Mertie’s Hungarian Strudel Shop

UPDATE: We won’t be back due to EXCEPTIONALLY RUDE customer service from someone other than the older woman we first met. We tried calling for weeks to place an order for Christmas but could NEVER get anyone on the phone despite calling all different times of the day. Some days they just plain took the phone off the hook and I know this because I basically camped on the line. When I finally got someone a week before Christmas I asked if I could place an order for Christmas. This VERY rude and poorly spoken women said, «For WHAT?» I said, «For strudel» and she snapped back, «Nah, Nah, NO WAY. We’re all booked up» like I was trying to yank one over on them. I explained that we tried for such a long time to reach them but could never get through despite time of day; that held no sway. Further, she began to lecture me on when holiday parties begin these days and that ordering at least a month in advance is rule of thumb. How is one to know this when they don’t answer their phone, they don’t leave a message of any kind for callers to hear when they neglect to answer the phone and therefore can’t leave info on a message regarding the order deadline? Then I asked if they would be open for business every day between now and Christmas — she said they would. I asked if I could just get there early to grab a struedel that way and she said, «Oh I’ll be making strudel (like it was her LEAST favorite thing to do) but I won’t have any to buy off the shelf». Why stay open then?!! It’s called Merties Hungarian STRUDEL shop, right? If this woman is going to inhert the shop from Mertie one day, she will certainly drive it into the ground in no time flat. She already is. I told her as I hung up that we will never be back. The strudel is good but not THAT good to put up with this kind of rude service, ridiculous «order system» and poor phone answering habits. Why even have a phone if you never answer it or take it off the hook all day?! Our first experience must surely have been a fluke. Won’t be back and suggest you don’t even bother. Rudy’s in Parma is FANTASTIC and they actually like to make money and keep customers. Oh – and they answer the phone. They are the go-​to locaton for pastry school programs in the area to see how old world strudel is made. We will never try Merties again.
Original
My husband grew up near this shop and as we passed by recently he suggested we try it. We stopped in and found it to be a very humble shop. Just two strudel on the shelf and one older woman running the show. Cash — no credit accepted. She only had apple left when we stopped mid afternoon on a weekday. We grabbed a whole apple strudel (huge) for $ 12 and brought it to my mom’s house. We all absolutely swooned over this strudel. The filling was like homemade apple pie filling — it was not from a can. The crust was flaky and not chewy or glazed like you find in the groceries where it always tastes processed and stale. This was the real deal. I kept thinking of Julie Andrew’s singing «Favorite Things» when she mentions «crisp apple strudel». She must have been singing about Mertie’s!

There’s some bad info out there on the net. Mertie’s is very much in business and open to treat you to some amazing strudel! My girlfriend and I saw some notes about Mertie’s being closed online and got worried because the reviews were so amazing. We gave the place a call and someone picked up right away and told us what was available that day. When we stopped in, one amazing lady helped us and was so kind as she provided us with the most amazing pastry I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. One cherry and one apple. Both incredible. You owe it to yourself to stop in and have the Mertie experience!

Of the few real Hungarian bakeries left in CLE. The specialty here is rétes, or strudel for the non-​Hungarians.
They have the standard fillings — cherry, apple, and poppy.
If it’s your first time trying this wonderful desert I would suggest you get the cherry filling. It’s equal amounts of sweet and tart, with a nice flakey dough. If you plan on going for one of the major holidays it is advisable to order ahead as they will run out.
It’s the freshest and tastiest rétes outside of my mom’s kitchen you can get in Cleveland.

Mertie’s Hungarian Strudel shop is an absolute must visit if you are in the area. When you are a bakery that only makes one thing, you better be outstanding at it. Mertie’s blows it out of the water. The filling is delicious and the dough is incredibly flaky and delicate. This shop is run by a little old lady who has been baking this delicious treat for decades, with help from her granddaughter. Worth the stop wherever you are.