The Midwife and The Baker — Restaurant in Mountain View

We used to be regular customers, the almond croissant being a favorite, but at some point we noticed the overly burnt black pastries, too tiny ham, etc. other reviewers have mentioned. This week's experience was the last straw. Our most recent visit (we went twice this week) was around 9 am this past Thursday, and what was a simple food allergy inquiry turned into an unpleasant experience. I asked if it was possible to know if the mango in the mango Danish came into contact with any of their other pastries, because I am extremely allergic to mangoes. The female employee was rushing to grab a mango Danish, and I had to repeat and paraphrase several times to be understood. The employee laughed and said I can't answer that. ...we wait a few beats, then I ask if anyone might know, and when there was no response, I added 'like a baker?' The employee went away and we wait... I do want to note, the usual employee(s) (it's usually just the one male employee or two on the weekday mornings) are very personable, exhibiting common sense, and we assumed this employee would be the same. I also want to clarify we would understand staff behavior if we had been rude or belligerent in any way. Why would we be in anything but the best of moods when visiting a local bakery only 5 min away, for baked goods fresh out of the oven? (even if they aren't perfect some days we just appreciate not having to bake or cook) However my husband had the same off kilter response last week with this employee. That time, he asked for the focaccia and she said 'they are cutting it. I have to go inside and see if I can get you a piece'. He replied 'ok, great, thank you' and she continued to stand there. He had to ask twice 'could you please go and check if you can get a piece for me?' 'could you please go and check 'now' if...?'. Back to this morning, the employee came back saying she asked for the manager, and the next thing we know a tall young man comes out with a noticeably defensive attitude. He launches a defense on how Midwife doesn't have the room or staff? to prepare items separately, and that if we have allergies it's on us to decide if we want to get pastries or not. We ignore the young man's 'tude especially since we don't know what the employee said to him, perhaps we were portrayed as ogres who were obnoxiously making my allergy a legal issue? so I tried to mitigate the situation and asked him is it ok to ask if the employee had handled mango Danish and if so, if she could change her gloves? The manager visibly relaxed, and said no problem and left. The employee (we are all standing close by so she most definitely heard everything) had one hand on her glove, looking like she is about to remove it. We wait, but she continues to stand there. I then ask her 'have you touched any mango pastry this morning?' She replied yes. Her finger is still on her glove looking poised ready to remove. We wait some more, I ask if she can remove and change her gloves. Suddenly the employee starts making excuses for not wanting to remove the gloves, and she sounds hysterical. At some point she also accuses? me of having asked for the manager. We didn't even bother asking for a different focaccia (she had already packaged it prior to changing her visibly dirty smudged gloves) but called it a day. We have had other patisseries give us thoughtful and honest answers whether or not they can guarantee if their mango had not come into contact with other pastries during any stage of the production/distribution. (One amazing patisserie in Santa Barbara which we can't wait to return to for their delicious breakfast that we devoured no, inhaled, even had a little pow wow with all staff for a few minutes, while they discussed amongst themselves whether or not they could guarantee no cross contamination, and in the end they let me know they couldn't recommend any patisserie items but the kitchen prepared savories were safe for me) We were taken aback by the needlessly unpleasant response from Midwife...

Finally got around to trying this place. Overall great experience, the staff was friendly mind you I went on Monday morning after 9 am so it was busy but not crazy.

There is no indoor seating however there are some tables and benches outside. Maybe tricky for larger family/group to find seating so keep in mind if you go on a weekend when it may be busy. No parking lot so you will need to look for it on the street, again timing may matter on how easily and close by you can find a spot. It was easy when I had arrived.

I tried the cardamom croissant and a seasonal danish(passion fruit with coconut streusel). Both had a great flaky buttery texture in line with my expectations. The cardamom was not very strong , I wouldn’t have minded more flavor personally but enjoyed nonetheless . The danish was excellent on all fronts. Good ratio of fruit filling to pastry dough. Nice balance of sweetness and tartness matched the buttery pastry well. And the coconut streusel added a little flavor and texture boost. I don’t consider myself a danish person and have a bias towards croissants always but wow this danish won me over today. Will be back to try more items.

The one disappointing part was the coffee. It was underwhelming unfortunately, the sour notes were overpowering the bitterness I enjoy in coffee. Others may be fine with that however.

I picked up a ginger molasses cookie and small baguette to take home. Have not eaten yet so will update review later on those items. Love that they have different sized baguettes. Great for singles or smaller households who may not be able to consume big baguettes which we only see in most bakeries and...

Most of the stars are for the coffee, the Saturday pop up coffeeshop is some of the best coffee you can get in the bay area. The barista, Alex, is a true coffee aficionado. This guy knows his beans and has helped me step up my coffee game. Don't just grab a latte and dart, ask him about the coffee, you might learn something. I actually come here for the coffee more than the pastries.

The pastries are good thought, don't get me wrong. I enjoy some of their items more than others, also sometimes pastries are burnt/overcooked or just not very tasty. I like the creative seasonal selections and I'm sad to see them go. Like the carrot cake muffin was so good, I hope they bring that back (preferably with cream cheese frosting).

I love the currant orange scones, and the random special danishes they have. I didn't like the whole wheat chocolate cookie. When I tried it, it was too dry and not buttery and chocolate-y enough to be a truly cravable chocolate chip cookie. Their bread is pretty decent too, although their loaves tend to be sourdough. Sourdough is in the "you either love it or hate it" category. I'm in the latter camp.

Saturdays are the best days to go (for the aforementioned coffee is only on Saturdays). It's best to get there early around the time they open for the best selection of pastries and a shorter line. If you're there after 9-10 am, most of the special items will be sold out, and you'll likely have to...