Ovenly Greenpoint — Restaurant in New York

The reason for my 1 star review is down to a single staff member. Without naming names I will just provide an example of my experience.

If you don't feel like reading this block of text then it's simple - they have a senior staff member that is obnoxious, condescending, and really should never be placed in a customer facing position. I'm sure they're very capable at fufilling their title duties but please for the love of god stay far away from the front of house.

I've been a patron of Ovenly for many years (since they had a location in Grand Central) but that ends today.

I visited the Greenpoint shop a few days ago to gather information about cakes (for my upcoming wedding). I had also corresponded via email with Ovenly a week prior but wasn't receiving answers to my questions so I thought that visiting in person would be a quick way to get things sorted.

I walked in and asked if they had any sample slices that I might try. I was told, in a curt manner, they didn't have them but to go to the website to fill out a form to have them ship me a cake sampler for $45. Given that I was there I asked if there was another option and they pointed at a cupcake sampler in the refrigerator. I purchased it to try the cupcakes. Note that during this exchange I felt the staff member was talking down to me and was generally rude - but I just waved the thought out of mind - maybe I was misreading the situation.

So my partner and I tried the cupcakes and decided on two that we really liked, I only had one question. One of the cupcakes that we liked was very sweet with a caramel drizzle and I wanted to know if we could get a cake with everything the same minus the caramel.

So I stood up and asked the barista (different person, they were very nice) my question, they told me that they didn't know the answer but to hang on a moment because they would go ask.

The curt staff member came out from the back, and immediately blurted, "okay first off don't ask them (the barista) any questions... they don't know anything." This was said right in front of the barista and it's obvious that they overheard it.

Then they proceeded for 5 minutes, without taking a moment to inhale oxygen, to explain to me why I shouldn't be in their store asking questions but instead should be emailing them. About 4 minutes into their rant, I tried to just get a simple answer, "I just have one question about the cara...", to which they shushed me and said, "well no you have LOTS of QUESTIONS and the ONLY way to get answers to ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS is to EMAIL US. blah blah blah I'm so important (they mentioned their job title) and can't you see that I'm doing three things at once and I don't have time to answer your question but I'll gladly stand here for 5 minutes and tell you why you should be emailing me instead..."

If you're keeping score at home - the only way to receive a yes or no answer to this question, "can you make this cake but without the caramel drizzle?", is to email the person standing in front of me at that very moment. Yup, they were the one I had corresponded with the week before, to no avail.

To be honest, I'm very happy that I went in to Ovenly in person because it essentially confirmed a sneaking suspicion that I had a week earlier while emailing with that same person... when a business can't provide a baseline level of courtesy, like not being a condescending jerk... I'll gladly take my business somewhere else.

Oh and fortunately I did find a much better business who not only had quick answers to my question but also treated me like a normal human being -...

August 2022: At the Ovenly Bakery west village location, I had tried the hot chocolate cookie (dark), peanut butter, and chocolate chip sea salt, and among the best I have had, and they had a 2 for one deal right around closing time! They use gluten free or whole grains (brown rice flour for the hot chocolate cookie but regular wheat flour for the regular chocolate chip cookie, and no flour or dairy for the peanut butter cookie. The whole grains give the baked goods more density and nutrition, yet still a lot of flavor and not as much of a sugar spike as baked goods at other shops. Good variety of breads and and all very fresh and well displayed. Helpful and friendly and knowledgeable about the ingredients. 9/10/22, update: just tried the double chocolate chip (hot chocolate) and sea salt (vegan) chocolate chip cookies again, and contrary to another reviewer, they are very soft and delicious and this was after 5pm when you get a 2 for 1 deal for all items on display, and when they won't be as fresh as in the morning. I had just a week ago tried the famed walnut chocolate chip cookie from Levain Bakery esteemed to be the best cookie in NYC for years and it was very good, but I think these cookies at Ovenly have more flavor with for example coarse sea salt and cocoa, are more unique, are cooked enough yet still tender unlike the somewhat intentionally under-cooked cookie interior at Levain Bakery, and are more hearty and healthy. They are among my favorite cookies and a bonus that they have whole grains without an overdose of sugar - not an easy find. You can find the ingredients here: at ovenly's website. 9/12/22: You can get a very highly discounted box of cookies or other baked goods in the morning from the previous day's selection, as a great deal before they donate to local charities. Much fresher and better and more natural than the boxes of cookies / baked goods you find in retail stores, and a good sampler. Similar to the app Too Good To Go. They may also have discounted single items like muffins if any are left. ---quick note: watch out eating too many of the peanut butter cookies, if you look at the baking ingredients you will see it has (~35g sugar/ cookie), as innocent as it looks, over twice as much sugar as the chocolate chip or the hot chocolate cookie. It is made without flour and just peanut butter, eggs, sugar. The hot chocolate has some butter and whole grain brown rice flour, and the chocolate chip is wheat flour, vegan (no butter), and I think my overall favorite though one other touch I'd like with it would be to have a whole grain flour to be my...

I rarely leave reviews, but I felt I had to share my experience today 3-3:30PM.

I came to pick up a birthday cake I had ordered three weeks in advance for someone very special to me. I chose this bakery because of its great reputation for healthy, gluten-free cakes—and I was genuinely looking forward to trying it.

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed with the service I received. When I walked in, I greeted the staff warmly with a smile and a “hello.” The woman behind the counter asked for my pickup name, and I gave it—adding that it was for a cake I had pre-ordered. She immediately cut me off and said, “I only asked for your name,” with a smirk, as if I had said something wrong. It felt unnecessarily rude, but I chose to stay polite and move on.

What really upset me was what happened next.

As she was handing me the cake, it suddenly tilted heavily to one side and nearly slipped out of the box. I had to catch it quickly with my own hands to keep it from toppling over completely. Despite this, she didn’t apologize or check to see if the cake was okay. She simply said, “Don’t worry, it’s fine,” and handed it over as if nothing had happened. Because of the tilt, the glitter decoration—which I had paid extra for—ended up smudged all over the clear part of the cake box.

Because I was leaving for the out of town right after, I didn’t have time to request a replacement—but I left the store feeling very upset and disappointed.

I also politely asked if they had a plastic knife I could use to cut the cake, and again, her response was dismissive and mocking. She laughed and said, “I’ve never heard of that,” as if it were a ridiculous question. I completely understand if they don’t provide plastic knives—but there’s a respectful way to say that without belittling the customer or comparing other bakeries in a sarcastic tone. And just to clarify, many bakeries do offer plastic knives for convenience—so it wasn’t an unreasonable question at all.

I don’t know what kind of day she was having or why she felt the need to treat a customer this way—but for someone picking up a cake for a special occasion, it left a really bitter impression. This one interaction had the power to ruin what should’ve been a joyful and meaningful moment.

For a place with such a strong reputation, I hope the management considers the impact staff attitude can have on a customer’s experience. No matter how good the product may be, the service...