LEGO Icons 10362 French Café may be niche, but its varied mix of parts and lack of stickers might make it essential to upgrade various buildings.
The new Restaurants of the World collection kicks off with 10362 French Café lands on shelves on March 1 but in the weeks since its reveal, the overall reaction to this set has been different to that of other detailed LEGO buildings, and we had some diverse thoughts in our in-depth review and a recent video.
One area where the set isn't lacking though is in its part usage and complete lack of stickers with plenty of notable elements and printed details that naturally catch the eye. From the transparent book covers to the elegant signage, the printed pieces are a highlight of the new LEGO Icons set and should help entice fans of modular buildings and more into picking it up for some easy upgrades.
Decorated doors and windows
The two printed door elements that connect to the newer six stud-wide frames are simplistic but rife with detail, and similar doors are used in both 21353 The Botanical Garden and 80113 Family Reunion Celebration. In both builds, the floral and gold details would work with the topics and designs, upgrading their undecorated doors to something more lavish yet appropriate.
Similarly, the two window varieties, of which three each are included in 10362 French Café can be used in place of any standard LEGO windows, but would be especially useful in a few specific sets, even when not used alongside the matching doors.
The bakery in 910032 Parisian Street has golden detailing on its signage and windows that could do with a gold finish to add to the overall design. Unless these printed windows land on Pick a Brick in the future, you'd need three copies of 10362 French Café for this particular upgrade though.
Beyond the official sets, the printed doors and windows will be useful in custom creations too, maybe even expanding the facade of 10362 French Café to be a more complete building.
Elegant signage
The Café Fleur signage in 10362 French Café can even be useful beyond the LEGO Icons set, adapting the design of various LEGO cafes or making use of empty space in existing LEGO buildings to create one with some specialised signage.
It will be especially useful in changing up the look of the 10243 Parisian Restaurant modular building, switching the model from Chez Albert to a cafe, but complete with flowers similar to what is depicted on the Café Fleur sign.
Other rare or new pieces and colours
Beyond the printed parts, LEGO Icons 10362 French Café has other great elements not featured in many or any other sets. The light aqua pieces used for the seats may be ideal for brick-built coral reef creations. The dark green jagged cone will make for a great tree topper too, including in the Winter Village range and the light nougat leaves will help make various realistic creature creations, including dragons and axlotls.
Whatever your thoughts on 10362 French Café, there's no doubt that it's a treasure trove of interesting elements and a masterclass in part usage – so much so that the instructions consistently point out these techniques as stated in our review. 10362 French Café launches on March 1, 2025, for £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99, whether you want the pieces or the full package.
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