PAUL Central Embassy
5th.Fl Central Embassy 1031 Phloen Chit Rd, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
PAUL is one of those rare imported brands that earns its price point. The chain traces its roots to Charlemagne Mayot's 1889 bakery in Croix, France, and the commitment to wood-fired ovens and slow fermentation has not been cosmetic theater. In my view, the Central Embassy outpost works better as a serious breakfast or brunch stop than as a dinner destination: the all-day hours are convenient, but the real value is in the morning pastry and coffee run before a day of meetings along Phloen Chit.
On the fifth floor of Central Embassy, a glass-and-stone French bakery fits with quiet confidence among the mall's luxury retailers. PAUL opened its first Bangkok branch here, and the address still carries that flagship-level feel: wide display counters, artisan loaves stacked on timber shelves, and a full sit-down dining room rather than a grab-and-go counter.\n\nThe food program covers the full day. Breakfast runs through morning pastries: buttery croissants, pain de mie, and caneles made with the custard-and-rum recipe the brand has used for decades. Lunch and dinner expand into soups, salads, sandwiches on house-baked bread, pasta, burgers, and steak. Desserts include macarons and layered tarts. The beverage list leans on coffee and tea, keeping things straightforward.\n\nThe brand was founded in 1889 when Charlemagne Mayot took over a small bakery in Croix, near Lille, the same year the Eiffel Tower opened. Francis Holder later revived the traditional production methods, including a wood-fired oven installed in full customer view and slow sourdough fermentation, at a time when industrial white bread dominated France. PAUL now operates across 47 countries as a five-generation family company under Groupe Holder, with headquarters in Marcq-en-Baroeul.\n\nThe Central Embassy location runs daily from 10am to 10pm, which means it catches neither the early-morning commuter crowd nor the late-night supper crowd. Expats who want the French-café ritual of a proper croissant with a real espresso before 10am will need to look at the Thonglor branch, which opens at 8am. Here at Central Embassy, the sweet spot is a mid-morning brunch or a long weekend lunch with nothing pressing.\n\nThe Phloen Chit address puts PAUL within a ten-minute walk of the British Embassy, several international law firms, and the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok, making it a practical neutral-ground choice for informal business catch-ups that do not require a full restaurant setting.