Review: 10362 French Cafe from LEGO® Icons, with designer insight from Hoang Huy Dang

We have landed a reservation at 10362 French Cafe, the newest set from LEGO® Icons! With some tasty recolours and novel building techniques on the menu, it looks like we're in for a treat.

Our review features designer insight from Hoang Huy Dang, lead designer on the set. His comments have been edited for readability and clarity.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

10362 French Cafe

• Release date: 1 March 2025
• Pieces: 1101

Price: 

• US$ 79.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 99.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 69.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 129.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ 149.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 79,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 79,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 79,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 349.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 1099,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 699.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

  

New elements

Recolours

The model's pink and green colour scheme really pops and gives the model a certain je ne sais qois that evokes the feeling of a typical Parisian cafe.

We want that warm tone, summery vibes; like a picturesque postcard that you might see. 
We also tried out tan, but that didn't come up as warm as this colour scheme.

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer  

To recreate that iconic Parisian look, 10362 French Cafe dishes out 10 recoloured elements.

Let's sample the (light) nougat for starters:

• 10x Slope 18° 2 x 1 x 2/3 in Light Nougat (6522255 | 5404)
• 3x Brick Arch 1 x 4 in Light Nougat (6522622 | 3659)
• 2x Brick Arch 1 x 4 x 3 in Light Nougat (6522254 | 80543)
• 4x Plate Special 2 x 3 with Cloud Edge in Light Nougat (6522261 | 5518)

Light nougat is a colour still with relatively few elements, so it's good to see the introduction of these parts which will be particularly useful for architecture MOCs. 

Tom Loftus took a thorough look at the cloud-edged plate in his 2024 Skaerbaek Parts Fest article; check it out and prepared to be impressed by this surprisingly useful element.

The cafe also serves up a healthy selection of greens. First, some window elements in a nice warm green:

• 1x Window 1 x 4 x 1 2/3 with Spoked Rounded Top in Green (6525734 | 20309)
• 3x Window 1 x 3 x 2 in Green (6522257 | 6798)
• 1x Door Frame 1 x 6 x 6 in Green (6523920 | 42205)

Notable here is the 3-module wide window. Green will be the second colour for this element; it is currently available in white in just one other set, 42670 Heartlake Apartments and Stores, which TobyMac reviewed for us earlier this year. His review also includes an analysis of this new window frame, which it turns out is not entirely new.

Next, some cooler greens:

• 5x Tile Special Round 2 x 2 Inverted in Light Aqua (6522259 | 3567)
• 4x Brick Curved 1 x 4 x 2/3 Double Curved Top, No Studs in Sand Green (6532365 | 79756) – Last seen in 2002
• 5x Plate Special 1 x 1 with Hole Through Stud, 3 Bars and 3 Bar Holes in Light Aqua (6522263 | 1941)

New prints

No stickers in this set! All decorations are printed. There are 6 designs exclusive to this set.

• 1x Tile Round 2 x 4 with print in Pearl Gold (6523323 | 66857pr)
• 1x Flag 2 x 2 Square, Flared Clip Edge [Thick Clips] with print in Black (6522783 | 80326pr)
• 6x Book Cover [Plain] with print in Trans-Clear (6523320 | 24093pr)

The book cover is also a recolour, in Trans-Clear. It's one of Huang's favourite new elements:

The graphic team worked really hard on this one for sure. We went through several iterations of this glass piece to get the printing just right.

I think the team did a great job and the decoration could be useful in a variety of situations.

• 3x Glass for Window 1 x 3 x 2 with print in Trans-Clear (6570744 | 7757p)
• 3x Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat with print in Trans-Clear (6523321 | 60601pr)
• 2x Door 3 x 6 with print in Trans-Clear (6522784 | 80683pr)

As the 3-wide window frames were recoloured for this set, the corresponding window panes are included. They feature an exclusive print which is generic enough that it could be useful in a variety of MOCs.

Rare elements

Here are the elements that appear in 3 sets or less.

Currently available in 1 other set:

• 2 x Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 in Sand Green (6489813 | 44728, 21712)
• 3 x Cone 2 x 2 x 3 Jagged in Earth Green/ Dark Green (6461425 | 28598)
• 2 x Plant, Plate 1 x 1 Round with 3 Leaves in Light Nougat (6490613 | 32607)
• 5 x Brick Round, Half 1 x 2 in Bright Red/ Red (6525850 | 68013)

Currently available in 2 other sets:

• 3 x Plate 1 x 8 in Sand Green (4155243 | 3460)
• 2 x Plate Special 2 x 2 x 2/3 with Two Studs On Side and Two Raised - Updated Version in Sand Green (6470177 | 4304)
• 5 x Brick Special Arch 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 Corner in Medium Stone Grey/ Light Bluish Gray (6506830 | 38585)
• 6 x Brick 1 x 1 x 3 in Olive Green (6473440 | 14716)
• 10 x Plate Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud in Light Nougat (6517733 | 85861, 28626, 29387)
• 2 x Tile Round 1 x 1 Special with Clip-Bar in Black (6504712 | 77813)

Most notable of these elements is the 1x8 plate in sand green. It last appeared in sets way back in 2002. Its always good to see old elements re-introduced into circulation.

Finally, these elements currently appear in 3 other sets:

• 6 x Glass for Window 1 x 2 x 2 Flat in Dark Brown (6492338 | 60601, 35315, 35316)
• 1 x Tile 2 x 6 in Dark Green/ Green (6491971 | 69729)
• 4 x Tile 2 x 2 with Groove in Light Nougat (6480361 | 3068b)
• 6 x Bracket 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 Inverted in Light Nougat (6509879 | 36840)
• 1 x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Left in Sand Yellow/ Dark Tan (6480358 | 65429)
• 2 x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Right in Sand Yellow/ Dark Tan (6480359 | 65426)
• 3 x Plate 1 x 3 in Light Nougat (4496992 | 3623)

The finished model

As soon as I landed here, I got assigned to my first product, and I would work on this as a passion project; something that I hoped one day would become a real product. I have a deep passion for adult products, and I want to branch out even more to the give the portfolio a different audience.
It's something new, something you probably don't really expect.


– Hoang Huy Dang, designer

The finished cafe sits atop a long skinny base, measuring 36 modules in width and just 8 modules deep, making it an easy set to display on a shelf, unlike some of the other larger LEGO Icons offerings. 

Folks at home who are not into collecting LEGO products might have very limited shelf space. It was always in our mind to have something narrow, but we landed on an 8-wide configuration because we want to give it enough real estate to really get the angles right and add some of the sidewalks, to give it the vibe of an actual building.

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer 

Despite the small size, the model is packed with details to admire – both on the exterior and the interior. Even though the interior is rather cramped, the cafe is furnished with a table, chair, and cash register.

The biggest challenge was to finalise the scale.
I started with a big one, much, much bigger than this.
One thing that we wanted to make sure when we scale it down, we still have all the nice features that the big one had and condense all those details.

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer  

The scale is just a little bigger than minifigure-scale, but in our discussion Huang was keen to emphasise why the French Cafe is not like other LEGO offerings:

It's our intention to differentiate it from other types of products.
I know that we love minifigures, but throughout our research, development and feedback we found that people don't really associate
home décor with having a play feature.

The back of the cafe hints at some weird building techniques, particularly on the left with a very novel use of some book covers to cover some gaps, which we'll look at in more detail later. 

Some Trans-Clear elements in the roof provide a little illumination for the details within.

We could have had an open back, which would save a lot of money, but this is something that people don't really turn around.
Once you put it on the shelf, you don't play with it.

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer   

Building techniques

10362 French Cafe provides an engaging building experience with loads of interesting techniques to enjoy, right from the first bag.

The base is the first part of the model to construct. This is often one of the least interesting aspects of such a build, typically consisting of lots of plate-stacking, but French Cafe kicks things off with a clever technique to emulate a cobblestone street. 

The effect is created with a SNOT technique involving stacks of 1x2 arches. With each stack of arches, the direction of the studs is reversed and each stack fits snugly against the next. 

Note the use of hollow studs to support bricks laying on their sides (as studs with the LEGO writing on them are too tall), and the recess in the base to make space for the corner arches.

This cutaway provides a proper look at the interior; cramped, but still full of details. The red and olive green wallpaper provides a nice contrast to the light nougat masonry outside. Brown window elements create the effect of wooden panelling. I really appreciate the attention to detail here even if it will be mostly hidden away in the final model.

We landed on including this solid back because we wanted to give some suggestions of the interior. Open the door and look inside and you can of see some of the pattern on the walls and detail in the interior, and you can imagine the rest.

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer  

The chair design uses the relatively new Round Plate with Vertical Bar (3661) to connect the seat and back rest. 

I'm quite proud of the chair design. I put them in the last bag and they’re just like the cherry on top. Once you finish the building, it has detail already, but once you put in the chairs, it really brings the scene to life. 

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer  

Perhaps one of the most satisfying stages of the build to complete is installing the sand green wall to the right of the entrance.

Foundations are laid early in the building process with a pair of 1x4 wedge plates laid in reflective triangles to provide the angle for the wall. This angle is roughly the same as a cheese slope, so when attached to the rest of the build, everything ends up nice and flush in this area... 

...however, it seems this clever angle work caused some problems for Huang:

I built myself into a corner, which literally is true because everything comes together at that end. The book cover was there to to save the day.

– Hoang Huy Dang, designer  

Luckily his novel solution involving book covers (24093) hides that awkward acute angle where the sand green wall meets the back wall. I love the ingenuity here: it's something I've never seen in a LEGO set.

The focal point of the model – that impressive arch – is another fun area to assemble. Two hinge bricks at the base of the arch provide the angles to begin the curve, then an interesting subassembly installs the keystone and introduces a couple more hinges to complete the arch. 

A clever little detail that is easy to overlook on the finished model are two tiny windows just below that arch. They are installed as two small subassemblies and attached sideways with D-SNOTs (3386). They complement the new green window frame elements very nicely.

The scene is completed with a brilliantly built lamppost and those chairs which really help sell the Parisian vibe. Like Huang says, the cherry on top of a most engaging build!

Closing thoughts

Set 10362 is a unique offering among LEGO Icons sets. In fact, judging by comments from fans on social media, the source material might dissuade buyers from picking this up, but they would be seriously missing out, as this is a most rewarding set to assemble. From opening the first bag of parts right through to the end of the build, the set is full of novel and surprising building techniques, some of which I had never seen before, like the cobblestone effect, the arch, and the chairs.  

There are some nice new elements on the menu too; the light nougat and green recolours will be useful for architecture MOCs but the printed trans-clear elements are the crème de la crème of the new parts. The piece count of 1101 at this price is not a bad deal. Many of the elements are small useful ones, handy for MOC building, and all contribute to a satisfyingly dense model full of weird and wonderful building techniques. While I did not have to pay for my copy, I expect this should feel like money well spent.

The sub-heading on the box, Restaurants of the World, hints at another new sub-theme within the LEGO Icons line. If that's the case, I'll certainly be coming back for seconds!

READ MORE: Review of the new Trevi Fountain from LEGO® Architecture

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