If you want fresh pastries, don't come here. My friend and I are in Florida for three weeks, and…read moreshe was craving a Napoleon. We found this place and drove a half hour to get where we assumed, and rightly so, that a French Bakery would have fresh baked goods. Not so with this place.
For $9 each, we got two Napoleons. So $18, plus tax for two pastries. They were hard, not flakey. The custard was rubbery. The frosting was breaking apart and dry. They tasted old. Neither of us ate them after a couple bites. In the garbage they went. I went up and asked the girls working there if they had been made today. No, they had been purchased from a different bakery, frozen, and thawed out. This is not a bakery. It's an overpriced food recycler. They asked if it was bad. I told them how awful it was. They said that maybe they needed to go back to their old supplier. Seriously?? Maybe they should actually try baking something. I mean, it is a bakery. They offered no refund. Stay away unless you like throwing your hard earned money away on frozen, stale, pre-packaged food.
REPLY TO YOUR REPLY:
First, I was unaware of the policy you mentioned and have removed the other business name. I just thought I would let people know that there definitely IS another place in Venice to get a Napoleon. My friend and I purchased two of them at the other business the very same day we threw yours in the garbage.
Second, I have no problem paying the amount you charge, if the item is a quality product. The problem was paying that price (or any price) for something dry, stale, and rubbery. We made a special trip to Venice from Englewood to purchase Napoleons, not as far as Fort Myers, but still out of our way.
I truly think you're missing the point of my review, which was our PERSONAL experience, the one and only time we tried your product. I wasn't writing about all of the other times your Napoleons were supposedly incredible. My review is only about the day my friend and I each purchased them from your store. Maybe every other Napoleon you have ever sold is worthy of a Michelin Star, although it seems unlikely, but ours were horrible.
Next, two of your own employees told me your Napoleons were made somewhere else, frozen, and thawed out for your "bakery." Were they just making that up? Were they also making up the part about how you should maybe switch back to your other supplier? Seems unlikely.
Your lengthy reply read like an advertisement for your business. It did not address the issues this customer had. If your Napoleons are all you say they are, maybe by some fluke, we ended up there the one and only time they were inedible. You could have tried to make it right with us. You could have offered us a gift certificate to try them the next time we are in the area, so we could experience what you say everyone else experiences.
Your employees could have been trained better and known what they should do if customers say the food they purchased was horrible and worthy of the garbage can. I politely asked if the items were made that day, and they filled me in on how things are done there. I told them the details of our experience and about how we threw them away. No offer of a refund, and I didn't ask. Buyer beware, I guess.
You say in your reply that you would prefer to keep our discussion focused on "our own experience with you" rather than comparisons. You were given a clear explanation of our experience and all but ignored it in your reply. At the end you say you "regret that our visit didn't meet our expectations."
My review was honest. It was what two adults with realistic expectations experienced with the only purchase ever made at your establishment. I have nothing else to go on.
In addition, you are not the only provider of Napoleons in the county, as you claim. You're not even the only provider of Napoleons in Venice.