Plehn's Bakery — Restaurant in St. Matthews

Although this bakery has been around for decades and I’ve been tempted by both positive reviews and window displays, this was my first year to try Plehn’s, especially since their visual presentations (especially the cakes) hinted at what I thought might be possible. I was planning a family Christmas Eve party with Tudor England as a sort of theme, so I had a few specific things in mind, particularly in regards to food. One was to have Plehn’s famous jam cake decorated with the red and white image of the Tudor Rose; second, after being impressed with the swirled cupcakes I’d seen in their windows, I wanted some with two of the predominant Tudor colors – red and green -- which would fit the season. Several months before the holidays, I got in touch with one of the owners by mail, detailing what I had in mind, and also realizing that some things might have to be scaled down so I expressed my willingness to be flexible after we talked. I had a short, one-on-one meeting with Donna about a month before Thanksgiving so we both we roughly on the same page, then met with her again in early December: the order would consist of the jam cake, cupcakes, as well as their mincemeat pie and lemon meringue pie.

The order was collected very early Christmas Eve morning, and despite the crowd which was nearly lined up out the front door, we went from the numbers 44 through 58 (my number) in such quick time that I wasn’t sure how they were keeping everything straight, but the clerks were patient, efficient and managing to stay friendly despite the usual holiday rush. So a big thumbs up for the employees’ attention.

Was I pleased with my order? Absolutely! The clerk serving me had already shown me the jam cake before I left the store – I’m still amazed that the Tudor Rose had been recreated so beautifully, and in such detail considering this was not a photo transfer but formed out of frosting. The cake itself was moist, flavorful, exactly what one expects out of this holiday cake; the caramel icing wasn’t overly sweet but right on the mark, and all in all, this was definitely one of the hits of the party. The cupcakes were of a simple vanilla/plain dough, but like the cake, were fresh and moist with a yummy flavor, and the frosting – which can often be overwhelming and way over the top in sweetness – was perfect, the red and green colors NOT tasting of the dyes used (I’ve found that sometimes this unfortunately happens when it’s overdone, but Plehn’s had it right!). As for the pies: both were eaten so quickly, there were barely any leftovers for some of the guests to take home; the mincemeat pie was especially popular. Neither were so sweet that the teeth were aching; the lemon meringue was tangy and tart, playing off the sugar, and the meringue itself was near perfection; the mincemeat – my first time having it – was praised as being exactly what everyone expected!

I appreciated their attentiveness to what I had in mind for my party. I even loved Donna joking that her husband (one of the owners) might not like making the Tudor Rose design, but she would make sure it was done. All I can say is that Patrick did one heck of a fantastic job in copying an object of a slight complicated design, but I knew they could do it, just based on the beautiful displays in their windows and cabinets. Their prices were also reasonable: the cake was a bit extra due to the Rose but was worth it; the cupcakes averaged around $1.25 each; the pies ranged from $7.95 to $8.95.

So will I use them again? You bet! In fact, when my hair stylist told me she was going to use them for her wedding cake, I told her she likely couldn’t make a better choice in bakeries. They have definitely earned my business and I can’t wait to...

I've been going in there for the better part of 40 years as a little kid with my hero my dad aka Joe cool aka angle baby and many more my favorite pastry is their custard Danish I never really cared for their donuts but everything else is superb. I was just thete with one of my 2 other heros my oldest son Sam and his friend Dawson. I pre-ordered three dozen Danish 6 custard and the rest mixed at their discretion to be picked up the next morning as a surprise thank you to my Dr's and staff at norton infectious disease Bronsburo location, they along with all my Dr's and and nurses and staff take excellent care of me. Sam and Dawson got what they wanted and i surprised my mother aka Macy with her favorite runny butter kuchen. And I'm going back this morning to ask them for one small favor not for me but for HEATHER DAWSONS GIRLFRIEND, TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD AND SAVE THE DATE SEPT 10TH FROM 4 TO 10PM FOR A CANCER F6thUNDRAISING EVENT FOR HER MOM, WHO STARTED CHEMOTHERAPY AND CAN NO LONGER WORK SO IF YOU CAN COME JOIN ME ILL BE THERE WITH MY OLDEST SON SAM, ROCKIN THE NITE. IF YOU CANT MAKE IT NO BIG DEAL SEND A CHECK OR CASH BY UBER OR DONATE A HOUR OF UR TIME A PINT OF BLOOD UR FAVORITE CHARITY ( JOE COOLS FAVORITE THE CHRUSADE FOR CHILDREN ST JUDE OR KOSAIR MINE AND SAMS AUTISM( MY YOUNGEST SON BIG DEREK IS AUTISTIC) WE MISS YOU DIABETES (JOE COOL HIS MOM AND DAD AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS )AS WELL AS HEART DISEASE CANCER ON BOTH SIDES MISS YOU GRANDPA MASON, ALZHEIMERES UNCLE JOHN MASON WHO JUST PAST AWAY AND MY MOTHER AKA MACY ALL CANCERS NOT LIMITED TO BUT INCLUDING LEUKIEMA I COULDNT MAKE THE FUNERAL AUNT CHRISTY I HAD KIDNEY STONES, SORRY UNCLE TOM ALONG WIRH A LIST OF OTHER DISEASES INCLUDING BUT NOTLI.ITED TO HEART DISEASE AND STROKE MISS YOU UNCLE HERMAN ALS UNCLE GEORGE AND OTHERS GONE OR LIVING WITH IN CLUDING HIV WHICH I HAVE BEEN LIVING WITH THE PAST 12 TO 14 YEARS UNDIAGNOSED UNTILL NOV 19 OF 2019. SO EVEN IF ITS SOME SPARE CHANGE IN A JAR AT UR LOCAL STORE OR A STRANGER ON THE STREET YOU DONT KNOW THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES SO DONT...

Customer service lacks at this place by one specific older women who was very rude to us.

So I will say this was the first time my husband and I went to this bakery. I ordered everything online and it was paid for ahead of time. Everything was correct. I will say the pastries and donuts we got were alright, not the best.

So as we were waiting in line to pick up our order. My husband ran into an old friend of his while they were walking out.

All 4 of us were talking inside the bakery. I guess we were being too loud and the one lady behind the counter - the older women from earlier started to bang her hands on top of the countertop and literally stated we needed to stop talking so loud cause people can't hear them call out the numbers.

Even tho there is a red digital sign for the numbers to be displayed...for one if we were talking loud that is our fault but at the same time that was the first time we were told and it could have been handled in a much different manner. I wouldn't of cared if they she would have come up to us and said it politely that we were loud and had to talk outside; that's fine.

Basically everyone in that bakery heard and saw what she had to say. It was rude and embarrassing! I told my husband if we didn't pay for our food I would have just left. Just because of that one woman doing and saying what she said she has lost all of my service for my life and I will tell all friends and family not to go to their business anymore because of this.

My husband and I both have worked in customer service and the restaurant industry for over 10 years and we all have our bad days but seriously I would rather the food be bad than the customer service because I guarantee you this old lady needs a rude awakening in the world of being kind to others esp. if it's her business. She has no right to act like that.

I will say the ONLY thing that was good was the one younger woman who assisted me with my pick up order....