Bean Counter Bakery Cafe — Restaurant in Worcester

Bean Counter Bakery is our go-to for all delicious celebratory needs! Founder and owner Alice Lombardi takes pride in what she does, and it shows in the final products. We have never had a cake or cupcakes we did not thoroughly love and devour from her or her team at Bean Counter Bakery!

Most recently, I ordered two custom cakes and cupcakes from them for my wife's surprise 30th birthday party. The goal was to have the sides of the cake look like my wife's childhood bedroom's wallpaper. Alice prioritized me with multiple phone calls to outline the pricing, review what is possible and what is not possible, and ensure our visions of what we wanted aligned. It was difficult because usually there is an in person consultation, but because of how far away I currently live (the party was being hosted in MA since my family lives there though), we could not do an in person consultation. Despite this, Alice worked with me (multiple times) by phone to ensure the cakes were exactly what I hoped for.

And boy did she deliver! The sides of the cakes were immediately recognizable from my wife's old childhood bedroom, and the cake toppers were nicely done with printed photos of my wife as a newborn and on her actual 30th birthday pasted with white chocolate onto a mold of fondant for the topper. Unfortunately, the printer for printing the photos on the cake broke just the day before, so this was not possible, but Alice quickly called to inform me, and pivoted with the above idea at no additional charge!

The cakes were spectacular, matching exactly what I had envisioned aside from the lack of printed photos on the cake (again, not within anyone's control as the printer broke just before the day of the party). The words written on the cake were delivered just as promised to celebrate my wife's big day, and the toppers were placed nicely to display her photos prominently. Alice even went the extra step to add clouds to the borders of the top of the cake at no extra charge since the printer broke!

The sides of the cake were absolutely beautiful, and truly highlights the work that her and her team do at Bean Counter Bakery. Again, they matched the wallpaper from my wife's childhood bedroom, with ornate details including the phenomenal watercolor effect done with frosting, the fluffy buttercream clouds and swirls, and the beautiful faces of the sun and moon from the wallpaper! The faces were all done with buttercream too - no fondant! - and came out so accurately (not cartoonish at all in my opinion!).

Plus, of course, the carrot and red velvet cakes were delicious!! The red velvet is uniquely its own creation at Bean Counter Bakery, and the carrot cake was nailed - two favorites of my wife's! Furthermore, all of this was done in a timely manner - all set and ready to go for pick up before the surprise birthday party.

Everyone at the party, and most of all my wife, was impressed with the cakes. Even the staff at the venue were asking where the cake was from so they could take note and order from Bean Counter Bakery in the future.

And I almost forgot to mention the cupcakes - WOW! To have such heaping gobs of edible cookie dough on top of these cupcakes was amazing. They should truly be a regular flavor offered at Bean Counter. Everyone was RAVING about the cupcakes thanks to that heap of edible cookie dough on top. We would definitely purchase these again should they be available.

Overall, I would recommend Bean Counter Bakery every time asked about which bakery to go to for all cake/cupcake needs. The cost is reasonable (higher of course with custom orders and with more details and colors needed) given the quality of the products you receive.

Alice and her team are outstanding, and please go check them out at their flagship site on Grove St in Worcester if you haven't already. They even have other baked goods and coffee there for a relaxing way to start your day. And trust me, you won't be leaving without a cake or cupcake!

With warmest regards for Bean Counter...

Poor customer service!

I had been wanting to check this place out for some time and yesterday my dad asked me to go in and check it out. Everything looked amazing. Pricey, but everything looked good. I'm all about trying to support small business so I was willing to try it. My daughter ordered an oreo cupcake which was $7.50, a tad bit crazy but it was pretty good and i could see it required quite some time to make so i guess i understand, my dad ordered an eclair, he said he liked it but he didn't think it was worth the $7.50 price tag, I got the chocolate chip cookie dough something... lol, i thought it was pretty good, but then again, mine was only $4.

My issue was when I ordered the raspberry elephant ear and the lady gave me the wrong item and then tried to tell me I didn't ask for what I asked for and then wasn't trying to give me the correct item. The elephant ear was put Into a paper bag, so I couldn't see what i was given, I only took it out a little bit, just enough to bite it because it's sugary and flaky and I was trying to avoid making a mess. I took one bite and then asked my daughter if she wanted a bite, she wanted to see it so I went to take it out the bag and that was when I noticed the lady gave me the wrong item, we were still standing in the restaurant at this time. Immediately I told the lady that she gave me the wrong item and she tried to tell me that I didn't order what I ordered and said she wouldn't give me the correct item because I had taken a bite out of it. I'm not one who likes to have someone try to talk to me like I don't know what I'm talking about. I know what I ordered. Luckily there was another lady there, although she wasn't trying to fix the situation or happy about it, she did Eventually. If the customer service was better I would have given a 5 star review even though we weren't wowed for the prices. I would have given a 1 star if they didn't fix the situation. We probably won't be back, Especially not with the workers that were...

I love this place - their coffee is amazing, their pastries are some of the best I’ve had in Worcester, and the vibe of both the flagship store and their downtown location is so welcoming, modern, and warm, that I would love love love to spend an afternoon sitting by the window with a book and a latte ordering endless flourless chocolate fudge cookies. I really recommend it to any and all who are looking for quality baked goods and stunningly artistically decorated cakes. My one hesitation about The Bean Counter on Grove St is the staff. I don’t think I’ve ever had a good encounter with any of them when I go in. They are never smiling, and they don’t say good morning or hello when I or any other customers enter. I know everyone can be having bad days, that’s normal, but it makes me uncomfortable when it seems like the bad mood is directed at and caused by me ordering a sweet treat or a latte. Also, most of the employees seem to whisper or mutter from behind the counter when asking questions or calling out orders, and then become snippy when I ask them to repeat themselves. I could be asking them in a way that makes them think I’m being rude, and for that I apologize, but if they spoke up or looked at me directly when speaking so I could see their mouths then I wouldn’t have to ask. There is also one barrista who consistently seems confused about the pos system and just generally the fact that she’s there at all, like someone just dropped her there with no explanation. I would feel bad for her but it often results in blank stares and rolled eyes when I or other employees speak to her. All in all, wonderful cafe, food, vibe, drinks and location! I strongly recommend it to everyone and I will continue to stop by because it’s the best...