Had to find a cake shop in San Mateo and wanted to try somewhere new I'd never gotten cake from…read morebefore, and this place popped up! Omg, the moment I walked in, it smelled SO good. It honestly made me want to get all the pastries too I got the strawberry mousse cake, and the packaging is seriously so cute! Right in Downtown San Mateo too! Such a cute little find!

It was our usual dessert craving time after dinner on Saturday, so we came by around 8PM to pick up…read morea slice of the chocolate cake and some pastries. We checked to ensure that they closed at 9PM, so we had some time to finish the cake in their cute little dinning area. Not long after, a staff loudly told everyone that the dining room was now closed at 8:30PM. Not a warning that they are closing soon, but we all had to leave right away. While I totally agree and understand that the staff should close down the dining area a little early before closing to clean, if you want to close down the area that early, then shouldn't you change your hours instead? Or, it would be nice to note this on the door or on platforms that show the business hours. All of us were grabbing our half eaten pasties and cakes and had no choice but to stand around the door. It honestly ruined our experience with this bakery.

My son came into Backhaus specifically for one of their cookies, but they had already sold out for…read morethe day. When the staff realized that was what he had come in for, they gave him a couple of the "reject" cookies that had already been set aside for employees. Needless to say, he was thrilled. It was a small gesture, but an incredibly thoughtful one that really made his day. Backhaus has fantastic baked goods, but it's this kind of genuine customer service that makes the place stand out. We'll definitely keep coming back.

Decided to get in line a lil after 10am on a Saturday. The line moved pretty quickly! We knew we…read morewanted the vanilla latte - got it iced and hot. I got mine with almond milk. It's a good latte! There were so many baked options. We asked the worker for recommendations. We asked about the almond vs chocolate hazelnut croissants & savory options. Speck & egg was the top specific mention, but she added that they're all good. I learned that speck was ham. We ended up getting the chocolate hazelnut croissant & speck & egg. We got the last one of the croissant, so I can only imagine how fast things run out. Baked to perfection - flakey and not dense at all. The croissant did get a bit too sweet over time. There's two tables inside and one bigger one outside. It can get a little crowded with everyone waiting for their drinks. I'm glad I got to try it! I'd come back - lots more to try. Street parking can be a hit or miss nearby. Wherever you park, it's still a nice walk in the downtown area.

A little neighborhood gem tucked behind 101…read more Honestly, it was a bit difficult to find parking within the block of the cafe, but definitely could find some parking in the residential areas. The cafe was busy - all the tables outside were filled with customers and so was the inside. The team member was friendly and patient while we scoped out what to order. They had a nice assortment of pastries on display and they look very fresh. I got the suisse chocolate pastry, which was really good. I kind of wished they would offer to heat it up, but it was fine. For a drink, I got a caramel latte. The coffee was nice and strong. I'd come back to try a different pastry. They had interesting flavored scones, even savory ones too.

I've been here several times, and everything always tastes incredible. The croissants are buttery…read moreand flaky, the kouign-amann is perfectly caramelized, the scones are delicious, and the focaccia is outstanding. You can really tell they put care into their baking. The only item that didn't quite stand out to me was the cookies, which I think could be improved. That said, everything else has been consistently excellent, and this has become one of my favorite bakeries. Definitely worth a visit!

I passed by Saltwater Bakeshop with my friend while on the way to pick up brekkie from Oven & Phin…read moreand made a mental note to stop by after. I had my heart set on a pistachio croissant, as I love all things pistachio-flavored. When we stepped into the café a bit later, we were informed by the super friendly staff member behind the counter that someone came at 8am and bought ALL the pistachio pastries. He said that's atypical, and that under normal circumstances, there should've still been some since we came before noon. While it was a tad disappointing about the pistachio sellout, I still wanted to try some bakery items, so I opted for a cinnamon twist and a regular croissant. I sampled them with my friend before leaving, and they were pretty solid. I slightly preferred the croissant with its nice glossy exterior from the egg-wash and soft, fluffy interior. Overall, between the exceptionally friendly service and bright, spacious, comfy environment, I had a great experience here. Only hope to get my hands on a pistachio croissant next time before they sell out.

Delicious bake shop!…read more Got a good from the farmer's market at the Ferry Building and it had chocolate pistachio (my favorite). It was flaky, rich, buttery and DELICIOUS. I loved that it wasn't too sweet. Service was great. They are there on Saturday's which is great. I've had this bake shop before but it was nice to see it at the farmer's market. They have a great variety of baked goods. The pistachio cream is so delightful.

Great bakery to grab some fresh bread! The desserts are amazing and baked fresh on a daily basis…read more The sourdough bread is my fave. Also grab a bag of crutons as they make the best in the bay!

The bread itself has changed. For years, I always got the sourdough baguette. Loved the crust, it…read morewas brown and chewy. I don't know when but over the years it's changed. Now the crust is light, like it's underbaked and lacks that crusty but chewy quality it used to have. Now it's just an underbaked crust. And the crumb structure is really subpar, it's so dense and flat, very underfermented. Super disappointing. Acme and Semi-Fredi's are now my go-tos for sourdough bread. Both have great quality, consistency and taste.

First time trying this out, my friends told me these cookies are delicious... well they were right,…read morethe cookies were so good! This shop is small, the service was great and I liked how they also write down on their menu if they are low on cookies and how many are left. They also have a small oven where you can WARM UP YOUR COOKIE(S)! Such a great idea, highly recommend checking this place out for their cookies.

We stop by Antoine's almost every time we're in San Mateo to pick up a cookie. My boyfriend and I…read morehave slowly been working our way through the menu and trying a different cookie each time. The cookies are consistently good--crispy around the edges, soft in the center, and slightly chewy. They're sweet, of course, but not overly sugary or overwhelming. I also appreciate that there's a microwave inside so you can warm up your cookie. So far, we haven't tried a cookie we didn't like. It's become one of our favorite spots to grab a treat, and we'll keep coming back until we've made our way through the entire menu.

Only recently came across Claire from IG because of one of the food bloggers I follow and it's safe…read moreto say that she's a winner in our book! She was definitely a drive from San Jose to San Mateo but well worth it. When you pull up to her house, it may be difficult to find parking as other customers are picking up-- I ended up waiting for 1 person to pull out of her driveway so that I could park. The street is pretty packed with cars. Can I first say what a pleasure she is in person? Claire is super sweet and she's the reason I love supporting small business. We ordered the Mocha Crunch cake. Current prices are $50 for an 8". It's cash only so be prepared. The cake itself is on the light side (not as light as Asian cakes but I wouldn't call it dense either). Unlike some other reviewers that found it dry-- I highly disagree as it was not the most moist cake I've ever tried-- But it wasn't dry either. It was right in between and good enough for us. The Mocha flavor was lightly infused in the frosting and filling. It wasn't super overpowering but it was definitely there. The crunch topping was perfect and so unique. The only other place I've tried a crunch topping is in a latte from Kamurocho in Pleasanton. They have a "Honeycomb Latte" that is amazing. We served half the cake at one gathering and we ended up bringing the leftovers to another gathering. The cake was devoured. If you haven't tried Claire's Crunch Cake's yet, do yourself a favor and support a small business and meet the sweetest woman.

3.5 stars. Ordered a take out cake, 6" mocha flavor…read more The cake looks bigger than a 6" as it's pretty tall, so don't worry that it will not be enough. We had a party with 10 people and we couldn't finish the cake! The crunch was really good and special, the cake itself doesn't really present the mocha flavor, as a result, after a few bites, the cake became too sweet. We were all hoping the bitterness from the mocha coffee flavor can balance out the crunch but we were disappointed. Interestingly, we then moved onto eating a chocolate cake from Marvel Cake and the chocolate was able to balance out the sweetness and cleansed our pallet a bit. We all felt that a cup of coffee would be perfect with this cake. The cake inside could also be a bit more moist. So all in all, the crunch got the thumbs up but the overall cake not so much.

Miso caramel never had anything like it, i'm shocked and…read moreimpressed and very down to get this again or try other things on the menu also the Miso caramel didn't overpower the coffee taste at All which is imo rare? service was great and speedy considering how long the line was (30min before closing too wow) I also loved the decor and I think this would be a great place to work: there's wifi, some seating and I think i saw a plug but not 100% sure

4/5 Kaizen Coffee…read moredefinitely lives up to the hype when it comes to their pour over. The space is clean, modern, and aesthetically nice, but it is pretty small and not really the type of café I would hang out at for hours. It reminded me more of a busy boba shop where you grab your drink and go. We came around 1 PM and waited about 10 minutes. They only allow around six people to queue inside, so there was a pretty steady line of people waiting outside. This place gets BUSY. We tried the black sesame iced latte and a single origin pour over. The pour over was easily a 10/10 for me. I love light roasts that are super fruit forward, bright, and almost tea like, and this was exactly that. The barista was also incredibly friendly and even shared his recipe with me, which I really appreciated. The black sesame latte was one of the drinks we kept seeing on social media, so obviously we had to try it. Unfortunately, it was not our favorite. The black sesame tasted pretty grainy and bitter, which clashed with the sweetness of the coffee rather than complementing it. I would probably give that drink a 3/5. One thing I really liked is their whole bean selection. They had a ton of freshly roasted coffee available, including beans from Hydrangea and Black & White. Overall, Kaizen gets a 4/5 from me. The pour over alone is enough to bring me back, but I was expecting a little more from their black sesame iced latte

I was looking for a wedding cake vendor and found simple delights on yelp . I chose them because…read morethey had Asian flavored cakes which I wanted (specifically Ube ) I did the taste testing which included ordering mini cakes with different flavors . They were able to execute my vision flawlessly . I wanted a double layer cake with flowers on it , the cake was delicious and the cream was super super yummy . They dropped it off at the restaurant and everything went super smoothly . I highly recommend simple delights if you are in need of a dessert vendor . I also tried there panna cotta when I was in store and it was so so good !!! Super creamy and fresh .

We ordered a cake for my son's birthday, and it was absolutely amazing! All the kids and our guests…read moreloved it, and several of our friends ended up ordering cakes from them after the party. They were also incredibly accommodating with our custom design request, even though it was placed on short notice. Their excellent service and delicious cake made my son's birthday extra special. Thank you so much for helping create such wonderful memories! I still stop by whenever I have a sweet craving on my cheat days and they never disappoint!

Came here today and got an iced tea which went down good. Nice helpful employee…read more Street parking along Burlingame ave I recommend this place

Review is for viennoiserie only…read more Three things ended up costing more than $20, so it's definitely not cheap. But I feel the quality is very good. The pastries is super flaky with very well defined layers in a SF style, and I love that some of their flavors change and everything I've tried has been super delicious, sweet and savory. I could taste all the flavors that were supposed to be there and I even had one after careful reheating and it held up very well!