Always Yours Bakery Cafe — Restaurant in Castro Valley

My review is based on two experiences with Always Yours, starting early last year.

The first time, I reached out via their website to inquire about desserts, including a cake for my baby’s 100th-day party. I never received a response, and after waiting about a month, I moved on and ordered from another artisan baker—whose desserts were amazing, by the way.

Despite that, I decided to give Always Yours another chance because of their variety. The baker I previously worked with was fully booked, so I placed an order here instead. This time, the response was much quicker, and I was excited to place an order for roughly $750 worth of desserts. The transaction was smooth.

However, pickup on 3/30 at 9 AM was frustrating. Some desserts weren’t ready, and while the gentleman assisting me was very apologetic, I was on a tight schedule and couldn’t afford to wait around. I also had to remind him about several items that were missing. Upon my final check, I noticed my two dozen lemon meringue tarts were missing. He called Natalie (I believe) and quickly made one dozen, but since I was pressed for time, I was annoyed. When I pointed out that I had actually ordered two dozen, I had no choice but to leave and requested a refund for the missing dozen. I made sure to let him know I wasn’t upset with him personally and apologized if I seemed frustrated.

Natalie later texted me to explain what may have happened. She refunded the missing tarts and also offered a $50 gift voucher. I didn’t respond right away since I was busy and wanted to try the desserts before deciding if I’d return.

Unfortunately, the desserts were disappointing. My guests didn’t enjoy them, and the only thing they somewhat liked (not loved) were the macarons.

Here’s what I ordered: • 2 dozen strawberry cream puffs – The puff was stale, and the cream filling tasted artificial, almost like Danimals yogurt. • 2 dozen strawberry panna cotta – Again, the flavor tasted artificial. • 1 dozen crème brûlée – It was okay but nothing special. • 3 dozen mini fruit tarts – Usually a favorite of mine, but the shell was stale, and the custard was, unfortunately, not good. Honestly, even Safeway’s custard tastes better. • 2 dozen lemon tarts – Presentation was nice, but I didn’t try them since only one dozen was made in time. • 3 dozen strawberry mini cupcakes – I saw a lot of half-eaten ones on guests’ plates, so they clearly weren’t a hit. • 2 dozen strawberry cheesecake, 1 dozen Fruity Pebbles, 1 dozen Matcha Oreo, 1 dozen Pistachio – These were the highlight of the dessert table, but still not outstanding.

After this experience, I won’t be ordering from Always...

I’ve heard so many good things about this wonderful cafe bakery in Castro Valley, but you know I had to make an actual trip to this place to experience it for myself! Fun fact: did you know that this place is not only a local business, but it’s also Asian-owned and woman-owned as well? 

I came here to support not only this bakery cafe, but also for an “Idols of Wonderland”-themed event that they had, celebrating the many birthdays of the boy groups (it was hosted by fans of multi-stans, called Borahae Dream Collections). They’re prone to having lots of exposure when it comes to K-pop cupsleeve events, and they had special things on sale as well. I tried their character macarons, and when I tell you they attempted to make jasmine milk tea macarons, that is when you know I made the right decision to support such a cause.

I also ordered the strawberry milk, with less sweetness and less ice. I was honestly surprised that they even had that option, because most boba shops nowadays don’t have the quality that you can compare with locally owned boba shops — in fact, they usually don’t let you change the sweetness due to its puree, so I utterly found it SURPRISING that I was able to ask for less sweetness.

Best of all, I even got to have a conversation with Natalie, the passionate owner of Always Yours Bakery Cafe. She has always had a deep-rooted love for baking, and a deep love for hosting K-pop events as well. Determined to pursue this passion, Natalie honed her skills through culinary school and countless late-night baking sessions in her home kitchen, experimenting with a myriad of flavors and textures to perfect her recipes. Her dedication to quality and taste paid off, earning her loyal customers who rave about her pastries. However, Natalie believes that excellence requires constant evolution. She actively seeks constructive criticism from both patrons and friends, using their feedback to refine her creations. Eager to stay ahead of culinary trends, she also experiments with new, yet unreleased drinks, offering sneak peeks to a small circle of trusted tasters. This willingness to adapt and innovate has been instrumental in maintaining the cafe's reputation as a beloved community hub.

I will definitely come back to this business and support the amazing crafts that she and her team make — and K-pop stans, if you need a place to host your cup sleeve events in Castro Valley, this place...

I knew that I wanted a dessert table for our reception and was trying to find someone local. I happened to find Always Your Bakery through Instagram and reached out about a package. Natalie is well known for her macarons and she opened her own bakery in Castro Valley a few years ago. I contacted her about a tasting box and she put together an assorted box of desserts and 4 cake flavors of our choice. Everything was delicious so we decided to book one of her wedding packages. She was even really flexible with a few modifications to the package to better suit our needs. We discussed the cake design and I had sent her a few photos of what I was thinking of.

On the day of our reception, we were dealing with a heat wave but my coordinator was able to work with Natalie to have a later delivery time. The dessert table was set up beautifully and we had a cake topper that she was able to add to the cake. We chose chocolate for the top cake layer and the bottom was vanilla w/strawberry, our desserts were strawberry cream puffs, tiramisu cups, and fruit tarts. Most of the desserts and the top cake were gone by the end of the night! I wish we set aside some of the chocolate cake as we only had a few bites after cutting the cake. One of the best signs of good dessert is my Asian dad going back for seconds! Highly recommend AYB if you are looking for quality, affordable dessert tables for your...