Hillcrest Bakery & Deli — Restaurant in White Rock

Visited on Wed, Sept 17 at 2:45pm. No nice greeting, just a blank stare.. then after a few long seconds it was, ‘what can I get for you?’ As if I just interrupted her day. There was no one else in the store! Anyway, I bought a small box of random items. Their large, double fudge brownie was a day old, but delicious (and well sized). However, the rest of the items were basic at best.. specifically their donuts! Good lord, extremely dry and old!! They sadly don’t even stack up to the quality of Tim’s or 7eleven. And don’t get me started on their walnut cake.. a McCains Deep and Delicious surpasses its freshness. The kicker in all of this….. is the price! And then.. they want a 15% + tip at the end! Lol. Ohhh helll naw. Sorry, I’ll pay extra for a decent product (like their brownie), but with the majority of products small and bland, not to mention the utter lack of enthusiasm or sincere interest in their customers, I will not be returning. It’s important to support small businesses, but it’s hard when Tims or 7Eleven will at least provide a {genuine} “hello” and smile.

• Response to Owner *

The place was quiet! Almost deadsville.. and i was welcomed with the most inhospitable stare. Like I said, “it took a few long seconds” before i was greeted with a lack luster, “what can I get for you?” I was so disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm / care, I left the store, sat on the concrete curb, ate one of my donuts (which was small and dry) and posted a 3 star review… However, when I went home and shared the rest with my wife, she was like, “these are stale!” Then I demoted you to a two star review! The HONEST REALITY is: 1). Your staff member was borderline RUDE and 2). the donuts I bought were absolutely STALE! And 3). Instead of trying to solve the problem you became defensive. Anyway, maybe I should give u another try in a few months. Maybe not. Either way, good luck. Hope u can take some of these learnings and strengthen...

Ordered a day prior: sticky cinnamon buns. When I picked up my order the following day, the store changed the order (without informing me) from "sticky" to "glazed" (or iced) cinnamon buns as shown in the order note. The lady at the counter couldn't explain why it was changed and who changed it from their side. She offered to order the right one and if I would come back the next day and pick up the right variety. I was already there, so I declined and picked the glazed one. It would have been less inconvenient if someone called me about it before i picked it up at the designated time. I suspect that the store may have given my order to someone else and replaced it with what was available when I came to pick it up. Though it wasn't what I ordered, the glazed cinnamon buns were fresh, moist, and dense. It was reasonably priced too. The bakery looks very impressive, quite contemporary, and clean with a variety of tasty pastries and delis at fair prices. Happy to find this bakery in the Whiterock area - a real hidden gem! I would give them another chance when i order sticky cinnamon buns again next time.

UPDATE: Ordered a Pineapple Upside Down Cake (PUDC) for my wife's birthday. She tasted this from Hillcrest Bakery last year and she couldn't stop talking about how moist, rich and delicious it was! However, Hillcrest stopped selling it for a while. Called to order and Michelle arranged with the masterful baker. My wife was incredibly surprised when the cake was presented on her birthday. It made her birthday - and she enjoyed and savoured the cake tremendously! Hillcrest, a real precious gem in the Whiterock community. The PUDC was heavenly, a true timeless and retro treat - the best PUDC on earth! thank you Michelle and...

Hillcrest Bakery used to be the gem of White Rock and had such good pastries and breads. However, I was so disappointed when I came in today. Firstly, the bakery had a stale sour smell that was not appealing. I settled on a sandwich, soup and a donut. The girl making my sandwich was friendly and nice but she kept touch her face and wiped her nose twice with the back of her wrist while preparing my sandwich. The sandwich was okay (the bread was delicious) but for a vegetable sandwich that cost $8.50 I would expect more than just cheese, mayo, mustard and a few vegetables (lettuce, cucumber and pickles (I declined the offered banana peppers and onions)). Maybe offer tomatoes? Avocado? Sprouts? Cream cheese? I also got the cheddar broccoli soup and ended up throwing it out as the thin soups “cheese” wasn’t melted and had a weird texture and overall flavour. The donut was dry and obviously previous frozen and brought in.

I was very pleased to see the wall of pre-bought meals and items that could be taken. I feel this could be better set up though. It’s behind the counter so you can’t read what’s available and also there is a sign to “give the prepaid ticket to the server” - how can you if it’s behind the counter? If I also may suggest adding a “box lunch” option folks can pre-purchase that contains a choice of sandwich, a hot or cold drink, a bag of chips and a dessert...