Oliver's Patisserie & Cafe Niddrie, Melbourne
Showing posts with label Patisserie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patisserie. Show all posts
11/30/2019
11/11/2019
Parisian Baker, Essendon Vic, Melbourne
11/17/2018
Laurent Bakery (Camberwell, Vic)
I had one of the best cakes of the last two months in this branch of Laurent's. Le Jardin D'ete or summer garden wasn't only beautiful to look at, uber-fresh but also delicious, with many layers of yummy stuff and with the right amount of sugar.
The place is really great, with many different areas: quickie family eat area, armchairs cosy classy corners, communal tables. I love the place.
Service was fast and friendly but also distracted. I ordered an earl grey tea and got a green tea. No-no-and-no. Please listen to clients.
I'll be back.
8/11/2018
Crux & Co Patisserie (Melbourne CBD)
They have a small selection of cakes but, wow, the yuzu cake is absolutely yummy and beautifully presented.
The barista prepares an excellent coffee and he is super-artsy with his coffee art, which he personalises for each client. Nicest coffee art I've seen in Melbourne.
This cafe is inside the Sheraton, barely noticeable from the street. It has a very small seating area, but it is very cozy and quiet.
Staff were very friendly, especially the boys.
I'll be back
10/08/2014
Regent Cakes (Northbridge, Perth WA)
Northbridge, WA 6003 Phone: 08 9227 8081
Hours
Mon-Fri: 9:30am-6:00pm
Sat-Sun: 10:00am-5:30pm
Wed: Closed
You have certainly passed many times by it and not noticed. It is by the Northbridge Post Office in Francis Street, tiny-winy place.
I am a fan of Regent Cakes because of the fluffiness of their sponges, the soft creaminess of their creams and mousses, their level of sweetness (not too sweet, right for me) and the ever-changing cakes slices. I hate iced cakes or icing in general, so I am happy to go to bakeries where I am the icing on the cake :)
I am not into their buns, but I have gone endless times to Regent Cakes for my lunch break to get my sweet fix, and they have always delivered in taste, freshness and variety. They have always new additions or variations on the same cake, which always makes me happy.
They are not sophisticated upper end cakes, but simple, fresh tasty ones prepared on the spot every day. They also prepare tarts and big cakes on order.
Prices for the slices are ridiculously good, 3.80 bucks for a slice of cake is just fantastic, or perhaps dangerous for your curves.
I have always had a terrific experience with the staff. They are super-friendly and so very lovely every time I visit.
I would like them to provide customers with plastic spoons, at least on request, as some cakes are a way tricky to eat without it, and my nose gets clowned by the cake's cream :)
MIND
Their day off is Wednesdays!
10/02/2014
Pastelería Isla (Granada, Spain)
18009 Granada
Spain
Phone: +34 958 222 405
Website
This patisserie was the first opened by Casa Isla in Granada (the original was founded in the nearby town of Santa Fe in the 19th century) and it was one of the few patisseries in the city when I was a kid. The place was a hang-up place for families on Sundays, after Mass, and was one of those places you would go to buy your sweets for birthdays and presents.
This is not a posh in vogue patisserie place by any means, as it is an old very small cafe, with a very limited seating area. Still, it has some elements that remind the visitor of its former splendour years, with a lovely marble counter, the chandelier lamps, the framed Royal Appointment, among other elements of decoration. The chairs used to be the traditional wooden ones, round tables, which I miss, because they made the perfect old-style cafe and were way comfier than the current ones.
They sell a selection of traditional sweets, cakes, slices, tarts, (and ice-creams and ice-cream tarts in the warmer months), but most people come here to have a coffee with a pionono or to buy boxes of piononos, which are delivered fresh every day and disappear every day way before closing time.
So, what is a pionono? It is a small sweet that you will only find in this city, no other place in Andalusia, Spain or the world. They could have the same name, but they are not the same. The original Granada pionono is a historical piece of patisserie. The founder of Casa Isla, Ceferino Isla, was its creator. This man was very religious and wanted to create a special sweet to honour Pope Pius the Ninth (Pio Nono in Spanish). So, he created a small cake that reminded him of the Pope's shape: plump, roundish, short, its head covered by a papal cap. In 1916 King Alfonso the 13th, while visiting a friend in Granada Province, was offered some piononos with his mid-afternoon tea. He loved them so much that he appointed Ceferino's patisserie an official provider of the Spanish Royal House. A title that the bakery still holds.The pionono is a golden small, short, plump spongy cylinder rolled over itself, slightly infused in syrup, topped by a round "cap" of toasted cream. It goes in one morsel, or two, perfect to date your coffee. It has a distinctive flavour, it is moist, mid level of sweetness, fluffy and very fresh.
Lately, the traditional piononos have been joined for some summery flavoured versions that are far behind regarding flavour and quality except for the citrus one, which I loved.
There are piononos in other patisseries in the city but they are not as good or fresh as the ones sold here. Regarding other sweets they sell, varies from type to type. I like some of them and not others. I used to love their ice-cream tarts when I was a kid.,
Service changes from person to person, some of the ladies lovely some others a bit dry and matter of fact. Thank Gosh for the moist cakes :).
If you are lucky to grab a seat, you will stay here for a long time, as this is one of those places that, for whatever reason, keeps people there talking for hours. No joke!
This places is part of my emotional-belly memory. Even the things I don't like make it special to me.
9/29/2014
Rey Fernando (Granada, Spain)
18009 Granada
Spain
Phone: +34 958 224 949
Website
Rey Fernando is one my fav coffee spots in the city because of its killer location in the commercial Reyes Católicos St, but also because of their coffee and cake slices.
The place is tiny, the preparation and display area occupying most of the premises, and the seating area is reduced to a few stools around the counter, and the upstairs seating area.
I love mousse cakes and slices so many o their sweets fit this bill perfectly. I absolutely love and recommend their Rey Fernando cake, as in my photo, which they also have with a white chocolate crust. I also like their piononos when they are fresh.
They have a lovely selection of ice-creams, gofres, pastries, frozen yoghurt, chocolate drinks, fresh juices, granita, and what is not.
The staff are very hard-working and lovely. They are matter of fact if you don't speak Spanish, as most of them have a very basic English, which does not allow them to interact with customers much. They are just lovely if you happen to speak Spanish or just make the effort to say a few words in Spanish.
MIND
> The coffee preparation and quality varies depending on the barista.
> The place is crowded at Spanish coffee times, so you have to stand.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Their piononos can be hiper-fresh or a bit stale. I guess it depends on the delivery days from the mother-bakery in Santafé, but I have seen noticeable differences in the level of freshness and taste depending on the days I have visited.
DOWNSIDES
Don't order churros! I have seen here cold churros being reheated, it is usually non-locals who come here for churros, not knowing that they have awesome churro places in Plaza Bibarrambla, three minutes away, prepared on the spot fresh all day long.
4/30/2013
Fiorentina (North Perth, Perth WA)
(08) 9328 7442
Website
Hours:
Mon - Sun: 07:00-17:00
L'amore per la vita dolce" -Love for the sweet life- is the motto of this family operated Italian patisserie, gelateria and café located at the bottom end of Angove St's café strip.
THE GOOD
+ Their selection of sweets and cakes is impressive with a mix of Australian traditional favourites, authentic Italian sweets, and European seasonal desserts. Their cabinet is a heaven for dessert-o-holics, and it is difficult to choose just one thing. Their macaroons are amongst the most popular item. They have wonderfully pre-packaged macaroons and cupcakes for Mother's Day, and other seasonal festivities, the last one I bought, a gorgeous china tea cup and saucer with a cupcake.
+ Portions are decently sized.
+ Food and coffee are better than in some of the cafés around.
+ They have very good quality cutlery and strong decent paper napkins. Little details make a difference.
+ Most of the staff are attentive, polite, friendly, and eager to serve.
+ Service is relatively fast.
+ No hype here. This is a family friendly place, with patrons from all ages (although mostly +30y.o.).
+ They have plenty of newspapers for customers.
+ Their cooling system for their alfresco area is super-cool (literally!) with a aspersion system that sprinkles cold air above the seating area. That is soooooo appropriate for Perth scorching summer!
+ They cater for functions, design your wedding or birthday cake, and sell ice-cream tarts.
+ I love their sweets and cake slices. They seem to have a new one each week, and they use seasonal produce. All of the ones I have tried were amazing.
- Their sweets are really tiny in size and a bit pricey. Some of them are really nice, but others are just average and not worth the price.
- Their lamb chunks can be very dry and hard, and difficult to cut with a normal knife.
- Although they have air-con inside, the place can be humid and hot in +30-degrees days.
- I have found isolated examples of staff rudeness and unfriendliness. It is a pity, because one person can ruin the reputation of the whole place. I have also found a sort of lack of organisation in the service at times.
- Service can be disorganised at times.
- The place is always crowded, and it can be tricky finding a place to seat during weekends.
= Provide sharp knives when serving steak or dishes with thick pieces of meat. It makes a whole difference!
= This is just a personal wish. I do not like elongated plates for my food, They limit the movement of my hand and moving the food around. On the other hand, how to put it? a round plate improves presentation and comes prettier in the photo...
= I think service need to be a more systematic. In the sense that one person takes care of one thing, so you don't have three people asking your if you have been served or three people not paying attention to you. One person at the cash, one person serving coffee, a person serving sweets, a waiter serving food on the tables, that sort of structuring of the service.
TIP
- Go for the lunch specials, macaroons, and coffee and you won't be disappointed.
- Seat outside in hot days. It sounds like a joke, but it will be cooler than inside!
- If you have a birthday or seasonal event and want a sweet gift for somebody walk in and check their special packed items for Mother's Day, Valentines, and other seasonal festivities.
3/03/2013
Esther's Cake Shop (Northbridge, Perth WA)
Northbridge WA 6003
(08) 9228 8783
Hours:
Mon-Sun 8:00 - 20:00
If you like Asian cakes, buns and pastries on the go, Esther's bakery is a must stop on William St. You will notice the place if you walk along the street because of the lovely smell coming from the shop a few metres before you get there.
THUMBS UP
Good prices.
Friendly service
Warm fresh stuff.
They open long hours, every day of the week.
THUMBS DOWN
No Efptos.
A place mostly for takeaways.
Some of the shop attendants have a limited English.
If you are not used to Asian bakeries, some of the stuff might taste odd.
8/03/2012
Lawley's Bakery Café (Highgate, Perth WA)
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9328 6866
http://www.lawleys.com.au/
Hours:
Mon-Sun 6:30 - 18:00
Mount Lawley's bakery café sells a huge range of breads, cakes, pastries, and pies at good prices.THE PLACE - The whole place looks large and rambling, and the seating area is unglamorous. At the same time, it has an air of familiarity that can be really welcoming and it is very pleasant for normal days visits. That is why it attracts a mix of people of all ages, gender and professions.
THE FOOD
* Their breakfast menu are acceptable and decently priced. The Big Lawley's breakfast is quite big and filling. Not bad, but as good as the one you could easily prepare at home.
* Their pies are completely forgettable, and are not baked on site, but by a supplier in Osborne Park. They had a few unusual things and flavours, and some of them look tempting, but they lack in flavour and are filling with lots of thick gravy and spare drops of the supposed filling. Go and grab yours elsewhere.
* Some of the sweets, on the contrary, are great. I am very picky with sweets, and I cannot stand too much sweetness or lack of flavour. In that regard, some of Lawley's sweets fit my palate perfectly.
- The fruit tartlets and matching petit-fours are delicious, especially the berries and citrus ones. The chocolate petit-fours are average. Some of the other tartlets are too sweet, and not that exciting, an example being the forgettable lemon lime brulee tartlet.
- The fruit cheese cakes are great: very light, mousse-like, fresh, right amount of sugar, very tasty and quite big. * Lawley's has a great variety of breads: gluten free, sourdough, sweet, savoury, Italian, German, French, Turkish, and everything in between. They are not cheap, but not expensive either for that sort of gourmet bread. The most exotic breads are great for special occasions and whimsical moments. My favourite loaves are the sourdough fig & fennel, and the sultanas & walnuts (the latter especially), which are perfect for gourmet breakfasts at home. Their rye and sunflower lunch rolls are my fav bread in here, followed by the simple rye long rolls - fluffy but dark in colour and rich in rye.
THE COFFEE
I have heard so many things about the coffee, that I was expecting one of those "weakies" that are spreading throughout Perth like the Plague. To my surprise the coffee was quite strong and dark, a bit bitter actually, so it definitely needed of sweetening. It was really well prepared and decent.
THE SERVICE
The service is uneven, varies from person to person, but most staff are friendly and nice; still, there is an I-don't-care-about-you air that really annoys me, which is especially evident when visiting in the quieter hours of the afternoon-evening. You could place yourself in front of any of the stands, nobody in the shop, and none of the staff would even care. It has happened to me. Still, I have found that when the place is really full, and flooded with customers, the guys put the batteries on and are very fast, efficient, friendly and serviceable. Should not be the other way around? Puzzling! Some of the guys do not give a damn about customers, unless they find them flirting material. But, hey, this is not high school, or is it? 
* I expect the staff to know the basic ingredients and taste of the products they sell as this is part of the job. I asked a staff member
a few questions: Is this hot? Is this very sweet? Is this chocolate? Is
this spicy? Dunno. I haven't tried it. That is unacceptable.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
1/ The owners should be training new staff to know the basic ingredients and taste of the products on sale, so they can inform customers when they ask. You do not have to try anything, just learn it by heart.2/ The staff should make an effort to show a bit of more enthusiasm and friendliness towards customers, especially when the shop is empty.
3/ The seating area needs a revamp, and a bit of detachment from the selling area. The floor absolutely needs to be changed, as it makes the place looks uglier than it actually is.
3/ Lawley's does not accept EPFTOS unless you expend +10$. They should charge a few cents for this sort of transaction, so it benefits both the business and the customer, not just the business.
6/ They should have different sizes of packing boxes. They pack the petit-fours and cakes without any care, unless you ask them to do so. They have big boxes for big cakes, and cartoon trays for others, but not small covered boxes. So, if you are walking with your sweets, you will get a deformed amorphous thing when you get home.
7/ Remove the chocolate cheese cake from the menu. Good looks are not enough. It tastes odd!
8/ The bread slicer does slice the bread unevenly. So please fix that. It is annoying getting slices that are too thin and others too thick in the same loaf!
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Go to Lawley's for the fruit cheesecakes, the fruit tartlets, fruit petit-fours, and sweet breads. I prefer New Norcia sourdoughs any time, to be honest, but the sweet breads here are fantastic as well as the rye lunch rolls.- This is a perfect place to get home-made style breakfast, which is great for lazy cooks (me!) and tradies.
- If you fancy some of the petit-fours, but do not need them for any special event, buy the matching tartlets, which are bigger, comparatively cheaper, and taste the same.
- If you need to use your card for little purchases go elsewhere, so you are not forced to buy anything you do not want.
- If you find the service annoying write a review. Most of the times, being understanding does not help things to improve. Hopefully, many people complaining about the poor service will make it better.
UPDATE 15/8/2012
Not even two weeks from my review on this place, and Lawley's has moved from their unglamorous previous location to a very nice, smaller but cozier, location a few meters up the hill, now at 616 Beaufort St in a little building painted with their trademark blue colour, in front of Zakka. It looks way better, cleaner, much more modern and much more inviting to have something in the premises. Some of the lazy people that used to be there are not longer there, at least at the times I usually visit, and most of them are quite nice and attentive.
Well done Lawleys!
Now that bread slicer is still slicing my bread badly. Is it so costly replacing or fixing the one they have? The one at Lawley's Subiaco works perfectly.
6/19/2012
Scents of Taste (Mount Lawley, Perth WA)
Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050
(08) 9272 6708
http://www.scentsoftaste.com.au
Hours:
Mon Closed
Tue-Fri 8:00 - 17:30
Sat 8:00 - 16:00
Sun 8:00 - 13:00
Scents of Taste is a tiny French Patisserie and bakery managed and operated by two real "Frenchies" Olivier Collas and Franck Gire, selling wonderful sweets, cakes and savoury treats. It is located in the heart of Mt Lawley, squeezed up by the Fat Dragon and Spectacles. The indoors area is very small, and includes both the baking and shop areas, but they have a nice alfresco area spread around the shop's footpath and part of the car park with umbrellas and funky super-cool orange chairs.
I have had a few tasting sessions of sweets, to my surprise!, me being more into savoury stuff, but everything I've tried is very good. Two cakes stand out for me despite being average-looking: the Pear & Almond Tartlet, and the Lemon Lime Broulee Tartlet, especially the latter. They are light, very fresh and full of flavour, with a nice thick creamy texture, constant fruity implosion of flavour in your mouth, and a yummy pastry base. Among the rich and sweeter cakes, I recommend you the gorgeous-looking architecturally-designed mousse-ish Chocolate & Caramel Fudge Tartlet. One of the things I like most about Scents of Taste's tartlets is that their bases are excellent regarding hardness, richness, and flavour. I usually don't eat the tartlets' base as most bakeries make them too hard, too sweet, or too rich, so I feel sickened after the first bite; but Scents of Taste' pastry bases are fine pastry and taste great.
The big cakes look great, especially the colourful macaroon ones. Unfortunately, you have to buy the whole cake, as no slices are served. Sigh! Find an excuse to organise a tea party at your place to buy one of those. I think, they would sell the slices easily, I cannot understand why they do not do so.
Their macaroons are huge and so good! Not the usual ultra-sugary cookie you find elsewhere. They taste divine, and have the flavour of the fruit or ingredient right there, in your mouth, not as an accessory, if you know what I mean.
The savoury section is less aesthetically pleasing but more substantial for your stomach, with an original mix of wraps, pies, sandwiches, quiches and pastries of considerable size and filling, which will make happy any hungry man - manly food!
They also have a few imported foods, coming directly from France: canard cassoulet and tinned blocs of real foie-grass. I am just making a wish list right now!
Service is friendly. One of the guys is very outgoing, extremely friendly and attentive, and the soul of the shop, and he is the one who attends to the customers. The other guy is much more serious, the baker, and the let's do business right of type.
The Pricing is very good for the pastries, which are absolutely divine. Average price for deluxe pastries sounds good to me. However, the mini-tartlets and mini-cakes are pricey: average 7 bucks. Macaroons are 5 bucks. If you want to be satisfied you need at least two or each (or is it just me?). Their savoury food is also pricey. Having said so, comparatively speaking, buying a whole cake is not that expensive.
The main down of the site is, firstly, that they don't have a proper enclosed cafeteria to seat and enjoy their sweets, as their alfresco area is not convenient on rainy cold days. Secondly, the pricing of the small cakes and tartlets; they are very good but a bit expensive too. The main sin of Scents of Taste is, however, their absolutely tasteless coffee (Griffiths'). What a disappointment! A good coffee enhances the flavour of any sweet, but if it tastes of nothing, you better grab the sweets and have the coffee elsewhere, or, my trick in emergency cases, order a topped-up macchiato, and no sugar.
TIP
+ If you are short of money and just want to grab one thing, go definitely for the Danish, it is big, it tastes divine, and it looks divine.
+ If you want just one treat go for the Lemon Lime Brulee Tartlet.
NOTE
They only bake brioches on Saturday, just if the guy has the time, which is rarely - his words! If you get them in the shop, you are lucky.
