I like the ambience here! A friend said if she had known about this place while in physical therapy school, she would've studied instead of at a bar patio LOL! When we went on a Saturday night about 7:30PM, the place was probably about at 80% capacity. We lucked out in that there was only a short line (about 5 people in front of us), but the line quickly grew to 3+x that as we paid at the cash register. Here's what I ordered:
Macarons - I chose 1 pistachio and 1 red velvet macaron. I didn't think there was much to them as they were pretty bland. They were not sweet, and you really couldn't taste the filling. I will pass next time.
Mini fruit tart - This was ok. It reminded me of La Madeleine's, only there is no glaze on top and the different kinds of fruit is less.
White chocolate ganache cake with raspberry - This was interesting. The top of the cake was actually more like a glaze, and the texture was very gelatinous. But the glaze was shiny. It's hard to describe, but this was okay. It was sweet and fulfilled a need, but there is nothing that screams, "You must have this again!" I can get a better cake for less at Jungle Cafe in Chinatown.
Strawberry cupcake - Utter failure. The frosting was hard, and the cake was dry. I cannot stand hard cupcakes! I asked a friend to try to make sure I wasn't crazy, and he agreed. The next day we had cupcakes from another place and ate 3 each LOL; at this place, I ate less than half. I think the problem is the cupcakes just sit on the counter, not in a refrigerator or some kind of temperature/humidity control system (like the cakes and macarons). Thus, they just get stale. A friend made an excuse, "Well, it's late in the day, so that's probably why." That's not an acceptable excuse. If you are out of good food, don't serve bad food. I had this discussion with the owner at Gatlin's BBQ who learned this from Franklin's BBQ. When you are out of what you make best, don't serve anymore!
Strawberry bellini - I asked for a bellini, and cashier asked, "A strawberry one?" I asked, "Do you have the traditional peach kind?" He said, "You can look at the menu and see." I'm having a hard time finding the drink section, so it took me about a minute. Then I see. THERE IS ONLY ONE KIND OF BELLINI!!! Seriously??? You made me fish out a menu from the stack of menus just thrown lacksadaisically on the counter in a hot mess just to find this place only serves a strawberry bellini? Or do you not know your own menu (which is worse)? I felt really bad at this point; more people are trickling in (there's about 20 in line waiting to checkout), and he's making me look for something non-existent. Then we get the bellinis, and they're not bellinis at all. They're actually strawberry mimosas and taste like crap. The strawberry puree is bland, and the champagne is extremely dry.
This place needs to streamline their processes. There's only one cash register. People have to bunch up together, and if you want to order multiple items, there's no organization. For example, at the donut shop where I go, when you order X kolaches, X donuts, X donut holes, etc, you are ordering from one person, and that one person assists you throughout your entire order. This helps avoid mix-ups. When I was at this place? One person was at the macarons, but then she has to do the cakes too...but then she goes back to the macaron counter for someone 3 people behind me, but then she's back to the cake counter because a friend and I want to order cakes. Then some other girl jumps in at the cupcake area to help, but then she goes back to the cake counter to assist someone, then she's back at the cupcake counter, then disappears. I could not figure out their system, and it wasn't even organized chaos.
As a result, throughout all the fray, no one grabbed my mini fruit tart. The cashier couldn't see one, and he luckily had stashed my macarons on top of a power cord, so he grabbed those. So then the girl had to go back to the cake counter to get a mini fruit tart. They had put a friend's cupcake and mine on the same serving board, which is fine, but then the cashier had a hard time understanding that my friend and I were paying separately. Basically, this place relies on the customer to remember what they ordered, what kind of item they ordered (cupcake - did you order chocolate, s'more, strawberry?), and how many you ordered. When you get up to the counter, all of the food is on this small space next to the cashier, and cashier has no way of knowing who ordered what. Therefore, if you have elderly parents like I do who are forgetful, you better keep track of what they chose LOL!
I will take The Sweet Boutique in Sugar Land any day. That is my favorite cupcake place with its buttercream frosting that melts like cotton candy in your mouth. The food here looks pretty but is not worth the money or the chaos!
Cupcake $3.50
Cake slice $6.25
2 Macarons $4
Mini fruit tart $3
Bellini $7
Tax $.58
Total $24.33 read more