Monastery Bakery & Delicatessen Ltd — Restaurant in Oakville

Well, long story short. My visit was last Thanksgiving. It was also birthday time of my family. We heard from friends that they are best of the best!!! I called them first, and had a lovely conversation with a lady on the phone (I am guessing she was the owner or that sort). She referred to me to the order online. So that it would be convenient to pick the order on time. Therefore, I ordered three (3) cakes. All different style and taste. All pick-up times and date were day after each other. Picking the first two (2) cakes were without issues, however, size and price comparison were outrageous. It was too sweet that you can't taste the flavor and overpriced. Honestly, I could buy from any grocery store cake, which could be better.

The third cake… Since it was already paid, although first two cakes were disappointment, we still proceeded with the third one since it is the favorite cake of the birthday celebrants. It was the first pandemic Thanksgiving. People lined up outside. Imagine start of the line was turning the corner. Anyways, after waiting 20 minutes outside, my wife managed to go inside to pick the cake. Kids and I were waiting outside in the car. Twenty (20) minutes after tired of waiting in the car, we decided go inside. She was still waiting with no explanation for a cake ordered week ago and paid in full ($57). Since, turns were arranged by ticket, she waited her turn and presented the online order number. Apparently, personnel disappeared for 20 minutes after getting the number, and did not make any explanation during the time. She pointed out the female (Caucasian) personnel to me, and decided to talk to her to see what is happening. We were late for the surprise party (and the birthday cake too).

Note: The reason I mentioned “Caucasian” personnel, because there were other personnel, but they were nice and were trying to help us. But with our luck, the rude one was taking care of our order!!!

Lady personnel was extremely rude and provided no explanation, at all (her manner and words were rude). Long story short, they did not make the cake and they did not have the respect to their customers to openly tell, too. They asked that if we wait another 20-30 minutes, therefore, they can prepare for the cake we ordered week ago. We said no. The lady personnel did not even offered money back, just standing there and staring us with a gesture and making comments like it was our mistake to confused them because we ordered cake from their bakery three days in a row!!! Shortly, implicating that "why are you even here", or "we don’t care your business" (we have enough business). Anyhow, we offered to get replacement cakes. Two (2) simple every day cake. It was still too sweet.

Terrible experience. Rude personnel. Expensive and not good cakes. We were very disappointed (including family and friends). Absolutely we do not recommend them. Do not waste your time, money, and stress over them. Buy from somewhere else,...

Hello I would like to make a complaint about our recent experience with Monastery. It was my daughters communion on Saturday and we ordered a cake. Most of our guests did not end up coming as they became ill with pneumonia and stomach flu with two of the kids in the hospital. I called to see if they could make a smaller cake for us as we no longer needed the largest size and it would be incredibly wasteful. When I was told, the person on the phone reminded me that I checked a box when I ordered saying final sale. While I understand, I was not canceling the order I was reducing the size. Then he told me that the information has already been sent to the distributor and the cake is started. I called friday morning. If these are made fresh then it could have been done. Also, I have put through cake orders the day before. I highly doubt this order could not be changed. I was under the impression that the cakes were made in house but I guess things have changed. These kind of comments really infuriate me as my husband and I try to support local businesses and then in turn you get treated like you are supporting a corporation. I started to remember how 1 year ago my sister ordered 2 cakes for her daughters confirmation and monastery had but someone else's name on the cake, I spent an hour breaking the chocolate writing put it in pieces to make the correct name. Funny how you can make mistakes but when someone else needs your support it's ... oh well! We didn't even put in a complaint we just dealt with it. On Saturday, we got out our massive cake and served it. The kids ate it with their hands but adults could not. The sfolgia layers were so hard. People were joking that we needed a chainsaw to cut it. Even chewing it was gummy. We threw out the entire cake as it was not edible. My dad who throws out nothing completely supported the decision. Luckily we had a couple pastries from another bakery to serve. We have been ordering this cake for years. Unfortunately this experience was a complete miss. Not only were we stuck with a cake of size we didn't need, we had to throw it out due to quality. The customer service was horrid when I called. You never remind a customer of the button they checked when there are other circumstances contributing. And remember .... I...

Update: November 2020 Recently I had a poor unprovoked experience with a staff member at Monastery Bakery. As a 20-year loyal customer here, it may be a sign that as popularity of the establishment increases, some of the friendly family service that made the establishment what it has become, is now going away. I will definitely be visiting much less (if at all going forward) as no one should have to put up with rude staff in any establishment. I am happy my daughter was not with me at the time. You always have other options as to where to spend your money. I will update this review as time passes, but this very negative experience of discrimination has definitely left a blemish for me that has led to a star reduction. I did contact the establishment to let them know how of the incident. Not sure what, if anything, they will do about it, but I can assure them that no customer wants to be discriminated against by staff at Monastery Bakery (or anywhere else). Hopefully they will take it seriously.

Original Review As a longtime resident of Glen Abbey, I have watched Monastery Bakery grow and expand from a small resident of the plaza, to the dominant tenant occupying almost all of the retail space here. This didn't happen for no reason. Monastery Bakery has long been known by locals as a go-to destination for fresh baked breads, rolls, cheese sticks and much more. Over the years they have added fresh hot foods, a coffee bar, a wide range of cheeses and a ton of groceries -- to the point that today Monastery has become an upscale grocery store filled with unique and hard-to find items. The fresh meats section has also grown and is a good option for various fresh foods. Locals who remember Bruno's will find Monastery to be a worthwhile destination. Sure it has changed as it has grown over the years (and parking can be an issue at busy times), but all in all Monastery Bakery is worthy of a visit (and most likely a return visit for...