Bearded Baking Co. — Restaurant in Manchester

I was really counting on this cake, which I ordered for my daughters bridal shower, to be fabulous, seeing I had heard such great things about Michelles Bakery. I was very sadly disappointed. First of all, I spoke with two different people before ordering the cake. The first person I spoke with, when I called to get an idea of what I wanted to order, was friendly and helpful. When I called back to actually place the order, I did not get the same helpful customer service. I felt like I was almost bothering the person. Thankfully, I called back and got the original person on the phone (Michelle) and again, she was helpful. No complaints with her customer service at all. My real disappointment was the cake in general. First, I had asked for ivory frosting and was told the butter cream frosting was ivory colored. To me, it was almost yellow. I also asked for really pale pink flowers, but the flowers were a medium pink color at best. I had also asked for black scrollwork along the sides. The black scrollwork was very a very dull black. Overall it was a very dull looking cake and to be honest, I was shocked that there was nothing special about it. When I brought the cake home, my niece looked at it and said "thats it?" She then went out to Michaels and bought some paint on glitter to jazz up the flowers and some black pearls to add to the scrollwork. It definitely helped, but when paying that much for a cake, I wouldnt expect to have to add anything to it to make it look better. I had made it clear both times when I called that I was not an expert in cake decorating and that I was leaving it up to them to make it pretty and special for my daughters shower. Lastly, I was not wow'ed by the taste of the cake. To me, it was just okay. (It was a vanilla/chocolate torte with chocolate mousse.) Half the guests liked it, the other half thought it was okay, but not one raved about it. The butter cream frosting I did not care for at all, and some guests also commented on how they did not like it. The best way to describe it is barely sweet, and having the consistency of shortening. I had never had a butter cream frosting quite that unpleasant. I really had wanted to love this place, seeing there are not a ton of bakeries in our area, but sadly I will not be back. I had a taste testing for my daughters wedding cake at a different bakery and am very happy with that. My recommendation to anyone would be a cake tasting at this shop...

First off, I would like to say this review is not a reflection of their food. The goodies at bearded are absolutely delicious, however, if you plan on placing a large order for an event PLEASE go elsewhere. I placed an online request for a large batch of cupcakes for a party about 2 months prior to the event date. I also had questions about allergens and requested more information. About 3 weeks goes by and I never hear anything. I assume, I must be the issue, so I fill out another online form. I then wait 1 week before calling the bakery. I was told that they contact folks for customer orders 3-4 days before the event and I haven’t heard yet because I put in my order too soon. I personally think that’s insane. I had specific questions about allergens that I needed answered and they also don’t include any pricing on their website. So I’m supposed to wait until 3-4 days before my event to decide if this bakery can complete my order? The woman on the phone, who was very polite, said that she can take my name and number and the person who fulfills the customized orders will call me later that day..

It’s now the DAY OF THE EVENT (weeks after that phone call).. have I heard from bearded? No. I ended up going with Queen City Cupcakes who had EXCELLENT customer service, answered all my questions, and included any information you might need in their website. This includes flavor options and pricing. They also called THE DAY OF my online order placement to confirm with me.

If you want a tasty treat during the day, bearded is a great bakery and they make great stuff. If you want good customer service for custom orders PLEASE go to Queen City. They are much better and you actually get...

I have gone here for lunch while in the area and I have to say the Turkey sandwich I had was awesome! Just the right amount of turkey, mayo, lettuce, tomato, salt & pepper. I don't like things too fancy. But what tasted even better was their potato salad! WOW! I don't know how they get their potatoes cooked perfectly but I want their recipe! The customer service was great as well. Very nice and I didn't have to wait to be served. I also ordered 2 cakes for my kids graduation parties and they were out of this world good! One had a buttercream frosting to die for and the other had a white sweet frosting that was excellent as well. The fruit fillings she used made the cakes. They added just the right amount of flavor that went well with both cakes. I highly recommend a fruit filling! One cake was a chocolate and the other a combo of chocolate/vanilla. Of course I like the all chocolate one but then I LOVE chocolate! Neither were too sweet. I don't like really sweet cakes. I don't think cakes should be too sweet. Save that for the chocolate bars. I showed her some pictures of what I was looking for and she designed the cakes wonderfully! One was an 'artsy' cake with paint brush, splatters of paint, brush holder and the other was a combo 'gaming' & 'art' cake. She made an X-box game controller to sit on top of the cake and my son loved it! She did a fantastic job! I will definitely be ordering more cakes from Michelle's! PS. try...