We love the aesthetics of this medium-sized build, but like a delicious buttery croissant, it leaves us wanting more. At just 6cm front to back, there isn't space for the interior to live up to the complexity seen on the outside.

As a display piece suitable for the wall or bookshelf, the depth of the finished set is always going to be a squeeze. But LEGO French Cafe is aimed at adult builders, and some of you might find you need help from a smaller-handed assistant to slot pieces into those nooks and crannies.

Let's look at the build process and see what LEGO Icons 10362 does well, because there's a lot to like about this very pretty set. There are just a handful of ways we think it could have stuck the landing better.

What's in the box?

LEGO Icons French Cafe (10362)

Price: $79.99

Release date: Available now

Pieces: 1,101

Size: 16cm x 30cm x 6cm (H x W x D)

LEGO Insiders points: 520

LEGO French Cafe (10362) is an elegantly detailed display piece with the facade of Cafe Fleur, some streetside furniture and the hint of an interior.

At 6cm deep, it's ideal for a wall-mounted LEGO display, or could stand at the front of a deep shelf with space for slim paperbacks behind it. The iDisplayit French Cafe LEGO display case is recommended if you want to show it off, while keeping it dust-free and protected from bumps and knocks.

The set contains just over 1,100 pieces, including working front doors, ornate architecture, and a selection of LEGO elements and accessories, including:

• a menu board
• 2x cups of coffee (or hot chocolate)
• 2x frosted cupcakes
• a croissant
• a newspaper
• a 'Cafe Fleur' sign over the door

There are no LEGO Minifigures included in this set, and that's a sign that it's designed to be put on display, rather than to be played with. The recommended builder age of 18+ reflects this too, although the finished build is more or less Minifigure-scale if you want to add characters of your own.

Our impressions of the build

Is there a lot to love about this build? Yes, there absolutely is. Some of the details are finicky to snap into place, but the ornate ironwork, colourful floral hanging baskets and gold-printed translucent pieces all add to the aesthetic.

We wish it didn't feel quite so cramped. The outdoor furniture is lovely and there's some space on the street, but beyond those front doors, it's so tight that the build feels off-balance. That being said, this is still a great value set with some interesting build techniques, and it looks fantastic if you want a compact LEGO bookshelf display with the illusion of depth.

Started from the bottom

The build starts sensibly enough, with the base of the street and the shape of the kerb edge outside of the cafe. As we added the individual black and white tiles to the interior, we started to appreciate just how tight the space is inside the cafe.

A cash register, a cupcake-sized table and a single chair, and the interior is full. Although the front wall of Cafe Fleur includes translucent window elements, the build process itself is the last time you'll get a really good look at some of these pieces.

Up and out

It's quite satisfying that the front doors are the next part to be assembled and snapped into place. You can open them whenever you want, so the interior is never completely hidden from view.

At this point in the building instructions, there's a note: "The large door opening gives us a chance to take a sneak peek inside. Despite the minimal space in the interior, there are still lots of details to discover."

It almost feels like LEGO knows they dropped the ball on the inside of this build, as this is one of only a handful of text captions throughout the instructions and pre-empts one of the main drawbacks of LEGO 10362.

The devil's in the details

This is where it starts to get really tight for thick-fingered adult builders. Although it's only 6cm deep, Cafe Fleur is wide - the finished build is 30cm across, five times its depth - so there are some very sharp angles to work with.

Architectural details like the arch over the doorway are really pretty, but a bit fiddly. The stone surrounding the arched window is assembled using the new 1x2 slope elements, combined with plates and hinges to create a sunburst shape.

You'll need some patience and/or a helpful mini-builder in your household, but if you like to collaborate with your kids, it's always nice to have a few steps where they can take the lead.

Outside appearances

To be fair, the exterior of Cafe Fleur absolutely lives up to its promises. Three tables - two one-seaters and one two-seater - mean that if you do add your own LEGO Minifigures to your display, they'll have somewhere to sit.

All of the food, drink and newspaper accessories allow you to cater for your customers in different ways, which is fun, and the flowerpots add a contrasting pop of pink against the green facade of the cafe.

It's clear that the focus was on the outside, which is dripping in detail, while the interior is a case of "do what we can". It's just a pity there isn't a tiny bit more depth to reveal when opening those impressive gilded front doors.

Final thoughts

They say good things come in small packages, and that's true of LEGO Icons French Cafe (10362). The fact that we're aching for more from it is a solid sign of an attractive set.

With some fiddly assembly, we can see this being frustrating at times, so be prepared to take some deep breaths and maybe even step away from your build table if you find a piece that refuses to snap into place.

A full-size LEGO Modular Buildings version of this set would be amazing, with room for interiors, perhaps even a pastry chef working away in the kitchen. Alongside other Modular Buildings like the Book Shop, we'd love to be able to add this to our street.

However, as the first set in the LEGO Restaurants of the World 2025 line-up, we'll just have to be patient and hope that future releases give LEGO French Cafe (10362) the setting it deserves.

Our Build Rating:

6.5/10

How to display LEGO Icons French Cafe (10362)

Believe it or not, French Cafe is only 1cm thicker than LEGO Art Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers (31215), the subject of our most recent Build Review. That makes it a great choice to show off in our bespoke LEGO display case, without taking up too much room.

Our custom display case for LEGO 10362 measures 34cm wide by 21cm high, and 12cm deep. That's big enough for a 40 x 12 studs base, and can be stacked on top of 32 x 10 base display cases like LEGO Harry Potter Knight Bus Adventure (76446).

With precision-cut 3mm acrylic panels, 8 screws and an included Allen key for fast assembly, the iDisplayit custom display case for LEGO French Cafe is the easiest way to make the most of every drop of detail in this tantalising build.

What are your thoughts on the LEGO French Cafe? Is it Oh La La or Non Merci!