Délice Chocolatier & Patisserie — Restaurant in San Antonio

Since moving to San Antonio from Manhattan (i.e., NYC) where the culinary scene is unbeatable, I have been on the hunt for the best food places. Now, having stumbled upon Délice, I think I have found my favorite patisserie. Not only can they bake a wicked decadent cake, but they can also bake a gluten-free decadent cake that doesn't taste "gluten-free"; that is, their gluten-free cakes actually taste like their non-gluten-free cakes. That's hard to pull off!!!

Now onto their cakes. I love their personal sized 4-inch cakes. You can try all sorts of flavors: from their dark truffle chocolate cake with a moist chocolate cake covered in dark heavily rich chocolate ganache to their red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting to their vanilla dulce de leche cake with a rich buttercream frosting. These are great because you can buy just one or two indulge without eating a whole 8- or 10-inch cake all on your own. Moreover, whenever you're stuck and need help with difficult decisions, such as deciding whether you're in the mood for something like dark chocolate or something lighter like milk chocolate, the person at the front will always offer you a free sample of the chocolate they use for either of cakes, even when you're a repeat customer.

Shhhhh, I think the hidden gem among their menu offerings, which doesn't appear to be on their menu unless I neglected to notice it, is their cheesecake, which I bought for an office celebration and which everyone immediately devoured leaving no trace of its existence behind. Specifically, the cheesecake itself has a perfect density that is neither hard like freshly churned butter nor light like whipped cream but smooth and velvety in density and texture. To taste, it is not too sweet but just sweet enough. As for the crust, the crunchy texture of the crust further accentuates the flavors of the cheese, bringing the perfect balance of opposing tastes and textures to the delicate richness of the cheese.

Regarding customer service, the owners and staff are always courteous and thoughtful. Being the dude that I am, I was planning on carrying two larger special order cakes and two personal-sized cakes all by my machoself to my car but the owner insisted on helping me carry the cakes to my car. Finally, I still find myself fascinated every time I am rung up at the cash register as credit card transactions do not include a tip option, even when some situations warrant it. My working hypothesis about their practice is that (1) the store is not in it for money as they can sustain their business with just sales transactions or (2) the store pays their staff enough so that the staff do not need to have supplement income via tips. Regardless, what I like most about this practice is that it does not guilt customers/patrons into leaving a tip. This also frees them up to providing excellent customer service just for the sake of being awesome without expecting...

I have heard so much about this place from friends that live here in SA and since I am moving here and was visiting, I decided to go try it out. Selling old and out of date items is not what I would consider top notch. I specifically asked how long a tray of cookies would last and was told the date was on the label. After looking at 3 out of the 4 trays on display, only one was not past the day of sale already and I said so to the clerk. I did not notice but it was the same thing with the individual cakes. I ended up purchasing two different cakes and both were considered the best flavor cakes and both were made either March 6th or March 16th and the purchase date was the 24th. How can you sell old and outdated? I spent $85 and ended up throwing away almost everything. The cake was dry and crumbly but the icing was good. I have to admit, I would never have expected this and I will be going back to my friends and letting them know that they really need to look at the dates on anything they purchase in the future if they must purchase from here. I was going to order a cake for a bridal shower I came to town to attend but not now after what I have experienced. I would expect an owner reply after this considering how proud they are of their product and again I ask how can you continually sell old...

It’s a bit expensive for what it is. Prices are more comparable to touristy parts of NYC (but funnily cheaper than say Paris).

The prices are clearly posted so I’m not going to knock off a star but this probably isn’t the place the average person wants to take their kids for a treat. Great for a special gift.

My first trip was this last Mother’s Day. I purchased about $200 of chocolates including Macarons (they got this wrong), a chocolate “sausage,” some macaroons, pretzels, and a large box of chocolates.

I was disappointed when my wife went to try one and said they tasted awful. She tried another…and another…and said they all had a weird taste. She said everything had a weird taste to it.

We decided to try again and this time she came with me. We walked in and she immediately said “oh my god. That’s the taste.” Whoever is cleaning the establishment is using a heavy duty very strong chemical. It’s permeating the chocolate and their products. Now granted this time things were better, I imagine the chocolates were older or that case had been just wiped down prior to my Mother’s Day trip.

I don’t think we’ll return until the issue gets resolved. Lots of potential here but rolling the dice on biting into Lysol is a...