SweetArt Bakeshop + Café — Restaurant in St. Louis

SweetArt is a master of carefully crafted vegan comfort food. And the motivational messages from black female artists and activists that decorates the restaurant creates an environment of care and comfort equal to its gourmet level food. But it's these deserving compliments that made our weekend experience there oddly discomforting and left us with a sour taste. On our most recent visit (we are regular customers) we were greeted by a new digital menu. It was missing many long time staples so I asked the employee, "Is this your new menu?" He mockingly responded, "No. That's our old menu. Yeah, that menu is like like twenty years old." My wife and I did not react and finished ordering. As we enjoyed our always tasty treats, I thought to myself, "I'm not certain the customer is always right, but I have no doubt they should always be respected." After all, even faithful vegans now have multiple options where they can eat, including several nearby. And no one wants to pay for any product that also comes with a dose of disrespect, even a small one. As we left I further wondered if the young man I interacted with had bothered to inquire further about these dynamic woman beyond their quotes on the wall. I suspect he has not. If he had, then perhaps he'd have learned from their writings what each of these women expressed through their inherent collective empathy; that there is a never a good reason to treat a random stranger with anything but decency, kindness, and respect. I look forward to editing or removing this review once I know the necessary training has been implemented that will once again allow SweetArt to live up to the full potential that its comfort food and ambiance implies, but currently fails to fully deliver.

Below is a follow-up to the owner's response to my review:

Thank you for responding to my review. While I appreciate your acknowledgment of my loyalty, I respectfully disagree with the suggestion that direct contact should be the first step. Expecting customers to resolve problems privately places an unfair burden on them for issues your business should manage.

Your response seems to prioritize avoiding public feedback over addressing core issues. Unfortunately, problems have continued, including incorrect orders and one occasion, inedible food, suggesting systemic issues, rather than a bad apple. Expecting repeated private contact after such ongoing failures misses the point of public reviews.

Public reviews offer crucial transparency and unbiased insights. Instead of suggesting customers bypass this platform, a better approach is to publicly acknowledge feedback and outline steps for consistent quality and respectful service. I sincerely hope that moving forward, the focus will shift towards ensuring consistent customer satisfaction and taking public feedback as a valuable tool for growth, rather than an inconvenience to be...

Food (7/10): Cinnamon Roll (10/10) - Delicious, savory, buttery, creamy. The icing tasted like a cream cheese icing. Great homemade cinnamon roll. Perfectly priced for what you get. The value is definitely there.

Sausage Cheese Biscuit (8/10) (came on waffles, sold out of biscuits) - Very good taste. Hands down, the best vegan sausage I've ever had. The cheese sauce was good too, but the sausage itself took away the show. The waffle had a slight sweetness too it was well. Very tasty. Just wish it was a little bigger for the price. Yearning to come back to see if their burger is anything like that sausage. If so, I know it'll be amazing.

Mac and Cheese (5.3/10) - The mac and cheese was creamy and mildly flavorful. The portioning was small for the price of $10. If it were $7 or $8, the portion size would match. Also, and I don't know why the vegan restaurants around STL do this, but there was a slight "tang" to the cheese sauce. Plant Craft Kitchen does a similar thing with their Alfredo. IMO there should be no tang whatsoever in savory dishes like Mac and cheese.

Audre Lorde Chicken Sandwich w/ sauce on side (5.9/10) - Good size, but over priced. The bun was soft and had a good taste. Personally would've preferred a toasted bun, especially if the sauce would've been on the sandwich. The Chik'n patty itself was breaded and deep fried very very well, but unfortunately had almost no flavor to it at all. Felt like I was eating a Gardein Chik'n Patty, which honestly in its blandness has more flavor. After eating this sandwich you're left with a feeling of "wow, did I really pay all that for this". The potential is definitely there for this to be a good Chik'n patty, it just needs some more attention IMO. The majority of the flavor in these kinds of sandwiches should be in the patty with the sauce complimenting it, not the other way around. I did try the sauce with a fry and it does taste like a southwest chipotle sauce. Most people who like that type of sauce would probably love this sandwich a lot more.

Fries (7/10) (came with chicken sandwich) - basic oven cooked crinkle fries, that had a very good seasoning on them. Slight crisp, well made. Good portion size with the sandwich.

Service (10/10): Very friendly, helpful, kind staff.

Atmosphere (10/10): Very spacious open layout. Lots of natural lighting. The pastries are right there at the register counter displayed very well. Good selection of music ranging from Jhene Aiko, Lauren Hill, Mariah Carey, etc. Art in the form of a poetic quote and paintings. Very wholesome...

This place service has never been that good only the food and that is the real reason why I continued to patronize however, I will never return. I ordered my father's Christmas meal through them which stated that it would be ready for pickup on the 23rd of December. I placed 2 separate orders the dinner first and then the desert because my father changed his mind and wanted desert after I ordered the meal. I get a missed call with no vm on the 21st of December, I call them back and someone stated that due to inclement weather that was projected for the 22nd and would possibly impact the 23rd that they were having people pick up orders on the 22nd between 10am- 1pm. I arrive on the southside a 25 min ride to only have the desert. When I mentioned to the person at the desk that I had a dinner the person tells me that there are no dinners ready at this time that they were only call individuals who had desert orders to pickup today. I was so upset I just left after that. I later called to speak with a manger named Maxx who explained to me that orders for meals would be completed at the original date of the 23rd and only remedy was an apology and being understanding to me being upset. Due to their dishonesty my father will not have his Christmas dinner. They stated that they were having orders picked up due to the weather but it really was a convenience for them and not for the customer. orders are still available for pick-up on the date that they initially had and they should have left it as is. I DO NOT WANT ANY REPLY FROM THIS BUSINESS BECAUSE YOU HAVE ALREADY ADDRESSED MY CONCERN WITH A SYMPATHETIC WORTHLESS APPOLOGY.

Responding to this condescending reply from the owner. Like I said you all didn't do your due diligence by confirming orders because people do place multiple orders it was a convenience for you all however, it was not for me. Putting all caps for emphasis is trashy and unprofessional from a business. Yall got yall money I didn't get my meal for my father. Also you reiterated what I said as far as the meals were still the same pickup time. THAT WAS NOT STATED OVER THE PHONE WHEN YOU ALL CALLED AND STATED MY ORDER WAS READY....