Lepin 15010 Not Lego Parisian Restaurant Set Review - Part One

Having built three other Lepin modular buildings, I can honestly say that the Parisian Restaurant is my favourite build so far, despite it being the smallest building as compared with the Cafe Corner, Fire Brigade and Town Hall.

According to the Lepin packaging, the Parisian Restaurant has 2418 pieces, most of which contribute to the highly detailed interior.   Here's how my set looks after unpacking it.  The brick parts are distributed in over 40 different numbered bags, which I count to make sure there are no missing bags.

 The Lepin modulars distinguish themselves from the Lego versions by using a thicker base plate.  The instruction manual is a booklet that consists of 83 pages.  As with my previous Lepin modular sets, I take pictures after each ten steps of the build.   Without further ado, let's take a look.

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Steps 1 to 10.

I'm glad this set comes with one big baseplate instead of two smaller base plates because I find it more structurally stable.  You can see that the restaurant's footprint takes up only a small portion of the base plate.  

There are two principal rooms - the kitchen and the dining room, and an outdoor patio.  As per the first ten steps, I've laid the building's foundation bricks and applied the flooring. Outside, the patio and sidewalk have been constructed.  If you look closely, you can see that the tiles in the patio spell CHEZ.

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Steps 11 thru 20.

Exterior landscaping has been added and the patio has been somewhat furnished.  

Back in the kitchen, the counters and cabinets are in.  The chef is already starting to prepare a hearty turkey dinner.  

Here are some more views of the restaurant kitchen.  Looks busy in there.

Here's how the restaurant looks from behind at this point.  Another two layers of bricks have been laid on the main floor walls.  Both customers and staff are looking forward to the grand opening.

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Steps 21 thru 30.

 More dining room furniture has been delivered and installed, and the back walls are going up.  The staircase is starting to take shape too.  The dining room has a special guest today.

Multi angle views of our main floor progress today.

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Steps 31 thru 40.

The main floor is now substantially built up.  All the windows are in too.  I love the architectural details of the columns on the exterior of the restaurant.

Another shot of the restaurant.

A view into the dining room.  It's got drapes!

I started to install the back windows, then I remembered I have these brown shuttered windows from a Wange Villa set that has long since been dis-assembled.  I figured this would provide more visibility into the kitchen and dining room, than the supplied windows.

Here's the windows that I didn't use on the rear of the restaurant.

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Steps 41 thru 50.

The main floor of the restaurant is about 95% completed.  Front entrance is now covered with the canopy.  It's nice to see that the Chez Albert sign and menu are both printed pieces, not stickers.

Another view of the staircase details.  

More views of the front.

Today, we have a guest chef who is in town visiting Albert.  On a side note, is that supposed to be a pantry or a refrigerator under the staircase?

See how small the building is?  There's lots of room out back.

It's looking a little sparse back here, so I placed a plant and the bike just to add some interest.  You don't get those two items with the set.

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Steps 51 thru 57.

Final touches added to the main floor include the awning and lights over the patio, the hand rail on the staircase and the requisite street lamp.

Here's a final look  of the completed main floor from above.   Well, my camera batteries need to recharge now, so I think I'll wrap up this post.   In a subsequent post, we will build the second floor of the Lepin Parisian restaurant.   Stay tuned!

Update:

Part Two review is here.

Part Three review is here.