Elephantine Bakery — Restaurant in Portsmouth

Great little bakery! I would recommend ordering the day before for pickup so you can get exactly what you want without fear of anything selling out. You can order your breakfast items for a specific time to coincide with your arrival which is great! The morning of our pickup we enjoyed an egg simit which was fantastic, if not a little difficult to eat due to the eggs trying to escape on every bite. I would definitely get the simit again. We also had a cinnamon roll. The roll was soft with plenty of filling and a nice vanilla cream cheese frosting. The roll was delicious and we will get another. The rosemary focaccia is well worth the $8. It's got a great chew and the rosemary accents the loaf beautifully with nice chunky salt across the top. If we are here again and are in the mood for a loaf we would certainly revisit the focaccia. The chocolate chip cookies were good, not great. For us they were slightly overbaked and in need of salt. They tasted delicious though. We wouldn't come back for the cookies. Our Kat's brown butter brownies were a hit and a miss. Unfortunately we got one center piece and one edge piece. My wife and I are both gooie brownie people so we both prefer fudgie center pieces. She ate the center piece and it was delicious and fudgie. The edge piece was dry and cake like so it was a little disappointing. I had a croissant and enjoyed it. It is a very standard very good croissant with flakey buttery layers and the crust was crisp, very soft edges, would get again. My wife got the chocolate almond croissant and said it was very good but that the almond filling wasn't distributed evenly so it wasn't until her last few bites that she had any. She would get it again though upon returning. Altogether a very delicious trip and plenty of...

Authentic European Café Experience with Outstanding Service What a refreshing find in Portsmouth! This place truly captures that authentic European café atmosphere we've been missing. The Experience: Exceptional Quality:

Espresso: Perfectly crafted - clearly they know their coffee Pastries: Fresh, delicious, and authentic European-style Service: Absolutely outstanding - staff went above and beyond

Atmosphere & Seating:

Genuine European café vibe that feels transported from abroad Both indoor and outdoor seating options available Charming, authentic décor and ambiance

Minor Comfort Issue: Indoor Temperature: During humid/hot days, the interior can get quite warm. A couple of suggestions that might help:

Consider switching from regular bulbs to LED vintage-style (Edison coil look) - would reduce heat output while maintaining the aesthetic Tinted windows or better door management could help keep cool air in

Bottom Line: Don't let the minor temperature issue deter you - this place is a gem! The quality of coffee, pastries, and especially the service more than make up for any comfort considerations. Perfect for:

Coffee enthusiasts seeking authentic espresso Pastry lovers wanting European-quality baked goods Anyone craving that true café culture experience Outdoor seating during pleasant weather

Pro tip: On hot/humid days, grab a seat outside or visit during cooler parts of the day to fully enjoy the experience. Would I return? Absolutely! This is exactly the kind of authentic, quality-focused café that Portsmouth needed. Highly recommended for anyone who appreciates genuine European café culture with exceptional...

We came here as part of my partners birthday in Portsmouth, and we simply had the worst customer service experience. We ordered and paid a little more than one would probably want to spend on coffee with dairy alternative milk options- but to add insult to injury, we stood and waited, trying to stay out of the way, because it was a very busy day and there wasn’t any seating. We ended up standing right in front of the barista who tried to avoid eye contact with every human being there. We started to see other people who had ordered behind us getting their orders. We saw some woman come in crying and the staff exclaimed that they couldn’t bear to see their friend crying and sent her to the front of the line- yet after standing there for at that point 20 minutes- we weren’t noticed as still not having gotten their orders? We ended up getting back in line, the lady who waited on us was getting back from her break and did try to help us once we took the initiative to bring it to her attention what had happened, but we ended up waiting even after that. Ultimately they comped the drinks, but much to our disappointment, both espresso drinks were disgusting beyond being able to drink so we had to throw them out. The espresso was burnt and over-extracted and the milks were both overheated. On top of that they didn’t even use barista blend dairy alternative milks. What a waste of probably 30-35 minutes of our time. Cramped in that little space being ignored by a...