Pinecrest Bakery - Key Largo — Restaurant in Florida

We’ve been to Pinecrest Bakery in Key Largo several times during our visits to the Keys, and up until now, we’ve always had good experiences. The food has been solid, the Cuban-style breakfast sandwiches tasty, and the place has that local charm. However, our most recent visit was frustrating enough that we’ve decided not to return.

We placed an online order for a ham, cheese, and egg sandwich and two coffees at 7:30 AM, hoping to avoid the long lines and slow service we’d encountered in the past. We arrived around 8:00 AM, but the website didn’t show whether the order was ready. We ended up waiting in line at the restaurant for nearly 20 minutes, and only then did the site update the order as "received" — and then "completed" just a minute later.

By the time we reached the cashier, the order still wasn’t ready. We were told we had to wait another 20 minutes. The person handling takeout orders had to go to the back to prepare the sandwich from scratch. After all that, the coffee was just okay, and the sandwich was underwhelming — barely any ham or cheese, which was surprising given how generous they’ve been in the past.

All told, we waited over an hour for one simple sandwich and two coffees. We used to enjoy this place, but unfortunately, the long waits and inconsistent service just aren’t worth it anymore — especially when we’ve now found better breakfast spots nearby thanks to this experience.

Pinecrest still has potential, and our past visits were good, so this isn’t a one-star story. But this last time was a clear sign for...

My wife and I visited the Bakery in Key Largo on May 2, and wanted to order breakfast. As soon as the door opened we found about 3 people standing waiting in “line” and 4 to 5 ladies behind the counter assisting them but only in Spanish. However, one voice stood out from the rest as it was very loud, you could actually hear her outside. She was shrill, nasty and rude based on her body language. Very abrasive woman. Finally after very little movement, my Spanish speaking wife approached and asked the only lady with blonde hair and shrill voice some basic questions about how the breakfast was served, (ie, English muffin, on a plate, etc). This very rude and condescending woman would not let her finish a single sentence and constantly interrupted her over and over demanding she order food by the number on the menu above, which oddly enough have no numbers listed next to the items. She asked a few questions, very politely and soft spoken and was met with nothing but hate filled vitriol and nasty comments, eye rolls and harsh “lectures”. Clearly she was the worse “employee” in a service industry I have ever met or seen in action. She literally threw the food order at my wife, across the counter as she continued to berate and lecture her. She is the only one with blonde hair as the rest of the pleasant ladies were all black haired. The receipt referred to “Maria”. Honestly the food was not bad at all but spare yourself the agony of walking in the door to the “insane screamer” and keep going to another breakfast...

The morning shift is horrible!!!! They barely answer Phones! And if you are on hold you will be for 6-10 mins when I complained 1 of the girls said it's busy so when I went inside there were no customers at all. They forgot to mute me on the phone and all I heard was horse playing but today I had my last straw with the morning shift I simply just didn't understand how I got charge extra when I didn't add gratuity to my order. Josefina already caught an attitude with me because I asked for the manager. Manager came and we both didn't understand the transaction she took my number and said she will call me. The manage also was not helpful she clearly didn't understand or use any of her active listening skills because she tried to tell me that I said the employee added extra tip. When those words never came out my mouth.. I said I didn't add any extra tip so I don't think she understand me but As I was driving off JOSEFINA Said something smart in Spanish which ended in her calling me Loca.. means crazy in Spanish.. what Josefina did not know is just because I don't look Hispanic doesn't mean some of u don't understand it. And to top it off I didn't even drink my coffee because I felt like she did something to it. It will show in cameras everything was at the drive thru window (Coffee & toast) she handed me my toast.. then took my coffee that was already ready to the side out of my view.. so I simply honked to stop her from taking my coffee away, she then came back and that is when she made her rude...