On a quiet side street off of Nassau, the buttery smell of croissants wafts out the door of the newest addition to our community — a French café called Belle Journée. Princeton’s business district already boasts two French-style cafés: Maman and Chez Alice. To see if Belle Journée brought anything fresh to the scene, I took a trip to Chambers Street.
Unlike the cramped countertop cafés of France, Belle Journée offers a spacious interior filled with cases of picturesque pastries. The setup is reminiscent of the bakery chain Paris Baguette, where customers use trays and tongs to select their own pastries before approaching the counter. With modern, muted shades and stock images of the pastries on the walls, the new café doesn’t have as much character as Princeton staples like Small World Coffee or The Bent Spoon. However, the alluring pastries were enough to draw me in.
The interior layout of Belle Journée Bakery.
Lulu Pettit / The Daily Princetonian
On a Monday afternoon, only a few other patrons populated the building, and the pastry cases were full of both traditional French and Americanized pastries — guava danishes, croissants, pain au chocolat, tiramisu doughnuts, and more. They also had a vegan croissant, a rarity due to the pastry’s dependence on butter. There was also a fair selection of savory options. To get a sense of the bakery’s range, I ordered something savory and something sweet, along with a classic vanilla latte.
I started with the latte. It was sweet but not cloying, with the vanilla flavor dominating over the bitterness of the coffee. Although I appreciated the fast service, I found the coffee to be quite average. At $6 for a 12-ounce cup, the price is on par with other Princeton coffee shops, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for this latte — though it did pair nicely with the pastries.
Next, I tried the savory pastry: a ham and cheese croissant. Topped with a melted, herb-covered slice of cheese, the croissant was certainly beautiful — but did its taste live up to its look? In short, it mostly did. The pastry was exceptionally flaky and buttery, and the ham and cheese filling wasn’t overly salty. Inside, they used two types of cheese: an orange-colored sliced variety akin to grocery store American cheese, and a smooth cheese spread. I especially savored the spread, which added some much-needed creaminess to the room-temperature sandwich. The artificial orange color of the cheese turned me off slightly, but the taste was a mouth-watering combination of rich, salty, and savory. For a quick lunch or an afternoon snack, this croissant is a fantastic option.
For my sweet pastry, I opted for something unfamiliar: chocolate mont blanc. After a quick Google search, I realized that Belle Journée’s take on this pastry is far from traditional. Usually, a mont blanc has some combination of chestnut puree, baked meringue, and whipped cream, sometimes over a base of a tart crust. Here, the mont blancs resembled pain au chocolat in taste. It had a circular, domed shape with tall sides made of croissant dough filled with a light, milk chocolate cream and was covered in melted chocolate and pearl sugar. This dessert was probably my favorite of the selection. The flaky, soft center was contrasted by the crunchy outer layer. Although messy, the chocolate coating on the top added depth to the flavor, balancing the buttery pastry. The chocolate cream filling was light and fluffy. Smooth and sweet, I could eat an entire bowl of it on its own if they offered it.
The chocolate mont blac pastry and ham and cheese croissant.
Lulu Pettit / The Daily Princetonian
Beyond pastries, Belle Journée’s website advertises soups, sandwiches, salads, and other lunch offerings. Like the pastries, some are traditional French options like the croque madame, but others are more American adaptations, such as their “Hawaiian Crunch” salad. Although I didn’t try any of the meal options, my experience with the pastries suggests they would live up to expectations.
Like its name suggests in French, a visit to Belle Journée would make a beautiful day. Whether you prefer your pastries sweet or savory, Belle Journée will certainly have something new for you to try — and it just might be worth the walk.
Lulu Pettit is a member of the Class of 2027 and a staff writer for The Prospect from the suburbs of Philadelphia. She can be reached at lp3153[at]princeton.edu or her Instagram @itslulupettit.
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