I had a terrible experience last morning when I went for pastries and coffee with friends visiting from England. The lady behind the counter was unfriendly and made us feel uncomfortable when we asked if we could have oat milk in our coffee. This is not the first time I have had unfriendly service here so while paying I let the lady know that the pastries were great but that the service was consistently unfriendly and unwelcoming. Her response to me and my friend was a stern, “well then don’t come back.” I was shocked at her response and asked to see the manager. She told me that she was the owner which was even more shocking. I choose never to leave negative feedback. On restaurants. This time I feel different because I have never experienced anything like this in a restaurant before. My friend, a pastry chef from London-Manchester was horrified and commented that pastries are to be baked and served with happiness and love. This was sadly far from that. No surprise this will be my last visit here. I have a choice of so many wonderful customer oriented bakeries in Boston including a local James Beard winning pastry chef in the neighbourhood.
odali sanhueza
I am a regular customer as I live on the same street. Today I went to buy macarons and canelé. While the food is great the customer experience was awful. When I entered the store the person behind the counter shouted at me “only 3 customers”. Then when it was my turn she took my order but was very rude. I told to the person who was behind the cashier to tell her colleague to be polite. The other person heard me and said “I don’t care” and when I told her directly: “this is a customer service job you need to be polite” she replied “we sell everything every day so I don’t need to be polite”. I was shocked. I am French, I am used to people being rude but at this level in Boston I was very surprised. To be fair, the canelé and macarons are very good so congrats to the pâtissier and it’s a pity that the service is so rude.
Georgia Thomas
DELICIOUS PASTRIES!! OMG the pastries are incredible! The cookies & croissants OMG. They can run out later in the morning especially on the weekends, so make sure to get their earlier rather than later. But well worth the price!! I recommend bringing them home to warm them up for a few seconds too!
Rachel Carducci
Used to really love going here, but have had several terrible interactions with Andrew, one of the employees. Most recently my husband ordered a coffee with splash of cream, and what he was given was basically a cup of milk. When my husband asked if Andrew could remake the coffee, with no milk, he replied “no, because he would be giving it away for free”. Andrew has tainted our experience and we won’t be stopping in anymore. Plenty of other great bakeries in the South End, including Render, which is a block away, with much nicer staff.
Leah Klein
Delicious French pastries. We especially love the croissants and canelés.
Will Mercer
Ordered ham and cheese croissant and blueberry muffin, both were ok at best. The croissant was cold and did not even offer to warm them, the muffin lacked flavor and most of it clung to the wrapper.Friendliness and hospitality is not their specialty either. Could not even get a smile or a hello.Very disappointing, would not visit or recommend ever.
Jess Taylor
First the good: their croissants are the best I have ever had in the US. They are absolutely amazing. The problem is that they sell out of them every day before 7:30 AM. Even on weekends, when people don't want to buy pastries before 7:30 AM. For some reason this cafe just refuses to make more. After selling out literally every day, for over 2 years, they still will not bake more. People stand in line each morning patiently waiting for their yummy pastries, only to get into the place and see that all they have left is a few random cookies. It's become a joke among the neighbors - you want an almond croissant tomorrow AM? What time are you getting in line tonight?
Katherine Anthony
Such a good bakery! The croissants are so flaky and there's always a nice assortment of other bakery items. It is more on the expensive side, but these items are likely more difficult to make than the average bakery item. Back in the pre-covid times, there were a few spots to sit but the cafe is pretty small. The exterior is so cute with the South end brownstones.
Ros
The pastries definitely worth the price and effort! I don’t live nearby and have to drive a long way to visit but it all worth it! Very authentic French taste and premium ingredients for sure.Some people mentioned staff was unfriendly - They are humans!!! They would get tired and less patient around the end of the day because they open from 6:30am in the morning and it’s a loooong day until they close. They are super friendly if visiting earlier in a day.
M.M. L.F.
I’ve been here so many times because the pastries are good tasting and beautifully made, but they have incredibly rude service. The owner/chef is especially unfriendly. This last time she looked upset from the moment we came in and then was really mean because I touched the glass counter with my finger while pointing at something I wanted to order. I can understand people being paranoid about cleanliness these days, but her reaction was over-the-top. And the irony is that after all that they don’t have touchless payment systems. You still have to hand them their card, and sign a slip with their pen if you’re not carrying one, which was all handled by the same person who serves the pastries. Also I was wearing a mask and neither of them were wearing one so I doubt this was about covid. Super strange and uncomfortable interaction.
Pastries and bakery are amazing supper yummy! Prices are reasonable. There coffee drip need some help
Sam kassis
Great bakery 5 stars for the pastry but 2 stars for the coffee it was kind of warren instead of hot and heavy.They decently need to work on improving their coffee
alexdN9390TP
Amazing food. Terrible service. I have seen places serve dinner faster than it takes them to serve 2 croissants and a coffee.
Ansh Jain
It's very easy to miss this tiny bakery-cafe on the corner. But do yourself a favour and don't miss it. Their pastries are absolutely amazing - tried a few items today and all were very good. Friendly staff too. I'll be back for sure.
Eric Butts
As others have mentioned, service is slow, not overly polite, and they are frequently sold out of baked goods. I understand that bakeries will regularly run out of their daily baked goods, but in Cafe Madeleine's case it seems they never make enough stock.
I had a terrible experience last morning when I went for pastries and coffee with friends visiting from England. The lady behind the counter was unfriendly and made us feel uncomfortable when we asked if we could have oat milk in our coffee. This is not the first time I have had unfriendly service here so while paying I let the lady know that the pastries were great but that the service was consistently unfriendly and unwelcoming. Her response to me and my friend was a stern, “well then don’t come back.” I was shocked at her response and asked to see the manager. She told me that she was the owner which was even more shocking. I choose never to leave negative feedback. On restaurants. This time I feel different because I have never experienced anything like this in a restaurant before. My friend, a pastry chef from London-Manchester was horrified and commented that pastries are to be baked and served with happiness and love. This was sadly far from that. No surprise this will be my last visit here. I have a choice of so many wonderful customer oriented bakeries in Boston including a local James Beard winning pastry chef in the neighbourhood.
I am a regular customer as I live on the same street. Today I went to buy macarons and canelé. While the food is great the customer experience was awful. When I entered the store the person behind the counter shouted at me “only 3 customers”. Then when it was my turn she took my order but was very rude. I told to the person who was behind the cashier to tell her colleague to be polite. The other person heard me and said “I don’t care” and when I told her directly: “this is a customer service job you need to be polite” she replied “we sell everything every day so I don’t need to be polite”. I was shocked. I am French, I am used to people being rude but at this level in Boston I was very surprised. To be fair, the canelé and macarons are very good so congrats to the pâtissier and it’s a pity that the service is so rude.
DELICIOUS PASTRIES!! OMG the pastries are incredible! The cookies & croissants OMG. They can run out later in the morning especially on the weekends, so make sure to get their earlier rather than later. But well worth the price!! I recommend bringing them home to warm them up for a few seconds too!
Used to really love going here, but have had several terrible interactions with Andrew, one of the employees. Most recently my husband ordered a coffee with splash of cream, and what he was given was basically a cup of milk. When my husband asked if Andrew could remake the coffee, with no milk, he replied “no, because he would be giving it away for free”. Andrew has tainted our experience and we won’t be stopping in anymore. Plenty of other great bakeries in the South End, including Render, which is a block away, with much nicer staff.
Delicious French pastries. We especially love the croissants and canelés.
Ordered ham and cheese croissant and blueberry muffin, both were ok at best. The croissant was cold and did not even offer to warm them, the muffin lacked flavor and most of it clung to the wrapper.Friendliness and hospitality is not their specialty either. Could not even get a smile or a hello.Very disappointing, would not visit or recommend ever.
First the good: their croissants are the best I have ever had in the US. They are absolutely amazing. The problem is that they sell out of them every day before 7:30 AM. Even on weekends, when people don't want to buy pastries before 7:30 AM. For some reason this cafe just refuses to make more. After selling out literally every day, for over 2 years, they still will not bake more. People stand in line each morning patiently waiting for their yummy pastries, only to get into the place and see that all they have left is a few random cookies. It's become a joke among the neighbors - you want an almond croissant tomorrow AM? What time are you getting in line tonight?
Such a good bakery! The croissants are so flaky and there's always a nice assortment of other bakery items. It is more on the expensive side, but these items are likely more difficult to make than the average bakery item. Back in the pre-covid times, there were a few spots to sit but the cafe is pretty small. The exterior is so cute with the South end brownstones.
The pastries definitely worth the price and effort! I don’t live nearby and have to drive a long way to visit but it all worth it! Very authentic French taste and premium ingredients for sure.Some people mentioned staff was unfriendly - They are humans!!! They would get tired and less patient around the end of the day because they open from 6:30am in the morning and it’s a loooong day until they close. They are super friendly if visiting earlier in a day.
I’ve been here so many times because the pastries are good tasting and beautifully made, but they have incredibly rude service. The owner/chef is especially unfriendly. This last time she looked upset from the moment we came in and then was really mean because I touched the glass counter with my finger while pointing at something I wanted to order. I can understand people being paranoid about cleanliness these days, but her reaction was over-the-top. And the irony is that after all that they don’t have touchless payment systems. You still have to hand them their card, and sign a slip with their pen if you’re not carrying one, which was all handled by the same person who serves the pastries. Also I was wearing a mask and neither of them were wearing one so I doubt this was about covid. Super strange and uncomfortable interaction.
Restaurantji Recommends
Pastries and bakery are amazing supper yummy! Prices are reasonable. There coffee drip need some help
Great bakery 5 stars for the pastry but 2 stars for the coffee it was kind of warren instead of hot and heavy.They decently need to work on improving their coffee
Amazing food. Terrible service. I have seen places serve dinner faster than it takes them to serve 2 croissants and a coffee.
It's very easy to miss this tiny bakery-cafe on the corner. But do yourself a favour and don't miss it. Their pastries are absolutely amazing - tried a few items today and all were very good. Friendly staff too. I'll be back for sure.
As others have mentioned, service is slow, not overly polite, and they are frequently sold out of baked goods. I understand that bakeries will regularly run out of their daily baked goods, but in Cafe Madeleine's case it seems they never make enough stock.
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