Cream Pan — Restaurant in Tustin

If not for its proximity from where we live, my husband and I would come here everyday for breakfast. Cream Pan’s selection of bread and pastries are excellent. Their strawberry croissants are of course a crowd favorite. We also highly recommend their pork cutlet sandwich and meat bun (which I almost always miss because they run out fast).

Highlights: Strawberry croissant 🍓

Lowlights: Seating Store layout Ordering Beverage options Speed of checkout

This is not a dine-in with your date or family kind of place. The objective is to get in line as soon as the store opens, snag your favorite items, pay and go. There are a few seating areas indoors and outdoors, but they are not for long stay either. It gets super busy on the weekends and the crowd usually piles up to the parking lot behind the store. Still, we love their baked goods so much that we’re willing to overlook the wait.

Since they tend to get busy, it also tends to feel claustrophobic inside the store. Once you’re through the front door, you kind of have to line up in a maze-like format to get a tray to put your food on. You move through a 2’ wide space (a standard 3’ wide hallway is more spacious) the entire time, there’s a rack of bread loaves in the middle of the store that seems out of place, and of course, barely any good seating area to enjoy their baked goods. If I may suggest: Consider expansion and/or more efficient layout.

If you’re new to this place, ordering may be confusing. It starts with an open shelf where you can freely grab pastries or sandwiches then you wait for your turn to converse with a kitchen member to take your order. Note: They only take orders for select items like croissants or cake - the rest, you ask at the register. At some point, all the chaos and hustle and bustle and people talking over each other and noise level makes you feel like you’re at a swap meet. Can you visualize the flow of people? If not, then my description probably confused you, which is exactly what I wanted you to take away.

This is not a Starbucks or 85Degree Bakery so don’t expect an array of beverage options.

Lastly, speed of checkout. Once you get to the register, you realize that only then can you look at the beverage options and add to your already long list of pastries they have to ring up. You sweat as you try to decide on a drink as quickly as possible so you don’t piss off the eternally growing crowd behind you. Ugh’! It may not even be the speed at checkout itself… it’s likely the combination of the ordering, store layout, and how it all operates.

Overall 4/5 stars. Not a terrible food selection, but definitely opportunities to improve...

One of their bestsellers is a Croissant filled with strawberries and pastry cream. Purchased almost 40 of these pastries for Easter Sunday, because I do not like to arrive empty handed to any invitation. Everyone agreed the pastries were fine, but not great. The croissant dough was very fluffy and buttery, as a croissant should be, and the rest was the cream and strawberries. I personally thought it was better than most, but not as good as some. Slightly above average at best. The places is busy. One can tell right away they have a solid clientele and that their ovens are humming along. We also purchased their Baguette bread, that according to a reputable publication, were supposed to be the best of the best. Once again, they were better than average but not incredibly so. We also had a pastry with bananas and strawberry (yes, they seem to have embraced the fruit theme filled pastries here), and it was a little better than their croissants. The pastry was flaky, almost crunchy, and very light. The banana filling is an acquired taste, for we all know how soon bananas can decompose. They are considered top shelf in Orange County, and their Japanese influence shows in the efficiency in how the place was run. I would have settled for a 3.5 Stars, but knowing there is is only 3 or 4, I think it merits the higher number. Not very many items in this bakery, but enough to warrant a visit, and perhaps discover a jewel or two in their selection. The Chiabate bread (probably spelled wrong) had a rough crust (look out denture bearers) and very airy inside. Overall, we were impressed with the human traffic in this otherwise deserted plaza, since it was the only place open. Still, it is commendable to see a thriving business in full activity, running out and making more, I can not imagine how many bakers in the back but I was told they had arrived at 11PM Saturday night, and they were still busting their goodies at 10AM when we...

I’ve been coming to Cream Pan for years. The ambiance has always been the same, simple, easy, and welcoming, with lots of fresh food to choose from. It’s been one of the reasons I’ve continued to support them, a reliable go-to spot with consistently good offerings.

But today’s experience left me really disappointed.

I had purchased some food and a hot large latte, but with errands and a lot on my mind, I accidentally left the drink behind. I called the store shortly after to apologize and let them know I’d be back to pick it up later, or if it was okay for one of my staff members to do so.

The first person who answered the phone was extremely rude and dismissive. She gave me clear attitude, made me feel like I was bothering her, and without a word, threw the call to someone else. Thankfully, the second person was kind, professional, and helped me resolve the situation, but the treatment I received initially was uncalled for. The staff was trying to protect one another because when I asked the second girl twice, who that first girl's name was, she wouldn't answer my question.

I wasn’t demanding, I wasn’t rude. I even apologized for the inconvenience. I just don’t understand why I was met with that kind of energy, especially when I was just trying to communicate and find a simple solution.

I really do love Cream Pan as a brand. But the customer service experience matters just as much as the food. It’s the experience that makes people want to return, and if it starts to feel disrespectful or dismissive, it’s hard to want to keep coming back. I’m disappointed, especially because I care about supporting small businesses. But if staff aren’t trained to treat customers with basic courtesy, it’s going to cost them in...