Pastel! Cakes and More

Staff was a pleasure to work with, prices are great, and the Coconut Cream w/​Pineapple Chunks cake was amazing! We’ll definitely be going back!

Ordered my baby shower cake … Pineapple Coconut filling. It was amazingly delicious and with the cutest décor! Definitely ordering more cakes for future parties! Great customer service… they matched the cake design I wanted perfectly!

They have delicious cakes but I was a bit disappointed because they did my gender party cake wrong. My first child & I went all out at my gender party & the cake was obviously the focus point. It was supposed to be pink or blue inside to determine what gender baby I was having & it had none! Mind you I didn’t know what I was having so it was pretty important to me.

Had some of their pineapple and coconut cake and all I can say Is OH MY GOD THIS SH$& IS GOOD!!! And I am not a big fan of coconut. Not to sweet and so fluffy! The pineapple inside was fresh and beautifully decorated. Will be back for sure.

Cupcakes were really stale and very dry. Cake slices were ok. I was really disappointed, I will give it another try, maybe I caught them on a bad or slow day. I love that you can eat there and it looks like a cozy place to hang out.

Delicious and affordable cake; really good customer service… love it.
I recommend them 100%

This has got to be the only place where you can pick up a cake without ordering it and have it taste like it was made in Heaven.

Despite this bakery being way out of way for us coming from the North Side we make the trek because honestly their cakes and gelatinas are top notch. I have ordered cakes from here on at least 4 occasions and each time I am asked where did I buy the delicious cake. You will get good quality here and they are always willing to accommodate you. The cakes have just the right amount of sweetness and fluffiness to them. Yes. they are a bit on the pricey side but I am willing to dish out a bit more money if I know I will get a cake with quality ingredients and not something that is mostly layered with frosting. or whip cream…
Like I said quality aside… this would probably be considered more of a «boutique bakery» hence the higher prices. Besides the prices. another clue that you are not just in a «regular» bakery is when they sell the tres leches slices in cups rather than square containers (BOMBON bakery comes to mind). I do not know if there is a special reasoning why this is but that is my observation of the more «upscale-​y» bakeries. «Supposedly» as I was told by one of the owners at the Cakes and more bakery is so that the milk doesn’t drip out from the cake… which I can see the logic behind that. there is always excess milk coming out from the slices placed in the box containers… because I was craving a slice or should I say a cup of cake… I proceeded to shell out the $ 4 something that they charge for a teeny amount of cake in a cup. While it was phenomenal. to my dismay I noticed it had a lot of whip cream on top that it took almost half of the cup… that is when I got mad… first they really are overcharging for their teeny portions but second they cheat the customer because they put a lot of whip cream on them…
soooo…while their cakes are out of this world… so are their prices…

I recently had my engagement party and bought my cake from here. I loved that not only was the cake beautifully decorated but they did not overcharge and were willing to work with me on my budget. Everyone at the party took pictures of my cake and asked where I bought it. I love this bakery and they truly make the tastiest cakes ever. These cakes not only look professional every time I buy from them, but always leave everyone wanting more.

They did an amazing job! Not only was the cake beautiful in so many ways, it was also delicious. You only usually get one or the other so I was extremely surprised. All of my party guests loved it. They let me choose different flavors in each tier so everyone got what they wanted. The flavors aren’t typical either– one of the fillings tasted like a snickers bar. Overall great experience– I’ll be back to order again next year!

I’m a sucker for deals. It’s so easy to justify buying something when it’s coming to you at a discounted price. So when Unilocal informed me that Pastel had a BOGO deal on slices of cake, I detoured to the bakery in the blink of an eye.
Walking into the empty store, I was confused as to why there wasn’t a long line of sweet-​tooth deal seekers like me, yet I was delighted knowing there was plenty of cake inside the glass case for me to choose from. The woman behind the counter kindly explained the flavor of each of the six cakes. With my BOGO deal, I selected the cookies ‘n cream and the caramel-​pecan, both of which looked equally tall, rectangular, decorated, and appetizing. I happily skipped out of the store, eager to taste my purchases.
I took three bites of each cake, finishing neither of them, not because they were over-​the-​top sweet and indulgent, but rather because my taste buds categorized the cake slices as «just okay». The top and middle layers of frosting were whipped, and while generously spread and contained small surprises in the middle layer (actual caramel on the caramel-​pecan, plenty of crumbled chocolate cookies on the cookies ‘n cream), I wasn’t the biggest fan of the fluffy texture combined with those add-in’s. I wished I was indulging in a smooth, thick buttercream frosting. The cake itself had the consistency and taste of a standard cake one would purchase at a grocery store’s bakery. Although it’s not a knock against Pastel, it didn’t elevate my thoughts about the cake either.
In short, I learned the hard way that not every 5-​star deal guarantees you a 5-​star quality.

I ordered a custom cake for my son’s birthday. The cake was beautifully decorated (it looked better than the picture I provided) but the flavor was absent! The worst tasting cake I’ve ever had! It had absolutely no flavor and it wasn’t cheap! What a disappointment.

I just picked up my daughters birthday cake today and we had a nice party for her. OMG the pineapple coconut cake is heavenly. I will be using them all the time! My 30^th birthday party 2 years ago was from them and everyone at the party loved it so much!

Happy to have a pastry shop in the South side, super cute, great selection and good service.

This is a nice place located near the airport. They had great customer service. There was a photo book in the front so you can view their many designed cakes. I got the cookies and cream and the coconut pineapple. The cake had a whipped icing and you could taste that it wasn’t fresh. It tasted like it had been sitting in the freezer. I must say the cake slices are good portions and the designs are elegant. Taste is where they lost the stars… Whipped icing can’t be frozen. :-(

I came to Pastel for a last minute birthday cake. They had a good selection of cakes available on the spot and fast and friendly service. I ended up taking home the Strawberries and Cream cake.
Yes, the cakes are beautifully decorated and YES, the bread itself is very moist and very deliscious! HOWEVER, I was extremely disappointed with two things: the strawberries and cream. The filling had a ridiculous amount of whipped cream and very, VERY few strawberries. I’m not joking when I tell you that one slice of cake had more whipped cream than bread itself and only about one tiny slice of strawberry (if you got lucky). I came in here to buy a cake, not a whipped cream filled pie! I had to throw in my own strawberries to accompany all that whipped cream and prevent more than half my «cake» from going to waste.
The Strawberries and Cream cake is pretty to look at and great if you can eat a whole can of whipped cream in one sitting. Hope the rest of their cakes are not like this one!

Reading my future in the frosting? I’m thinking I may have to find a way to embrace the «boo box» experience.
Five star all around until the box. (Pic) Presentation should be carried through. No frosting upon the top just as you don’t want cheese slathered all over the top of a pizza box. It seems pretty straightforward to me.
It kills me to do four because this shop is otherwise perfect.
The cakes are all that!!! They ARE just like flavored air. Incredibly light and fresh and moist. There’s also giant cookies and sime other goodies. The service is heavenly sweet without even expecting a tip. (She was shocked, actually). (And that shocked me back ;)
The place is simple. A table, couches, and a short counter at a window where the view of the street is blocked off from inside. The coffee is steaming hot but was weak. I’d do an espresso next time.
I happened to ask a couple people for directions and I got to work on my Spanish on the first occasion. The second time, an older gentleman with a weathered face simply shouted «POLISH!» at me. I think I thanked him in Russian!

I order a cake for my birthday on the 12÷31÷13 and it was half chocolate with caramel pecan and the other half was pineapple coconut. I LOVED it… My favorite was the pineapple coconut it was moist and not to sweet. The Price I payed for it was $ 112.00 and it was for about 20 people but I had more the 25 people at my house for a party and two cakes and no one wanted the other cake. I had enough for everybody plus leftovers, I will definitely recommend you get or at least try there cakes.

Finally! A nice spot to have a latte and pastries. It’s nicely decorated and the menu somewhat limited, but considering the demographics, don’t expect this place to have lots of traffic throughout the day or weekends… but it’s a start in the right direction.
I purchased a hot chocolate and a latte for the wifey, which were very good. My only concern is the freshness of there pastries. The red velvet cupcake I bought was hard and tasteless and was charged full price! It must have been a few days old… they should warn customers of this and provide discounts for aged goods.
Will give them another try soon.

Love this family owned operation!!! Actually… hmm. yes I do believe this is my favorite bakery in Chicago. I almost don’t want to post a review for fear that too many people would crowd this hot spot but I like the staff so much I might as well spread the word. Like I said this is a family owned operation so majority of the people I saw entering the shop were friends and relatives of the workers. The set up is calm (there’s a couch and only a couple of tables as well as a bar along the window for individual seaters) They also offer free unlimited wifi. There is one hour of free parking available but if you sit near the window you can watch your car… I’ve actually never seen a meter maid. I don’t know why this place isn’t more popular when nearly every single piece of cake I’ve tried has been moist, fresh, unique and delicious. I’m not embarrassed to admit that after my first visit I returned and brought my friends for 3 consecutive days in a row. So yes so far I’ve gone to this location 4 times in 1 week and have sampled every cookie on display (only in the counter– there are larger ones in the cabinet I haven’t hit yet) and most of the cakes. Here is my descriptive verdict.
Cakes:
Best seller: Coconut Pineapple cake. I thought this cake was delicious and the fruits complimented each other wonderfully. If you only plan on coming once… try this cake cause I think it was thee best I’ve tasted so far and I highly doubt you will be disappointed.
Strawberry Cream with Strawberries: Is a close second. One of the friends I took preferred this cake over the coconut so if you are not much of a coconut/​pineapple fan then def. order the strawberry.
Raspberry Chocolate: Was pretty rich but still moist and decadent. If you have a strong sweet tooth I recommend this treat.
Oreo Cookies n Cream: Was probably my least favorite. Only because it tasted pretty typical. Nothing too unique about this order yet still tasty.
Caramel cream and Pecan: I loved the Pecan pieces! Overall a satisfactory slice of sugar. =)
I have yet to try the orange or the cheesecake. Perhaps on my next visit… now onto the cookies!
Cookies:
Best Seller: Pecan Bars… and for good reason. Everyone I’ve allowed to taste these treats agrees that these are the best they have. Perfect coffee cookies.
Mexican wedding cake: Also delicious and my second favorite. Crumbly, moist, yummy.
Orange cookies: A very nice hint of orange. Do recommend.
Macaroons: Wonderfully bite sized. They have a crispy and fairly hard exterior but the inside is so moist and delicious. Definitely one of my favorites here.
Chocolate Chip/​Pecan cookies: I thought these were pretty good but a little harder to chew than I prefer. My friends noted that this was not their favorite but I liked them just fine.
Lemon Balls: Pretty good but I would pass.
Mocha cookies: I’m not a huge fan of coffee flavored goodies but my friend is and she very much enjoyed.
Pastitas (Shortbread cookie with raspberry or apricot center): They were okay but I wouldn’t reorder.
Cinnamon sugar cookies: Pretty good but again not my favorite.
The prices here are very reasonable as well. A little over $ 2 for a slice of cake ( Unilocal offers a buy one get one free… hence my indulgence) and the cookies are 0.35 cents each– or about $ 4 for ½lb…cheap! Their coffees are about $ 2 as well so for as little as $ 6 I can walk away with a very content palette. Without a doubt, a 5 star 4 visit experience =)