Starry Night Bakery — Restaurant in Westminster

Rarely do I resort to a mere 2 stars as a local who values small businesses here in Westminster. And I have admired the artistry of this bakery's fancy cakes from afar for many years. And I did recieve friendly & satisfactory customer service, as I stopped in shortly before the 3pm closing time last Saturday (thank you to the young ladies behind the counter). But I rarely frequent bakeries as I have a gluten sensitivity, and cake is something I must now avoid. Sadly. With one exception: Gluten Free cake! And last weekend I was thrilled to learn Starry Night offers GF baked goods. (Yay!)

So online I read they make GF cupcakes ready for purchase at the counter. Or you can special order from many flavors, including black bottoms (yum!). I also read about their vegan cupcakes, and then found myself pausing for a moment of silence while thinking of all the poor people forced to avoid dairy. I even thought about those who choose to be vegans, which I still can't quite wrap my mind around. Point being: I'd rather eat cardboard than 'vegan' anything. (I've accidentally consumed a few vegan 'dairy' products in recent years, none of which I care to remember.) So I'm reading Starry Night's online menu, doing my research ahead of arrival since it's now past 2pm & I want to be prepared as a late day walk-in, and online it states 'Vegan OR Gluten Free'. Perfect. I really wanted homemade GF cupcakes for my 50th birthday & I decided this milestone in my life would justify paying over $30 (with tax) for a dozen GF cupcakes, of whatever flavors were on hand. I'm not picky.

What I realized I'd been given after I asked for an assortment of GF cupcakes, paid for them (alas, no ready-made black bottoms available at that time, serves me right for not going out in the morning!), and then proceeded to place them in my car two minutes before 3pm, in anticipation of my celebration the next day, was a dozen cupcakes in a plastic container with two stickers affixed: 'Gluten Free' and 'Vegan'.

Wait-- gluten free AND vegan, all at once? Yes, according to the stickers. What about 'OR', as in 'Vegan OR Gluten Free'? I asked for one restriction, not both. There is no 'AND' in their info, so at that moment I was feeling deceived. At that point I left with a product I did not want.

I told no one; my family has no sympathy for my digestive issues & I wasn't about to throw 30 dollars in the trash. The next day my sister put candles in the cupcakes while noting their dense nature, and I served lots of all-natural ice cream alongside (full of real dairy), hoping to overshadow the muffin-like cupcakes with the mystery icing I was about to feed my family. (What's in vegan icing, anyway?)

Pros: moist, not dry; although muffin-like, they were not spongy; icing did not smell like wet dog (IMO vegan "dairy" often smells... bleh); icing was fluffy; aesthetically pleasing and nicely embellished; the flavor and texture were tolerable; the leftovers freeze well; my family politely (read: quietly) ate them without giving me a bunch of grief (turning 50 has its merits).

Cons: they were not an exclusive gluten free product as stated online and as requested; the flavor of the cupcakes was similar to zucchini bread (which is a perfectly wonderful thing, when that's what you're expecting); if I pay $30+ for cupcakes, there needs to be eggs & milk in those suckers; not worth the cost/calories; for ⅓ of the price I could've made delicious, non-muffin cupcakes using Betty Crocker GF cake mix along with a batch of homemade icing, and if served immediately after baking, my family would've been none the wiser!

Suggestion: Maybe just update your info online to reflect your practice of selling combo GF-Vegan products at the counter; they are two very different culinary...

I bought about $30 worth of cookies and other assorted treats and they were okay The keto chocolate chip cookies were really dry but there was one thing that really really annoyed me. When I went to go pay the bill to cashier turned the POS system around to me and said this "if you would like leave a tip fine if not that's okay also". Well I had just spent over $30 on some overpriced baked goods and I also work in the service industry and the last thing I want to do is be reminded to tip someone It is annoying and I think very unprofessional We don't do that at our place of business at all. We feel that there is a million other businesses out there and we are very honored and happy that you chose ours to spend your money now whether you leave a tip or not is up to you You should not have to be reminded or guilt trip into leaving a tip for overpriced goods... PERIOD! I don't know how people can look themselves in the mirror asking for a tip if you're going to do that just hang out on a street corner with a guitar and a hat and do busking but not in a bakery. Because of this alone I will not be back.

I see I got a response from the owner I'm going to address that right now. Yes seriously I am offended not over the tip screen but over your employee turning it around and guilt tripping me into even a tip that's how I feel and in our restaurant we don't do that. I have work catering for over 30 years and if someone wants to leave a tip or not that's fine that's up to them but it's very unprofessional to try to guilt trip someone in leaving a tip.

Your sarcasm is pathetic I go to all kinds of restaurants and I'm never really pressured like your bakery did.

And no it's not fake rolling stones money it's something that was graphically designed we're Rolling Stones fans appreciate it You can call me dude but you...

Cannot Understand Normal Thinking

I have no idea about the sweet girl behind the counter but if she's anything like yourself you need to learn a course and ethics or better yet read the book how to win friends and influence people. I generally tip very well but I hate being pressured as I was that day.

I have plenty of hobbies right in reviews is not one I just write reviews to tell other people the good and bad and the ugly and your business is definitely ugly. The food is so-so but as far as a manager if you were managing my restaurant well let's just say you wouldn't be there that long. As far as the keto cookies at room temperature not ice cold I have no idea what you're talking about and they weren't ice cold when I bought them.

I wish you luck in the future and annoying other people because you certainly seem...

I am very sad to post this, but, I am very disappointed in this establishment’s “keto friendly” baked goods. First let me start off by saying, I understand how hard it is to make keto desserts, let alone it not taste what we normally are used to tasting, but I have never in my life... in my entire existence... threw away a cake/sweets, probably the reason why I’m on keto now but that’s not the point. I can’t express how un-loved this cake tasted to me. It was a red velvet with cream cheese frosting that was ordered by my husband for my birthday. We drove an hour and some change to pick it up and hopefully finds some other goodies while we were there.

So, the cake was so chalky and dense, it seemed as though it wasn’t baked at all but almond flour mixed with oils, chocolate and sweetener, packed together to make a layer of cake 2-3 layers in total... and then cream cheese frosting in the middle and on top. As soon as we got it, we ate it right in the shop... we felt so bad about the cake that we didn’t want them to see us throwing the whole thing away, we couldn’t even finish the slices we first cut! My husband, who, normally plows right through anything and sucks it up (thanks to the army) even if it’s bad, still couldn’t finish it.

Secondly we bought almost every keto treat they had! Every single treat, from the cup of layered cream cheese and almond crumbles, to the cheese cakes, as well as the cookies, were not loved either. The crust, the crumbles and the cookies taste like packed almond flour and that’s it, nothing special what so ever. The cheesecake tasted like they threw in sugar free jello taste for the lime and cherry.Mind you we spent $50 on just the treats, not including what the cake cost my husband.

I was hoping that I could at least take the load off of my busy schedule and have something sweet to come home to, I don’t mind paying the money to keep this keto lifestyle up and enjoy it while in the process. I also don’t mind traveling far for it.

My only wish is, please take into consideration that if you are going to charge high prices and labeling things “keto”, put some love into it and make it taste what it’s worth!! There’s nothing sadder than a wasted cake... well I’m sure there is but, not...