Bovella's Bakery Cafe — Restaurant in Mountainside

I’ve been coming to this location for a couple of years and they’ve been pretty good, but this one time they really dropped the ball. I ordered a sugar free cake for my father’s birthday a little over two weeks of anticipation. I’ve always known them to make one type of sugar free cake, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream, and never had a problem in the past. Well apparently now they have “options,” which was never communicated to me, and with ordering in the past since there was no customization I always knew it to be the same. I called the day before to verify the time of pick-up because I had forgotten what I had said to them. At first they couldn’t even find the cake which was the first red flag for me, then they said because sugar free cakes are in a diff fridge that’s why they couldn’t find it. Then on the day of pick-up I get presented with a chocolate cake, now let me just say that a chocolate cake is very specific and at no given point was I asked nor did I know there were options. So I said sorry my sugar free cakes are always vanilla with strawberries and instead of trying to work with me they said well you didn’t specify, ummm okay and at what point was I asked about choices? Then the baker took the time to come out and told me the same thing that I didn’t specify so they made it chocolate, he was actually very rude, and instead of de-escalating the situation he escalated it more. I then explained the same thing, “I’ve ordered from here before and I was always told one kind, one size, no modifications.” He then said “well we are not mind readers,” now you can only imagine how upset I am because it’s a my dads birthday and it’s not like I ordered the day before. I said well neither am I! I’m the client and I’m not a rude person but like take accountability for dropping the ball. I don’t run this business I’m the customer who has done the same order year after year and at what point was I supposed to know the menu changed?? My thing is you don’t treat customers with disrespect when you mess up. Train your employees better for them to know the business and avoid customers being upset because that’s how you just lost a customer who would come often. & now I will absolutely not recommend this place. Carl/Karl the manager had no answers for me and just offered a refund along with taking the cake they made for free. I’m not the type of customer who gets upset and wants things for free, no that just doesn’t sit well with me. Had it been a regular cake okay whatever but this was very specific sugar free. & if my order wasn’t specific wouldn’t you think to call your customer to verify what your employee failed to do, instead of assuming we would like chocolate?! I love how they just assumed and blamed it on me, yet it’s not my first time ordering. Train your staff to ask the right questions, to know the menu, brief them on changes to make sure everyone is on the same page. If there was a doubt on how the cake should have been done they had the day I called to check on the cake to ask me by the way did you want vanilla or chocolate? But nope they had me on the phone for 30mins waiting to find my order. To me it seems they forgot my order and did whatever they wanted without even bothering to ask me. This is how you lose customers, because I will absolutely not be returning after how I was treated, and best believe I will not be recommending this place either. Beyond...

Another deeply disappointing experience at Bovellas Bakery today.

Months ago, while I was pregnant with my son, I had an unpleasant encounter with an employee who was incredibly rude to me. I brought the issue to the attention of the owner, who acknowledged it at the time and offered an apology. I left that conversation hopeful that things would improve moving forward. Sadly, today’s experience showed that very little has changed.

I visited the bakery this morning with my son. When we arrived, two other gentlemen were already waiting to be helped at the bakery counter. One of them ended up walking out, saying he had been waiting over 20 minutes without being greeted or assisted. The other man, directly in front of me, shared the same frustration—he too had been waiting for approximately 20 minutes with no acknowledgment.

At one point, several staff members who had initially been visible disappeared to the back. A waitress eventually passed by without saying a word to any of us. The man in front of me politely asked if anyone was working the bakery counter, and the waitress responded sharply, stating that she was a waitress and didn’t work in the bakery, adding that someone would be out “shortly”—despite the fact that multiple customers had already been waiting far too long without any service.

To make matters worse, a woman walked in after me and was immediately greeted and served by a staff member—completely bypassing the man ahead of me and myself. I approached the employee who was helping her and calmly asked, “Was that woman here before me?” Instead of responding respectfully, the employee became visibly irritated and defensive. She said she would stop helping the other customer and assist me instead—clearly in frustration. I told her not to worry about it, as she was already helping someone else, and I didn’t want to cause more confusion. But the fact that I even had to say something in order to be noticed was incredibly disappointing and frankly, unacceptable.

Eventually, the man in front of me asked to speak with a manager or the owner. When the owner came out, the man explained the situation in a calm and respectful manner: the long wait, lack of communication, and being overlooked by staff. Rather than apologizing or taking accountability, the owner immediately defended his employees, insisting they had done nothing wrong.

I then spoke up and reminded him that I was the same customer who had spoken to him months ago about the rude treatment I received during my pregnancy. He immediately recognized me, which shows the previous incident clearly left an impression. Yet even then—faced with another clear breakdown in customer service and multiple complaints from present customers—he never once apologized or addressed the problem. He simply turned and walked away.

It’s such a shame, because the food at Bovellas Bakery really is excellent. But over and over again, the lack of basic hospitality, accountability, and respect from both staff and management leaves a bad taste behind. As a returning customer who truly wanted to support this local business, I’m now seriously questioning whether the food is worth continuing to put up with service that makes you feel unwelcome, ignored and...

They messed up the one and the most important thing a bakery is suppossed to get right - cake order. I placed an order for my son's birthday party at least 3 weeks in advance. I dont know what the girl at the counter wrote in their records, but the day of the birthday when I went to pick up, the cake was nowhere to be found. I had a party of kids waiting and no cake.

Somehow the kids behind the counter didnt believe me that I had a cake order. I had to show them credit card reciept showing proof that I paid. They didn't give anything else to confirm the order was placed.

I had to take a firm ground and insist I have a party waiting and I'm not walking away without a cake. Then one of the senior girls came up and said my cake was prepared last week and it wasnt picked up, so it was thrown away. I told them, not my problem I need a cake. Either you tell me you can give me a cake in the next 30min or I need to go and arrange for a cake.

Then that girl finally went in and talked to the baker in the kitchen and came back and said they'll have my cake ready in 20min. So yes they saved the day, I had my cake eventually, after a bit of stress. They didn't really know what I had originally ordered, so this one was just created based on whatever could be done fast. But all of this was so unnecessary and uncalled for.

It showed that the staff isnt organized. Doesn't have good books, it took them a long time to find out about my cake order, they couldn't ever find my original order. And they're not good at handling customers.

Never ever going back here again! I could've walked into a shoprite or a costco and walked away with a cake, no fuzz. Why would I support the indie shop nearby, if they're so bad...