Dulce Cafe — Restaurant in Durham

As a long time Durham resident who remembers when Dulce opened, I have no notes on the 5 stars I’m giving. Dulce has long been lauded a favorite in our community. One of the coolest things I learned when they opened MANY years ago was the history of Carlos’s education and skill when it comes to baking specifically. I knew it would be the hit it’s since become. I noticed over the last month or so that Dulce was creating the viral fruit molded pastries and I was so excited for them to be adding this luxury to their options. It absolutely pains me to see the negative reviews on here in which the reviewer is specifically mad for these pastries being out of stock. Are. We. Serious?

One of the original TikTok creators who’s bakery put these pastries on the map (she owns Tu Cha in LA) had to recently make an entire video BEGGING people to stop leaving her one star reviews solely because she didn’t have any pastries in stock so this appears to be a problem everywhere.

Entitled is what you all are. Drove 2 hours from Charlotte excuse me? While we welcome you, I’m asking why the largest metropolitan in the state isn’t providing your fruit shaped mousse pastries in spades? Perhaps have gratitude that there’s even a place in NC to give you this content feed. And perhaps adjust your expectations to what you’re after. Supply and Demand is economics 101 & you cannot expect a smaller locally owned neighborhood bakery to keep up with the tremendous demand of tik tok (especially within just a few weeks of blowing up) You just cannot. The expertise, craft and love that’s put into this place and all that they serve is beyond what most of you are even comprehending. But because you didn’t get your way, a business deserves a low review.

Everyone needs to get real! I went into dulce the other day for the first time in quite a while and couldn’t believe the behavior of the customers. I was sad for the entire staff. This is an excellent place that we in Durham & surrounding areas love so very much. Please don’t ruin...

WHY HAVE I NOT VISITED THIS PLACE SOONER?! As a total bakery fiend, Dulce Cafe has the most exquisite selection of baked goods with amazing presentation. We arrived in the afternoon after morning rush, so naturally most of the baked goods section was picked clean. But the presentation of what remained was incredible. And very reasonable prices too. The decor was exquisite and though I planned on getting gelato, when I saw the baked goods section I fell in love. We ended up getting a BLAT and Meatloaf sandwich with chips, and for dessert we had a Paris Brest, Passionfruit & Caramel Apple Macarons, and a Fraiser Cake.

Oh. My. God! The presentation was beautiful, I snapped countless pics. The curried tomato-onion relish for the meatloaf sandwich was genius, as an Asian I love curry and it was just the right amount of flavor. The Paris Brest had the most wonderful aroma and it had some delicious jam inside too! The passionfruit macarons were tart and sweet just like a pasisonfruit, and very refreshing. I don't like apples, so my boyfriend enjoyed his caramel apple macaron. And the Fraiser Cake! Anyone who knows me knows I generally HATE cake. I think it's dry, flavorless, and there are way better baked goods options out there.

Dulce Cafe proved me wrong. The Fraiser Cake was INCREDIBLE-- moist, flavorful, just the right amount of sweet balanced with the chocolate decor and tart berries. The cream was smooth and amazing. This was the perfect splurge to get myself through the college application season.

Dulce Cafe, I will be visiting again once I am done with...

So after my experience this morning at dulce, I will not be returning to give them my service. I decided to try something new off the menu and it wasn't what I assumed it to be. So without taking one bite of my food, I returned it hoping to switch it out for something else. I didn't think it would be a problem. The chef in the back came out to personally speak to me and he began getting on my case about how it wasn't his fault that I didn't know what I was getting. He basically said that I should've done my research first. So after giving me a speech as if I'm a child he said he would make me something else. What I wanted was priced lesser than what I originally ordered, so I said don't give me the difference. The chef said he didn't plan on giving me the difference anyway because it wasn't his fault that the original order I purchased wasn't what I expected. I then told him how I felt like he was being rude when I was being nothing but polite so just take the sandwich back and keep the money. As I was about to leave the chef stated how people in his country would love to eat the meal and that it is now wasted food. My feelings was very hurt at the way he responded. I didn't expect this at all! With this being said I was going to make a complaint about the restaurant until I found out that he is the manager. So there is basically nothing that can be done about the bad customer service I just received. I'm not the type of person that usually writes bad reviews about a restaurant but this...