Gu eum Cake & Bakery — Restaurant in Saratoga

If you're looking for an authentic Korean bakery that serves phenomenal cakes and drinks, look no further! Gu-eum is your answer, your destination and will surely become your favorite!

Gu-eum is located at the popular Westgate corner strip mall at the corner of Lawrence Expwy and Prospect Rd, right across from McDonald and next to Cere tea. Parkings may be a bit of a challenge here but no worries, there are ample parkings in the back beyond McDonald. No matter where you park, it's only a quick 2-3 minutes walk to Gu-eum.

On the outside looking in, Gu-eum looks modest with a cute white teddy bear logo on the windows and some white lace curtains covering 2 of their big windows. The inside of store is neutral toned with a hint of buttery yellow and brown which reminds me of honey and cakes. White chairs and white tables as well as some houseplants and wall mirror are tastefully placed around the store to create a welcoming ambience. I can easily see myself coming here more often to grab some cakes and drinks and hanging out with my friends in the weekend or after work.

All that nice ambience aside, their cakes and drinks are what truly capture my heart (and my tummy)! They have so many flavors to choose from and some of them you haven't ever heard of, such as Injeolmi and Goguma (Korean yam which is my favorite!!). Their cakes are not super sweet (which is a compliment in Asian culture), melt in your mouth and make you feel like you're in heaven with every bite! Their cream is light, fluffy, with right amount of sweetness and that elegance of a well-make cream on top of the cake.

And of course, you'll miss out if you don't try their phenomenal drinks! I love their Goguma latte, Dalgona latte and most recently the seasonal Tiramisu latte, which is made to perfection with real mascarpone cheese and strong and bold coffee. I'm Vietnamese so I have high standard for my coffee and Gu-eum nails it all the time with moderately sweet drinks (that don't make you feel like you'll develop diabetes afterward) integrating so well with amazing coffees. Every sip you taste is a slice of heaven handed out to you in a form of latte :)

Their prices are reasonable within that $6-$7 range. Thought the cups are on the smaller size, the quality of drinks make up for it. I’d rather choose quality over quantity anytime.

Highly recommend you check this place out for all your cakes and drinks needs! Be warned though that you may come back and back for more because Gu-eum has that kind of hold on your heart...

In a strip mall with many run-down eateries and service shops, this Korean bakery and the cafe next to it are refreshingly new changes in the pace.

I didn't like the Madeleines here. They were dense and dry and I didn't like the cloyingly sweet flavors like Matcha infused in them. There were some other types of Asian fusion cookies, financiers and scones that didn't have much finesse. These will set you back around $5.

The cake slices are around $8-$10. I will say the cream they make for the cakes uses a number of quality ingredients. I think people who are a fan of Korean cloud cakes will like this one.

There's not much in terms of atomsphere. As previously mentioned, it is in an old plaza but they could have easily spruced things up on the interior. It's very poorly-lit inside and there's a couple rickety tables.

The service is slow. There were two workers when I went. They take their time making coffee; I would recommend you get your caffeinated beverages elsewhere, the ones here are pretty ordinary...

Injeolmi madeline is amazing - soft sticky rice cake inside perfect madeline, covered in the roasted soybean powder. There's nothing quite like it anywhere else.

Canele is extra crispy caramelized outside and extra soft inside, creating amazing contrasting texture.

Cakes are all delicately balanced. Strawberry sponge cake has amazing strawberry flavor. Injeolmi cake is so good that it often runs out.

Drinks are special - iced lemon yuza is the best, while their coffee drinks have good balance of sweet and other extra flavors.

All in all, one of the best dessert experiences in...