Chiffon Culture Bakery Cafe — Restaurant in Winter Springs

So excited to find this wonderful bakery! And near to where we live, too. We stopped in today for the very first time for a coffee and pastry. My husband had the strawberry donut which has creme chantilly and fresh strawberries and I had the custard donut! Delicious! We both had vanilla lattes…the real thing! Their egg tarts, buns, cakes, etc, etc.….all looked so YUMMY! The cafe is spotlessly clean and the staff so friendly. Can’t wait to go back again real soon! Update: I have been a customer ever since I discovered Chiffon Culture 10 months ago, cakes, pastries, etc. However, after my experience today I don’t plan to go there ever again. I ordered a cake for a birthday tomorrow and picked it up this afternoon. When I got there it was sitting on the counter and the whipped cream was melting on the fruit. I would have expected it to be on refrigeration since I was 45 mins. early to pick it up. No telling how long it was sitting on the counter. When I ordered it, I said that I needed a cake for 6, asked about size and was told a 6 inch cake should be big enough. So I saw one in the display that looked 6 inches (but it was much higher than the one I received) and was told yes, that is it. I asked about writing Happy Birthday and was told they could put it on a chocolate disc. When I picked it up, 1) the writing was unrecognizable so I asked for anything with Happy Birthday on it that I could replace it with and 2) the cake is much smaller than anticipated and is about the height of a small cheesecake. I will be lucky to feed four from it. I felt I needed to buy some pastries to supplement the cake, so I did. $50 later I have a very small cake and 2 pastries to supplement it . How embarrassing for my special birthday surprise tomorrow....

I absolutely love this place. Drinks and pastries taste great. However, don't dare ask for any changes to the drinks. You'll promptly be told "no" even if you're lactose intolerant and can't have dairy. If you care to read the specifics, keep going. It's incredibly frustrating that a place who services food and beverage isn't accommodating to people's allergies. I don't ask for changes because I feel like it... I need them to avoid pain and discomfort.

Now my specific interaction. I'm lactose intolerant and the mango pomelo has both coconut milk and regular milk. I understand that my ask for all coconut milk will change the drink. And I'm completely fine with that because I have no choice unless I want to be in pain. Now, one of the girls justifiable warned me that the drink would not be the same. And I explained I was fine with that but I couldn't have dairy. It was made and it was amazing. It's my favorite drink. I've tried 3 more times after. I had to get aggressive with the next person who reluctantly made it with all coconut milk and it too was great. Then today. I flat out was told no, coconut milk would make it too thick. Coconut milk is one of the more liquid alternatives. I again voiced I can't have the milk and was told to choose between almond and oatmilk. 1. Those alternatives add a flavor to the drink 2. How is that any different than just using all coconut milk? I am so frustrated at this point that I just gave up and chose something else. It's disheartening because I love this place so much and want to support local business, but I'm made to feel guilty for having issues with...

I’m honestly extremely surprised with the items I ordered. I have been wanting to try this place for awhile now yet I regret it. I had bought 5 pastries , tiramisu ( employee said it was a best seller) , Japanese cheesecake, strawberry croissant cup, strawberry donut , and a chocolate chantilly roll. The tiramisu tasted odd and had extreme freezer/ refrigerator burn like it wasn’t fresh it also seemed it was thrown into the box. I really did not like it. It does not taste like a traditional tiramisu at all or close to it. The cream tasted odd almost like buttery? The Japanese cheesecake had good flavor but was very dry not moist at all. The strawberry donut had good cream but the donut itself was stale and chewy also the strawberries were old. The chocolate Chantilly roll also tasted off. I was expecting everything to be chocolate but it had a weird buttery taste as well. It was also slightly nutty.

Overall I was very sadly surprised . I don’t think I’d recommend this place to anyone . I came around 6 on a weekday . I don’t know if that was a bad time ? Everything just seemed like it wasn’t fresh or stored correctly. I came in with high hopes and excitement but was disappointed. The atmosphere and cleanliness is a huge...