What I recommend: The brown sugar oatmeal cookie…read more Little Barb's Bakery is a small but mighty spot inside the Durham Food Hall. My go-to item every single time is the brown sugar oatmeal cookie. It's thin, crisp, and baked to the perfect level of brittleness while still keeping that classic oatmeal sweetness. When you get the right one, it's absolute perfection. As always, staff is very friendly, and since it's located right at the food-hall, it makes for a perfect spot to grab a sweet treat after your meal.

Love the choices at Littje Barb's Bakery. Got a vegan bar for a friend. Then s'mores bars,…read morecheesecake bar, chocolate chip cookie and a sugar cookie to share. Staff always helpful and nice. Easy to get to in the food hall.

This is our favorite bakery in the area for several reasons. There is a wide variety of baked goods…read moreto choose from and nothing is too sweet. They make cookies, pastries, breads (pan loaf and hand-formed ones), soups, hand pies, and sandwiches. The variety is amazing. During the holiday season, they offer larger pies and have various seasonal goods to offer. But what's also wonderful is this bakery gives back to the community in many ways. During the height of the pandemic, they offered free bagged lunch to anyone who needed one. They also were (are?) part of the pilot project for Durham's guaranteed income. It looks to me that the owners/company are concerned about being good citizens of the community and that's a great thing. These days, so many companies get bought out by private equity companies. I hope this bakery continues to be locally owned and operated! (Also, generally this bakery isn't offering the very fancy European/European-ish style pastries which is fine by me. The prices are very reasonable, possibly in part because they aren't trying to make their baked goods a "high end" item. There are other good local bakeries that offer "high end" pastries, but they are also much less affordable and for my taste, too rich.)

i came here early this morning on a whim, as i happened to be in the area. i was greeted…read moreimmediately by two friendly faces who were more than willing to be patient with me while i perused the options. they helped me on my journey to choosing a blueberry danish which made my taste buds SING. on top of everything, this place is just CUTIE and i really want to come back next time im in the area. i think next time ill try the scones or the ham and cheese croissant. with a sourdough loaf for later ;) the bakers who helped me at the register did say they get pretty busy around lunchtime, just fyi for those reading!

Called in on a tuesday to get a last minute bday cake but they had a private event and wernt open…read more They still answered the phone and told me to come in the next morning and pick up a cake. The lady in front was super friendly and accommodating. Could definitely see the hard work in the product they make. I tried the yuzu lemon and lavender fog truffle. After trying it i knew the decadent chocolate cake was going to be delicious. Ended up getting a 10" cake which was plenty for 13 people with leftovers. Really good cake and decorated really nicely. Did not dissapoint. I would stop by and get another cake just to try it.

Horrific customer service. I entered praising the owners past cakes and planned to purchase boxes…read moreof chocolates for gifts. First, I asked if I could place a cake order but the rudeness was over top. If you don't want to take an order maybe just lie and say you're fully booked or deadline is too tight instead of demeaning a paying customer by saying that it's not worth the time, money and effort to make certain kinds of cakes unless it's a bulk order. Ok, understandable as one expects to pay premium prices for a small cake here. What's not understandable is the rude and arrogant attitude. Given the current economic situation, labor/profit margin sensitivities are warranted but have some tact. The dismissive recommendation to go to Mad Hatter was "icing on the cake" and very hilarious.

Got a loaf of sourdough bread, a cherry danish, an apple turnover and an eclair. They were pretty…read moregood, except for the eclair. It didn't really have any flavor to it. It's located in a strip mall next to a strip mall with bars on the doors and windows which looks sketchy but the inside was nice and clean. I wish they had a bigger selection of pastries and desserts. Probably won't be back. :/

This place is a complete disappointment…read more They call themselves a French bakery, but that's nothing more than a marketing trick. The lady greeted me " Bonjour", I replied "Comment allez-vous?" no answer!!! I should say " Cómo estás?" In reality, it's a Latino bakery pretending to be something it's not. The breads are awful and overpriced, to be honest, I think the croissants come right from the Sam's club, the sourdough is nothing but a cheap grocery quanlity French bread. The pastries are even worse, with none of the craft, technique, or taste you expect from anything French. It's misleading and deceptive to lure customers in under the "French bakery" label when there is nothing French about it. I left feeling cheated. If you are looking for true French baking, avoid this place. I am sure the original owners, the retired French couple is heart broken!

The line is always long and it moves relatively quickly. Love sitting outside. Great ambiance. This…read moreplace runs like a well-oiled machine. This was my third time there. I always want the fish sandwich but they don't have the fish I want (picky! ). My son got the chicken sandwich which was really great. The bun was so fresh. My FIL got the Benedict. It was huge. Fruit cups all around. Huge chunks of pineapple. My son and I got the lemonade spritz. It was too sweet me but my son enjoyed both of ours.

Still giving Guglhupf four stars mainly for the relaxing vibe and beautiful atmosphere with all the…read moreplants, but lowering the bakery stars to a 3.7 for the quality and price. I still love the fruit tart - good texture and mix of sweet and slightly tart. The macaron and elephant ear was pretty good. The macaron had good flavor and texture. Elephant ears tasted good, though I would've preferred more layers and more of a crisp. Lemon poppy danish was the standard danish. I sadly wasn't as impressed by the cream puff and eclair dough. I know they make their pastries fresh every day but on a busy Saturday at 10:30 am, the eclair dough didn't taste fresh and was not as light and airy as I hoped. Cream puff was ok. The dough was also meh. BUT the focaccia was amazing!! It was on-sale day old bread but had great flavor and was soft on the inside and slightly crispy in the outside. All in all, for what's in the area and restaurant's atmosphere, it's still worth the trip.

Loaf is tucked away on a not so popular street but thanks to their yummy treats, they are known all…read moreover Durham as the place to grab a sweet or savory when you need it. What I also love about Loaf is that if I am unable to go downtown, Loaf items are all over Durham, namely at the Coop and so many other businesses. It makes it easier to access and grab when you are on the go. Staff are always so friendly and welcoming. We always appreciate their warmly decorated business that is cozy but also smells of fresh, newly baked bread (or cookies!) We always look forward to stopping by to see what they have for the day!

Loaf is an excellent bakery! I walked down the Durham streets to Loaf this morning. I had a…read moredelicious pistachio roll - sweet, nutty, crispy. I then devoured a cranberry frangipane torte with a rich creamy almond center. I washed it down with hot coffee. Delicious!

The desserts were absolutely delightful & tasty. We look forward to returning & trying something…read moredifferent. The owner was very nice and welcoming. There was also a refreshing corner nook to sit, eat and enjoy coffee

We recall this shop and owner when it was in the Durham Food Hall. We had read he had relocated and…read morepopped in while we were wandering around Brightleaf Square. It was mid-day and we weren't starving so we only got the cookie cake bites and ate it at the counter in the shop. It looks like another customer was there picking up a larger order (catering maybe?). They have various -- I would call -- artisan baked goods and limited coffee options. It is branded as a dessert cafe after all, so you're not going to get breads, bagels, etc., here. I'm glad we popped in.

This bakery is amazing! I stopped by here on a random weekday and loved the strawberry and cream…read moremacaron and it was SO delicious I had to come back for a box! Truly, these are the most delicious macarons I've ever tasted, and I've had way too many! These have a great bite to them, slightly chewy texture and the smoothest, TASTIEST filling ever. I tried the Bridgerton themed Early Grey one to the double chocolate and black sesame, my favorites are the nutella (not too sweet but tastes heavenly) and strawberries and cream. I think everyone in the rtp should try these at least once!! I know it's going to be the hostess gift I grab whenever I visit friends from now on. They've got also a great selection of baked goods and the chocolate crThey've also got a great selection of baked goods and the chocolate croissants are perfectly flaky and delicious!ssiants are perfectly flaky and delicious!

Checked out this bakery on the way to Durham since I had it bookmarked and wanted to try out their…read moremacarons. We happen to arrive as they were taking freshly baked croissants out of the oven so we opted for one of those as well. I was impressed with both and would return if I'm in the area. I enjoyed the variety of flavors available to choose from in regards to the macrons. I selected a 6 pack and liked the birthday cake flavor and salted caramel the most. The croissant was quite delicious as well. The bakery is located downtown so you will have to find parking, that was the only inconvenient aspect of it. It wasn't busy when we arrived so I wonder if they would have more customers if it were located in a section with more foot traffic or easier parking. Overall we had a pleasant experience.

The most delicious pastries, perfect croissants, and friendly staff. Great coffee too.read more

"VERY hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern patisserie"…read more This gives hole-in-the-wall new meaning. The location is in a strip-mall that's set back a ways from 55, so it's not really visible from the street at all. However, it's weirder than that-- you have to drive AROUND the strip mall to the back, past the various loading docks for other stores, and they you see this place is open just from the BACK of the strip mall. I heard the owner is Algerian, but there are many Palestinian references and flags around the shop, so if that's triggering, then know this in advance before coming in. Still, the place is brightly lit and airy, with tables to eat. They do custom cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts, but we just wanted to sample some sweets. Hours are funny-- just midday Friday through Sunday. We ordered a pecan brownie and a pistachio chocolate dish with kunafa (shredded Middle Eastern pastry), as well as a mocha coffee. The mocha coffee was rich and delicious, as expected. The pistachio chocolate dish with kunafa was to-die-for... SO delicious. Super thick and messy, as you'd hope it would be. And of course the pecan brownie was amazing. I will say the pastries are not "cheap". I got a single tahini chocolate chip cookie to go for a friend, and that was $4.50 for a modest sized cookie. The other dishes above were in the $6 range. But these are unusual custom-made dishes, so it's fair.

We stopped in and ordered a few desserts to try…read more Chocolate cake- 4/5 Caramel Blondie- 2/5 M&M cookie -2/5 The blondie and cookie had a weird aftertaste. Maybe it was the refrigeration, I'm not sure but it was off putting. This was our first visit so I'm not sure if this is normal or if this was an off day. The location is easy to find and had plenty of parking. We wanted to love this place but it just missed the mark for us.

Super disappointing experience. Called and spoke to them after narrowing down bakeries for my…read morefiancé's milestone birthday. The woman was so sweet and took the info I gave. All we wanted was an almond cake with fresh strawberry filling. Cool. I pick it up and there are no strawberries on top and when we cut into it, it's raspberry. I called and they asked how to make it right so I asked for the correct cake I had ordered and I'd pick it up in a few days as we were headed out of town for her bday. Pick up the new cake and the filling was like Walmart jam. It was so bad. I'm sad because I trusted them and always try to support small business but never again.