This Parisienne themed bistro is adorable! You can't help but to want to sit at a table next to the…read morelower portion of the Eiffel Tower. The pastry cabinets are filled with all types of yummy goodness. But wait, what if I want breakfast and I am gluten free. According to the menu, they have a gluten free toast. That being said, I highly suspect contamination is a challenge in here. I sat down and was promptly met with what I believe was the owner. She helped clarify some questions I had like is the Swiss cheese on the Paris Special, American Swiss or Emmental since Swiss cheese is only an American thing. It is American Swiss for those asking. When in Rome I guess. The Paris Special is diced ham, eggs, and Swiss cheese on a croissant. I also ordered the diced potatoes with onion. The sandwich was good. Eggs were cooked perfectly, ham was diced out of a bag by the texture of it... it was fine. The croissant was very buttery, but I felt it was so buttery, it lost some exterior texture a fresh croissant may have. The potatoes were very tasty, but were dripping in oil on the plate. One thing that seemed to surprise me was me was the unsweetened iced tea. I felt it had black currant in it. That was lovely! Overall, this place is good. The price was not so great. But it is definitely cheaper than a trip to Paris.

If you are French or expect a Parisian style bistro, skip it! You'll be disappointed. Decor is so…read morecheap and depressing. Black banquet tables with black vinyl tablecloth, basic silverware and dinnerware. Outside of storefront is dirty with poor rickety sidewalks. Service was very mediocre. We ordered quiche which was about 4 bites with a mushy crust. Some basic fries on the plate (don't expect Parisian fries w herbs) no garnish. Mom had a flourless chocolate cake which was not the normal way you'd expect it to taste..dry and no raspberries whipcream etc. I skipped dessert. Last photo is my redecorated version!

Kari's Rating 9.9/10…read more TLDR: -Seriously my favorite bakery ever and I'm a bakery connoisseur -The flakiest most delicious pastries -Handcrafted sweets and made to order cakes This is my absolute favorite bakery to go to when I am home in Barrington. I've been coming to ambrosia for at least 20 years since my childhood, and this bakery never disappoints. The only reason it didn't get a 10 out of 10 was because sometimes they're closed on days when I need them open, and I find myself to be extremely disappointed I forgot to read the website! Of course error on my side! I remember coming here before I was tall enough to peep over the pastry case, and I've always been so fascinated by the little show window where they have cake decorating or someone demonstrating how to roll pastries-what an art! My number one pastry that I come here for is the ham and cheese croissant. Ambrosia's ham and cheese croissant is the flakiest most savory ham and cheese croissant I've ever had. They don't add any mustard or gimmicks and yet it is so flaky and savory that it doesn't need an extra dash of flavor. I know for a while they were making them smaller, but this time I came, I realized that the ham and cheese croissants are bigger than ever-which probably makes me think they've gone up in price, but I will happily pay the up charge for a little more. Now that I am older, and I have adult money, I find myself going in and trying one new item to add to my repertoire of treats. Today's new addition was the almond Bear-claw which I already had extremely high hopes for because I do love a good almond croissant, but I was a little worried what bear-claw meant. Truthfully, it just meant the shape of the pastry as it still had the classic buttery flaky crust, as well as a sweet almond interior. I was not disappointed! I did end up bringing home four ham and cheese croissants, an ambrosia roll for my dad, the almond Bear-claw, and two freshly made baguettes. I come home relatively frequently, but every time this bakery is added to my morning agenda, I realize I have such few moments left with my family, and I want to cherish them all and I love that ambrosia has been that tradition for us. I feel like most bakeries I go into in the city are mass produced and everyone is just trying to place orders and then rushing to get out the door, but ambrosia the workers really try to make you feel seen and have a way to uplifting conversation with you. Through all of the order, placing chaos, they're willing to explain what's in everything, what's new on the menu or what flavor profile would go with which handcrafted drink. There's a certain side of human conversation to this bakery that makes this visit extra special for me. I can sense everything is made overnight and then baked in the morning, so as soon as you walk in, you can smell an overwhelming bakery scent, which only makes your mouth water more, which I'm starting to think is actually a really strategic sales tactic! Haha! I would never miss a chance coming back here and spending time my parents and picking up a few surprise treat for them. I will keep the tradition of picking up a few extra treats as I would love for this bakery to continue being something my whole family can look forward to whenever I come home

The pastries and cakes here are expertly crafted and taste amazing. On our most recent visit we got…read moreone of their premade cakes for sale, as well as some of their small desserts. They all tasted as good as they looked! As far as I know these ambrosia items don't grant you immortality and eternal youth but they are tasty sweet treats nonetheless. Service has always been veyr friendly and welcoming. I'm addition to their baked goods they also offer coffees, teas, and there's a small refrigerator with cheeses and some selections of wine and local honey on the side. The ambiance does have a bit of a European feel and there is a decent amount of indoor seating.

Food was so good ,service was attentive and it was so cute inside. Great place to talk and enjoy a…read morequiet meal.

We had a wonderful high tea experience at the Bakester. We made reservations ahead of time and…read morenotified them of our dietary restrictions (vegetarian) which they were able to easily accommodate. The cafe is really cute with lots of floral decorations. There's beautiful tea pots and lots of different teas to pick from. The food was delicious and ample, we couldn't get through all of it and left with a few boxes of treats. I enjoyed the sandwiches, scones and am eager to try some of the leftover dessert.

After dining at the Simple Cafe next door we were looking for a take home treat so we stopped in…read more Very cute shop with lovely and friendly staff. The have bakery items as well as locally sourced market items. We were looking for dye free treats and they were extremely helpful and knowledgeable about all the ingredients in each item and were able to point out the items that had dye (which were only a few). Definitely worth a stop if you are in the area!

Wanted something- well, simple- and somewhat healthy after staying in Lake Geneva area for a couple…read moredays. The lunch items were around $16. We got the Simple Chopped Chicken Salad with quinoa, green onions, cucumber, grapes, romaine, bleu cheese, asparagus, and sugar snap. We also got the tofu curry. The tofu wasn't crispy but it had snap peas and cashews added the crunch. The service and atmosphere were also nice. The food and bill came out quickly. Not a ton of lunch options. But you could get breakfast options at lunch time.

Dolceroons Macarons are simply the best in town! They simply melt and dissolve in your mouth and…read moreare truly an experience. Crispy on the outside while chewy and moist from the inside. let me be very clear with this, her flavorings and consistency are so good and smooth, it will feel like you are eating them from a very high end French Bakery and it will always leave you wanting for more. Me and my husband are absolutely crazy about their macarons and we wouldn't go another route thats how much we are hooked on to them! Macarons are so special and they would personalize them for you. Please see attached photos of how they personalized them for my 9th anniversary. It was the perfect surprise for my husband. Thank you so much Dolceroons. We will forever be grateful for it. My favorite flavors are the Pistachio, Nutella and Cream Cheese ones and I have my eyes on her new flavors (Paan and Kashmiri Chai). I would absolutely recommend her with my eyes closed

We used Dolceroons for my daughter's wedding cake. We were planning on interviewing several…read morebakeries, but then our first call went so well with Sireen that we did not need to interview any others. Sireen's Instagram shows off her many artistic talents. She was recommended to us by our party planner, Alina Tariq, and by others. She has very unique flavor options (pistachio rose, Ferrero Rocher, pina colada, Kashmiri chai, caramel machiato, almond coffee toffee, and numerous others) for cake flavors. She works with the family to come up with the perfect design for the cake and the theme of the wedding. She offered sample tastings, and it was tough to narrow down to the number of tiers we had because we liked way more flavors than the tiers we were having. Sireen's cake was perfect for the wedding. It was as if our decorator made it. Everything matched the mood of the wedding so well, and it was also set up on time (at the last couple of weddings we attended, the baker was still setting up the cake during cocktails). Many of our guests and family members complimented the cake's taste and flavors. Unfortunately, I did not get to taste any during the wedding since we were so busy hosting. We did order an additional cake right after the wedding for my husband's 50th. I requested a new cake flavor: banana pudding! It was a hit, and I got to eat it this time too! The cake was decorated perfectly and tasted great (moist and not overly sweet). Sireen is really easy to work with and caters to your needs. She offers many other bakery items for parties as well. I look forward to working with her again for future parties, and you should too!

I love their pastries. The fruit is fresh. The fillings and crust is light. Watch out! You may…read morewant to eat more than one. In fact hide it from the greedy family members who think you want to share these delicious treats. Ps Their cakes are delicious!

I stopped at Tous Les Jours for a coffee with a friend and she wanted to show me their pastries and…read morecakes. I can't comment on how any of the food tasted but it honestly looked amazing! I would love to come back and try a cloud cake sometime- my friend raves about them!

My favorite place!!!!! Friendly service as always. This is…read moremy 4th macaron cake from Leila's and every time it's beyond delicious and exceeds my expectations. Such a beautiful macaron cake. Ingredients are fresh. I love the raspberry and cream flavor of this cake. During pick up I had to get some lavender flavor macarons, hazelnut, pistachio, rose, mango pineapple & lemon raspberry of course. You can also order online and pick up at Leila's pastry shop. She makes ordering so convenient and easy! Thank you Leila for this delicious work of art.

Stopped in on a Tuesday for croissants. Was told they only have them on friday and Saturday…read more Stopped Saturday 15 minutes after they opened. They only had 3. None of them chocolate. Now the real disappointing part. $7 each. Ouch!

In addition to the beautiful decoration and presentation, the flavors and texture of these macarons…read moreare wonderful and heads above the usual and others I have had. I got a party pack of 24, with all 16 flavors, although smaller amounts are available. Everyone absolutely loved the pretty macarons, the texture, and trying the variety of delicious flavors. Ordering was easy, communication was excellent, and I was able to get my personalized order quickly. This is a home bakery, so a small business with attentive service. We look forward to ordering again!

The absolute best macarons I ever ate. These texture was amazing. The taste was incredible. The…read moreholiday decorations were beautiful. I've eaten macarons all over the world. These are the best.

The service is great Nice inside…read moreGood system These pastries are amazing My favorites: curry croquettes, milk bread, chocolate avalanche, twist donut Great place for snacks and dessert

Very disappointing experience at Tous Les Jours today…read more The service was extremely rude. The cashier (long black hair) she had an unfriendly attitude from the start--no greeting, no smile, and it felt like she was already irritated. What made it worse was how both the cashier and the owner spoke to me. They raised their voices instead of helping. There was a promotion for 3 bakery items for $5. I accidentally selected 7 items instead of 6, and I clearly told them multiple times that I only wanted 6 and did NOT want the extra item. Instead of fixing a simple mistake calmly, they kept raising their tone at me, which was unnecessary and uncomfortable. As a customer, I expect basic respect and professionalism. This situation could have been handled politely in seconds, but instead it turned into a negative experience. I won't be returning, and I hope management seriously works on customer service.