Nomada Bakery — Restaurant in Huntington

Disclaimer; I made a trip to the area, mostly to come to this bakery. I saw that they got 'best cake shop' by USA today and it was close to home (about 2 hours) so I decided to come see what it was about. Overall, it was a great disappointment. Here are the reasons;

1. On google, it said they were closed Thursday through Monday. This was the first week of July. I thought that was weird so I emailed them on Wednesday and asked them if they were open on Saturday and Sunday? They said 'yes'. That was the only response. However, they were in fact closed for the upcoming 4 days and did not mention this in the email response. So the google information was correct.
2. I show up on Saturday, to find a note on the door saying they are closed until Monday at 8am due to the holiday. Big disappointment but I think, okay, I will just go then.
3. Show up Monday morning about 10am. They DONT HAVE CROISSANTS! Given that this is half of their menu, I would have expected them to have them ready. The person helping me didn't even tell me they were out right away. Only after I said I wanted one did he say so.
4. There was a roach on the floor crawling around. It was small. This made me look around a bit more, where I noticed a very visible bug catcher. Didn't even try to hide it!
5. I got the yogurt parfait. It was okay, but quite sweet for my liking.
6. I got 2 empanadas. The middles were cold on both. Overall they had a good taste but were a bit soggy.
7. Asked for my cupcake to eat in house. He gives me the plate and I eat it, thinking it is quite cold. Realize it was probably refrigerated/frozen for 4 days. Its also dry. Wasn't anything special really and the filling in the middle was a very small amount.
8. I now do not think any of the baked goods were fresh. They were probably 4 days old.
9. The next person orders a cupcake to go. When he gives it to them, he says, 'These are best enjoyed after being at room temperature for about 30 minutes'. This is after I ordered cupcakes for me and my daughter and we are eating them, realizing how cold they were. He told me no such thing nor made any effort to make these more enjoyable to eat in house.
10. The croissants were ready about 45 minutes after we got there. The server didn't tell me this. I just had to go up and ask. Also, there were other people that had tried to order the croissants and decided to wait outside until they were done. The staff did not inform them they were done. I told them on my way out.
11. The croissants were warm since they were just baked. Overall they were good. Nice flavor. Good texture.
12. I was not easy to find. It is inside the visitor center with very minimal signage. It is also in between the visitor center and a gift shop, with very little inside seating.

I have been to a ton of bakeries. I love them. I make a point to go in almost every city I visit. This place seemed like it had just opened, they had no idea what they were doing, and the bug on the floor didn't help. They bake area was almost empty, they didn't have any of their variety of gluten free options out at all, and overall it was quite empty of product. I know that they had just had 4 days off, but I would expect much much better from such an accolade as the...

So, I heard all the hype surrounding this bakery and had to make the trip from Charleston to see what it was all about!

I wanted some croissants, but since I didn't get there until the afternoon on a Sunday, I knew it might not be possible... and it wasn't. They were SOLD OUT :( But that is not impacting my review at all.

I bought 2 of the baby cakes, since they were voted #1 Cake Shop anyway, and was really unsatisfied when I brought them home. They were actually pretty dry and not very sweet at all.

To be completely honest.. I've had better grocery store cakes.

I saw another reviewer say they experienced the same thing (but with a cupcake instead of a baby cake), and overheard an employee tell a different customer to let the cupcakes sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.

Does that apply to the baby cakes, too? If so, the employee didn't tell me anything about it. And if there was a sign or something, I wouldn't know.. because I'm legally blind.

If the baby cakes, cupcakes, or anything, needs to be set out at room temperature, maybe they should let everyone know that first?

I ate mine while it was still a little chilled. But... I'm not sure if that would really impact the dryness and sweetness of a cake or not. I bake a lot myself, and have also baked in a cafe environment, and haven't ran into that issue before. But I don't know their recipes and procedures.

Anyway, I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to go here unless you're just really curious. Maybe ask the employee about setting the cakes at room temperature or not?

But, due to my experience, I'd say the baby cakes were pretty below average. So, 2/5 stars seems fair.

And the employee kind of didn't seem all that happy to be there :D Which, I get it. You can't be happy every day, especially when you gotta work the weekends! So, the service was average.

If you do go, I hope it's worth your time and better than...

I was looking into trying a new coffee shop and this place looked nice according to the reviews. Everything was going smoothly, I clearly stated I’d like four cakes: two mixed berry, chocolate, and a caramel. The total was around $25 and I tipped which brought the total to about $30 and I chose no receipt. I never saw the price per cake because it wasn’t written on their menu. I was handed the box, I didn’t think to check so I started my way back home. Once home I opened the box and only saw three cakes. I decided it was worth my time to go back and get my other cake because it was meant for my grandma and didn’t want her to be left out. I had thought I already paid for it and the fact that it was the workers fault I didn’t think it would be a problem to pick up the fourth cake. When I returned I was told that I was only rung up for three cakes and considering the amount of time I had wasted I felt it was completely unprofessional to ask me to pay for the fourth cake. Had I known before I left the house it wouldn’t have been a bother but $25 for three single serve cakes seemed kind of expensive, not to mention they were very dry and the icing tasted like straight margarine. The appearance of the cakes definitely impressed but they tasted as if they had been sitting for days. Overall I was disappointed with my experience and will not be returning. I would leave a lower review but I support local business and understand this is not the...