Mây Bakery & Café — Restaurant in Raleigh

I was recommended to come in by a suggestion from a friend with my family. I held high expectations at first, before reading the sign it was a "Soft opening" which explains my many problems of the experience that we had. ( This was the second day of soft opening ) Negatives: The design and layout of the restaurant was a tad confusing because there was a hostess stand and no hostess. We proceeded to sit down and wait for our order to be taken cause we saw a staff member talk to multiple tables. After waiting a few minutes we ultimately figured out that we were supposed to go up to the registers where we had a new found problem. The menu was confusing. For a place that is stated to be a "Bakery and Cafe" it had a multitude of various foods. (which wasn't much of problem but seems go against the whole idea of a cafe/bakery vs restaurant) We ended up ordering the following:

Traditional / Pho Tai 15.00 Special Sticky Rice / Dac Biet 12.00 Grilled Pork Sausage & Vermicelli / Bun Nem Nuong 15.50 Grilled Pork Chop & Broken Rice / Com Tam Suon 17.50 Strawberry Matcha Latte 6.25 Ube Matcha Latte 6.50

With added tip and tax are charge came out as $89.67 for an order for four people, sadly we did not end up getting our Grilled Pork Chop & Broken Rice / Com Tam after a wait of 30 minutes, we received a apology from the most responsible employee there was in that building with a printed receipt. ( ^ The problem could have been fixed with communication from staff to customers about the delay ) -The food wasn't anything too special, and nothing was notably bad other than prices for the portions which criticisms can be taken lightly because entrees wasn't supposed to be the main focus. Although I suggest against ordering the traditional pho as it lacked any depth of flavor. The drinks were actually pretty good other than the fact we waited 10 minutes to down the drinks in a solid 2 minutes because of the overwhelming amount of ice. Staff seemed disorganized and unprepared. At the initial order we never received a receipt, which bothered us immensely due to the high price of our order, we only ended up addressing the fact to wait for staff after checking in our food, and when we received a refund and copy of the receipt. -All of the servers seemed to have a difficulty figuring out what customers had ordered, the number system works fine if it's picked up but the problems arise since the servers come up to multiple tables asking if this order belongs to them which can lead to potential mix-ups. ( Observed concern ) For the time we were there a group of waiters were seemingly chatting in the back and not really checking in other customers or acting as hostess which I do not know if that was intentional. Another problem with layout is that the chairs to the side of the place do not grant much functionality in use although comfortable. Menus should be tweaked while browsing. It was a shock that the items were priced so high, especially "Lobster Pho" , a very unexpected dish to be on the menu for $85 at a "Bakery and Cafe". Positives: The place has an overwhelmingly nice atmosphere, with Vietnamese music playing in the background. Great decor! ( although I have a sneaking suspicion that the mural was created but AI but that's a theory not fact) The furniture is tasteful and pretty. Everything was very clean and the flowers were a nice touch. The staff we spoke to at the very end was understanding and apologetic, for the rest of the staff he seemed to be a shining example of the service that should have been provided. Baristas did a good job! But I was mildly confused by the fact that some were running food when there was definitely other staff who were supposed to. They offer what seems to be different types of deserts daily, which we did not get an order of though they looked quite good with a wide range to creme brulee to flan. Other customers who ordered simple things such as deserts and coffee looked to have an extremely good experience compared to our group of four.

I'm still coming back...

This place needs a lot of cleaning up to do.

The vibe and atmosphere are very nice. It honestly feels like this place was imported directly from Vietnam, which I liked. There are a lot of photo spots and overall a good space to touch down and do some work or chat with friends.

The service was regular. They didn't have anyone to man the front when my friend and I arrived, so we went to the registers for them to ask if we were dining in or doing to go. I think the best business practice would be for people to order at the front and take food/drinks back to a table rather than just having two forms of service, the host or the registers.

To set up a system where you either have a beeper, notification, or your number called would be ideal.

I tried to order the spring roll with just pork, but they couldn't do it, but they could do a spring roll with pork and shrimp, which I found confusing. It was probably due to the lack of ingredients which is fine but I would rather not be offered another dish that has pork if the original dish I ordered has pork as well and I can't order it.

I ended up getting the fries and two drinks. The banana tea (I think that's what it is called) and the ube matcha. The banana tea had no quality control. It was supposed to be iced, but my first sip was warm. I found that unpleasant, but the drink was good overall after I stirred it to make the drink cold. Since I drank the banana tea first, the ube matcha (with ice) had time to cool down (if it was warm).

Overall, this place still has some work to do, and I think it could be great. I hope they read these reviews and reflect it on their business. There are also too many employees for it to be a bakery & cafe? It seems more like a restaurant rather than a bakery & cafe. Please choose what you want to...

My my May!

What can I say about May(translated to clouds in vietnamese) ....

I must say for being the first week of being open, it is running smoothly and staff are great !

As soon as you pull up to May you do not know what to expect ... especially be located on CAP BLVD... but dont be scared.. as soon as you open the door you are transported to an elevated modern clean vibe with a whole living tree in the center of the space with a sky light over it to give it natural light !

The space is beautiful and layed out perfectly..

Interior is actually imported from Vietnam and designed to match the vibe and menu ..

The menu is simple but offers the perfect sample of an elevated taste of Vietnamese cousin.

The coffee is a must to go here and so are the milk teas... yes the owners have sourced and perfected one of the best coffee beans and teas in the world to produce you an amazing drink !

Oh and if you come here on a date and forget a bouquet of flowers... dont worry they have you covered !

There are fresh bouquets of flavors available for your special date!

The desserts are all home made and damn it can say the star is the flan !

The Tamarind Wings are also a hit and same with the savory chicken and sticky rice dish !

Ohhh and the crab fried squares... dont sleep on it ! It's an amazing dish and something you will not find anywhere locally in the Triangle!

I did not try the pho yet but have heard ... that they chef was taught by a Vietnamese celebrity chef back in Vietnam...

So definitely will be back to check it out and get more of the black sesame coffee .. which is rich and velvety and damn so good !

Truly would recommend giving May Bakery And Cafe a shot !

Bonus points for it being open...