McArthur's Party Cakes — Restaurant in Mehlville

Unfortunately, I'll never go to McArthur's again. Having grown up in South County, I was so excited to learn that they delivered to St. Charles, where I live now, so I was thrilled to use them again for a bridal shower I was throwing.

I ordered the cake months in advance, toward the end of July 2024, for an October party. The young person who took my intake seemed a little unsure about what she was doing, and that should have been my first tip off. I explained what I wanted (see first photo, handwritten notes - spooky / elegant / fall theme for bridal shower, shades of purprle, add flowers, "Congratulations Dani"). The order person and I discussed the theme and looked up some photos on Pinterest while I was there. I mentioned that the decorators could call me if needed for clarification, because I really wasn't confident in the order person's abilities. I then called a few days prior to delivery to confirm the details and to make it clear, again, that this was for a bridal shower. The cake was delivered on time by a very nice gentleman.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and saw a literal HAUNTED HOUSE. This is a Halloween cake, not even close to a bridal shower cake. It looks nice, but again, absolutely NOT APPROPRIATE for a bridal shower. As you can see on the second photo (delivery invoice), it was never noted anywhere that there should be flowers, and "fall theme" was also omitted. Even still, I'm at a loss how we got a haunted house from "spooky, elegant, purple" bridal shower theme.

I called and spoke with a nice woman who advised that she or the manager would call me back.

Holly the manager called me back, but was clearly already upset. She kept interrupting me, and told me that if I could bring the cake in in the next 35-40 minutes, they could "add some flowers". Well, again, I live in St. Charles and it was going to be unlikely that I would make that time frame. Then Holly explained to me how this was my fault, because I didn't provide any pictures, the invitation, or guidance. I told her that the girl I placed the order with never suggested that I bring in an invitation, and that she didn't really seem to think that this was going to be a problem. It just totally shocked me how Holly seemed to want to pass the buck. Like, of course I didn't know what to put on the cake. I'm not a cake decorator. That's why I paid over $100 to go to the professionals.

By this point, my mild amusement had shifted to anger, just based on Holly's "not our fault" reaction. I told her that bringing the cake it at this point wasn't going to be good enough, and that I wanted a replacement. She put me on hold, and then came back a few minutes later and said that they couldn't get me a new cake, but they'd refund my purchase. Well, okay, but I still don't have an appropriate cake. When I asked again about bringing the cake in to have flowers added like she had said, Holly advised that this was no longer on the table. I told her that I was going to come bring the cake in because that's what she told me I could do, and then she said I was threatening her, hung up on me, and then the store refused to answer the phone when I called back.

I then called the Kirkwood store and spoke with Bree, who was much more pleasant. She said she'd do some investigating and someone would call me back.

Holly then called me back again, and was less rude but still interrupted me frequently. She confirmed that I'd still be getting a refund, and said I could bring the cake back in and "the general manager who is not a decorator" could add some pre-made flowers to it in the morning, but then I'd have to drive back in to get it before the shower. At this point, I don't know if the time and the gas would be worth this half-measure.

McArthur's used to be where everyone in South County got their cakes. I don't know what's happened to them but I'm so unbelieveably disappointed in both their product and their service.

I can't wait to see the bride's face tomorrow when she gazes at her beautiful...

I finally got to try the famous McArthur's! There were so many sweet choices that I had to ask a lot of questions and do a lot of thing before I made the big decision. But I finally decided on a slice of gooey butter cake, a custard puff and two mini mousse cups.

Apparently they don't always have gooey butter cake for sale by the slice, it's usually only sold as a whole. But they happened to have one and were more than happy to sell it to me! Their version of this STL treat is quite different from every other kind I've had. Most times, in my experience, the bottom layer of the gooey butter is a consistency that lives somewhere between a yellow cake and a blondie. But this was neither. This cake had a similar consistency to Mardi Gras King Cake. I'd say that it was a tasty treat and fun to try, but something I would go back for, simply because I've come to expect something different when it comes to gooey butter cake.

The custard puff was huge and had a pretty thick layer of chocolate completely covering the top. The pastry had a nice balance of light and fluffy, but still sturdy enough to contain the custard. The custard was fine - it reminded me of most fillings I've had. It was very similar to the puddings that you make from the Jello boxes at the store. However, all these elements were quite enjoyable and I really savored every bite!

There were two different flavors of mousse and the woman at the counter wasn't 100% certain what each was, so she gave me both and only charged me for one. One of them was in a coffee cup made out of chocolate and had a chocolate-covered espresso bean on top. It turned out to be mocha flavored mousse (go figure). I sometimes get nervous about the coffee flavor in things like this being too strong, but this was mild and very nice. The other was a taller, skinner chocolate cup and had a lighter colored mousse which turned out to be caramel. I liked this one even more! (It had a little bit more flavor and sweetness.) The mousse itself wasn't super dense, it was definitely closer to a whipped cream consistency, which I loved!

McArthur's was definitely a fun place...

Just ordered breakfast for a friend that is helping me move. I got my food. He did not get his. The picture the DoorDash person took clearly shows HIS order is not in the bag. I would assume the store can see the picture DoorDash took, clearly showing there is only one order in the bag. Not 2. The store DID NOT offer an apology. They said we could drive to pick up the sandwich/meal; after I already told them I am in the process of moving with my friend. They did not offer any other solution and simply hung up. I was very polite the entire time. I also understand they are very busy and stuff happens. The young lady on the phone was just relaying messages from management. She did fine. All I am saying is if I am a manager and I told my customer I put their food in the bag and can see that the order was not delivered properly. I am apologizing, making it right for the customer (taking ownership of the issue at hand) and then taking up DoorDash's incompetence with DoorDash. In order to avoid a negative experience for a paying customer. They will never get my business, my friend is hungry, with no meal. The food that I got. Was mediocre at best. And obviously messed with. Again. This business chooses to use DoorDash. Unfortunate their management did not take ownership of this situation. The young lady on the phone was just doing her job by relaying what management told her. On top of all of this, in order to talk to an employee, I had to call their sister site in Kirkwood. It clearly states on the their answering machine at the Lemay location that you can only talk to someone Monday - Friday. How can you run a business with no way to contact the location? At the end of the day. I'm leaving this for others to read and hopefully for ownership to see and correct very easy customer issues so they don't happen to others. If all of this is by design. I would avoid giving them any money. If it is not by design. It's simply a learning opportunity for the store. I almost forgot. There was a piece of bacon the was not edible. It was super...