Burney's Sweets & More — Restaurant in Raleigh

First off, the bakery items themselves are great. I have no issues with them. It's the cafe orders that's the problem.

I've been a barista for about seven years, and so I got excited when I heard about a café/dessert parlor nearby. I have tried the coffee and food here three times.

I usually order the same thing: a large oat latte with some sort of syrup.

It's simple, so I was surprised when the first few times I ordered, the latte was essentially tasteless.

I realized paying for the syrup is not efficient because I don't think it's possible to truly get a flavored latte here unless you ask for extra pumps, and even then, the order might still be wrong unless you want to hover around the café ensuring the syrup is being added or the right milk is beind used.

The baristas usually take orders by mouth and I'm not sure if that has something to do with why it's always been wrong, but that could be something.

Both times, I tasted the latte and decided to just add sugar. As a barista, I don't personally make it a point to have anyone remake a drink but I will ask for a refund if I'm not in a rush. I want to emphasize that both times, I did not care to refund or have the drink remade because while the syrup was lacking, everything else about the latte was fine. I just added sugar and chalked it to the game, as I didn't care that much.

But today, I decided to go while I had more time and specifically asked the barista to pump the syrup into a separate cup. She asked me how many pumps, I asked for four.

I figured that would solve the issue, I could add it myself. But when I got home, I noticed that this time, the latte wasn't a latte. 😭

The milk, when steamed, should take on a creamier texture and there should be froth from the steam wand. I opened my cup, and y'all. This is literally either an Americano or coffee.

I'm not going to lie, I was in shock. I had issues before but they were never this blatant. I poured the latte into a separate cup just to see if I was crazy and it's like I was watching dishwater filter into the cup, I legitimately had to consider going back and asking what that was just because when I went to check the syrup, there was a DRIBBLE.

I honestly had to wonder if they have beef with me. Because why is it that every time I go there, the bakery items are on point and I'm going to make the grand assumption that it has little to do with the front of house, and everything to do with the pastry chefs.

But the baristas? Man. Oat milk, even if it's an alternative milk, should never look this color or thin if it's been steamed with espresso. Both times I got a latte with alternative milk before, it was properly steamed at the very least. So I know this is just a consistent issue, café drinks either have something missing or something wrong.

Or maybe the espresso machine pumped out more water than milk, I really don't know.

If you order coffee here, specifically espresso drinks not just regular brewed coffee, make sure to triple check your drink and get it corrected because this is as absolutely not a well-done latte by any means.

I took a video of it being poured and it was so runny and thin, as an experienced barista that isn't even picky and WILL drink most things as long as the basics are there, I legitimately feel like there needs to be more training on café drinks.

I spat it out so fast that it wasn't even funny. I don't even leave negative reviews usually, but wow. Tip + coffee + alt milk + flavor prices. Baristas have it rough, but if I was patient, pleasant, and paid for an order, it should come out right.

You tell me if that looks watery or like steamed...

I had a difficult time deciding what I wanted to rate my experience with Burney’s Sweets & More.

I ordered 15 lemon bars and 15 vegan peanut blondies. The lemon bars were for my boyfriend’s birthday and I ordered the vegan peanut butter Blondies for myself.

For the two desserts this is how I would read them individually:

Vegan peanut butter blondies: 2 stars Lemon bars: 5 stars

My boyfriend loved the lemon bars that I purchased for his birthday. He said that they were delicious and tasted exactly like he wanted them to.

However, we were both disappointed by the vegan peanut butter blondies. The Blondies were not the consistency of your typical Blondie or brownie, They were more of the consistency of a protein bar with a glob of peanut butter on top of it. For the price I paid for the vegan peanut butter blondies, which was $60, I expected a lot more than what I received. It was not worth $60; for something I could’ve baked myself if I had the time. It did not reach my expectations nor was it what I was hoping for it to be, based on the name (or having had blondies before going dairy-free). Additionally, I bit into something extremely hard while chewing on the peanut butter Blondie. When taking a closer look it definitely looked like the pit of some sort of fruit, which is extremely dangerous. I was lucky that I did not hurt myself while eating it or chip a tooth. My boyfriend also bit into one and found a giant pit.

Of course this bakery does not cater to non-dairy or vegan treats, but I did expect something similar to what I thought I was purchasing, which was not a Blondie at all. I would recommend this place for people that are looking for a lemon bars or something dairy friendly. The staff was accommodating and friendly, in additional to attending to my needs despite the delay...

Burney’s Sweets and More has a solid reputation for its desserts, cakes, donuts, ice cream, and, most notably, its glazed croissants. We made a special trip across town, excited to try them, but the experience left us with mixed impressions.

The biggest frustration? The coffee setup. They don’t offer real sugar—only sugar substitutes. Thinking it might just be missing from the counter, we asked, only to be told they simply don’t have it. For a place that puts so much effort into their sweets, this seemed like an odd and disappointing omission.

As for the glazed croissants, they’re not actually croissants in the traditional sense. Instead of flaky, layered pastry, they’re made from donut batter shaped like croissants. It’s a creative and visually appealing twist, but not what we expected. If you’re imagining a traditional French-style croissant with a glaze, you won’t find it here.

The service was polite but not particularly warm. The woman who helped us was friendly in the way that’s more about Southern politeness than genuine hospitality—obligatory rather than welcoming.

Burney’s certainly has its appeal, but if you’re going out of your way for a specific experience, it’s worth knowing...