Alexander’s Patisserie

9/18/2016

• 1 check-in

Do you ever get those days when you say to yourself, "I worked so hard this week... I was good on my diet... etc." and decide that you deserve to treat yo'self? I like to treat myself to a dessert at Alexander's Patisserie, which essentially means I feel like I deserve it every week. Alexander's Patisserie is sweet tooth heaven, but it's way more superior than places like Paris Baguette. First of all, it's a product of Alexander's Steakhouse. Nothing about the Alexander's brand is basic. Yes, Alexander's Patisserie is pricey, but you get what you pay for--artisan baked pastries, gourmet truffles, macarons, and decadent desserts.

So far I've tried the following desserts and liked them all:

- Vanilla Tart
It has a light vanilla taste and not overly sweet. This is my absolute favorite dessert at Alexander's Patisserie, and it's the one I get 90% of the time. Truthfully, the only reason I have tried another flavor is because the Vanilla Tart has ran out on me a couple of times.

- Tahiti (Tart)
Very similar to the Vanilla Tart.

- The Violet (Tart)
It tastes like a lemon tart but with a blueberry compote in the center.

- Chocolate Pillow
Rich chocolate mouse with a rice crispy bottom "crust."

9/12/2016

This review is based mainly on macarons. I bought three in total and they all had a different consistency. One was chewy while the other two weren't.

I picked raspberry rose, London fog, and lavender. I love anything that is floral flavored so I knew I had to try the rose and lavender. The rose raspberry was wayyy too sweet. It felt like biting into sour raspberry jam. Sorry but I had to throw it out because I just didn't like it at all. The London fog is good, I like the earl grey flavor a lot. But I still thought it was a bit sweet for my liking. The lavender was okay. Based on three macarons I bought, I don't think I'll buy anymore macarons from here anymore. They were pretty average. The cakes do look very cute and appetizing though so I may return for those.

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  Lavender, rose raspberry, London fog

  Lavender, rose raspberry, London fog
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8/21/2016 Updated review

Aside from a salted caramel kouign amann, we picked up a raspberry rose lemon croissant and two macarons: a macanana and a London fog.

The macarons were a little disappointing. While very pretty and detailed, the shells were a little too crispy and not chewy enough for me. Was that batch overcooked? Did the macarons not sit long enough for the filling to soften the macaron to the perfect texture? The world may never know. I did like the flavorings. The macanana wasn't particularly macadamia or banana flavored, but it was on the fruitier side. And the London fog was floral and citrusy without being soapy of perfumy.

I admit that I chose the raspberry rose lemon croissant partially because it was pretty. The rose stuck out like a sore thumb, because I'm not a huge fan of flowery flavors in my food. Nevertheless, this croissant was very light on the rose (thank goodness), and it seemed like the pink crystals were predominately there for aesthetic reasons. There were freeze dried raspberries on top and raspberry jam in the middle, as well as a zingy lemon glaze on top; both of these sweet/tart elements served to add some freshness to what was an otherwise rich croissant. Speaking of the croissant, that texture. It was airy but also dense enough to have a good chew, with golden (golden, but not burnt like one place everyone raves about) layers that rained everywhere upon contact. Had I just had this croissant, I would have been perfectly happy. But then we moved into the kouign amann.

If the croissant was buttery and flaky and decadent, the kouign amann was triply so. It shattered on contact, the sugar crystals stuck to the pastry still apparent. The center was slightly chewy, but in no way doughy. My mom said it tasted like there was butter oozing from its pores, but that sounds gross. This was buttery, but completely delicious and not at all greasy. The kouign amann itself was caramelized (both the pastry was golden and the sugar laminated into the pastry was transformed), but there was also a pool of salted caramel in the center of it. Mmm.

Four stars. A bit pricey, but super high quality. Get the kouign amann.

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  Salted caramel kouign amann

  Salted caramel kouign amann
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  Salted caramel kouign amann

  Salted caramel kouign amann

10/8/2016

Cake and drink were good.
But they served different cake and drinks which we didn't order although the cashier reconfirmed my order, and their attitude was not a polite, rather rude, no apologies. They should learn what a manner is for such services because we come these pricy patisserie to enjoy the atmosphere. I think fast food restaurant provides better response and smile.

7/9/2016

• 7 check-ins

Canelé my heart.

They do it so well. Crispy exterior, bread pudding in the middle. Small size. My new go-to dessert.

I've previously had the macarons. They were also good.

I'm looking forward to trying a cake or dessert. Everything here is great. From the ambiance to the presentation to the offerings. I'm a fan

There's a fair amount of seating inside! (Castro)Street parking is ok too.

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  Panna cotta thing

  Panna cotta thing
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  Vanilla chocolate think. OMG yum!

  Vanilla chocolate think. OMG yum!

7/17/2016

• 1 check-in

Always a line on the weekends, limited seating!

Amazing baked goods. The cakes are always amazing. Was going to pick up a green tea flavored dessert, sampled a red tinted cake and my mind was instantly changed. It was beautiful - it was knocked over in the car and broke on the way home but held up pretty well (minus a little crater in the cake..).

Highly recommend if you enjoys specialty made cakes! Price is a bit steep - at least $7 for a small dessert. Cakes begin around $40.

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  $10 box had a minor accident while transporting it home

  $10 box had a minor accident while transporting it home
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10/7/2016

These guys are high end pastry chefs.  At first I never visited except to meet people for coffee (the coffee is good).  They recently lowered the price of their sandwiches to five bucks, and the prime rib with horseradish is excellent.  So now I come for a sandwich and a coffee sometimes.  Love that prime rib and horseradish sandwich on fresh baked sourdough.

I would say the décor is almost Alice in wonderland themed, which I wish they would embrace a little more.

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  Prime rib and horseradish sandwich and a coffee. Ten buck including a two dollar tip.

  Prime rib and horseradish sandwich and a coffee. Ten buck including a two dollar tip.

7/7/2016

I tried the Black Forest (mousse cake) and the Strawberry Fields (fruit on top of a giant macaron).

The desserts are a bit too sweet, and for $10 each, it's overpriced. You're essentially paying for the ambiance and the opulently decorated sweets. With that being said, this would be a cute place for date night or a special occasion though.

3.5

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  Strawberry Fields

  Strawberry Fields
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  Black Forest (foreground) Strawberry Fields (background)

  Black Forest (foreground) Strawberry Fields (background)

6/1/2016

• 1 check-in

Have a sweet tooth after lunch or dinner?! Then this is theeee place for you! This bakery is super-duper cute and is basically the example of what you would find on every corner shop in Europe.

As soon as you walk in, you immediately get the feeling that this is an upscale French bakery, when in reality that is just the decor coming off that way. I wish this bakery provided easier instructions on how the line system works, because for now, you basically was in and place your order, it causes slight chaos. Other than that, his bakery is really clean and well decorated inside. Each display window has a different item on display: left side is macaroons, the center is tarts and the far right is pastries.

My absolute favorite would have to be the vanilla bean tart. It's a combination of cracker-cookie crust with a soft custard middle, topped with a sweet cream. It's best to have this pastry cold.
Ugh, I want one right now! (Trust me, they are good!)

Be sure to visit this bakery, you won't be disappointed, as they have many options for every sweet tooth!

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  This is the one!

  This is the one!
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• See all photos from Lene N. for Alexander's Patisserie

5/15/2016

• 2 check-ins

• Listed in 100 2016, Norcal Loves

Oh my gosh this place is awesome! Very clean and modern & located in downtown Mountain View. Their baked goods are absolutely delicious. I'm so excited they're opening up a bakery attached to the steakhouse opening at Main Street in Cupertino. The large eggs on display area are made of real chocolate!

We got
+++ Vanilla Tart +++ Tahitian vanilla ganache/ vanilla mascarpone cream. Not too sweet but has a very delicate vanilla taste. The tart was well made.
+++ Violet +++ this is a new creation recommended by the staff. It was so yummy! Light cake, blueberry inside with shortbread bottom and crunchy granola goodness.
+++ Earl grey and honey chamomile macaron +++ both were delightful and so on point!

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  Strawberry fields, chocolate pillow, and lavender, honey chamomile, and coffee macarons

  Strawberry fields, chocolate pillow, and lavender, honey chamomile, and coffee macarons
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  Chocolates of all different flavors

  Chocolates of all different flavors
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  These are made of real chocolate! Hugeeee I thought they were fake. The large eggs are over one foot tall

  These are made of real chocolate! Hugeeee I thought they were fake. The large eggs are over one foot tall
• See all photos from Sam W. for Alexander's Patisserie

10/9/2016

Service is not matching the price they are charging. Service used to be much better, sad that this one is going downhill.

7/29/2016

Ok place, but expensive. They even have tiny bits of gold on some of their pastries! I'm not into super high end/fancy food hence the 3 stars. My sister loves this place and got a dark chocolate something for 3 people to try. It like a chocolate dome with mini purple macaron around it snd a cherry inside (~$11 with tax). Thought it was ok. They also have coffee, tea, and baguette sandwiches. Near eureka! In the Castro area.

Likes: beautifully made chocolates ( they had some that looked like shiny marbles), sit down area very cute, polite employees, each chocolate piece around $10. GOLD on your dessert!

It's a place to go to treat yourself or try out if you love nice/fancy/expensive things. Macarons, cakes, chocolates, and some pastries sold here.

5/4/2016

• 1 check-in

SO FANCY. Am I in a jewelry shop! This place has very nice ambiance and decor. The pastries and sweets look so immaculate. The seating feels so regal.

I got a hazelnut eclair. The eclair wasn't soft or soggy(I suppose this is ideal). The inside cream was smooth and delicious. It reminded me of upscale Nutella. I felt so dainty eating this eclair.

It's not cheap though, like $8 or so.

7/31/2016

I have a major sweet tooth and love this place! I've been here a few times and have been lucky enough to not have to wait in line, and have always found a table/seat. I haven't tried their savory selection yet, but their dessert is so good!

Hazelnut Eclair - this is probably the best $7 I ever spent! The eclair had a hazelnut filling, which had the right amount of sweetness and the whole hazelnuts and cookie pieces on top added a nice crunch. I would definitely come back for this.

Pokeball - this was too pricey for what it was, but I got it to surprise the bf since he plays Pokemon GO, lol. It's basically a cute wonderball with a bonbon inside. Nothing special about the chocolate pokeball in terms of taste, and the bonbon inside was a marshmallow bonbon (I don't like marshmallow). I probably wouldn't get this for myself, but I would get it again as a gift. The smile it puts on someone's face is worth it.

Black Forest something - I forgot what this is called but it's a fancy shmancy black forest cake/dome decorated with mini macaron shells. This would be a good choice if you like chocolate mousse and cherries, or want something both fruity and chocolatey.

Chocolate tart - I was craving chocolate when I picked this, and this was really really chocolatey. The chocolate tart was pretty good the first few bites, but I ended up picking out the chocolate slices from the tart and just ate the tart because the chocolate/ganache was too much. The tart itself was really good and "buttery."

Matcha cake - I forgot the name for this but it was a layered matcha sponge cake with orange slices on top. This was probably my least favorite, but a good choice if you want something light and fruity.

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  Chocolate tart and matcha layered cake

  Chocolate tart and matcha layered cake
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  My favorite! Hazelnut eclair

  My favorite! Hazelnut eclair
• See all photos from Hong L. for Alexander's Patisserie

8/14/2016

Just deliciousness! What I got: macarons, black sesame croissant, pokeball &strawberries field.  All the macarons were full of flavor and not overly sweet.  Some were fresher than others.  I wish the freshness was a little more consistent. Sesame croissant was delicious, but only get this if you love black sesame.  The filling is a rich creamy black sesame paste.  Strawberries field was also delicious  and the passionfruit flavor really complimented the macaron and the strawberries.

This place is dangerous!!!! Too many calorie packed delicious treats..... Will def be back for the macarons!

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  My dessert splurge....

  My dessert splurge....

3/23/2016

• 1 check-in

I like that they finally have some kind of bakery shop on Castro St.

I like the decoration at Alexander's Patisserie.

I like the selection of desserts.

I didn't care for the vanilla tart.

I definitely didn't care for the lemon tart. The texture was a little odd compared to most places.

I would like to see an improvement on service and the whole setup. Can't be a bit confusing.

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  lemon tart

  lemon tart
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  vanilla tart

  vanilla tart

7/11/2016

• 1 check-in

Heaven on earth! Not even kidding, the desserts here are the prettiest I've ever seen. Initially, I was skeptical about how they would taste. But they taste as good as they look! And for how amazing they look, that's pretty impressive. Everything in the store is very luxurious-looking. The tables, chairs, DESSERTS, boxes, lights...literally everything. So it's a very...complete experience, haha.

My bf and I decided to try two of their desserts: Little Tahiti and Chocolate Pillow. First off, let's acknowledge how cute and creative their names are. And the names all fit the desserts so well! My favorite out of the two was definitely Little Tahiti. It's a very light and fluffy dessert. The vanilla and mascarpone went so well together, as did the textures. The level of sweetness was just right, and I really appreciated the thought and care that went into making/decorating this dessert! Make sure you get all layers of the dessert in each bite--the layers are very different (and already very good by themselves) but taste even more amazing together. The Chocolate Pillow was delicious as well (Little Tahiti was only marginally better). The texture is a lot more creamy thanks to the chocolate, but it's not overly sweet, and even the texture is very well-balanced out with the rice krispies that they layer on the bottom of the dessert. So definitely eat the two layers together!

The desserts here are definitely pretty pricey ($9 and the desserts aren't big either). But the quality makes it so worth it, and I will be coming back again and again!

10/6/2016

I went in here because it looks so fancy outside when I came in the atmosphere was pretty cool the tarts look good as well so I got the vanilla tart because they said that that was the most popular one but honestly it is so overpriced for almost 8 dollars for a tiny little tart and it's not that great

3/1/2016

• Listed in Sugar Sugar

I love well executed, elegant, European style pastries.

I wanted to visit when they first opened but life has a way of prioritizing things.

I don't ask for much. This was it.

I visited first thing in the morning with my younger daughter. We enjoyed some sweets with our respective cups of coffee while our other purchases were wrapped to go.

I completely understand why everyone complains about the lack of seating. I also understand and appreciate why they don't squeeze more tables and chairs into the place. Think First Class vs Coach.

Lots of complaints things here are overpriced. I disagree. I think nothing of spending an entire day making croissants or baking broiche. Sometimes I make desserts for my family like eclairs, la tart aux pommes, assorted macarons. My point is, I know how much time and effort goes into mastering the techniques needed to produce a beautiful french style pastry.

When I consider what I pay for similar items around the Bay area - not crappy versions, the prices here are similar.

I loved almost everything I purchased. I won't insult your intelligence by breaking down each item. If you know the technical merits of European Pastries, you know what to expect here.

My only disappointment? I did not find the macarons worth the calories or the money but I like the flavors like London Fog. I can appreciate the challenge of intensifying the tea flavors without the bitter notes taking over the entire ganache...or the inability to intensify any ganache flavor when those grams have to add up or it will soak the macaron and that defeats the purpose of the entire thing.

I spent $81 for:
2 large cups of coffee
Kouign Amann
Apricot Star
Cromlette
Lemon Tart
Hazelnut Chocolate Tart
6 macarons
Chocolate pillow
Roxanne
Black Forest

The space is elegant, the service is professional, helpful, and friendly, the price is similar to what I have paid elsewhere...

...the pastries were so delicious! Well worth the drive.

I felt really special when I was here. I was happy to taste European pastries that challenge me to be a better home baker. Sometimes that in itself is all the justification I need to return and recommend.

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  I bought some things to share with my loved ones.

  I bought some things to share with my loved ones.
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  This Lemon Tart was everything.

  This Lemon Tart was everything.
• See all photos from Jennifer C P. for Alexander's Patisserie

2/22/2016

• 1 check-in

Amazing desserts. 5 STARS.

This place is far far away for me but I have seen so many Instagram famous people kept posting pictures about the desserts/pastries they make! I could not take it any longer so I made my brother take me here.

The store has a bright sign on the outside and bright lights inside. The lights give off a clean and welcoming vibe that attracts people to want to go in and check it out. The pastries they make is not cheap. It is certainly above average cake shops and the interior design is gorgeous. It is about $7-12 for a small cake/pastry. They also have hot/cold drinks. I got their chamomile tea ($5) a cup and it was so good! The flowery taste from this tea can be smelled from afar. It is a good combo with the sweet chocolatey desserts that I've gotten. I'll definitely recommend this place to all the sweet tooths out there! :)

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  Fresh

  Fresh
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  Black Forest

  Black Forest
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  Yummmm

  Yummmm
• See all photos from Sammi L. for Alexander's Patisserie