Cameo Cakery And Cafe — Restaurant in Richmond

I am not one to write bad reviews, but the disappointment with our first and last visit to this cakery should be noted to hopefully help the business owner make some changes to a place that could actually have potential. I drove by this location and noticed all the beautiful Christmas decorations so I decided to make a reservation for my two daughters and I for the day after Christmas to enjoy a festive & fun brunch together. When we first walked in, we enjoyed all the beautiful sparkling lights and beautiful Christmas decorations however, no one welcomed us or even acknowledged us for about 10 minutes until I waved down a waitress to let her know we were there for a reservation. The owner was at the bar and personally as a business owner, I would think when people walk in someone should greet you or say, “welcome!” The waitress pointed at a table and told us where to go sit. There was only one other table with people at it. The rest was empty besides a gentleman at the bar talking to the owner. The vibe in this place was off. Not happy. We sat at our table for about 10 minutes before the one waitress came to ask us our drink order. They were out of most every drink we wanted… no mocktails available, no smoothies available, no sparkling water available…. so we settled on a chai latte which was lukewarm but good taste. The waitress kept leaving the table and not there to really answer any questions, She was not engaging at all or happy to be there, considering it was our first time you could tell she doesn’t really like her job & was pretty clueless on customer service & how to manage 2 easy tables. When we went to order food, she told us they were out of egg salad, but if we wanted to wait 10 minutes, they could make some more so we decided to wait. In the meantime my daughter ordered the chickpea salad and my other daughter ordered a pizza. The salad came with four crackers. She definitely needed more crackers And the pizza tasted very odd. I know it was vegan, but it was not good. During that time, another family came in and tried to order hot chocolate etc. They told them they were out of that and the family got up and left as there was nothing on the menu available. Some other people came in and were also not acknowledged & they left. Not sure why you would take holiday reservations and not have anything on your menu. Especially when the menu is already lacking in options. They need some soups on the menu or bread etc. With the proper planning, these things should’ve been handled in advance or keep your business closed until January when you can get your act together or preface that it’s only holiday alcoholic drinks available & pretzels. We wouldn’t have wasted our time making a reservation if we would’ve known most everything on the menu wasn’t available. The food was lack luster and none of us finished it. Also, the bathroom was very dirty. The food was overpriced and nothing to write home about, but the worst was the service. I’ve never made a reservation at a place and felt like a burden for asking for basic service and menu items. Definitely will not be returning. Maybe they think because of the location that it’s a guarantee hit, but they definitely missed the mark. Go elsewhere. Hopefully, they can get these things in order because it could be a cute spot if it was managed better and had taken more care into the face of your business, which is your staff & you not just pretty decorations. The entire experience was unprofessional & I would give it a negative 10 on hospitality. Wrong career for...

Cameo Restaurant Located at 306 Libbie Ave, Richmond VA 23226

My daughter and I visited the Cameo Cakery & Café in Richmond on 10/5/2024, having reservations for 2:00 pm to sample the menu as this was our top pick for catering her baby shower in November. When we arrived inside, we were met my two employees informing us that we would have to be seated outside because they were expecting a large party inside. When my daughter made the reservations, she specifically said we wanted to be seated inside as I don’t care to dine outside. We let that go and sat outside. Our waitress, Addie, was very pleasant and informed us that she was just filling in. Our experience with Addie was lovely. I ordered the Butternut Squash Bundt, which was very good, and my daughter ordered the chicken salad but was not happy with the consistency as it had a texture of canned chicken. After eating, I went inside to view the cupcakes, which were in the rear of the restaurant near the bar area. As I approached, the young lady behind the bar, I said “Hello, how are you. I just want to look at your cupcakes” and explained we were dining outside. This young lady looks at me like I had three heads. I asked her if it were OK to look at the cupcakes and her response was, “I guess, for now”. I asked her to repeat herself and she did. I then said, “Are you serious, I can look at your cupcakes for now”. She then said, we have a large party coming in later, but I guess it’s OK if you look now. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, or the nasty look on her face. I then told her that I no longer wanted to look at the cupcakes and added that I was definitely going to write a review on her behavior. She could have cared less. As a customer, this was very insulting. I returned to our seating outside and informed the waitress, Addie, of my experience with the young lady inside. She apologized over and over, and I said there was no need for her to apologize as she was not the rude one. I’m assuming it was the manager who came out next. I repeated my experience to him, and he too apologized over and over. He offered to pay for our drinks or food to make it right. I told him that is not what I wanted, and I would pay for my own food & drink. I suggested he have a talk with that rude young lady and that’s not a good way to keep business. I also informed him that we would not use Cameo to cater the shower. I felt he did what he thought he had to do, but I didn’t feel he was genuine about it. I understand that good help is hard to find, but there is absolutely no excuse for that young lady’s terribly rude behavior, and she should be fired. I will guarantee you, I’m not the first person she’s talked...

My family actually loves Cameo and typically stops by weekly for some kind of treat. The cupcakes etc are great quality and taste amazing. But this place has been plagued by staffing issues. There’s one newer super sweet server with a really strong accent who we love to get, and we’ve had several others who were great over the years, but most recently I came in with my 6 year old daughter for a cupcake and was honestly offended by the service. I stood at the outdoor window trying to order, but a petite girl server with dark curly hair literally stood by the window where she was meant to be working the indoor checkout (no one was in line though, so she was not doing anything), looked at me and ignored me for several minutes. I thought okay maybe they’re not taking orders by window today. Sure she could have motioned for me to go inside or opened the window to tell me that, but oh well. We went in to order. Here this same girl was extremely short with me and acted like I was bothering her for simply ordering two items. After I did, she put one item (a cupcake) up on the counter. We waited for the second item (a cookie sandwich, located next to the cupcakes literally in the same case) for about 10 minutes while she did random tasks around the bar. She had clearly forgotten to get the other item and was tuning me out in a huff for some reason as I ordered. After glaring in my direction several times, she realized she had to come over, so she walked toward us and snapped, “are you waiting for something???” I said “yeah we had a cupcake”— here, she cut me off by gesturing toward the cupcake on the counter rudely— so I finished “AND a cookie sandwich.” She was obviously annoyed that I’d dare point out that I had paid for an item and not received it, so she threw open the sliding window to the case, grabbed the missing item, and literally tossed it on the counter without saying a word. Despite loving the treats here and making it a fun part of our week for years, I’m thinking we’ll probably start avoiding this place. We’ve had a lot of positive interactions with staff, but this...