Van's is a great bakery with awesome staff who are super friendly and helpful. I was looking all over town for an Ube cake as my partner loves Ube and it was their birthday. I finally found Van's Ube/Taro cake with coconut. I told the staff I didn't know if I'd like coconut and I've never tried Ube/Taro cake and they were kind enough to let me try a fresh batch. The cake was delicious. I'm not a big coconut guy and it was my first time trying Ube/Taro, but it was amazing and my partner loved it. I told them it was going to be a rush order for the next day, but there was slight miscommunication and they wrote out the writing on the cake within 5 minutes. They apologized as they would've normally taken a lot more time and put more attention to detail, but I thought it looked awesome and I could've taken it right then and there. I asked them to hold on to it overnight as I wanted to surprise my partner and they gave me a receipt and pick up ticket which made for an extremely easy and quick pick up the next day. I will definitely be coming back here for my bakery needs! Thank you Van' for helping me out on such short notice. read more

Haven't tried anything aside from their ice cream macarons, but they were definitely delicious! I've tried the macaron ice cream thingamabobs at Milk down in Socal.. and honestly, it was overbearing.. Too much sugar in too big an ice cream filled macaron. They def got the proportions down for the macarons here, and I appreciate how the ice cream isn't completely frozen into the macaron. Basically, I like how the macaron is able to retain's its nice chewy texture although cold. The normal macarons look tasty too! Would love to taste them. The place is an average Vietnamese bakery. Very cramped, speedy and slightly confusing. HAHA. It's always nice to have someone who can speak Vietnamese tag along. Oh yeah, and they only serve ice cream macaron sandwiches Friday through Sunday!!! read more

Van's Bakery - Horchata macaron - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

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My go-to spot for the Banh Kep La Dua (green coconut waffles)!! A bit of a wait depending on how many you order and how many people are ahead of you waiting for their orders, but the wait is worth it. Make sure you eat it while it's still warm! So good! TIP: Although they make it by the door, make sure you order and pay at the cashier first and then they will start making your delicious waffles. read more

Van's Bakery - Banh Kep La Dua (green coconut waffles) - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

Their strawberry cake is one of best I've had in the Bay Area. Not too sweet and fluffy. As one of my guest said, compared to how amazing their strawberry cake is, their Xmas log was unimpressive. read more

I have this place in mu bookmark but somehow instead of getting their famous Macaroon ice cream we bought the Jell-O cakes that has flower designs on them. It was after my moms birthday and I did not get her any cake. When I saw the intricate designs in this gelatin cakes I decided to buy one for my mom because I know she would appreciate it. The cakes are made from agar-agar and designed with intricate flowers inside the gelatine. Taste wise it was bland and there is no hint of bread in this cake mainly because it would not held up to the gelatin that's on the top of it. Surprising my mom liked it because she's diabetic. If you're looking for a cake is pretty to look at and more of something different, come check it out. read more

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We made a 2 hour detour just so I could get some more fruit tarts. Even though I was last here last week I really needed my fix! I got four of the mini fruit tarts at $2 a pop, and a $4 larger one too. So $12 totally spent. I came in at around 5:30PM on Black Friday and the service was quite quick because there weren't many people there at the time. They had a nice supply of the tarts available too. Anyways the tarts had a nice thin crust so it wouldn't overpower the fruit and vanilla custard. It also wasn't too dry and crumbly. The fruit was very fresh and ripe. The custard was smooth and full of flavor. Everything blended very well together. Honestly wish I lived closer cause we came from South Sac. So it's that's good! read more

Van's Bakery - The large fruit tart. Retails for $4, 11/25/16 - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

The only thing I've really gotten here is the Green waffle is which really good. It's $1.50 and I'm pretty sure that I can try and make it on my own, but it's a little hard getting the right taste and texture because I've been to other places to try their version of the Green waffle and it's just NOT the same.... I came pretty late this last time and it took them about 5 minutes to make it because they had to heat the waffle maker, but at least I knew it was fresh. I wish they had some condensed milk to go with it, but I guess it's okay since it would just make it more fattening :D. read more

Van's Bakery - Waiting for my green waffle - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

Your typical Vietnamese bakery with made-to-order pandan waffles, fruit cakes to taro cakes (personalized and even holiday themed), macarons, macaron ice creams, mini pastries, and desserts. My mom gets all of her birthday cakes here because they make the taro really good, but man they're pricey. She's paid $40-$60 for a single cake. I really like the mini fruit tarts they have for $4 ea. They're the perfect size and pretty filling! Fruit tart and flan cakes are $20+. This is one of the few bakeries I know of in SJ that carries macarons. They're $21 for a dozen and they even have "premium" flavors for $2 ea. This bakery has been around for a long while now and continues to sell the same things, which is comforting to know they're consistent. It's definitely a good place to go to for desserts and/or cake. read more

Van's Bakery - A dozen for $21 - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

I came here after discovering pictures of their beautiful macaroon ice-cream sandwiches on Instagram. Having lived in SoCal the last few years, I saw that this was more of a trend in LA (with Milk being the most famous that I know of) that was picking up in Orange County. We came this past Saturday early evening around ~5 pm, a very hot weekend indeed. No lines inside the store. Typical Asian bakery with beautiful cakes on display, cookies, different flavors of pastries like pandan and taro. Unfortunately they were out of 2/3 of the weekend flavors ,only Popcorn was left. I was skeptical.. a savory ice cream? However I was pleasantly surprised! Subtle, sweet, and refreshing. Only a slight hint of popcorn... no savory/buttery weirdness at all. If I am in the area again, I would love to try their Thai Tea flavor. read more

Van's Bakery - Popcorn-flavored macaroon ice cream sandwich - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

I wanted to have a simple cake designed for my birthday and Amanda helped me place the order. She was super nice friendly and helpful. I showed her a picture of what I wanted and she was able to create a cake exactly how I wanted. Super happy with how it turned out and it was delicious too! The cake was reasonably priced. read more

Van's Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

This spot lacks customer service but the cakes are worth getting yelled at. Van's is an Asian bakery so their cakes are are super light and not too sweet, unlike most bakeries. The last cake I bought was a Guava Strawberry cake for my Mom's birthday and it was a hit! The cake itself was a very light and fluffy guava cake and it had a fresh strawberry filling. I normally hate frosting, but the frosting they put on their cakes are similar to a light whip cream. The large cake with "Happy Birthday" writing on it was in total around $60.00 and it was more than enough for 13 people (We had half the cake left after dinner). They have cakes by the slice and whole cakes in their display fridge ready for pick-up and ready for design. If you have an important event and want a certain cake, I would order it ahead of time just to make sure it's available. When I went back to pick up the same cake for my friend's mom's birthday, they were already sold out at it was around 2pm on a Saturday. Aside from cakes, they also make macaroon ice cream sandwiches on the weekends. If you follow their Instagram account, they'll have the available flavors for that day. I think they were $5 or $6 and unlike most macaroon ice cream sandwiches, these ones are pretty big. read more

Thank you Amanda for your amazing customer service and beautiful cake! I was taken back completely at first sight of the birthday cake! The flavor is amazing as well as the presentation. Thank you again! I definitely recommend this bakery to anyone. The attention to detail is amazing! read more

Van's Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

I placed an order for pick up and that went smoothly. I ordered a durian cake and just a heads up, you don't have much of a choice when it comes to the cake's decorations. I was going to do a custom cake but didn't want to risk spending extra on design when I didn't know how well the cake was going to turn out. It turns out I did the right thing by opting for their decoration choices because no matter how pretty the cake could've been, the cake itself wasn't great. The decoration was very tacky, a pale yellow with old school swirls on it and gaudy pink flowers sitting on top. The cake was dry and instead of a consistent durian cream, there were random chunks throughout the cake so every slice was a hit or miss. The box they gave it in was plastered with their information instead of a window that showed the cake and it ended up squashing the flowers flat. Before ordering, I was contemplating between Euro Delight and this place but decided to give Van's Bakery a try because I've always gone to Euro Delight and wanted to see what the competition was looking like. It turns out that there is no competition. The workers did not wear their masks correctly, one worker did not wear a mask at all. The others wore their masks below their noses. The red-haired lady was very pushy to the customer before me and they made rude comments about the customer right when they left. read more

After reading reviews about how their stuff may be a bit old, etc. I was a bit scared. Came here to try the macaron ice cream sandwich and I'm utterly impressed. The macaron is chewy and the ice cream is creamy. I tried the milk and cereal. I believe they put some salt on it to enhance the flavors (can go without salt but not bad with it). I would say this item is a must try. Also, tried the durian cream puff. It has a strong waft of durian smell. Can't be the judge of this item as I feel indifferent. read more

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I've been following @vansbakerysj on Instagram for some time now. I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into one of those ice cream macaroon sandwiches. When we pulled up to the strip mall that this bakery is located in, I was completely confused. It's not the picture that I had created in my mind based on the insta feed. I was completely confused. Where? How do I order? There were some definite language barriers, none of the staff/other customers were helpful at all. Finally, I realized there is a line to the left to order and pay, then you get into the line on the right to pick up your order when they call your name. There is a minimum $10 purchase with a credit card. We ordered the Fruity Pebbles ice cream Mac and the special chocolate lava cake Mac. The total was less than $10 so we ordered a milk tea macaroon to get us over the minimum. We paid and waited and waited and waited and finally got our purchase after much confusion. While leaving an employee was making waffles in the front which I thought was so strange. We sat outside on the trash filled planter box and sunk our teeth into our Valentines treat. Chocolate lava was way too rich! But the chocolate oozing out was so instagrammable. We fought over the fruity pebbles! How did they recreate this delicious bowl of cereal in each soft creamy bite?!?! I cannot wait to go back and try the smores! read more

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I wish I came here sooner! I got their taro cake for my birthday and it was amazing. Flavorful, delicious, and not too sweet. Their cream puffs are delectable and filling. Check them out for a sweet fix! read more

Ordered macaron ice cream sandwiches here before, but tried the charcoal mooncake salted egg yolk ice cream sandwich today. Perfect balance of sweet and salty, but could have been slightly more flavorful to be more like the macaron ice cream sandwiches. Our friends also bought some taro Mochi mooncake and double yolk mooncake and loved it. Saw that they also have sugar cane juice, gonna get that next time :) read more

I would not buy food here. It just a wastes buy Banh Chung Dac Biet with nothing in it but all are green bean, and it costs at least $10.00 This place is taking an advantage of New Year and get rid of their good. It's best to save your money and purchase something else instead. read more

Van's Bakery - No meat... This sucks. - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

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This is for their macaroons only! So far, I've only ordered their macaroons. I know I've had their cakes once, but I forgot what it tastes like. The macaroons are a nice addition to the bakery though. They also have macaroon ice cream sandwiches. Be care if you want to get this though. They only offer this at certain times of the day. I'm not sure if the flavors change or not. We came when the ice cream was not ready yet so we ordered the macaroons instead. They are $1.75 each. So a little pricey but not so bad. They have strawberry, hazelnut, raspberry, coffee, chocolate and my favorite taro. Yep! TARO! I had to try this when I saw it. The filling was absolutely delicious! This flavor runs out fast though! The macaroons were sweet but not too sweet. They were light and tasty. I think these ones are a bit on the cakey side though! I'll probably come back here to try their other baked goods and the macaroon ice cream too! There is ton of parking but it is situated in a busy plaza. The staffs are nice and welcoming. They seem flustered when there's a crowd though. But they are very quick and patient. Overall, I do like their macaroons. I must try everything else though. read more

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I've had macaron ice cream sandwiches from MILK in LA and from here before too. I do have to say that MILK's macaron ice cream sandwiches will always be my first love. Since they're in LA and I'm in NorCal, Van's Bakery comes in as a close contender in the Bay Area. Their macarons are chewy and flavorful and the ice cream isn't half bad either. It's definitely not the best ice cream I've had but since the focal point is the macaron (in my opinion), they execute it good enough for my standards. I got the Cookies & Cream Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich and the Vanilla Bean Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich. Between the two, the Cookies & Cream tasted better. Definitely come with cash because the minimum charge is $10 if you use your debit or credit card. I'll be back soon to try the other flavors they have to offer! read more

Van's Bakery - Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches: Vanilla Bean (on the left) and Cookies & Cream (on the right). - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

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The green waffles here used to be THE best! But their quality changed so their waffles just smell really good, but lack any pandan flavor. The icecream macarons here have gotten really popular so most teenagers/college students will be here asking for them. The flavors change weekly and you can check out their Instagram to check what flavors they have in stock. The macarons are nice and chewy. But I often find the icecream to be way too sweet. $5 for the macaron icecream sandwich seems pretty steep to me though. The durian cream puffs here are really good! I recommend them! This place has a big selection of Vietnamese sweets so if you luck out on the ice cream macarons, theres plenty of other desserts-from cakes, cookies, mooncakes, chips, dried snacks, crackers, etc. Parking here can be a nightmare, especially weekends. Also, the drivers in this area can be crazy. And traffic backs up around rush hour a few blocks away. read more

Van's Bakery - Drumstick macaron sandwich - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

Thai tea ice cream macaron sandwich $4 YUMMMMM gotta get one. Pretty big and tasty! Was feeling super sluggish earlier at the supermarket. Then I remembered I bookmarked this place and came to check it out. Its a small bakery with lots of cakes on the side. They also sell other baked goodies like cake rolls and macarons. read more

Van's Bakery - Thai Tea ice cream macaron sandwich $4 - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

I come for the macaron ice cream sandwiches. I like the fact that they make them fresh, but in the past year they seem to have shrunken in size and possibly gone up in price. Overall, they're still probably the best in the bay just because they're fresh and they make all the flavors in house for the weekend. It's a little out of the ways to go just to get that but when I'm hankering for it I'm glad I can find it. The area and shopping center is kind of crowded and full of old Asian drivers... Try not to get run over :) read more

No macaroons on our visit (sold out). Tried some cake, cupcakes and another sponge like baked good. Everything was decent but nothing was amazing which makes it a 2 star place for me since there are so many great bakeries. This is in the Lion Plaza shopping center. The service was really friendly and helpful. read more

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It was ok . I got the small pate chaud and taro cake. Pate chaud were bite size for $2 and taro cake was a tad bland. I came here for ice cream sandwiches based on Yelp but they had none that day. I really uSed to love this place. read more

cake turned out not exactly the same as ordered but reach about 80% similarities, not too bad, overall satisfied for the lower price compared to other places, good customer service, easy to order, cake ready on time read more

Finally tried their mooncakes! I think my favorite was the green tea, even if it's not the most traditional flavor. I love that they also have mini mooncakes if you just want to try the flavors, or to give to kids! When I was here a man was asking if the baker has trained in France because he thought the cakes and pastries were so good! I think he also may not too familiar with anything Vietnamese...but it goes to show this place is worth the stop! read more

Customer service is Excellent. My family really likes the cake since it is not too sweet and the sponge cake is airy and soft. We ordered extra durian so it is a unique cake. The cake was really delicious. A lot of senior members ask us for Togo. The price is reasonable compared to other place as well (1/2 of the price from my original order location) . Highly recommended!! read more

Van's Bakery - Anniversary Durian Cake - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

I was so excited to have found them on the last 4th of July weekend! After a 30 minute drive to a nearby Asian bakery and failed to call in before to reserve a fruit tart/ cake ahead of time. I was sitting in the car calling different bakeries to see if I can get a cake the same day. At the end, I found Van's Bakery on yelp and I was so excited that they have two fridges of cake/ fruit tart! I picked the one I wanted and have them write a sign on top with a piece of plastic. Van's bakery came to the rescue! :) yay! Glad to have found them so last minute! read more

Thank you Vans -- this was my first experience with you and I was not let down.. so kind and helpful to deliver on my birthday the same day o called. Both cakes are beautiful and delicious. We are truly enjoying them. The green waffles were a treat as well. I can't wait for you to get your full menu up and running. You've gained a loyal customer read more

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We got a blueberry and strawberry 2 tier cake for my sons first birthday party. The cake was moist, soft and had the right amount of sweetness. We loved the cake. We worked with Amanda to provide all the requirements and how we wanted the cake to be. They followed all our requests and the cake turned out amazing. All the guests at the party loved the cake and got so many messages after the party by the guests enquiring about the cake. read more

Van's Bakery - Blueberry and Strawberry 2 tier cake - Bakeries Near Me - San Jose, California

Love this place! I've been here a few times and have gotten different things each time and have been impressed. This bakery is located in Lion Plaza along with other Vietnamese stores with a Starbucks at the corner of the plaza. I've gotten pandan waffles, macarons, and some of the cakes. Each have been really yummy! The macarons are a good value as they aren't as expensive as I've seen at other places but still taste really good! The reason I finally decided to write a review was that this latest time, I came in to get some advice on my wedding cake. The employee was super helpful and offered great advice on what would work best with my wedding theme colors and my tastes. You could definitely tell that they've done lots of weddings before. If you're in the area and have some room for Some snacks or sweets, would highly recommend! Just keep in mind that parking here can be tough. read more

The ice cream macarons are awesome. So many flavors. wonderful texture. high quality ice cream. They are always perfect, and more than enough. Much better than others I have had. OK, they keep it simple, and they do it right. What more can I say? read more

***review for cream puffs Both the durian and the vanilla puffs were okay. I prefer Hong-Van's Bakery in terms of puff rating (lighter and fluffier) but I guess most of the hype for this place was for its macarons. The cream was much more heavier than I was used to. It was still pretty yummy though. read more

I used to come to this place at least once every week back in high school because of how yummy the macarons were and the green waffles. I decided to come in today at 4pm and I got cassava cake($6) and some macarons. The cake was good and the macarons were great as always, however the workers were so confusing and misleading!! I go to order some macarons and I tell the worker (she had glasses, orange/brownish hair), "Are the macarons still $1.75 each?" and she responds "Yes they are, and also if you get 2 different color macarons then the total for 2 would be $2". I thought this was a great deal so I decided to get a total of 4 macarons that were ALL DIFFERENT colors, assuming it would be $4 total from what the worker said. When I asked the flavors the worker kept getting the wrong ones. For example, I asked for raspberry flavor (red color) and then the worker would pick out coffee flavor (cream color). It would make sense if they were both similar colors, but the colors were so off!! Then another worker sees how difficult the worker was and comes in (probably the owner, much older, black hair) and clears up the situation. The owner then goes to the cashier to ring me up and the total was $13.75. I ask her saying "shouldn't it be $10?" and the owner said "No its $13.75 because the macarons are $1.75 each and the cake is $6." The confusing worker was right beside the owner and I said "No it should be $10 because this worker told me $2 for 2 different color macarons and $6 for the cake." It was just bickering back and forth and the worker was hiding her face. I ended up paying the whole $13.75 and all the owner/worker kept saying was saying sorry multiple times and saying how she's a new worker. I left frustrated because during the whole situation the workers kept rolling their eyes at me. I know it's only 3.75 more then it I thought t would be , but if you are a worker you do not give false deals to customers. You will mislead them and then they go to yelp to write a bad review like how I am right now. Needless to say, Vans Bakery always had good deserts, but the workers there aren't my cup of tea. 2/5 stars because of workers. read more

It was my first time ordering a cake from here, and it'll be my last. I paid for extra durian but was not satisfied. I didn't realize they put coconut in with the durian either. It's not a combination I enjoy. Just be aware... read more

The service was amazing. I got the two tiny pandan cakes for the price of $50!! My mom and aunt found the cakes very beautiful. Would totally start coming here every special occasion for some yummy pandan jello cakes. read more

For the 3rd time in a row Amanda wowed us! This elegant geode cake was ordered to celebrate our wedding with close family members. She went above and beyond to make this day special for us! Thanks a ton! read more

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I understand that business is all about profits. But when they nickel and dime their customers while "low-key" PRICE GOUGING, that's when it becomes an issue. In America, things go on sale during the holidays. But it appears that some businesses, like Van's Bakery, think otherwise. Take Lunar New Year for example: Boxes of "poppers" that kids often play with are usually sold for $0.50/box. But when I came to Van's Bakery, I was told that these same boxes of poppers were priced at $2/box. I usually spend $50-$150 on pastries and/or dried fruits here so it's obviously not about a measly $1.50 increase on poppers that will make or break me. For me, it's all about the PRINCIPLE! It's the same as businesses selling a bag of rice for $80 during the pandemic. Even though there were plenty of people who were willing to buy it for a high price, it still say something about the business owner and their lack of business ethics. My family's been going here for over 20+ yrs. so we have an idea of their pricing. My mother would often look the other way because she loves their pastries. However, I feel that these business owners shouldn't overcharge their customers just because they know they can get away with, especially during a lot of Asian holidays. With that said, here are my assessments on their products: Cakes 2.5/5 Cream puffs (vanilla & durian) 4/5 Flan 4/5 Waffles 3/5 Dried fruits 3/5 Service 3/5 Macarons 2/5 _____ Hello Amanda P., Again, I'm aware of businesses trying to stay afloat, especially during these hard times. As you stated, customers don't always see nor understand the inner workings of what it take to stay in business. And you are right, to some extent. But you must also take into consideration that some of your customers' opinions/reviews are based on their experiences. If what you're saying is true, regarding things being more costly to obtain, then why are your poppers sold at $2/box while other small businesses, who are also trying to stay afloat, were able to sell the exact product at $0.50/box. Either way, I do appreciate you taking the time to shed some light into the business aspects of things (from the owner's perspective). For that, I would like to change my rating from a 1/5 star to 3/5 stars. read more

More rude than I remembered when I recently went jn and asked about the macaron sandwiches. I guess they do not do them anymore. Peace!