Antoinette Boulangerie — Restaurant in Red Bank

I eagerly awaited Antoinette Boulangerie's opening, intrigued by the fancy-sounding French name & the arrival of yet another bakery in Red Bank. Could it compete? The answer, it seems, is yes, given the reviews this place has garnered.

it's impressive,, I'll give it that - beautiful pastries, beautiful case display, beautifully maintained space... everything about it is just really beautiful.

And yet.

I was really put off by a few things: staff's general snobbery; their $5 credit card minimum; their very small selection of macarons (only two flavors!); & the fact that the mango macaron I bought turned my mouth BRIGHT BLUE. Do you know how mortifying it is to be an adult woman walking around town with a bright blue mouth & teeth? I didn't even realize it until, like, an hour later, when I tried on clothes at a shop around the corner & discovered that I looked like I'd swallowed a Smurf. No wonder everyone I'd spoken to in the last 60 minutes had looked at me like I was insane. To be fair, that mango macaron was delicious, but whyyyy was it blue?!?!

Antoinette Boulangerie will appeal to a certain sort of customer, & I can imagine their pastries make for a lovely spread for a special event. That said, this place is just... trying too hard for me. I far prefer the casual charm & down-to-earth appeal (plus 12 macaron flavors!) at Lil Cutie Pops just...

I’ve seen a few comments here about cost, and while I don’t even think this place is expensive compared to other similar bakeries, you also get what you pay for. Great service and some of the best desserts in central NJ.

We brought a big assortment to Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. Some highlights include: -Chocolate Mouse: small simple thing but 5yo niece loved it and was so excited to have her little mouse -Nutella Croissant: what more could you want? A perfect buttery crispy croissant with a generous amount of Nutella inside the unique shape that keeps it from sog -Peanut Butter Bombe: tasted like PB, Nutella, with soft chocolate on it and a chocolate cookie bottom, I could eat 10 of these even though they’re quite big -Napoleon Marble Cake w Raspberry: imo it’s the best thing they have but I love these to begin with, I always order these and this is the best I’ve ever had -Misc: also had chocolate & vanilla eclairs, Lindser torts, mixed fruit mini pie, almond chocolate croissant - everything ordered was at minimum...

As the husband sent to pickup the Christmas Eve order promptly at 8:30am, I was sympathetic to the guy in front of me. He was repeating items as he listened to his wife on his phone, and several of the staff were unsuccessfully searching the table and behind the counter. Finally another member of the staff located their order that said 10:30 pickup. He first asked for them to quickly box it up, and when the woman in charge said that wasn’t possible as she had other commitments to complete, he said, “you know, it’s always hard to deal with you!” She took time to politely but firmly defend her position and offer him a refund, while the remaining staff triple checked my order before letting me leave. Upon returning, she was worried he’d make some bad social media post. Anquish for Christmas! …The croissants were amazing as usual. We tried the Yule log - beautiful work but too sophisticated for our taste buds....