Quack's 43rd Street Bakery — Restaurant in Austin

I am under the impression that Quacks used to be superlative, and it now survives on the fact that it's a local institution with little competition nearby.

Service: I know the staff are highly underpaid, and I know the place is also highly understaffed. I also have noticed the turnover rate seems rather high. Now ask yourself, kind reader -- overworked, underpaid, underexperienced staff makes for what kind of experience? And that's just about us, the customers -- I have something of a moral crisis everytime I walk into Quacks knowing how the people who work there are treated.

Also, despite Quacks being overwhelmingly popular, there is ONE register that seems to be running on MS-DOS for its blistering speeds are approximated only by the Texas Legislature's response to the winter storm. There is ALWAYS a line at Quacks, and that line on average is about a 20-30 minute wait. Keep in mind that this is for....

Quality of Baked Goods: Presentation wise, the baked things LOOK good. There are seasonal cookies that are, for example, a delight. "Look" is the operative word here, because in terms of taste I have pretty much never had something I thought was excellent at Quacks -- or rather, good enough to justify the price. The best thing they have are their boxes of cake-scraps, which even then come with some of the blandest frosting imaginable. I have actually argued with people about how good their baked things are, for others to defend Quacks's quality, and then to come back later and agree that they were wrong. We actually poll people consistently about how they have found Quacks -- "mediocre" is the most common word.

And these baked goods ain't cheap either (even compared to other bakeries or cafes I've been to), which means I am genuinely baffled as to why anyone would by anything from Quacks.

Special mention should be made for their breakfast fare, which is on average better -- if, and only if, you're getting kolaches or croissants. Everything else is a similar disappointment.

I mean I think its just so shocking how, in a desperate attempt to find anything good at Quacks, literally nothing is. I am not picky, and I love deserts, and I'm picking desserts I have unilaterally loved everywhere else besides Quacks.

Coffee:

People will redeem Quacks based on their coffee, and this is -- to my mind -- acknowledging they don't know what coffee can be like. The price is fine, and so for that alone it is forgivable -- except as mentioned, you will be waiting for your coffee for about 30 days since the line is out the door because there are only two people working there at any given moment.

The cold brew is fine -- if you like cold brew, its cold brew -- not exactly a style that admits of much nuance.

The espresso is acidic without great body, but the various lattes and mochas are OK despite this -- but I think this can be chalked up to the "pizza" idea -- pretty hard to mess up coffee, sugar, and milk in the same way it is hard to mess up wheat, tomato, cheese.

The Vietnamese coffee is good if you like, have never had it at an actual Vietnamese restaurant. It is under-creamy and over-sugared while being hyper-acidic. But like go to a normal vietnamese pho place and compare and its laughable. Like, I laughed genuinely recently after doing just that.

Normal iced coffee is fine as well, again, hard to mess up I suppose.

My personal ranking of coffee places nearby places Quacks pretty much at the bottom -- its not folgers, but the Australian/Italian second renassiance of coffee in the united states is made-mocked by quacks.

Sum: If there is no line, and I just need a coffee or whatever -- then Quacks really is OK and I don't blame anyone who goes here for convenience.

When my main reaction to spending money at Quacks is a feeling of weakness-of-the-will, regret, and sorta being an idiot, I have to ask -- could it be done better? And I'm no baker, but given the other insanely great coffee and bakery places (even near Hyde Park!), I'm inclined...

Great cakes; horrible customer service.

Last Friday, I called to place an order for an Italian Cream Cake. During the call, I was advised that the Bakery was not currently accepting orders, but that that particular cake was readily available and that I could stop by at any time and pick up one. [I specifically stated that I did not need the cake until the following week and that I would stop by on Monday; not over the weekend.] Monday afternoon when I arrived at the Bakery, I told the barista that I would like to purchase a small Italian Cream Cake. The barista asked me to repeat the name of the cake, and I complied. After which the barista advised that she had never heard of the cake. (STRIKE 1 – for heaven’s sake, know your menu.) I ask the barista if there was a menu that I could review. After receiving the menu, I pointed out where the cake is listed. The barista apologies and states that she has only worked for the Bakery a few months, and politely asks if I’d like to place an order (for the cake) since there were not any readily available in the cake display. I explained that I had called last week and was advised that the Bakery was not currently taking orders. The barista asks me “not to move” and jots to the back of the bakery and returns with a cordless phone in hand. A telephone conversation ensues and then the barista ends the call. She then returns to me and states that the Bakery has reached their capacity of 150 cake orders and therefore I could not place an order. (STRIKE 2 – effective communication with ALL employees goes along way.) Frustrated, I point at a small carrot cake in the display (too afraid to call it by its rightful name) and ask may I purchase it. The barista smiles happily and receives my payment for the cake. I ask the barista to scribe “Happy B-Day Richard” on the cake. After a five minute wait, another employee returns with the cake and reveals a PINK inscription, and boldly asks me if this is ok. (STRIKE 3 – a pink inscription! Why not, 1) ask for my color of preference, 2) use a neutral color, 3) acknowledge that Richard is a masculine name and use a non-feminine color.) I grab the cake without uttering a single word, and leave.

As I stated, great cakes – horrible...

I have been to quack's a few times and I understand the hippy-ness and student style thing going on but each time I find it more disappointing than the last. From flies to broke down dirty tables, open trash in the hall that is packed to the tippy top. During the rains this week, a woman sitting next to me was being dripped on from the leaky ceiling. My chairs back was all broken out and the table wobbled so much so that I could not cut my croissant. My husband asked if the croissant could be heated up only to be told that there was a microwave (ugh) for that. The microwave....hmmm is dirty with no telling how many hands have been on it, is also next to the hallway leading to the bathroom..(another ugh) took forever to heat up the croissant by then I was over it. The mugs that were given us to drink from looked as though they came from a garage sale, again, I wondered how many lips had been on the things. The place is dirty, but not a quaint dirty...just plain dirty, and I like a small handful of people wonder why this place receives good reviews. The people that work here are not very nice. The furniture looks as if they were picked up off the side of the street...which is highly likely in the area of Hyde Park. Just around the corner is a place that is clean and serves with a smile, and they will grill your croissant and or heat it to your liking. We prefer that, unfortunately they would not allow customers in during this rainy day until their ceiling was fixed, unlike Quack's. Quack's is just plain dirty and broke down. I couldn't wait to leave. I rarely write a review, but this one I felt must be said as I cannot overlook the state of this place. It is like restaurants in India you are warned to stay away from if you see flies...