Dining | Paul depuis 1889 Megamall Branch
Imagine eating in a restaurant that started out as a bakery in 1889 in Lille France. May I indulge in a background story if you will oblige. I was intrigue why the phrase depuis 1889 was underneath the name of Paul and I later found out that depuis is french for 'since'. Then the phrase meant, since 1889 and I found out that this restaurant started out as a bakery in Lille, France owned by the Mayot family. Several years later, they acquired another bakery owned by the Paul family (still in France) and they retained the name since then. Still the Paul company has been a family business for 5 generations now and has a thriving international business until now.
After 128 years of doing business, it now has reached the Philippines and I saw this branch in Megamall. I had the pleasure of first dining in Paul in Dubai and how I relished the fact how their bread really tasted great along with their signature coffee blends. Now this article will compare it with the dining I experience I had with this store.
The ambiance of this branch was similar to that in Dubai and it reeked opulence. Service was fast and staff were similarly attentive to customers. Price wise it was a bit fancy next to your local cafe or restaurant shops within the vicinity. What the upscale prices gave was worth it in terms of product quality and taste. Due to cultural influences, this branch had a filipino inspired menu list already in place (similar in Dubai they had arabic inspired salads and dishes). Again, I would hold emphasis on the prices really so don't be shocked when you see the menu herein.
I had to meet a friend in Megamall so I decided to use Paul as our meeting place and do sampling of the service myself. Coffee for them was similar to your seattle based coffee brand in prices, and the pastries as well. So taking your coffee and then some would not cost you that much in price point. What you will gain over the other cafes is the fact they have good service, and taste of the pastry was exquisite. I would choose Paul rather than that green mermaid. Now they have a full range of menu should you feel hungry and now price wise, they are well, competitive. It really depends on how you look at their food. The pictures are inviting however I was not that hungry to try them out. (Honestly I admit I'm a bit of a stingy guy, if these were priced at around Php200 I might have at least tried a dish or two even if I wasn't hungry). Maybe next time.
As I said earlier, the coffee and pastries was fine with me. Great recommendation even. It's just the dishes that really doesn't sit well with a stingy guy like me. Every french food is a masterpiece they say and I agree, their food is every bit worth its weight in gold. Hopefully one day I will have the courage to order and savour the flavours of France. Au revoir.
footnote: most of my dining articles are not free food nor paid reviews so I say what I feel in the dishes I order. Even if they are so, I still write what I feel like writing, and I inform the public that it is. thank you.
