French & South Korean Inspired Bakery & Cafe in Belle Hall Mt. Pleasant Provide Sweet & Savory Flavor Options

Jeff Walker,  Entertainment Writer / Restaurant Review

Without question greater Charleston is a food & beverage community. Sadly, as often as new restaurants open one or more may go out of business. The reasons vary. Several factors come into play when closing, including finances, location, poor quality menu, and not being original.

Most people who dine out want variety, and when you open a similar style eatery in an area you're taking a slight risk. How many burger joints, pizza places, and Mexican restaurants carry the same tired menu leaving the owners fighting for the same dollar. Ideally it's best to think outside the box, opening a place that is new and exciting, providing cuisine no one else is offering. 

Local entrepreneur Hemal Patel has done just that. He saw a business model he liked, an upon realizing there was a particular void in that particular food & beverage industry he decided to open Charleston's first Paris Baguette, a neighborhood bakery cafe bringing expertly crafted baked and brewed goods to Mt. Pleasant, more precisely the Belle Hall community along Long Point Road.

Financials aside, Paris Baguette checks all three of the other aspects. They are ideally positioned in Belle Hall Shopping Center next to the only pond in the Belle Hall. The food & drink is beyond amazing, and although there are a handful of French style restaurants located around Charleston, most of them are more upscale, catering to full dinner menus and cocktails.

Paris Baguette takes a different approach. Surprisingly although they were founded in South Korea in 1988, and offer up a few Korean bakery items, a majority of their menu centers around high-quality French-inspired pastries, savory breads, and elaborate cakes, as well as breakfast and lunch sandwiches. And don't let the words French and high-quality throw you off, Paris Baguette is far from overpriced.

Breaking it down further, aside from liquid refreshments Paris Baguette's menu is primarily 50 percent sweets and pastries, with the remaining 50 percent falling under their savory category. Beginning with their signature and proprietary dough, their bakers come in during the early hours (while you're still sleeping) of the morning to create nearly four dozen individual styles of sweet treats. 

The gooey and sugary delicacies include a Raspberry Almond Croissant, a Cherry Greek Yogurt Danish, a Mini Strawberry Lemon Cream Croissant, Chocolate Cream Bread, Tiramisu Tarts (topped with cocoa powder), Palmier (classic French pastry), and Coffee Buns (buttery honey bun topped with coffee topping).

Among the sweets are nine varieties of donuts including a Coffee Croissant Donut filled with coffee custard cream and a coffee icing glaze, as well as their soft and chewy Strawberry Mochi Donut covered in strawberry icing with a hint of powdered sugar. Carrying the little ones with you, they might be content with a Milk & Cereal Mochi Donut topped in crunchy fruit cereal over a white chocolate icing. At 200 calories it has less than the average candy bar.

If you're concerned about your caloric intake, their online and in store menu lists the amount of calories for every item, many under 300, with the sweet cream and rich chocolatey filled pastries as well as cake slices usually higher. However, Paris Baguette is the ideal place to indulge when you're allowing yourself a treat for adhering to a strict diet. Ooh la-la! 

We're not done with the sweets quite yet. Maybe you're coming in to satisfy a sugary craving. Paris Baguette serve up a dozen cakes by the slice. Wrap your teeth and gums around a slice of their Ganache Cream filled with ganache cream and chocolate crisp pearls, topped with chocolate sticks, or their Soufflé Cheesecake on a vanilla cake base, complete with a mirror glaze and strawberries. Just wanting to go old school order a southern staple their three layer Red Velvet Cake.

Their savory menu is equally as numerous as their sweet. Paris Baguette offer diners a bevy of everyday selections, as well as several seasonal choices paying homage to their South Korean beginnings such as their Korean BBQ Wrap or the Korean BBQ Salad.

If you like pigs in a blanket, you'll no doubt love their Pastry Frank (hotdog in wrapped in buttery pastry) and or their Smoked Sausage Bread (sausage & dijon mustard layered in creamy bun, further topped with mozzarella & ketchup). It's kind of like taking everyday comfort foods to the next level.

Who doesn't enjoy a nice quiche. Even better, a Four Cheese (Swiss, cheddar, parmesan, & mozzarella) quiche crafted with eggs in a bed of flaky pastry. The Pepperoni Pizzetta is Paris Baguette's version of a pepperoni slice, except the crust is a rich and flaky flatbread pastry. For NY style pizza connoisseurs like myself, the pizzetta is surprisingly very appetizing. 

Whether you're in at 7am in the morning or 7pm in the evening their Hash Brown Bread crafted into a Ham & Cheese sandwich is ideal for breakfast or dinner. A bread pocket similar to a pita stuffed with hashbrowns, ham, and American cheese, further decorated with mozzarella and ketchup strips. Pair with a hearty cup of coffee or a smoothie and you're ready to jumpstart the day or decompress.

Of course you can opt for any of their four designated breakfast sandwiches to kickstart your day. Want a hearty meal that comes between two slices of sourdough bread, I recommend their Supreme Breakfast Sandwich built with two eggs, 5 slices of bacon and 2 slices of cheddar.

A variety of sandwich options available for your lunch time meal including egg salad and tuna salad on milk bread (moist slightly sweet white bread). Your kids might be content with their three cheese (cheddar, Swiss, & mozzarella) Grilled Cheese on sourdough, with non-meat eaters opting for a Caprese Baguette, a colorful and ample array of fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil pesto, mixed greens, and arugula on a baguette. Totally refreshing! 

Paying additional European flavor to their beverage menu, Paris Baguette pour up Lavazza coffee (a premier Italian blend), as well as espressos, creamy lattes, and soothing teas, with several of the coffees served chilled. I can thoroughly endorse their signature Korean Iced Milk Coffee, a sweet yet subtle coffee elixir with milk and half and half served over ice. Super smooth. It's 'yum yum for the tum tum'. 

We're not done yet. If you want to try something new, Paris Baguette sell packaged shareable breads. Maybe take home freshly made baguettes, raisin bread, or their ever popular milk bread which they use to create several of their sandwiches. You can also carry home any of the French Jams, traditional fruit spread actually handcrafted in the Provence region in the South of France. Magnifique!

Pressed for time. Paris Baguette offer 16 'grab & go' options that provide a quick snack or a sweet treat for the person on the move. Half of the options cater to chocolate lovers including Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie (loaded with chips), a Decadent Chocolate Brownie (also overloaded with chips), an Espresso Dark Chocolate bar, and Mr. Bear (small, rich French butter cake) ideal for the kids.

Let me add one more tempting treat to the mix. Have you ever tried a cruffin, a hybrid pastry combining the flaky, buttery layers of a croissant with the shape and structure of a muffin. You guessed it, they have one on the menu, an Irish Cream Cruffin stuffed with Irish Cream filling before being dipped in chocolate and dusted in edible gold. 

Efficiency is key at Paris Baguette. Step inside the door, make a left, pick up a tray with tongs, and proceed through the line selecting whatever suits your fancy. Two specific cases invite you to choose from either their savory and sweet delicacies. Of course you can select from both.

Once you've filled your tray move on to the register, and while you're paying they can create any of the caffeinated concoctions you desire and heat up any of the savory choices best eaten hot. Give them your name, they'll call you up or bring your selections to the table. When mother nature allows you can dine on their covered patio adjacent to the shopping center's pond. Provides a more cafe feel.

Given the quality and freshness of the items Paris Baguette is affordable. Prices generally range from $3–$6 for pastries and breads, $7–$10 for sandwiches and slices of cake, and $7–$9+ for specialty drinks. You'll spend more on their signature cakes which they can further adorn to fit your occasion.

Yes they offer large scale and lunchbox type catering. Ideal for companies meetings, community and church socials, as well as school and family celebrations. Their goal to make the process simplified from start to finish. One more thing, download their mobile app to start earning free pastries, beverages, and more with PB Rewards. Enjoy a free* pastry with your first purchase when you sign up. Such a sweet offer!

Recapping, Paris Baguette is a spacious, modern French style cafe with hints of Asian and European flavors. Italian coffees, chai teas, smoothies, hot, cold, and frozen caffeinated drinks as well as seasonal beverages and Coca-Cola products for your choosing. A vast array of savory and sweet treats including sandwiches, salads, wraps, and pastries galore, all made fresh the same day you're enjoying them. 

Overall Paris Baguette offer up a cornucopia of mouth watering delicacies that are not only pleasing to the palate but equally as alluring the eye. Let your food and beverage imagination run wild.

A couple of parting shots. Paris Baguette checks off another really important box, and that is the one concerned with cleanliness. Hemal and his staff are committed to keeping every area of the restaurant super clean, because let's face it, no one wants to eat or get take out from a place that's not kept up.

And finally, if you're wondering what's done with the few leftovers at the end of the day, Hemal lets the staff take home the breads, and the remainder of the products (usually 10 to 15 percent are donated to surrounding first responders. Good will goes a long way, and taking care of police, fire, and rescue personnel is just a nice way to promote community spirit. Amen to that!

To find their physical location set your GPS to 656-G Long Point Rd, Mt. Pleasant SC. Once you're in Belle Hall Shopping Center follow the aroma. To sample their complete menu visually visit their website at https://parisbaguette.com/locations/sc/mt-pleasant/656-g-long-point-rd/