Lindsey & Amanda came right on time with the product already prepped. Everything you see on the…read moreisland from the flowers to the serving spoons & cheese knives they brought for the grazing table. They build onsite, NOT prebuilt on boards and pieced together. The extent of work putting this together not to mention sourcing each selected product is something you'll be happy was done for you. This is much more than a charcuterie board on steroids.... It's truly a work of art, a conversation piece & will blow your friends & family mind. We had over 120 adults & around 15 kids. Everyone found something. We opted no nuts/shellfish due to allergies. Not pictured are a few desserts provided including vegan cookie dough dip (you will crave after trying) & truffle balls.

We found Lindsey by happenstance--thank goodness for Google! We were initially working with another…read morebaker to make cheesecakes for our wedding dessert and they unfortunately were not professional and left us hanging in the wind. Fear not, Sweets by Kash to the rescue!!! I called Lindsey up about 3.5 months out from our wedding date and explained everything. She did say that was not her specialty, but man she hit it out of the park! We were having a small wedding and wanted to have cheesecake as our "cake". We already had a sweets table and wanted to beef up the options for guests, as well as pay homage to our first date. Our first date was at the Cheesecake Factory and we thought it would be perfect for us. It was easy to set up a tasting. We chose to pick up the cheesecake from Lindsey and have a little date night at home and test it all out. The packaging was super cute and the decorations on top were beautiful. But the flavors, WOW! I think cheesecake is so underrated. It's rich and creamy and is such a great dessert. We devoured the tasting cheesecake in a few days LOL. Honestly, with how simple everything was to set up and get answers to our questions immediately, I knew we had someone good. But the flavors, MMMMMMMMM!!! We didn't even finish an entire piece and I knew Lindsey was the baker for us. We love to support local businesses as well, so in the end everything worked out. So we booked Sweets by Kash and had her deliver to our venue and set up the cheesecake for us. They were all so beautiful and we got so many compliments on the taste. We ordered chocolate chip cheesecake and Oreo, as well as a gluten free chocolate chip cheesecake. Our GF guests really appreciated being able to eat a dessert in its entirety and said it was outstanding. We opted to save the top so we could enjoy that deliciousness all weekend, but someone walked away with it sadly. I will absolutely placing an order so we can celebrate our wedding anniversary with our special cheesecake (and no, I will not be waiting an entire year, because that cheesecake is too dang good to wait!). Thank you Lindsey for being amazing to work with and I don't have the professional photos back yet, but if you zoom in on this one, you can see the lovely set up in the background.

Kari's Rating 9.9/10…read more TLDR: -Seriously my favorite bakery ever and I'm a bakery connoisseur -The flakiest most delicious pastries -Handcrafted sweets and made to order cakes This is my absolute favorite bakery to go to when I am home in Barrington. I've been coming to ambrosia for at least 20 years since my childhood, and this bakery never disappoints. The only reason it didn't get a 10 out of 10 was because sometimes they're closed on days when I need them open, and I find myself to be extremely disappointed I forgot to read the website! Of course error on my side! I remember coming here before I was tall enough to peep over the pastry case, and I've always been so fascinated by the little show window where they have cake decorating or someone demonstrating how to roll pastries-what an art! My number one pastry that I come here for is the ham and cheese croissant. Ambrosia's ham and cheese croissant is the flakiest most savory ham and cheese croissant I've ever had. They don't add any mustard or gimmicks and yet it is so flaky and savory that it doesn't need an extra dash of flavor. I know for a while they were making them smaller, but this time I came, I realized that the ham and cheese croissants are bigger than ever-which probably makes me think they've gone up in price, but I will happily pay the up charge for a little more. Now that I am older, and I have adult money, I find myself going in and trying one new item to add to my repertoire of treats. Today's new addition was the almond Bear-claw which I already had extremely high hopes for because I do love a good almond croissant, but I was a little worried what bear-claw meant. Truthfully, it just meant the shape of the pastry as it still had the classic buttery flaky crust, as well as a sweet almond interior. I was not disappointed! I did end up bringing home four ham and cheese croissants, an ambrosia roll for my dad, the almond Bear-claw, and two freshly made baguettes. I come home relatively frequently, but every time this bakery is added to my morning agenda, I realize I have such few moments left with my family, and I want to cherish them all and I love that ambrosia has been that tradition for us. I feel like most bakeries I go into in the city are mass produced and everyone is just trying to place orders and then rushing to get out the door, but ambrosia the workers really try to make you feel seen and have a way to uplifting conversation with you. Through all of the order, placing chaos, they're willing to explain what's in everything, what's new on the menu or what flavor profile would go with which handcrafted drink. There's a certain side of human conversation to this bakery that makes this visit extra special for me. I can sense everything is made overnight and then baked in the morning, so as soon as you walk in, you can smell an overwhelming bakery scent, which only makes your mouth water more, which I'm starting to think is actually a really strategic sales tactic! Haha! I would never miss a chance coming back here and spending time my parents and picking up a few surprise treat for them. I will keep the tradition of picking up a few extra treats as I would love for this bakery to continue being something my whole family can look forward to whenever I come home

The pastries and cakes here are expertly crafted and taste amazing. On our most recent visit we got…read moreone of their premade cakes for sale, as well as some of their small desserts. They all tasted as good as they looked! As far as I know these ambrosia items don't grant you immortality and eternal youth but they are tasty sweet treats nonetheless. Service has always been veyr friendly and welcoming. I'm addition to their baked goods they also offer coffees, teas, and there's a small refrigerator with cheeses and some selections of wine and local honey on the side. The ambiance does have a bit of a European feel and there is a decent amount of indoor seating.

After checking the Yelp reviews for La Illusion & finally stopping in for some baked goods (not…read morerelying on friend's FB posts), I think the information here is a bit outdated; my experience was great & I'm happily munching on my bounty as I write this. I had been by the bakery a number of times but never really got the chance to stop in, it seems to be one of those hidden-in-plain-sight spots, so I was glad to finally have the opportunity & take full advantage. Walking in I was politely greeted by the cashier who directed me to take a tray & tongs (I'm new here) and asked if I needed help finding anything, but I made my own way around the store to get the lay of the land first. I wanted a concha. Scanning every case, I found them along the back wall & promptly tong-ed myself a vanilla, then grabbed a few other items that looked good. My wife is GF, so I picked out my own treats and limited the selection to what I knew I could eat sooner than later. The cashier rang me up & my 3 items added up to less than $3 so I gladly handed over the cash--in my old neighborhood you'd be lucky to find 3 baked goods for less than $5. Good deal right there. After impatiently making the car trip back home, I poured a cup of coffee, snapped a picture of my concha, and dove in. It was fluffy, a little crunchy on the outside, and perfectly sweet. I had to remind myself to take sips of the coffee. I also tried a few bites of the other pastries & they were equally as pleasing, I'm just unsure of what they were called.....they just looked good & I was in an adventurous mood. Suffice to say, I had no issues with the product or service, and would absolutely come back & recommend La Illusion to others. I reserved the last star in my rating because it was my first visit and some of the cases were open a bit when I got in (I helped close them which is no big deal). I'm certainly looking forward to bumping the rating up to 5 after I go back.

My brother ordered a birthday cake for my niece and clearly requested a Cinnamoroll cake from the…read moreHello Kitty friends. The person who took the order understood exactly what we were asking for, so we had no reason to expect anything different. Unfortunately, what we received was one of the most hideous cakes I have ever seen. This was for my niece's birthday celebration, not a joke, and we were extremely disappointed when we saw the cake. To make matters worse, instead of writing "Feliz Cumpleaños," the cake said "Feliz Gumpleanos." That is completely unacceptable, especially for something that was specifically ordered for a child's birthday. We paid for a cake that was supposed to make my niece feel special, and instead we were embarrassed and disappointed with what we received. If you are taking custom cake orders, you should make sure the design and wording match what the customer requested. This was not what we ordered, and it was certainly not worth the money we paid.

Clocktower Cupcakes is an outstanding local bakery that consistently delivers both quality and…read morecreativity. The range of cupcake flavors is impressive, each one thoughtfully made and full of flavor, making it easy to find a favorite -- or several. Beyond the desserts, the customer service truly stands out. Having been a go-to for birthday celebrations over the years, they've proven to be reliable, friendly, and genuinely invested in their customers. A staple for any special occasion.

Perfect size, great price point, wonderful variety of delicious flavors-Something for everyone's…read moretaste! They were a huge hit for our graduation sweet table!

I've only gone here a few times but staff is always very friendly and I have never had to wait. M…read more Cakes are always great too! The decor inside is adorable! Definitely should check it out and make sure to sign up for emails they give out coupons many times a year!

My wife grabbed a 12 pack of minis from here for us to sample. It was cool to try the many differ…read moreflavors. They were all flavorful and moist.

Seriously the best service and the best ice cream! I…read moreespecially like their coffee flavor

Fake system of loyality and reward it's a scam , nothing works and stuff no clue about…read more Expensive for nothing Thief in their best

A visit to Smallcakes never disappoints! Our family favorites are red velvet, wedding cake, carrot,…read moreand vanilla chocolate. The special holiday flavors are equally good. When I visit, I try to go earlier in the day as they can possibly run out of my favorites around closing time. Although the cupcakes here have a lot more frosting than I prefer, the cake part is always extremely moist and fresh. I have tried several flavors of Smallcakes and never tasted one I did not like yet. I love that you can order ahead for parties or pick up a special "pup cake" for your four-legged babies. It is conveniently located near Calibre' Coffee, so I can also stop and get one of my favorite lattes or iced drinks too.

The store is clean and cozy. We bought these to bring to a small family gathering and it didn't…read moredisappoint. They even have gluten-free selections. The sales person was nice.

Elder + Oat is the BEST bakery in Chicago's suburbs! Their muffins, blueberry granola bars, their…read moreBrown Butter Pecan Scones, and their doughnuts are delicious! Their coffees are fabulous as well! I usually get a Doppio Espresso with honey and sometimes get a Cappuccino. Both are perfect and never disappoint! The service is tops, the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, and their food options are the best in the burbs!

This was my first time visiting Elder + Oat after a friend recommended it to me and I will…read moredefinitely be going back soon! I got one of their winter menu items, which was the Snow Day Cold Coffee. The maple cinnamon cold foam was delicious. For food, I got the ricotta chili crisp toast and the flavors of honey, chili and creamy ricotta paired with the crunchy toast was perfect. I also tried their vegan chocolate glazed old-fashioned donut. Great spot for meeting with friends or doing work. They have a huge collection of board games to play as well!

Never a disappointment when going here. Lisa, our waitress again, is always the best…read more Best place to stop for Italian in Algonquin.

Hands down the best Italian restaurant in McHenry County...and easily our go-to for date nights…read more We've been here multiple times, and I can honestly say we've never had a bad dish. The food is consistently incredible, and the portions are huge...you'll definitely be taking some home for lunch the next day. One thing that really sets Cucina Bella apart is the layout and atmosphere. They have three distinct seating areas, and each gives you a totally different experience. If you're looking for a more upbeat, lively vibe, grab a table near the bar. For a quieter, more romantic date night, the main dining room is perfect. They also have an overflow dining area, which is great when they're busy (and they usually are for a reason). The wine selection is excellent, and the bar staff can make just about any cocktail you're in the mood for. Whether you're celebrating something special, going out on a first date, or just want a great Italian meal, this place delivers every time. If you're anywhere near Algonquin and craving Italian, this spot is an absolute must!