David Burke's Dixie Lee Bakery — Restaurant in Keansburg

Strange place. Service is civil, but not warm. On my first visit, I was there when it was not busy and they had plenty of staff. I mentioned several times I had never been there before, and how beautiful everything looked, tried to engage them in conversation about what they thought was good, and of the three women working behind the counter, none of them wanted to engage. I’m not suggesting they needed to waste a ton of time, but I do publicly review food, I do post on Instagram quite a bit, and had I had some adequate customer service, the outcome would have been different.

That having been said, everything looked beautiful, but there were real problems with execution. The Napoleon layers of pastry were leading, tasted of oil, and the entire pastry was flavorless. It almost appeared to have been made without sugar, from the chocolate drizzle on top, to the whipped cream, to the pastry cream. The apple fritter was nice. It tasted of cinnamon, and there was no apple anywhere to be found, but it had a toothsome texture, was not overly cinnamony, and was a good pastry. The cannoli was pedestrian at best. The texture of the filling was somewhat grainy and the shell had no taste at all. I also purchased two plain bagels. It was an adequate bagel. The gluten content was not high enough, and the boiling of the bagel not long enough either.

Overall, style prevailed over substance here, and the customer service was marginal. It was my first trip, and I am sure that other things are probably better, and clearly everything is made with great attention to detail, but… The things...

Was told Mark moved on. Not sure if that was his choice, David Burke's, or mutual decision. Counter staff was all different, at least today.

Key lime pie - Great - this one was light and had a good whipped topping. Lime flavor was great. Worth having again.

Apple crumb slices - good - just like the larger version they've sold for decades.

Cheesecake slice topped with ganache - Awful - basic graham cracker crust, filling had the consistency of no bake mix from the supermarket and would not be confused with any real cheesecake; the "ganache" had the consistency of chocolate syrup for an ice cream sundae. This was nothing like the description and needs a new description. Would not order again.

Wanted to give a better rating, but with the price increases and the last several visits all had at least one fail, like today's. I'd give it 3½⭐️ , but Google only allows while numbers, so three it is.

Definitely understand new ownership means a few bumps, so we'll try again in another couple of weeks. Hoping I can revisit...

I had high hopes when I heard that Dixie Lee Bakery had been bought by David’s Burke. Decided to try it for the first time today. It’s all about the experience, and it fell flat. I walked in and four people were behind the counter. Two standing around, one helping customers and one working the cash register. When it was my time to order, I had a few questions. Nobody was able to tell me what kind of nuts were in two different pastries. I don’t have allergies, just not a fan of walnuts. Not all pastries were labeled, and when I questioned two of the counter people, they didn’t know what was in the pastry. Finally, after buying a variety of different things, I paid using a credit card. After signing the receipt, I heard the two girls complain that I didn’t leave them a tip. Tips are for good service and a job well done. They clearly need better training. Jersey is full of amazing bakeries, just not sure I will be back...