B&W Bakery — Restaurant in Hackensack

B & W in Hackensack, NJ, is an amazing, cash only, bakery which is currently closed on Mondays and has sometimes been closed prior to their posted closing hours when I've arrived or closed on a snowy day. Since Covid-19, the foot traffic is directed in through the side of building entrance, single file through the store, and out the (formally front) street facing entrance. There is free parking along Main Street. However, I recommend going in the driveway along side the building to park in the Target Store back lot and walking along the sidewalk to the store entrance. I would say that it may be difficult to navigate with a stroller or handicap accessories. The self-serve coffee station is currently closed. I have found customer service efficient if not the most friendly or patient with those, such as myself, who aren't quite sure what they want upon arrival or have questions. I attribute that to them maybe being so busy. They are most known for their crumb cake, which is available for order and shipping online through Goldbelly.com paying a premium price plus shipping, verses direct retail. My opinion of this very famous crumb cake is that it's dense, sweet, and definitely needs to be washed down with your favourite beverage. My take is, it was more like a sweet bread with massive crumb top. (Tastes a little like a panettone plus crumb.). It was good, but not my thing. I know that there's a ton of people that travel great distances to go to B&W just to get this crumb cake, and that they buy them to bring them to others that they are traveling to visit. Be advised, they do sell out of certain items, as I witnessed with both the crumb cake and the Cannolli's, and when they're gone that's it for the day! Speaking of the Cannolli's...THAT IS MY GO TO THING AT B&W!!! Unbelievable!! They do have them pre-made in the bakery case, unlike some other places that will only fill the cream into the shell as they are ordered. Here, they don't make varieties of Cannolli's, nor do they need to! They've got exactly what they should be down to a science. Simply perfection! My super-taster analysis is that the shells are home made, not factory wholesale supplied. The best part is the filing!! It's the perfect texture, between creamy and cheesy without being gritty nor soupy. The filing tastes, to me, to have a very subtle orange zest or extract, and the faintest sense of rum without having an alcohol overtone. Tiny chocolate chips in the blend are just the right touch. Our family recently also compared B&W's Napoleon dessert to another locally famous bakery's product. B&W's Napoleon was vastly superior! The top frosting layer was actually edible and enjoyable, where the topping of the competition was something I took one bite of, pulled off, and threw away. The competition barely had any custard and was dry and tasteless. B&W's Napoleon had two thick layers of custard between the flakey pastry layers! An additional benefit, B&W's Napoleon was much bigger than the competitor's We were able to share two pieces between 4 adults. I had to cut my half down and save the other quarter piece for the next day. I also recently tried their cookies, a quarter pound (cookies are sold by the pound) of the small, coin shaped sandwich cookies that had jelly & almond paste middles and were then tipped into rich dark chocolate. I think some had apricot jelly, others may have been raspberry. A 1/4lb. of these small cookies = 8 cookies, enough for 4 of us to eat 2, which was enough for a light dessert after a late night meal. While waiting online for counter service, a woman ordered a large, cheese, Danish style, pastry. She was taking it to friends that live down the Jersey shore. I commented that it looked delishous. Next time, I definitely want to get one cheese and an also an almond pastry. BTW, White Manna Hamburgers is only 2 miles away! Well, I hope this review of B&W bakery has been helpful to you and that if you go and try anything, that you too will post a review and support this small...

I have been a loyal customer of the B&W Bakery for almost 20 years. Today I was made to feel like a con artist, trying to scam the bakery into giving me another cake. I requested a replacement cake because the cake was no good. I purchase the same 8 inch cake that serves about 8 people about 16 or more times per year for special occasions and just because so I know how the cake should taste. Yesterday after three people were served the cake they expressed to me their dissatisfaction with the taste of the cake. At the time I thought nothing of it and said to myself that the cake always varies a little bit which is normal and out of 16 cakes per year I can assure that I have taken a few for the team in which the quality of the cake was not what I have come to expect. So when I purchase 16 cake or more and about 4 are just ok and I get a 5th one and decided to return it and the establishment wants to make me feel bad that is a problem. The manager at the bakery complained that half of the cake was eaten. Well lets see I purchased a cake that serves 8 people and 4 people had a slice and we didn’t like it. I was told that these cakes are made fresh everyday which maybe true but that doesn’t mean that I was given a freshly baked cake the same day that it was made. I was told that we never receive any complaints with these cakes and to that I would say well you are receiving one now. I would also say that for a $16 most people just won’t buy the cake again or come back. During the pandemic I certainly ate a few cakes in which the icing or cake didn’t taste fresh but being that it was the height of the pandemic I figured business was slow and that I would not complain. The statement that we bake things fresh everyday which to me would mean that at the end of the day you discard what is not purchased and that is not the case. The stale icing is proof that they have no problem using ingredient that might not be as fresh as it should be. They also have a number of complaints about things not being fresh from other former customers, so I am not the only one. My sister purchased some cupcakes that were hard so they could not have been made the same day. Out of 16 cakes taking one back is not unreasonable. If I have an issue again, I will take my business elsewhere which is the best revenge. The manager wanted to give me credit for half a cake. How do you do that as we did not like the cake? If you don’t care about customer satisfaction, then there are other...

Whatever I am about to say about B&W Bakery, I am quite certain must have been said many times before. This isn't some new-fangled, Tik Tok inspired bakery serving nouveau riche desserts for the in-crowd....but then again, it is.

This bakery is exactly what you would create if you were designing a bakery for a movie set and wanted absolutely nobody questioning its authenticity.

Update: the atmosphere is classic. Walk in one door, walk out the other, walk ins to the left, order pick up to the right. Like any old school bakery an army of young kids man the front, and are efficient and cheerful and know about every pastry.

From the workers, to the owners, to the bakers, to the baked goods, B&W is as authentic as you can get...and it's the kind of bakery that is a dying breed.

For the past two years I have waited on a line in front of this bakery to purchase their INSANELY GOOD crumb cake...to bring to a family of people in Staten Island, who lived in Brooklyn and had a family member bring them crumb cake every Sunday. They have been on a quest to find a crumb cake that was comparable to the memory of the one they used to have.

I went to every "great" bakery in NJ and brought a crumb cake to them from each.

The ONLY one they want, from now on, is the one made at B&W. Period.

Get in your car...it's worth whatever it takes to get there. Get ANYTHING. Brownies, pecan pie, etc. But do yourself a favor, get a couple crumb cakes...put on a pot of coffee and invite some company over. The cake will...