Prato Bakery — Restaurant in Jersey City

DISGUSTING!

I came today (August 25, 2018 in the afternoon) for the first time to this bakery. I got off the yellow ferry from manhattan that lands on the NJ State Park and I had my bike with me. When I arrived I had a crave for coffee and baked goods. So I googled nearby bakery in the area and found this spot. I then used the GPS to drive my bike this place and arrived with the help of a resident that lives in this area.

When I got here their were like two customers sitting on different tables and behind the counter their was a hispanic guy with a big fat head and a chubby hispanic woman behind the counter. I ordered a coffee and she proceeded to make the coffee. I then went to look at the display to pick a baked good to eat with my coffee and to my surprise and disgust I saw tiny flies INSIDE the food display walking on the baked goods! YUCK! I also saw 2 or 3 adult sized black house flies flying around in the area where the workers work.

I noticed they sale the baked goods on the right side of the display and in the middle what appeared to be ham like sandwiches and on the left side pizzas. Because of the tiny flies walking on the food, I REFRAINED from ordering any food from pratos bakery...DISGUSTING! I was not sure if the tiny flies were fruit flies or baby house flies. GROSS!!! I thought this place was a decent place to eat and BOY was I wrong! They literally had the display cases open on their side and thats how the flies flew in and walking on the food! YUCK!

I paid for my coffee which was like one dollar and ninety something change and left. The two staff there however were nice, but no matter how nice they are, this is a health violation and just disgusting for them to to run a bakery with flies walking on the food. So inconsiderate to the customer!

I was disappointed as I wanted to eat baked goods with my coffee so I left prato's bakery and not knowing where I was going because my first time in this area....I walked further down a street and saw a place across the street called Gia Gelato & Cafe. It was nearby some Italian place. I crossed the street with my bike and saw they sale baked goods and as I proceeded to go into their location two women were walking out and I asked them if I can come in and buy and they said yes. I brought my bike inside and they were so nice an asian girl and an african american woman. I walked to their counter and saw that their food was COVERED and NO FLIES ANYWHERE!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ordered their last coffee cake and a croissant as their is a small minimum to use a credit card. I told the woman that I just came from pratos bakery and that they had tiny flies walking on their baked goods and I was upset because I wanted to drink my coffee with baked goods but did not order there as a result. The woman was nice and she gave me a cinnamon roll free of charge and heated it for me. I got lucky because they were going to close early to go to some nearby festival today that was nearby. So I paid the lady and thanked them and she told me to please come again at a later date. I was so happy and I went outside and ate my food with my coffee and ate the cinnamon roll she gave me and it was soooo good and gooey and the croissant was so delicious and moist! Yummy!!! The coffee cake I brought back with me because it was to much food to eat in one sitting so I will eat later.

But as for Prato Bakery.....YOU SHOULD BE CLOSED!!!! As the workers allowing flies to come into contact with the peoples food is a health violation! If I ever go to jersey city again, NEVER AGAIN will I go to that disgusting place called PRATOS BAKERY. So all you people giving good reviews to this prato bakery, BEWARE because this incident happened to me today August 25, 2018 in the afternoon. Thank you Gia Gelato & Cafe fro coming to my rescue and having the courtesy to maintaining a CLEAN establishment for your workers! If I ever owned a bakery or cafe, I would ENSURE my eatery place is kept clean with no flies for...

I called them at 7:20 pm yesterday to see if I can come by quickly for focaccia bread since they are nearing closing time . The guy said to come by, I tried going there as fast as I could and was there by 7:33 PM , the guy told me they are closed and i told him that he himself told me to come and I live like a mile away and it takes a bit of time due to traffic. I requested him very nicely but he was being so rude about it and he even told me that he had customers come at 7:30 as well and I took too long to come (3 minutes, that's it), he kept me outside in cold for like 10 minutes , I even requested that my wife likes their bread and i would leave a tip as well for being generous but he was still being very adamant and rude . I understand they've been working hard from morning and they want to go home once they close but you can't treat your customers like that , I was outside waiting in the cold and requesting and he just didn't care which is not good. I never had such experience with any other bakeries...

Consistently awesome food. Equally consistently horrible service. Lines 30 min long for a basic pre-made sandwiches. The cashier is charged with: 1) taking orders, 2) making sandwiches that aren't ready pre-made, and 3) filling coffee orders.

I just sat here and watched 4 customers walk out because of the line. I'd die to be able to buy out this place so I could institute proper management and turn 2x the customers with same staffing level.

If the cashier did his/her sole job: being a cashier, and other staff staffed solely for filling coffee and/or food orders, this place would be so much more efficient, result in happier customers, and wouldn't have people walking out the door.

A line of 5 people should not mean a 30 min wait. I wish them luck, but I won't be coming back until they understand the meaning of front house...