybe even go around to the stores nearby while sipping on your delicious drink.