O’Hara’s Bakery Cafe — Restaurant in Lexington

I really really wanted to love going here, but there were some major problems that I hope management can resolve. My mom, grandma, almost 2 year old, and I went there today for a Valentines Day treat and it was chaotic. We go in and see a lovely display of treats, at the end of the display cases there is a big sign that says, "Order Here" so my mom, my son, and I. Are looking at the treats trying to decide what to get, about half of it wasn't labeled with what it was or the price. Not a big deal, but when we had questions the people behind the counter were playing telephone trying to figure out the answers. I understand not having the pretty labels yet, but sticky notes would be a easy place holder with the info. While we were doing this someone from our side of the counter asks if we are dining in because my Grandma was sitting at a table, we said yes and she asked if we wanted a menu to which we declined because we just planned on getting treats, she dropped one menu off at the table incase we changed our mind. Once we got to the check out (labeled by a large Order Here sign). This is where it went to complete chaos. Someone comes up behind us, presumably a manager, and says we need to sit down to order, a waitress is with her, then there is two people on the other side of the counter saying no they are just getting baked treats they can order it here, this devolved into my mom and I (holding my toddler) essentially being surrounded by people scolding us for doing it either way. In the end we were firmly told, not asked, to sit down and a waitress would take our order. So we sit down and leave the treats sitting directly across from us on the counter (now crying toddler wondering why mommy left his brownie she promised him). We look over the menu while we are waiting, it was after 11 so we look at the lunch menu, none of us wanted anything from it which I guess was good since after we ordered we heard another waitress telling a table near us they don't serve the lunch menu anymore just the breakfast, which I actually did want an item from. When the waitress comes to take our order there was difficulty because 3 out of the 5 things we wanted were not labeled, after a bit of stumbling around words between all of us my mom stands up and grabs the treats we had gotten off the counter and says this is what we want plus one other treat we didn't get before being told to sit down, which also wasn't labeled so more stumbling of words. We also got two hot chocolates and one black coffee. Our cake cups were about three quarters frosting, my hot chocolate was warm at best. My Grandma's black coffee and bagel were good.

My suggestion to management would be to go and see how other similar places are ran. In the immediate area there's Cribb's and Panera both have similar menus, treats, food, and cafe drinks. It's pretty standard to come in, pick your treats, order food at the counter then go sit down to eat. I've traveled a lot and have been to similar establishments across the country, my mom across the world. None of them have this confusing, chaotic set up. One last thing that may help management understand why this is a terrible setup. One of our treats was a brownie for my toddler, there was two different variations of brownies, one was completely covered in thick frosting the other had a small decorative dollop on it. I picked the one with less icing because that was my preference, ordering specific treats from a table is much more difficult than just picking your treat out from the display. I hope when I'm ready to go back, it's a peaceful experience with yummy treats and actually hot chocolate not being scolded like a child for not understanding the chaotic, untraditional set up.

One last thing, I do not blame the waitress for this experience. This was not her fault. This is poor management/ownership. They are feeding their employees to wolves with this nonsensical,...

Neat little coffee shop and bakery, but my experience here has not always been great. The last time I came here was very recent and I and a friend waited over 70 minutes to get our food. Our waitress was attentive with coffee, but the restaurant was either understaffed or managed poorly when I visited, as there was only one chef, and he was backed up. I ordered the French toast with grits and my friend ordered the corned beef breakfast bowl, and when we finally did get our food, my friend's food had a lot of unmelted cheese and the sweet potatoes were not good. My french toast was also disappointing, with the bread not being soaked through for a good french toast. there was plain dry bread in the middle of the French toast coating (which should soak through) and my grits were bland. I can't blame a busy chef, though. However, I can blame my waitress for promising a discount while I already had a coupon for BOGO entrees. Only the coupon was applied, and with our long wait I could not ask about this as my friend needed to be at work and we needed to leave.

However, we did have good coffee and there's a neat little setup and aesthetic to the building (it's actually almost a 100% copy of the setup at Kaminsky's in Columbia, SC with the bar and brick walls as well as a cake and other desserts (such as breakfast desserts) display. In other words, it's a "heavily inspired" restaurant design. They merged with Nonnah's (from downtown Columbia) to serve cakes at $8.95 per large slice, with other slices at different cost (cheesecakes), and breakfast items around $3 to $3.5. Parking is behind the building, so turn behind Main St. by turning left by Alodia's or by turning onto Maiden Lane from South Lake Drive, and the spots are right behind Haven.

I have had the Chai coffee, which was very good, and was a decent price at $4 for a large. The have espresso, cafe americano and cappuccinos/lattes, and a large number of dining options, including breakfast bowls, omelettes, french toast. In general, friendly...

Let's talk about the best bakery hybrid in town. Why's it a hybrid? Read on!

Food: 5 stars due to soft, light, large bagels that sponge up anything smeared on them. At breakfast, i've ordered the Corned beef breakfast sandwich with over medium eggs, cheddar cheese on a jalapeno cheddar bagel andd on a cheese bagel. Both have not disappointed. I was informed by the staff that the water used to make the dough is sent in from NJ, which is why it tasted just like home for me. My lady got the avocado toast and kids got the skinny cakes which everyone loved. The vanilla on the cakes is delicious.

Service: 5 stars due to the kind and patient staff that still is friendly regardless of how many customers they're juggling at the time. My wife and i came back around for date night and were surprised to see that they were open so we popped in for a slice of cake. Unbeknownst to us, this place moonlights as a gourmet dessert bar, making alcoholic milkshake and coffee martinis!!

Atmosphere: 5 stars due to the good vibes. It has an old school diner, Cafe and brunch feel all in one. If I haven't convinced you to come here yet, just know that you will find a parking space outside and won't have to walk far when...