While the emphasis is on the bakery part, the cafe puts out absolutely delicious authentic Mexican…read morefood. I love the chile rellenos and the chicken enchiladas. Always great service. And then I treat myself to cake pops or macarons for dessert!

Placed a custom order cake two weeks in advance. My mom went in to order and I ended up on the…read morephone with the employee where I specifically told her what I wanted the cake. They did NOT do anything like I requested aside from the flavor of the cake. I wanted red icing, black trim with gold sprinkles and a Michael Jackson image with his Billy Jean performance outfit (glittery black) the employee did not have any additional questions and sounded like they were taking good notes. Well, not only was the cake not ready when they said it would be. They still had to decorate it after arriving an hour and a half after they said it would be ready. Now, they originally said they weren't open on Sunday but my mom did not have space for the cake in her fridge overnight and the event was on Sunday. They agreed to just have it ready for us to pick up on Sunday no later than 9am. Tell me why no one was available at that time, showed up hella late and then made us wait to decorate the cake incorrectly. It looks like we're having a damn baptism for Michael Jackson instead of having a cool birthday party for my 10 year old son. Wtf. A cake from Walmart would have been better. Save yourself the headache and order from a business who actually listens and cares

I don't come here enough. This place is so delicious and the staff is phenomenal! Today I came in…read moreand ordered a bacon/egg croissant and a white mocha. I probably asked too many questions, but they were so sweet and kind and answered everything I asked with a smile. Unfortunately, the wrong customer had taken my drink, and they had to make me another one. I totally didn't mind waiting though. Thank you for being here and hiring excellent staff and always being so tasty. I need to come more often for sure! 10/10 recommend.

This used to be my favorite bakery in Monterey. Their almond croissant was amazing, and they were…read morethe only place around that made a simple ham and cheese sandwich that reminded me of the ones I had in Paris. Something has definitely changed. I don't know if it's new ownership or a change in management, but this visit was incredibly disappointing. I paid $14.95 for a ham and cheese sandwich that had just two slices of ham, two slices of cheese, and what tasted like day old bread. It was dry, underwhelming, and nowhere near the quality I remembered. It's disappointing to see a place I loved go downhill. I really hope they can get back to what made them so special. Very simple but high quality ingredients.

Got to visit after seeing the fruit shaped cakes on tiktok! Got the banana one, 3 macarons, fudge…read morebrownie, and a cabanera cake pop. Banana shaped cake 5/5: love the crunchy exterior, interior is same as real banana and tastes like banana! Soft inside, Brownie 5/5: nice and thick and like the hard chewiness Macarons: 4/5 they have a creamier filling than most macarons but still tasty Cababera cake pop 3/5: not really cake texture, more crumbly and chalky? Not sure what it's suppose to be cos doesnt taste like cake necessarily. The service is so great!

We tried the banana and raspberry mousse cakes. Since these are called mousse cakes, I was honestly…read moreexpecting them to be much more mousse-heavy. I usually love banana-flavored desserts, but the banana one wasn't for me at all. It had cake mixed in with the mousse, and it kind of felt like eating a super creamy banana bread, which actually made me a little nauseous. The raspberry one had a pretty big piece of cake inside too. I think I would've enjoyed both much more with more mousse, less cake. We tried them, but unfortunately they just weren't for us.

Very cozy place, pastries are excellent. Bought blueberry…read moremuffin, raisin roll, pistachio roll, very delicious. Very good price compared to other French bakeries.

Cute little bakery in Monterey/Pacific Grove. We had lunch nearby and I wanted to grab my mom…read moresomething sweet for her birthday. I got her an almond raspberry croissant. It was really very tasty and good sized. They had a lot of other cute desserts that looked good. Service was friendly and efficient.

***Please read before going.***…read more Be aware that there are no prices for any of the macaroons in the store. My wife and I went in and ordered 2 truffles, and 10 macaroons. Our total came out to $100... $100!!! I literally left wondering what they heck we ordered.. Now, we're not saying they're not tasty. Although I will say they are nowhere near worth the ~$7 per macaroon. The lady at the front was nice, although she seemed to try and pressure us into buying more and more flavors. Which makes sense- because they expensive as hell. I wish we had read further reviews and asked ahead of time how much they cost. My coworker makes macaroons and they taste incredible- much better than these. Learn from our mistake!

$10 each for truffles! Not even that good! Total tourist trap. AVOID! I should have known with…read morenobody in there. Ridiculous rip off. I love my wife, so I just paid and held in my frustration.....

HUGE fan of this place. their croissants are always so delicious, and their coffee is good too. so…read moremany tasty pastries and they're always fresh beautiful location but not very many seating options

Holllyy. The best bakery I've ever had! & I'm that person…read morethat seeks out bakeries everywhere I go! Super cute decor inside & such nice welcoming staff! - get there by 10:30/11 for the best baked goods! - try: fruit tart, almost croissant, kouign-amann & rectangle shaped filled cream puff pastry (forgot name but incredible, in top R of last pic) Cute, homegrown, very nice staff!

Delightful cafe, with delicious pastries, cute tables outside and friendly, helpful staff!…read more We got here a bit later around 11 am so we definitely missed some of the popular items like the ham and cheese croissant. I will try to come earlier and see if they have it next time! I was in the mood for savory not having eaten breakfast yet so the quiche was calling me. This was my first time here and many people ahead of me in line were ordering them. Truthfully I'm not really a quiche person but this one looked divine. Maybe because instead of a slice of quiche it was my own little quiche. It was so savory, flavorful with the perfect balance of goat cheese and tomato! (I got the goat cheese & tomato flavor obv). They also heated it up for me! It was delicious and the crust so flaky. I also got an almond croissant because I love me some almond filling. This too was delicious! It was really cool to try their style of almond croissant which is a flatter style--flaky and moist and crisp. My hubby got the apricot pastry and it was also so good! I am ready to visit here again the next time I'm in Monterey! Hopefully I can snag a table outside this time because it's such a cute outdoor space to eat after getting your pastries.

Been here many times ... Actually EVERYTIME we are I. Monterey!…read more But ... Disappointed this time AND many other times because there were no mention of when they are closed. Just remember, call ahead and follow Instagram Here are their hours for Jan Why? You guessed it, this place is sooooo good that they can afford to NOT WORK and still do well. A must visit when in Monterey.

I stopped by Lafayette Bakery on Memorial Day morning and there were only a few people in line. The…read moreselection of pastries and breakfast items made it so hard to choose because everything looked amazing! I ended up getting the ham and bacon quiche and it did not disappoint. It was flaky, light, and had the perfect crunch. I paired it with a vanilla latte with almond milk, and as a barista myself, I have to say the latte was a 10/10. You can tell it was crafted with care. I enjoyed my breakfast in the patio where they had outside seating, it was clean and very spacious! The service was also great! The barista who took my order was super friendly and made sure I got my items once they were ready. I'll definitely be coming back to try one of their sweet pastries next time!

Uniqueness: Their pastries are well done! Wait Time:…read more [x][x][x][x][x] Food Quality: [x][x][x][x][x] Service: [x][x][x][x][x] Setting: [x][x][x][x][ ] Cost: [x][x][x][x][ ] Recommendation? Definitely stick with their pastries as their other savory foods looked alright (perhaps one day I'll try and see how they taste). Yelp told me about this bakery in the older Carmel Plaza here that's not in the main Ocean Ave. The plaza was sadly mostly empty but was still curious to see how this bakery is. The inside was also pretty sparse at the time of my visit and there were a decent amount of pastries still on display and first impression of their sandwich & other savory goods was a bit of a miss by the looks of it. Still I ordered a lime tart, tiramisu, and a guava raspberry tart with no coffee, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how good they all were! Not too overly sweet, and it didn't feel like any other generic tart/tiramisu so I would definitely be curious to try some more. Staff were also friendly and the overall price per pastry was slightly on the pricier side but then again, this is Carmel. Perhaps another plus if anything about this place is you definitely won't have to worry about tourist crowds or long lines! Would I come back here? Maybe I will give their savory food a try next time as well but truth be told regardless, I'll check them out again for more pastries as they did a good job. Worth the visit!

Went to try those viral fruit shaped desserts, and they're actually pretty good. So good we went…read moreback a second time. They ARE pricy though so just be aware. So far Mango is the best flavor we tried. Banana was good but it is a little small. Strawberry was good. Passionfruit was too sour for us. Blueberry was good but not my mothers favorite. Raspberry was a little on the sour side as well. The man behind the counter was very friendly, if its your first time and you like sweets probably get the mango, banana, strawberry and blueberry. We didn't get the coconut because that also has passionfruit inside which was sour. Nor any of the more dense choco or PB flavor ones.

The viral crunchy desserts is in Santa Cruz, and I got to have it! They are pricey, but it was…read morequite a delicious treat! Both times I went were on a Saturday and the line wrapped around the corner before the bakery opened. The line moved pretty quickly. I appreciate that they started making cups with miniature versions of the fruits so you can sample all of them, but once again, pricey. Inside the bakery is pretty, but small. There aren't many seats to sit and wait, so you will probably be standing around the entrance. My favorite so far is the passion fruit. The tartness in the jam compliments the creamy ganache. I enjoyed that the mango had real fruit in it.

My wife and I dined at Aubergine on February 21, 2026, while staying at L'Auberge Carmel for her…read morebirthday. Since then, we have eaten at Michelin-starred restaurants throughout California and New York City, including one, two, and three-star restaurants. Aubergine is still our favorite restaurant of all time. Not one of our favorites. Number one. We are not especially picky, but there are definitely ingredients and dishes we normally would not order. Because Aubergine serves a completely surprise tasting menu, I was honestly nervous. Spending this much money without knowing what we would be eating felt like a massive gamble. My god, was I wrong. We genuinely loved everything they served us. This dinner taught me that even if you think you do not like something, you probably have not tried it at a restaurant like Aubergine. Before the food began, I told our waiter that I had no idea what cocktail I wanted. I just knew that I loved gin and spicy cocktails. They came back with something custom that was incredible. My wife told them what she liked, and they created something specifically for her too. From that moment forward, I knew we could stop worrying and completely trust them. The dining room only has a handful of tables and is definitely quiet. That can feel intimidating in your head, especially when you are walking into a prestigious restaurant for a surprise tasting menu. But the staff made us feel completely at home. They carefully explained every dish, and anytime I still had no idea what they were talking about, I just asked. Nobody scoffed, acted too posh, or made us feel like we did not belong there. Some of the dishes were so creative that they almost transcended where we were. One course was a soup that somehow tasted like sour cream and onion chips. It was familiar and comforting while still being unlike anything we had eaten before. Many courses also came with stories about the ingredients and why they were prepared a certain way. Those stories were almost as good as the food itself. Each dish felt like it had a reason for being there, which made us slow down and appreciate everything even more. The plating was immaculate, but this was not food that only looked impressive. We have had tasting menus where a few courses were incredible and others felt like filler. Aubergine somehow avoided that entirely. Then came the dessert. The chef prepared an ice cream tableside with local honeycomb and pumpkin seeds while telling us the story behind it. It was so fucking good. It was not only the best ice cream we have ever had, it might be the best dessert either of us has had in our entire lives. We still dream about it. Staying at L'Auberge Carmel made everything even better. We got dressed in our room, walked downstairs, had the best meal of our lives, and then walked right back to our room afterward. It made the entire night feel like its own private world. This meal is extremely expensive. Obviously. But Aubergine accomplished something no other high-end restaurant we have visited has been able to recreate, and it made us feel at home. Even after visiting New York City and trying countless other restaurants there and throughout California, nothing has topped Aubergine for us. If I could experience one restaurant again for the first time, this would be it.

We chose Aubergine in Carmel--led by Chef Justin Cogley--for my wife's birthday/Mother's Day…read morecelebration, and the experience was exceptional from start to finish. We began with the "Gift from the Coast," a sequence of five bite-sized starters that showcased beautifully layered coastal flavors. Right away, the crustade, Wagyu tartare, Morro Bay oyster, bluefin tuna, and especially the hamachi stood out as highlights. The progression of courses continued to impress: abalone with heirloom asparagus, kinmedai, and diver scallop each reflected precise technique and pristine ingredients, all rooted in coastal influence. The roasted duck and rib-eye--enhanced with an optional A5 Wagyu addition--felt like a perfect, indulgent transition in the meal. To finish, snap peas with pickled strawberries offered a bright contrast, followed by pumpkin seed ice cream that closed the experience on a thoughtful, refined note. The service team--Joaquin, John, Danny, Vic, and Nishal--elevated the evening with attentive, warm, and seamless hospitality. Their timing and coordination were impeccable throughout. Special thanks as well to Cameron for handling valet parking effortlessly. The dining room itself was immaculate, including the restrooms, and carried a quiet elegance. The custom-made plates and bowls used for each course added another layer to the overall aesthetic and artistry of the meal. It's hard to fully capture how memorable this dinner was, but it easily ranks as one of the best dining experiences I've had.