Potomac Sweets — Restaurant in Kensington

I love this bakery so much! They have an unbelievably huge variety of delicious pastries. While I was waiting in line once I counted, and from my count there were over two hundred different varieties of pastries, cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, breads, cupcakes, macaron, biscotti, nougat, etc! The pastries are very high quality French style patisserie, the filled croissants are some of the best I've had. They make extremely beautiful and surprisingly affordable cakes and tarts, including incredibly yummy looking holiday options you can order ahead. The most surprising thing to me is the price, most pastries are only $3.50, whereas a pastry of the same quality elsewhere in town is almost double that price. They have fast, friendly service.

I've tried probably twenty pastries from here, and the two of particular note are the chocolate croissant and pistachio croissant, which is like an almond croissant with pistachio paste inside. The filling is very flavorful, the pastry extremely crunchy (I get it toasted), and the sweetness just right. Their chocolate croissant is also by far and away the best I've had anywhere in Rockville, and I've had one from over two dozen gourmet bakeries in the area.

They do not offer coffee or espresso drinks, which would be a lovely addition, but they have very limited space, so it's probably not practical. I appreciate they don't serve coffee if they don't think they could serve good coffee. Maybe just a hot water tap with fancy tea bags would be nice though.

Very limited parking and floorspace inside the shop, so I recommend going during a less busy time of day. Plenty of parking around the corner. No cafe seating area or restroom, but there's a bench or two out front where you can sit on a nice day. It's a pretty quiet and nice place to sit. I would love if they could put even one tiny table with two chairs out front, but the space is very limited, so it may not be allowed by code. If code allowed, it would actually be cool if they converted the 3-4 parking spots into an outdoor seating area with tables with umbrellas, and did away with the parking there all together. I personally would walk from around the corner, then sit at a table outdoors to enjoy my pastry while it's still hot from the...

This morning I dropped my SUV off at the Kensington Service Center and was going to walk to one of my favorite coffee shops about 4 blocks away. I crossed the street and then said, “Wait a minute.” I’m in this nice quaint town, sort of a peaceful, old town feel….let me try something new today. So i scanned the neighborhood and caught sight of Potomac Sweets.

I stepped in and was overwhelmed with the variety. I am sort of particular about my treats. I started looking at labels to see if there were a lot of artificial colors and flavors. I talked to the young lady at the counter and asked what are the most popular items. I started forming my order in my head. I was going to buy about (4) pastries and maybe a bag of donuts. Soon as I was about to make my order, I hear a voice coming from the side room. The gentleman asked me if I am going to order something or not. He went on to explain that his staffer at the counter has other work to do. Bear in mind, the bakery was empty and I was the only customer. I immediately got an awful taste in my mouth. The delicious looking treats now all looked terrible. As I walked out the door I told the nice young ladies to please cancel my order. I also told them, “Customer service, customer service.” One of the young ladies to her credit said, “I know, I’m sorry.” I believe the gentlemen was the owner, but I didn’t have a chance to hear his story. Unfortunately now, I may not be that interested because, to me, it says a lot when you treat a customer like that. Being aware of the industry, I know several things go into making a delicious treat. The precision, the science, the chemistry, the flavors, the quality of ingredients and most importantly, the love. Believe it or not, character, attitude ect. have a lot to do with how great the baked goods taste.

I am not sure if I will give Potomac Sweets another chance, there are so many other places out there that actually value customer service. As I looked for a new coffee shop to go to, I talked to other merchants in the community and they told me that other customers had poor experiences with the gentlemen at Potomac Sweets. I thought it could have just been me or he just had a bad day. Now I...

If heaven had a bakery, this would be it. And I’m not just saying that because I blacked out from sugar overload and briefly saw a light.

Potomac Sweets is a treasure trove of baked beauty, nestled quietly in a corner that clearly doesn't shout, "HERE LIES PERFECTION"—but it absolutely should. I stumbled in thinking I might grab a cookie or two. I left with three bags, a cupcake, a box of éclairs, and the early signs of a joyful sugar addiction. No regrets.

Let’s talk cookies first, because these folks don’t play around. There’s a wall—yes, an actual wall—of lovingly packaged Potomac Sweets cookies that looks like a cookie-themed episode of “Hoarders,” but in a good way. You’ve got pistachio, chocolate chip, powdered sugar bombs, butter cookies that crumble in your mouth like edible gold dust… I considered building a fort out of the bags. Still might.

Then there’s the pastry case, which basically looks like Versailles if the French had built it out of éclairs, opera cakes, mousse tarts, and cream puffs. Layers on layers of buttery, creamy, chocolatey goodness, all glistening under the lights like dessert jewelry. I made eye contact with a Napoleon slice and forgot my own name for a full 30 seconds.

The cupcakes? Don't even get me started. Actually, do. Because these are not your supermarket, overly sweet, dry-muffin-wearing-a-wig cupcakes. No. These are gourmet cupcakes in fancy little parchment suits, wearing crowns of frosting and dotted with crunchy pearls like they’re attending the Met Gala of baked goods. The red velvet one winked at me. I swear.

And while sugar may be the star of the show here, don’t sleep on the savory side. Yes, it exists. Yes, it’s glorious. Their savory croissants are buttery, flaky miracles—like a French hug wrapped in golden pastry.

Bottom line? If you’ve ever wanted to eat like a classy European tourist and a gleeful American sugar fiend at the same time, Potomac Sweets is your dream bakery. Bring a friend. Or don’t. Just bring...