K & J's Elegant Pastries — Restaurant in Birmingham

Disclaimer: The intention of this review is not to bash this company, but to help them grow. This is just my personal, honest experience.

I did not have a great experience with this company for several reasons. Their site includes a form and an email for custom cakes and states a 48-hour turn around time for a response. I filled out the custom cake form and included my contact information. A week passed and I still got no response. I then sent an email hoping for a response and before I knew it, another week passed. This should have been my sign not to book with them. I remained persistent in trying to order because I loved their Instagram cake designs and because my brothers suggested their company. So after no responses from the form or email, I decided to utilize the custom cake number that was listed and I was finally able to get in touch about my cake order.

I simply told the person on the phone all of the info I had emailed and completed on the form. I only requested that the number 60 be placed on a helmet and my cake flavors/icing preferences (tier amount too). I was open to anything creatively that they wanted to do. The woman on the phone (JaKaiya) gave me an estimate and told me what the deposit would be for the purchase and I paid her over the phone. I only received a receipt to my phone. I was expecting to get a more in-depth emailed receipt with the breakdown of what I was specifically paying for (Cake flavors, cake props, etc), but I didn’t. I was told I would be contacted the week of to confirm my order, which I did, but no info was given for what design they had come up with.

I was in disbelief when I picked up the cake. Now, on the picture, the cake may look fine but if you zoom in, you can see how messy the work is and it showed in person. There were smears on the houndstooth print, the logos were inconsistent in size, some of the designs didn’t look secure, the icing job was not clean, and I didn’t get the helmet I requested. I picked it up on the day of the event so there was nothing that could’ve been done to fix the issue. It just angered me to pay $400 for a cake that was not clean and crisp. The work on the cake was not the value of what I paid for so I was extremely disappointed. However, I will say the flavor of the cake was decent so I didn’t mind that.

I feel moving forward, the company needs to improve on communication, making sure full effort is done on all cake designs, and actually inform their customers with a price breakdown of exactly what they’re paying for instead of just throwing out prices. I worked with a different cake company after this and I loved how they made suggestions on designs (with pictures) and gave me info for what every detail would cost so I could understand the full cost of the cake. If K&Js does this, I think it will help their...

I visited with my granddaughter and was very disappointed after seeing so many great pictures and reviews on Facebook.

I went to the downtown Birmingham store. The store is small with tiny seatings. It seems that the owner only wants to appeal to kids.

The music was too adult oriented/provocative such as R.Kelley, Tank, etc…not sure if it was a music CD or streamed online. Regardless, it was distasteful due the environment and clientele, parents and kids of all ages.

There is a $1.00 extra charge for the milkshakes to be put in glass jars. Otherwise, you will receive the shake in a cardboard box resembling a McDonald’s soda holder.

The staff were rude and service very slow. Most customers were ordering milkshakes which cost &15.00. I’m not complaining about the price. Staff brought out one milkshake at a time per order. One lady had ordered six milkshakes. It took at least 40 minutes for them to complete her order, before getting to me. Some people had to wait outside.

We had to ask for napkins and given four tiny ones. The giant milkshakes begin to melt and fall all over the table…again not enough napkins. There is not the option to get your own napkins. The milkshakes were delivered to our table without napkins.

An elderly worker passed by me, and I asked if trays are available for the milkshakes. She said no, because she would have to wash all those trays, and that’s why they stopped using trays at the Alabaster store. She was returning from the store, had plastic grocery bags in hand.

They had also ran out of cotton candy ice cream for the milkshake my granddaughter wanted…the substitute was strawberry ice cream. It tasted like an off-brand. Publix strawberry ice cream tastes better than that.

Also, all of the staff behaved as if they didn’t want to be at work…slow moving, eye-rolling, dry tone…

The owner was very rude to me over the phone as well when I called to inquire about the location. I still decided to go because of my granddaughter was so excited to get there for the milkshakes.

She is very arrogant as anyone can see in the replies to customers who leave negative reviews. She does not have a customer centric mindset.

I asked my granddaughter how she liked the store visit, hoping that she was happy regardless of the poor service. Her response was priceless: “I don’t want to go back, because it took too long, and they were not friendly, plus we had to ask for napkins.” She’s 8 years old but analyzed the horrors of this establishment.

Do yourself a favor and go to Dairy Queen or Freddy’s for milkshakes and great customer service as well as plenty of seating for...

Not me but my mother...

My mother visits Alabaster from time to time and awhile back she had heard of this bakery. The K&J website and facebook page advertised some delicious looking sweets. While in town, she stopped by to pick out a couple for me to try. I was disappointed! The red velvet cupcake isn't worth the $3.00-not only is it tiny, but the frosting tastes like a simple vanilla (rather than cream cheese) and the cake itself tastes like a box vanilla cake with red dye added (the texture is also not that a velvet-style cake). She also purchased a $3.00 cinnamon roll, which was equally disappointing; it was packy, and had little flavor outside the icing and also not that big.

What is more upsetting is hearing what she went through to get these. Service is apparently curveside only so you can't even see what you are getting or browse for anything cute. The owners aren't allowing anyone in. You pick from a menu and don't even get to see a sample or picture. My mother (and her friend) were outside the business for a decent bit, and the owner's rudely saw and ignored them until they called the number on the door at which the young lady working their came out. I can understand the curveside deal to a degree, but I believe that someone could do like some of my area's local businesses and step out and at least greet potential customers and let them know what to do. Plus there isn't much room for parking.

This pandemic changed how many owners managed business. That is understandable to a degree, but with ordinances being lifted, it may be time to let (at least one or two) customers back inside. Many people (such as my mother and myself) like to browse and look for exciting flavors or see something that is eye catching.The owners of K&J are clearly skilled (from looking at the photos and reviews) so that is why my mother and I were disappointed. My advice to the owners, would mainly, be to let customers browse the selections. I also would consider the cost/proportion ratio: I was shocked at the cost for both of my pastries (over $6.00) but i been more forgiving if the taste was at least fresher. I love bakeries so I would love to see something awesome here-until things change I don't believe I will be stopping by when I'm in...