Went to pick a fruit cake, & the fruits were placed all over the place sloppy styles. I asked the speak to the manager to see why it looked like that. He wasn't very accommodating, other than tell me if I didn't like it, pick something else.
Great experience overall in ordering a custom design cake. Apart from that, great bakery for all kinds of fresh baked breads, sanwiches, pastries, & home cooked meals. Thanks for the great food!
[TL,DR: I won't be ordering a custom cake from here again, & I'm seriously debating whether I should stop shopping here altogether... If management sees this, I implore you to read to the end.] So, after thinking it over, I've decided to write this very detailed review of my February 2024 experience with Lafrenaie... I ordered a custom cake for the first time for my birthday. I picked Lafrenaie because it's my favourite bakery, & based on the pictures they have on their website, I was very confident that they could make my cake. It was supposed to be a Dungeons & Dragons-themed cake with a 3D red dragon on top. As this was my first custom cake order, & my drawing skills are lacking, I asked a friend to draw my cake design so that there would be no confusion... Part 1: Exactly 3 weeks before my birthday celebration (a Friday), I emailed the bakery with my order & attached the image. I provided the necessary information & any additional information. I waited the weekend then called them on Monday to make sure they received it. They confirmed that they did & that I would get a call sometime that week. I waited the entire week until I finally called the following Monday. According to the employee I spoke to, the email was opened but the order was never actually taken down, so he did it over the phone with me... He asked me if I wanted to simply buy a dragon figurine to be placed on top, which would reduce the cost to $200 for the cake OR they could make the dragon & the cake would be $340. I accepted having the dragon made & inquired on what it would be made out of. The employee explained that the extra cost was due to the bakers needing to actually make the skeleton & whatnot & it might be made out of rice crispies (tldr: dragon would be edible). So, I paid a $90 deposit that Friday. Part 2: On the day my fiance & I went to pick up my cake, we were both surprised & disappointed to find that the dragon on top was NOT a 3D dragon, but instead a 2D dragon on a stick (pictures added). I'm too awkward of a person to say anything in a public space & the rest of the cake was already done & was too my specifications, so I accepted it & my fiance paid the remaining amount: $250. However, on the way to my b-day celebration, I thought about it & became more disappointed in what I received, especially in having paid the extra $140 for the dragon. So, I called the bakery from the car. They remembered my cake & the order & I was told that they told the bakers that it was supposed to be a 3D dragon, but they still made it 2D. They said they wouldn't be able to refund me the whole cake, which I wasn't expecting at all. Anyway, I was instructed to return to the bakery the next week between Tuesday & Friday to speak with the manager "Joy". Part 3: My fiance & I returned to the bakery on Tuesday & spoke with Joy. I tried explaining the situation, but she seemed to already know it. She said that the reason for the issue was that the person who took down the order didn't specifically write "3D" on the bill. She refunded $100 from the order, which I didn't fight against & am glad I didn't.... Once she walked away, after having asked an employee to issue us the refund, she audibly told another employee "you need to credit $100 from yourself. The lady..." I really, REALLY hope that I'm wrong, but that sounded as though this employee was being instructed to take $100 out of their paycheck. If that's truly the case, then I'm glad that I didn't insist on the full $140. Joy, if you see this, please PLEASE tell me that's not what you did. I hope that's not a policy of the bakery either. It was a simple mistake, especially considering that the instructions from the bill were to make the cake like the image I provided, which shows a full 3D dragon on it. I wasn't angry, just disappointed, & wanted the price to match the cake that I actually received. But it wasn't worth it if that means someone else's pay was reduced. Times are already tough, don't make it tougher on someone....
Relatively quick service, polite staff, decent prices. Strawberry shortcake was really tasty & so happy it wasn't frozen!
