Schubert's Bakery — Restaurant in San Francisco

I heard so many good things about Schubert's Bakery, so I made a specific trip to Clement Street to find out what all the hype was about. Schubert's Bakery is located between 6th and 7th Avenue, with a good number of street parking. There are a various number of restaurants and stores around the bakery, so parking can get tough if you come during a busy time.

I had already poured through the many pictures of the various cakes from Schubert's, so I came with the intention of trying the popular Swedish Princess Cake and the Fruit Tart. Because the cakes look so pretty in the photos, I had expected the bakery to be just as fancy. I was actually a bit surprised at how small and low-key the bakery really is. Walking in, if I didn't know how popular Schubert's Bakery is, I probably wouldn't have expected too much from the store. The bakery in itself is quite old, with a few tables inside the restaurant, signs on the wall that explain the popular menu items, and big refrigerator display cases of cakes and other treats. I think I expected more of a Porto's or Tartine's type bakery, but there is something pretty comforting and unique about how low key everything is - you know they put a lot of time and effort into their food.

I really wanted to try the fruit tart, but sadly they were all out. I only was able to try a slice of the Princess Cake, which set me back about $4-$5. Kind of pricey for a simple slice of cake. It was put into a plain box, and I was quickly on my way. The cake in itself is quite fancy looking. There are layers of sponge cake with raspberry and custard filling. The cake itself is wrapped in marzipan with simple decorations adorned on top. If you're gentle enough, you can pull the marzipan layer off of the cake. Eating the marzipan, sponge cake, and the fillings altogether allow you to get a complete taste of the cake. I personally really enjoyed the marzipan because it has a unique almond flavor. The cake is light and springy and because the custard and raspberry fillings aren't too tart or sweet, they provide the perfect complement to the cake and marzipan. It's definitely a delicious cake, but I feel that even one slice was too much for me and I had to eat it in several visits. I can only imagine eating the whole cake!

tl;dr - Swedish Princess Cake was pretty good and worth a try if you're in the area, but it's not something I would go out of my way for. It's a bit pricey and a little on the heavy side. I'm glad I had the opportunity to try it, but I would probably return to Schubert's to try out the fruit tart next time or one of the other...

Haven't been to this place in a year and was unpleasantly surprised by the changes! The selection of items is no longer what it used to be. Many iconic items such as the small lemon tarts, lemon mousse cake, and various cookies with jam or almonds are no longer produced. Even the boxes where desserts are packaged are no longer the same. They look less classy than the old cream and gold boxes and their quality is also inferior. They now charge for shopping bags despite the exorbitant prices, which grew exponentially in the last several years. But the worst change is the quality of the products. I was there recently and got a chocolate mousse cake with shavings and a fruit tart. The tart had hair in it, which was really disgusting. This has never happened before and attests to the poor quality control practices! The chocolate mousse tasted nothing like the recipe they used before! Sub-standard ingredients were used, it had virtually no chocolate shavings on the sides, and only 4 raspberries, where as before each slice had a raspberry. The cream was awful, as was the dough! This is not what I expect from a premiere SF bakery! It seems that the overall SF trend for sky high prices coupled with lack of standards, and poor quality control has affected this place as well. This is really disappointing! I would like to pose a question to their current owners/operators: What are you thinking and also how do you view your patrons, people who have supported your business for decades?! The reasons they came to this bakery, were quality control, great customer service (they even picked up the phone, which doesn't happen now), consistently high quality of your products. Do you really think that people/patrons won't notice or be ok with essentially being cheated??? Do you think they won't be able to tell the difference between the standards and recipes you used before vs. the plummeting quality of your products now, that do not adhere to the same ingredients, recipes, and standards, and for which you have the nerve to raise prices constantly? I can tell you that I won't be shopping @ Schubert's, unless you change everything to the way...

You can not go wrong when you find an old school bakery that does it right and that is what you get with the Schubert Bakery. This is not a place for the latest high priced trend but if you are looking for substantial desserts made from the best and with care then come check out any of their delectable choices. For me this was for a few friends and I wanted variety so I opted for slices rather then whole cakes.

Swedish Princess Cake - This is made with many thin layers of white cake with raspberry and kirsch custard filling, whipped cream and marzipan icing. That might sound like a lot but it was a lot lighter then I had anticipated.

Black Forest Cake - A classic combination of chocolate sponge, sour cherries, and whipped cream with kirschwasser and chocolate shavings.

Opera Cake - With a hazelnut sponge, chocolate truffle and mocha-praline filling topped with toasted almonds this was more like a light brownie then cake but still so good.

Chocolate Truffle Torte - How can you go wrong when you properly combine chocolate sponge filled with a chocolate filling, made from fresh cream and bittersweet chocolate.

Also check out their Eclair they are an amazing treat.

Okay street parking M - F if you get there before the after work rush :) Service is polite...