Rene's Bakery Inc — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Rene's Bakery is another gem to add to your list of places in the Indianapolis area. The only other bakery in Indy that holds a candle to this place is Amelia's off of Virginia Ave. I purchased a few different items to sample...especially to compare against of the baselines I developed while living in France. In this review I'll cover the lemon meringue tart, the croissant pan au raisin, apple cinnamon scone, and the raspberry-chocolate macaron (not pictured).

First off, the macaron. Light with a slight chewy texture and a filling that tasted like raspberries and dark chocolate. Not too sweet, flavor profiles were balanced, and the filling was a bit more generous than what you'll find at Ladurée but it wasn't overfilled. I'll have to try more.

The lemon meringue tart is up next. First, let me say, I'm not much a meringue fan. In fact, I would have bought this without it, if it was an option. But I will say this, the meringue was on point...not too sweet, which is usually why I have them in the first place. The tart's crust was firm, as it should be, and had its own buttery richness. The lemon filling...now that was the star!!! A natural lemon taste that was slightly sweet, yet still retained its zip of tartness and acid. I can't stress how hard it is to find a balanced lemon tart/bar in the states. This is the first one I can say I'm pleased with since my time in France.

Now on to the croissant pan au raisin. Buttery, rich, a touch of raisin, a touch of rum?, and a light glaze. All of the flavors worked together to balance eachither out. Now, I came at the end of the day...so it wasn't as fresh as it could be. By that point it was a bit dry and not as flaky as I would have liked. However, I'm certain that if I had warmed it up, it would have been much better. I guess that means I need to make an early morning run to verify.

Last up is the apple cinnamon scone. There was a touch of apple, a touch of cinnamon, and again the richness of the butter coming through. In general, I think scones need some sort moisture to accompany them...jam and the like. This scone was not dry by any means...in fact, I think if they were pulled out any earlier they wouldn't have been slightly under baked; now that's some skill. I could imagine this being slightly warm and being served with butter or in a dish of cream...mmmm, makes my mouth drool.

Overall, I'll say this place is a must visit while in the Indy. Bravo, there is some true talent here. Keep up the great work, you've made yourself a...

I want to share my personal experience so people know what to expect. And I hope the communication improves. I had placed an order for wedding cakes back in January 2024. Asked for a quote and confirmation. One month had passed still no email. Then I send another email another month passed and still nothing. I call and asked they said I would get a response back well I was promised the next day but unfortunately that didn't happen. Finally after 4 months (we are in the month of May) of not getting a response I called yet again we were advised to come in person. So my parents and I came in. We were ignored and and never acknowledge about my wedding cakes. No one seemed to willing to get an answer or help us. And unfortunately the owner didn't step in even though I had called and emailed multiple times. Then in July they announced they were closing because of the owners health issues even I had a wedding cake in a few of months away. There was no communication no email, no call nothing I only found out because I saw a social media post. Which is very disappointing. I sent a message reaching out about my wedding cake and they promised they would do it. Well weeks later I get a message saying they can't even though I was told and promised they could. I requested they had talk to the daughter since she promised me they will take care of me.. Well then I started getting pictures of the owner in the hospital which should never happen. I decided to cancel my order. I couldn't take the headache and stress since I never got a response back in the first place. Never got an apology nothing. I hope the communication improves with the new ownership because this whole experience was so unprofessional, rude and stressful. And I do hope the best for the owner and I hope he can beat the odds with the sickness. And his products are amazing. Love all the sweet treats and this is the best bakery just a shame the communication fell flat.

Just wanted to update this review. I was reached out by the new owners. He apologized for what I went through. Which says a lot I do plan on going back and thanking them for apologizing and learning from this misstep. I am eager to go back and get my favorite almond croissant since this bakery...

We were really excited to try this bakery given it's great reviews. Unfortunately the brioche and macaroons were mediocre, and the service we got was terrible. There was one other family in the shop ahead of us. When we walked in the owners didn't acknowledge we were there, which wasn't a big deal but felt weird given how friendly they were being with the other family, making suggestion and being buddy buddy. We selected the brioche within 30 seconds of entering the store, and went to the counter to look at the rest of the choices. The male owner just looked at me and asked if I wanted it sliced, to which I said yes. The female owner yelled from the counter about us needing anything, to which we replied we were being helped but thanks. She replied back quite curtly that she could get us the rest of what we wanted and ring us up. The place was silent at this point and everyone was just looking at us. The whole time I felt really rushed and like I was a bother being there for less than 2 minutes to buy their products. I don't understand how the owners went from chipper and friendly with one family to absolutely frigid with us, but it made us feel unwelcome. I regret paying $20 for mediocre bakery goods instead of just excusing ourselves and taking the business elsewhere. I'll be advising people to stay away if they want any type of decent...