06/27/09

Fantastic place to order a birthday cake

by moutchi

Miel bakery provided my daughter’s 16th birthday cake. We requested several changes to their Miel chocolate Gateaux cake, and they were able to accommodate all our requests. The chocolate topping was to die for. The cake was decorated with fresh berries, and it looked as good as it tasted. We all LOVED IT!! .

Thanks Miel for a wonderful cake.

• Pros: best chocloate gateaux cake
• Cons: none

01/31/09

The macarons are delicious...

by DT24

Too bad they don't have the macarons available everyday. I've tried the chocolate and mint macarons which were my favorite. Their chocolate eclairs are excellent too!

01/29/09

New Ownership Means Not the Same Miel - STAY AWAY

by BillyPennJr

This business is now owned by someone new, who has just about completed killing the goose that made the golden cakes. The operation is a mere shadow of its former self, having discontinued many of its signature cakes, such as the chocolate bombe. It always was expensive but it used to be worth it for the quality. No more! Terrible service, amateurish business practices, long waits on hold, minimal selection. Help them achieve the failure they now deserve by staying far away.

11/27/08

INCREDIBLE cakes & sweets

by ALK13

HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend!!!!

I have ordered a very difficult, very particular unique French cake for my husband's birthday!!!! Within a day It was there and it was more gorgeous than I expected. It was fresh, delicious, beautiful and made a great desert finally to the birthday celebration!!!!!

Birthday cakes or occasional splurges.....get them there!!

• Pros: QUALITY!!!
• Cons: pricy

06/17/08

Surprisingly So-So

by sari_beth

It's a beautiful, glistening bakery. You kind of want to buy everything. But then you taste it, and it's a bit of a let down. I think I've tried about 10 different products from this place over the last couple of years (from scones to tarts to croissants) and I have never really been impressed. I do like the chocolate chip scone, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it.

05/04/08

HORRIBLE, HORRID & NASTY (PRODUCT & OWNER)

by DBLIVY

HORRIBLE, HORRID, and NASTY! We ordered from the Cherry Hill store. Delivery was 1 hour 45 minutes late and owner shows up with his kids. I ask why it is so late and he states he had 2 other deliveries and the invoice doesn't have the time - though it was clearly printed 1-1:30 not 3:15 when the event is winding down. I wrote on the invoice the lateness of the delivery but he said there is not complaint because he is the owner. He loudly declares across the event venue that he does not want ME to frequent his establishment, clearly blaming me for his lateness. I then tell all my guests not to ever use Miel Patisserie for any event now that the old regime is gone. Lat year Miel under the old owners made my 5 wedding cakes and they were amazing so even with the recent bad reviews I used them anyway. Willard still worked there and he is awesome - he was fired two days before this event. This new owner made every effort to humiliate me in front of our guests at yesterday's event - our son's adoption party when the owner was at fault. The cupcakes tasted like cake mix and in fact not one child ate theirs after the first taste. The main cake was made with liquor (FOR A CHILD'S PARTY!?!?!) and flowers (FOR A BOY'S PARTY!?!?). It was not a pleasant tasting cake either although no one at the party tried it because the party was actually ending and it came so late. We did try it at home and just were not pleased and in fact many of us thought it was disgusting. If you want a nice experience, a place you can count on for delivery ON TIME, great taste using the finest ingredients, and actually receiving what you order from an owner who wants repeat customers, DO NOT PLACE AN ORDER FROM MIEL PATISSERIE! Since the new owner took over, this place is a risk and a liability! You'll have to go to court just to get what is rightfully yours. Oh yes, we got our encounter on video!

• Pros: ABSOLUTELY NONE
• Cons: Nasty & unconcerned owner, unpleasant tasting products, UNTIMELY DELIVERY

03/31/08

Worst Customer Service and Most Ignorant Owner

by laur7658

After sourcing this bakery for an a birthday party for a very high profile client, I was completely disappointed, embarrassed and appalled at the service. First of all, they had a very limited selection with zero flexibility in accommodating my requests. I was finally able to find something suitable to my client?s need and placed the order with a specified delivery time. Two days later the guest list increased so I increased my order, received a receipt via fax, and was charged on my credit card. On the day of the event, the cakes never arrived during their delivery time. I called with 30 min to spare before they were closing with my order still at their shop!!! Did they even notice this large order sitting there not having ever been delivered? They finally delivered the order, without my additional increase. The manager at the Philadelphia location claimed that their main bakery only sent my original order and they had no other cakes to substitute for my missing pieces. With the event in less than an hour away, I finally got a hold of the owner who basically told me that his employee already undercharged me so I pretty much got what I paid for. He also accused me of never having placed the order (I guess my receipt from their store and the charge on my credit card weren?t enough proof???) Regardless because I couldn?t served only half the guests dessert I had to call on another bakery last minute to supply a whole new order (Nakd Chocolate?whom was more than accommodating and super nice). Anyway?I could?ve cared less about the refund for the product I received (even though I couldn?t use it) but after asking for a refund for the product that didn?t received he pretty much told me too bad and didn?t even admit the mistake or apologize for the inconvenience. Bottom line?limited selection, incompetent staff, and an arrogant, ignorant, idiot of an owner named Jay.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Ignorant Owner, Incompetant Staff, Terrible Customer Service

09/14/07

Nice

by georgieo33

Nice little spot in Center City to catch up with a friend or grab accessories to a dinner. It's clean and the AC is good.

• Pros: Location, ambiance, good bread and sweets
• Cons: Poor customer service -- they seemed upset that they had cut some bread and pour a coffee

08/25/07

Not very authentic pastries, disappointing macarons.

by shermeela

I was walking down 17th street when I spotted a pretty gift bag of French macarons (not to be confused with the American coconut macaroon) in the window at Miel, so naturally I had to have one. For years I have been splurging on exorbitant shipping costs to get authentic macarons delivered to me from Paris so imagine the horror of biting into one of these doughy, mushy adulterations of the French confection!

But of course, I will not come back! ;)

• Pros: Euro cafe ambiance, pretty gift packaging, good espresso
• Cons: Indifferent reception, sub-par pastries

08/14/07

Just bought a few pastries

by i_c_foodnetwork

There aren't that many nice bakeries in the area, so I decided to try Miel. I just bought a tiramisu, opera cake, hazelnut thing and lemon tart--expensive! Customer service is blase--just like their disinterested attitude.

I tend to be a pastry snob, so cakes are just ok. The tiramisu cake actually tastes better at the Cheesecake factory. Their hazelnut crunch thing is interesting. The lemon tart is actually good...though I don't know how you can go really wrong with tarts. The opera cake is familiar--been there, tasted that.

Considering the lack of good patisseries around here, I guess beggars can't be choosers!

• Pros: nice, nothing special type of patisserie
• Cons: customer service, pastries are just ok FOR THE PRICE