Bloom Bake Shop — Restaurant in Madison

Sweet Potato Doughnut -- interestingly moist. MOIST. I think they soak it in some type of syrup after cooking it? I thought it was an interesting take. I didn't necessarily like it, but it was interesting. It had very good flavor otherwise (I love spice so it was so nice to actually taste the ones typically associated with fall in the donut). Decent sweetness as well. A bit too expensive.

Biscuit -- this is the heartiest, biggest, bulkiest, thickest, and chonkiest biscuit ever. The butter flavor and buttery-ness were both very wonderful! I could tell that they tried to stick true to the defining characteristics of a good biscuit, and the end result was phenomenal. This was great with some strawberry jam.

Japanese Milk Bread -- the standout from my haul. I love, love, LOVE east Asian sliced bread because it's just so much more fluffy and sweeter and texturally wonderful compared to boring western sandwich bread. However, they never fill you up. They never, EVER fill you up, which is to be expected because the entire thing feels like you're eating a cloud. So with a lot of typical east Asian baked goods, it literally just feels like you just ingested a ton of air. (I know clouds weigh thousands of tons or whatever. Just go with me on this.) But the bread here is actually HEARTY. It has the right textures, the right pulls, the right layers, the right flavor, the right color, but the satiety does NOT mirror its airiness, which is WONDERFUL. I can actually eat some good fluffy milk bread without feeling like I just got scammed. Who knew I would run across the best milk bread of my entire life at a bakery here in Madison, WI?

Croissant -- I think this was my least favorite item from the haul. First off, it was way too soft--no distinguishing factor between the inside and the outside of the croissant, which was disappointing. I think one of the best things about a croissant is that you get that contrast between the crispy/crunchy exterior and the soft, pillowy, layered insides, but that magic did not happen with this one. The butter flavor was decent, yes, but the entire thing was just so soft that it just felt like I was eating somewhat solidified butter in scoops. Not...

I had a bad experience with a custom cupcake order at Bloom.

When I went to pick up my order of a dozen cupcakes for a socially distanced gathering, the staff informed me that I had entered the pickup date as the prior Friday instead of today, a week later Friday. Feeling frazzled that I would have mistakenly placed the order for the wrong day, I asked if there was any way that I could still get a dozen cupcakes. The manager patronizingly explained that they made the cupcakes a week ago and that they sat in the cooler all day without being picked up. She added that all orders that are not picked up are donated. I reiterated, that it was an unfortunate mixup, but I was still in need of some cupcakes at the moment. They offered me 8 basic cupcakes rather than the dozen I ordered, which of course I “would be charged for because the prior batch was donated.”

I reviewed the order right after, and I realized had placed the order on Saturday the 23rd for the next available Friday on the ordering system. For some reason it allows you to place an order for pickup on an already past date, so my pickup date was the 22nd. Once I realized that the order couldn’t have been prepared for the correct pickup date, I was left confused about the whole story in the bakery about how they sat in the cooler all day on the day of the pickup and then were donated. Did they make them on a different day assuming that would be a fine substitution? When did they expect me to pick them up? Might they have called to ask if I had forgotten to pick up an order after they had made them? Did they ever even make the order? The basic level of customer service that is needed in this circumstance was lacking. Additionally, they were rude to me when I actually did come to the bakery with the intention of buying baked goods. There are too many other good bakeries in Madison for me to order from Bloom...

I have had great experiences with Bloom in the past, but this morning made me forget all of that. I was celebrating something special today, and dining alone. I arrived at Bloom shortly after it opened and received good service from entering the shop through placing my order.

There were only two other parties seated - two couples - and I was placed in between them by the hostess. To deal with the awkwardness of sitting in such close proximity in a near empty room, I took out my laptop to get a little work done. I am a full time graduate student.

Almost immediately, the owner approached me to tell me that laptops aren’t allowed on the weekends in order to foster “community.” I was taken aback, as the restaurant was nearly empty. And assumed that if that was the policy, it was to prevent loitering. Which of course, if it was a crowded restaurant, I wouldn’t have.

Left with the proposition of sitting silently shoulder to shoulder with two couples next to me, I felt extremely unwelcome. I have never received such poor customer service! I asked one of the hostesses for a takeout materials.

They didn’t care about their “community” when I asked them through tears for a plastic fork. My special celebration was ruined. How about you care for the customers you HAVE? Especially when it’s snowing and they’ve made the trek out to dine with you. As I walked out, I noticed two people waiting by the door, as the hostess was not allowed to seat them until their whole party had arrived. IN AN EMPTY RESTAURANT.

I will not be returning to Bloom again. And I will be telling my friends.

The food was fine, but for me, everything at Bloom will now taste...