Continental Pastries & Deli — Restaurant in Battle Creek

I love independent bakeries (see my other reviews), but I'm afraid I wouldn't recommend the Continental Bakery and Deli to a friend. I wanted a good experience, so I chose one of the deli's own signature sandwiches promoted on their bill of fare. But the person taking my order did not recognize the bakery's own cutesy name for the sandwich written on the menu board hanging above ("Bleu something-or-other..."). The customer then has to choose which bread they want - five or six choices, all baked in-house (I assume) but when I asked which of their own breads went best with their own signature sandwich - rye? French? - I just got a shrug in reply. I chose French. "Yeah, I think that's what most other people get," the order taker finally said. The sandwich was a disaster when delivered, impossible to eat without the contents dripping hot meat juice and melted cheese sliding out the sides and ends. A big four-napkin mess. Has anyone at the deli tried eating their own menu-board-recommended sandwich? The baked goods on offer were uninteresting, nothing particularly "continental" about them. The fruit bars tasted underbaked and "jammy" - imagine a jelly sandwich instead of a fruit bar. The cream filled donuts were oversized unattractive 1,000 calorie monsters. The small extruded cookies with white sprinkles, tasteless and dry. There were no specialty baked goods on offer during my lunch time weekday visit that made this bakery stand out from the competition. There is lots of seating for diners, and the area is set up like a mini food court with three checkouts for lunch items, bakery, and ice cream, but the seating area is very loud. There is a better bakery in Marshall, and several better bakeries...

It just seems like ever since the original owners sold the business things keep going down hill. We have been buying cakes for every occasion here for years but now days the flavor and decorations are just not what they used to be. Yet alone the service. I called and called one day to place an order and no one would answer the phone so I finally just drove over and hoped there was a cake to my liking. I picked one out that I was told was a chocolate cake with custard filling. When we cut into the cake it was yellow cake!! Totally disappointed the birthday girl!! A friend just told me how ""Christmas" was misspelled on her cake last week and how she had to wait for her order after she ordered it days before! Remember those beautiful decorated Christmas cakes with poinsettias and Christmas trees?? You just can't get those any more. At least ones as beautiful as they were. I was waiting for my purchase one day while a man was getting six sweet rolls. There were only two chocolate. He asked for those two. The girl dropped one of them! So he had to get five of something else. She acted like it happened every day and it was no big deal to disappoint a customer. Maybe we have just come to expect...

I ordered my mother in law a cake almost a month in advance. I asked for a gambling theme cake with the focus on slot machines. Specifically saying i wanted gold coins all over it because when you think casino slot machines you think go big right? I guess they thought not. I went in to pay in advance for the cake and they almost couldn't find my order in the first place, then when i pick it up it has literally 3 coins on it. I asked if they could add more all over and she added 3 more coins and the girl who brought it back after asking the baker to add coins all over tells me, "I'm sorry but she's a little over it today because there have been a lot of mistakes she's had to fix on cakes today." This is so unprofessional i can't even begin to explain how flabbergasted i was. I was offered one item for free out of the display case for the trouble and i passed on the offer. Then i get the cake home and when we cut into the cake and tried it, the cake was very dry. I went here specifically because people at work recommend it but i am highly disappointed with not only the service but the product. Sad to say i will not be returning for any...