Food was good, next day got stale eat the food day of…read more service was very good, should be more patient or attend to others I needed more time. ambiance: smells and aroma fresh goods was tasty, seating was pretty and had cafe feel. opinion: yummy bread for sharing with family and ppl who had a hard day this baked bread cheers you up.

While on a drive between Monterey and San Jose we needed to make a quick stop for coffee and gnosh…read moreand so we tried the Gourmet Central Bakery. It is tucked in the corner of a small shopping center in the town of Prunedale, near the intersection of Highways 156 and 101. While the outside is nondescript, the bakery itself is beautiful on the inside and the selection of baked goods is extensive and spectacular. So many unique and tempting creations. It is difficult to choose one thing to order because there are so many that look amazing. We tried what they call a roulette which is a round layered pastry that is loaded with flavor. It was absolutely delicious. Not too sweet but just right. The disappointing factor at Gourmet Central Bakery is the coffee. It was incredible weak and flavorless. Not sure if it was the beans they use or the mix of water to coffee, but it was hugely disappointing. It did not compliment whatsoever their incredible baked goods. I hope they will focus on providing beverages that match the quality and creativity of their pastries. I would say check out GCB for all of their incredible baked goods, just don't order coffee until they make some changes. Their baked goods deserve, as do customers, a satisfying coffee pairing.

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!

Asked them to make a custom cake recently for a 1st year birthday party. It turned out beautifully…read more- even better than I expected. Their service level and attention to detail cannot be beat. Quality control is outstanding. The storefront is a bit tucked away in an industrial park, but once inside, it is neat and well lit and their cases do a nice job of showing off the various baked goods. We tried several of the varieties and they were all excellent. Great bakery.

I ordered a custom cake through email for my son's first thanksgiving. I sent them a picture of a…read morecake as an inspiration/reference. The person that I was emailing was very attentive and helpful. I loved it. I picked up the cake and I was happy with the result. The flavor that I picked was lemon lovers. It tasted very delicious, not too sweet just perfect. The store is very cute and there's a lot of good cakes and cookies options there. Parking is not a problem. I love coming here.

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.

It's delicious! If you're in the area, I highly recommend trying it. We stayed in Carmel but came…read morehere specifically to eat and it was fantastic. I recommend the gala yogurt, and pistachio cake.

The new gold standard…read more Alta is the new gold standard by which I will unfortunately be judging every bakery from now on. Get there early or prepare to wait in line--the secret is very much out. And deservedly so. The staff is exceptionally friendly, the setting is wonderful, and somehow the food tastes even better than it looks, which is an accomplishment considering the artistry coming out of the pastry case. Alta occupies part of the historic Cooper-Molera Adobe complex, and its back garden may be one of the loveliest places I've ever eaten breakfast. Passionflowers tumble over walls and trellises, potted plants and mature trees soften the courtyard, and shade sails make it an incredibly pleasant place to linger over coffee and pastry. It feels less like café seating and more like breakfast in a particularly lovely California garden. And then there's the food. I came back two mornings in a row. The first day's quiche was ham and roasted pepper; the second was cheese and mushroom. Both were outstanding. The egg filling had this almost impossibly silky quality, with a beautifully browned top and crisp, buttery crust. I found myself deliberately slowing down because I genuinely wanted to savor every bite. The pistachio-rose swirl was exceptional: delicate, flaky layers with honey, pistachio and rose playing off one another without becoming cloyingly sweet or perfumey. It's the sort of pastry that reminds you what laminated dough is actually supposed to be. The maple-bacon swirl was the only thing that didn't quite reach the same stratospheric level. The flavor was good, but the rendered bacon fat seemed to fuse some of those beautiful layers together during baking. At most bakeries I probably still would have called it very good. Alta had simply set an absurdly high standard for itself. Then a table beside me ordered the smoked-salmon toast, I saw it arrive, and resistance became pointless. Warm, hearty, thick-cut bread topped with crème fraîche, radish, pickled red onion, greens and a genuinely generous amount of smoked salmon. A triumph. Even the pistachio-honey latte was a dream. I can't rave about Alta enough. My only complaint is that I didn't have more mornings in Monterey to work my way through the rest of the menu. It was one of the culinary highlights of the entire trip and is now my benchmark for what an excellent bakery can be. Alta, you have ruined lesser bakeries for me. Five stars. No notes. Except: make more pastries. I have unfinished business.

Came in with two small toddlers. We got breakfast and coffees. They don't have high chairs, but…read moreonce we inquired about them, the owner mentioned she should invest in them. So hopefully soon! The biscuit sandwich was perfect and burrito looked so yummy. The coffee was very good as well. Hope to return soon, as I'm a local! We came here because the wait was long at other restaurants and it seemed calmer with the babies. Glad we could support a new small business

Tried the breakfast burrito, breakfast sandwich, Blueberry Coffee Cake, and lemon poppy muffin…read more Delicious and sweet chai latte. Highly recommend this bakery for made-to-order food and delicious treats. it took a while for our food to arrive, but it was made with high quality ingredients and care, so it was worth the wait. They have seating for maybe 8 tables, and it's a little cramped with a small town vibe. We were content to eat in but this is definitely a good take-out spot as well.

Exactly what I was craving for! Cravings satisfied…read more Love the rewards program! Service is always great and the place is always clean!

One of the best affogatos I've had. Traditional affogatos are served over gelato, this one is…read moreserved over soft serve, which I really enjoyed. Cute spot to sit and enjoy your ice cream. Clean with friendly service.

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!

What can I say about Traders Joe's that I have not already said. Hmmmm let me see. Well first I…read morewas pleasantly happy to see there was one across the street from my hotel in the Monterey bay sand dunes. I was upset that a 1.5 hr drive from San Jose took over 2.5 hours. I missed my dinner meeting but was happy to stock up here. $9.95 for 88proof vodka. Are you kidding me. Seems to be the only thing cheap in CA. Add TJ's famous ginger beer and you get the best ever Moscow mule.

I'm just going to be very straightforward with this review: there's nothing wrong with the store…read moreitself the problem is the employees working there. The energy and customer service are honestly terrible. Yesterday, I went in to get some things for my kids, and I saw a woman asking one of the employees for help. There was a tall guy standing nearby who looked visibly annoyed. She politely asked him a question, and his response was, "Are you talking to me?" The way he said it was incredibly rude and completely unnecessary. He seemed genuinely bothered that a customer was asking him for help. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time I've experienced this. Every time I go to this location, the employees seem unfriendly, rude, and miserable. They often just stand around staring at customers instead of offering help, and the overall atmosphere feels very uncomfortable and unwelcoming. I can't say whether there is discrimination involved because I don't know what is going on behind the scenes, but the way some of the employees treat customers definitely raises concerns. Regardless of who walks into the store, customers should be treated with basic respect and courtesy. The store itself isn't the problem. The problem is the customer service and the attitude of the employees working there. Management really needs to address this because customers shouldn't feel uncomfortable simply for asking for assistance.