The new La Bou location has been open just a few days and it shows. We've been twice now and they seem to be struggling to work out the pastry kinks. All of La Bou's normal delicious pastries are on the menu but the North Natomas location is lacking in volume. On our last trip we found the pastry case with less than 10 items at 8am on a weekday. Time to up the order friends!
In our group we had a turkey and cheese croissant, a ham and cheese croissant and a chocolate chip muffin. Both croissants were served warm, light and flakey and delicious. The muffin was overpowered by some serious almond extract. There was no hint that it was a chocolate almond muffin on the tag or when we ordered it. We wondered if someone has messed up the recipe. It was so decidedly bad that the five year old with us wouldn't touch it.
The coffee was La Bou's typical fare, steamed well and served at a delightfully drinkable temperature. On our first trip, the barista poured my latte into a for-here mug and topped it with an inch of perfectly frothy foam. On the second trip, my drink was served in a to-go cup, despite me specifically asking "for here." The coffee was still done very well but the barista obviously had recently transferred from a different coffee house. While steaming milk, she asked a coworker "Do you put one or two shots in your americano here?" and "Do you put whipped cream on your mochas automatically." I think the for-here mug was a completely new concept for her.
The standard La Bou lunch menu has been slightly pared down at this location. According to the menu board, you can get a few sandwiches and salads but not the larger selection. We hope they choose to expand to the full menu when the location has been open longer.
This La Bou location is only open during the day and closes up shop at 3pm. If you're looking for a casual business meeting, a nice and quick weekend breakfast or grab and go on the way to work, this is a decent option. The building has windows on 3 sides, making for a perky location to read the Sunday paper. Parking is plentiful and as in the past three rotations of the place, it's not crowded.
Coffee



Food-


(for the croissants... no cups for the muffin!)Parking

Location 

Overall Appeal
