Doesn't Recommend

jcrabill

Joined 7 years ago

A disappointment - won't be back soon. I found very little ?French? about this bakery. It reminded me more of a dirty ristorante in the touristy parts of Rome. Thinking we might find a buche de Noel (yule log), and perhaps some nice pastries for our 4 o'clock, we headed down to this underwhelming establishment in an unlikely neighborhood, where the owner feels the need for iron bars on the windows.

The large, mustachioed man behind the counter was curt and unhelpful. We asked about their yule logs, and were shown a lop-sided cake and told a 1/3 of it would run us nearly $40. (We reflected on it, and later called to cancel the order.) The pastry selection was poor, but in order that the trip wouldn't be a bust, we selected 4 small pastries. They were placed on top of one another in a small box. And the large, Italian man told us our total was a little under $25. We paid, but hadn't stepped out the door before we wished we could take them back and demand a refund. Tasting them that afternoon only confirmed this desire. Don't get me wrong: they were decent, and one of the four was actually quite good. But they are nothing special. You don't pay that much for pastries next door to the Louvre; you'd think in a bad part of Norfolk, at that price, they could serve up something of a little higher quality.

I can't speak to their pastrami, which I hear is excellent. Needless to say, I won't be back to find out. Perhaps those are the regular prices we were quoted (nothing was labeled), but it felt like the sort of place where family and the regulars get free food and strangers pay for their ignorance. I was thoroughly disappointed.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Longtime Norfolk shop serves up high-end European pastries and deli sandwiches in a casual atmosphere.. In Short
Buried within historic Riverview, this family owned bakery has amassed an eclectic clientele over its decades of operation. Customers don't come for ambience--considering the small, dusty interior with worn burgundy seated stools assembled around worn wooden tables--they come for the hard-to-find Grade A pastrami sandwiches and the popular roast pork sandwiches. For dessert, the made-from-scratch almond elephant ears or custard filled chocolate eclairs can be perfectly paired with imported espresso.