Sucré Table — Restaurant in Tampa

Edited: although the bakery's pastries are absolutely wonderful, their business blueprint and modus operandi are indecent by my standards. I openly criticized their "Anti-Love" cake for Valentine's as inflammatory, inciting bitterness and hate, and was retorted with patronizing defensiveness. I support small businesses, but I do not support business that sell their soul to the devil – or to the soulless pop culture machine – with crude, violent humour. Stabbing a cake [with anyone's ex's name written on it], all for a shiny penny. I also will not dip into my wallet for a business incapable of humbly accepting criticism, whether to be used or discarded; instead defensively retaliating. From Michelin to gradeschool. Respectfully, review adjusted.

This was my previous review, before it soured.

Bar-none, best bakery I have visited in North America. Unfortunate that someplace so spectacular is relegated to a dingy plaza in God-knows where Tampa. This should be on 5th Avenue in Naples, or on Worth Avenue, or even Stuart. The location does this diamond of a Euro bakery no justice and, frankly, I would be surprised any but a few people in Tampa know of it at all.

I grew up in Switzerland and spent much of my life in Paris. This one is on par with the finest bakeries on Earth. I am generally not a fan of the farcical labour costs in the United States that augment the price of every measly pastry to an arm and leg's worth. Superior pastries cost a fraction thereof in Europe or in Canada. It takes a lot to justify the steep prices of baked goods in this country and, truth be told, 99 out of 100 bakeries fall pitiably short in living up to the $ tag.

Not this one, though.

My husband and I ordered the Pecan Sticky Bun, Cinnamon Apple Brandy Roll, Chocolate Chunk Cookie, Kouign-Amann and White Chocolate Pistachio Latte.

The sticky bun and cookie were both good, though we wouldn't get either again. The cookie is hefty and sconier, not quite as scony and dense as Levain's and not as doughy, rich and moist as Gideon's. Both have the upper hand on this one, and I am no fan of Gideon's overhype.

The latte was one of the best my husband, a coffee aficionado and snob, has ever had; the brandy roll was delicate and rich with contrasting flavours that roused every bud; but best of all was the Kouign-Amann. This one blew Dominique Ansel's DKA out of the oven by butteryears. The DKA is so bland, airy and banal; Brenda's twist is sublimely dense and doughy (just how I prefer it and how I bake it) – do not let its 'squeashed' size fool you – with actual glistening chunks of butter between layers and, best of all, immaculate caramelization on the outside. Hefty amount of caramel just soft enough for teeth to glide through but firm and crunchy without being sticky or harsh.

I often judge bakeries by their Kouign-Amanns, and this one was better than any I had tried in Brittany. No overhype: you can taste Brenda's resumé with every bite.

We were semi-rushed, in from out of town for a conference, but next time around we are coming in to down a dozen Kouign-Amanns.

This place is a masterpiece – though when speaking with the lovely employee at the front, she was warm and gracious but rather clueless about Brenda's repertoire, which was befuddling and out-of-place. Sucré Table deserves to be highlighted in a bustling, upscale downtown and run by pastry maestros – not in a Tampa parking lot with an amateur presentation.

The easiest 5* I have ever given any place on...

The most consistently delicious french bakery in Tampa. I’m from Montreal so finding a good french bakery is quite difficult here.

I stumbled upon this bakery at the beginning of covid in March, when I was actually going to the Little Donut Shop (which ended up being replaced with this bakery). The owner and pastry chef, Brenda, is a lovely person and her pastries really show how much she enjoys baking and creating art with her pastries.

I’ve had a good chunk of her dishes and here’s my review on each one. I will continuously update with each dish I try there!

Croissant: The best croissant in tampa! Wonderfully moist and buttery while having a crispy exterior. This is how a croissant should be. The price is a bit high per croissant, but the quality speaks for itself. 5/5

Honey Caramel Bacon Breakfast Sandwich- MUST TRY, that is all. 5/5

Spinach Gruyère Quiche (no picture): wonderful crust with a rich, cheesy quiche filling. 5/5

Kouign Amann: this is impossible to find in tampa (only in two places including Sucré Table) so thank you for bringing this lovely pastry here. It’s a croissant with a caramelized exterior. Amazing 5/5.

Goat cheese Carrot Cake: probably my least favourite dish here. The cake was amazing but the goat cheese icing was definitely a peculiar taste. It has a gorgeous presentation though! 3/5

Chocolate Banana Praline Croissant Muffin: this was a very good muffin. Only critique I have is the caramel mixed with the banana was a bit Smokey in flavour so that was a bit interesting. The chocolate hazelnut cream was amazing (like a Guylien Chocolate seashell) 4/5

Pistachio Croissant Muffin (no picture): a must have if you love pistachio! My favourite flavour croissant muffin! 5/5

Pistachio Macaron: a very good macaron but the macaron texture was less chewy and more crispy when I had it. The filling reminded me too much of icing, which I don’t prefer in between macarons but the pistachio flavour was there. 4/5

Pumpkin Pie: Absolutely moist, delicious and creamy- but not so creamy that you can’t have too much. The crust was to die for. 5/5

Apple Caramel Pie: Beautiful, delicious, tart, sweet and theres gold on it!! Wonderfully butter crust compliments the filling so well! 5/5

Gâteau Basque: This is not something you see in tampa a lot. This was the first gâteau basque I’ve had and I love it!! There was a layer of Amoretti Cherries! Everyone loved this cake. The custard was super tall and reminded me of a fruit tart custard, which is light and not too sweet! The layer of cherries was a nice touch. And look how beautiful the cake is with the gold on the blood red cherries.😍 5/5

Dulce de leche cream cheese cruffin with praline: THE BEST cruffin I’ve had.....if you love caramel, croissants and cheesecake, this is for you! 5/5

Iced “Pretty Fly for a Dirty Chai”: this was delicious and the spices with the ginger blended really well but the price was really expensive for what it was. It got expensive because it was a $1.00 up charge for oat milk instead of regular milk, which I think is very excessive for the size of the drink. $7.50 for this is exorbitant. I would have rather bought another pastry. Based solely on flavour, I’d give it 5/5 but I’m deducting a star for...

All the 5 star reviews are totally on point. I've visited multiple times for a little over a year now. Everything is fantastic!

So, it's in that old strip mall where the Little Donut Shop used to be on Kennedy Blvd. It's in the same plaza as Chicken Salad Chick and Revolution Ice Cream. It's also across the street from La Segunda Bakery. If you haven't been to Sucré Table yet then you're in for a big treat. Seriously, these are quality high-end pastries with a beautiful presentation.

Let me first start with the kouign-amann pastry. Don't even bother trying to pronounce it. Just tell them you want the KA pastry. All I can say is, "WOW!!" I loved it so much that I bought another to take with me. I did not share it with anyone. I had it for breakfast the next morning after heating it up in the oven and it was just as good as the day before. I've heard about this pastry before but never actually had one until that very first visit. All I know is that it originally comes from Brittany which is a part of France that I haven't visited yet. I'm putting it on my bucket list because now I'm obsessed with learning more about pastries from that region. Anyway, this buttery and sugary layered pastry is a denser version of the Dominique Ansel cronut. My description doesn't even give it justice. Just read about it. Chef Brenda is extremely talented and has worked in the best NYC bakeries. What can I say?

I also had to try the sour sop passion fruit tart. Another WOW!! The natural flavor of the tart passion fruit along with the sweet cream layer of guanabana made this the perfect ending for me. I enjoyed savoring every last crumb off that plate. A perfect 10.

The ube spiced latte was also a winner. It was made with coconut milk which really brought out the flavors. It's limited and it's not even on the menu at the moment, but they were able to make it for me. I appreciated that because it was one of the chai drinks that I wanted to try.

Since that time, I've had various savory and sweet croissants (cheese, almond, and even pistachio filled ones), macarons, cake slices, and other fantastic pastries. The praline hazelnut is inspired by the Ferrero Rocher chocolate, but it's 100 times better. The raspberry rose macaron is so delicate and amazing. The spinach gruyere quiche is light and cheesy. The croissant muffins are huge and messy, but worth every bite. I could go on and on.

Oh, and everyone is always so helpful and friendly from the counter associate, to the barista, and to the owner/pastry chef. I always see Chef Brenda hard at work tending to her business.

The tables are spaced apart and they even had a few tables outside. The décor and ambiance makes it a very relaxing and classy place to have a pastry with your coffee or tea preparation. They also have savory croissants, quiche, and soufflé. There's an online preorder menu and they take custom cake orders with some really unique cake fillings.

I can't drive past Sucré Table without stopping there. I don't have a single negative thing to say. It's worth a million...