85°C Bakery Cafe - San Jose — Restaurant in San Jose

Management at 85C is the worst at all bakeries I have ever seen. You never know which type of bread is coming out at what time during the day. My son loves their mocha bread, but I could only get it by luck. I tried to visit at different times and only succeeded to get it one or two times out of ten. If there is a timely schedule for different bread, it should have been posted to inform customers inside the store.

One time when I was at the store, I was offered to try their tuna turnover. It was so yummy that I wanted to buy it for my family. Unfortunately it was no where to be found, so I asked the salesperson. He checked with kitchen and turned out saying they won't bake fresh tuna turnover any more for the day. This answer was quite weird to me. If they are not trying to boost sales, why let customers try their bread for free? After that time, I tried a couples of days at different times but failed to buy the tuna bread again.

Also, it is very confusing when you try to figure out the type of bread in front of you. There is usually one name tag for each type of bread and describing its ingredients. However, the store front salespersons are putting several trays of the same bread (without tags) on various shelves. As a result, customers have to walk back and forth through the aisle to find out what bread it is on a certain shelf.

If management improves, I believe business...

This review is based solely on the bakery's pastries and treats! Sadly I have yet to try their drinks I've been hearing about.

85 can be one of those 'Hey let's grab a quick bite to eat!' and 'Dessert tonight?' type of place. Interior decor is stunning, a minimalistic white, modern and sleek look from its floors to its service desk. Always super clean when I've visited which is awesome!

I don't get a chance to casually visit 85 as I'd like to, but always when visiting 85 I purchase in such big bulks ($75-150). The pastries I've gotten have always had the right amount of sweet and savory. I haven't tried much of the meat mix pastry items like the bacon/cheese or the ham/cheese/tuna, but hearing from friends it's mouth-watering! Pastries are always lined up and filled, if not, you can kindly ask one of the bakers to refill and they do it almost immediately.

Parking is definitely a hassle in this area since it is located around a few large shopping and grocery centers. So I beg you not to come during peak hours or you'll find yourself parking near the Goodwill four buildings down!

Overall, such a delectable place for your everyday fix. Would love to visit more often if I could; I've been meaning to try that...

Finally, an Asian bakery that makes a proper matcha swiss roll! I'd been looking all over for one. Other Asian bakeries either don't make one, or have jasmine flavor in it. Jasmine flavor is not my thing; I much prefer the style of matcha rolls found in Japan, which do not have the floral jasmine flavor. Even if this is a Taiwanese bakery chain, their matcha swiss roll is the closest one I have found to a Japanese matcha swiss roll here in the bay area. It has a light matcha flavor, a small amount of cream rolled into it, and a few red beans sprinkled throughout. It is also not dry. Just delicious.

I also tried the milk pudding bun which had a generous serving of vanilla custard inside. The bread had the loveliest texture; it was so pillowy and satisfying. It's as fresh as you can get. The bread must get sold fast, because while I was milling around trying to decide what bun to get, I saw two fresh batches of bread come out of the kitchen.

This place is also really clean and spacious, with ample seating. The people working here are super cheerful. I am definitely going to be back!

Update 4 Feb 2016: SQUID INK BUN. Omg. Must try....