Josef’s European Pastry Shop

Flour, sugar and eggs. Oh, how I love thee.
TRUTH: I was completely out of control. I ordered a dark chocolate brownie, a tiramisu slice, a key lime pie slice, an almond croissant, a regular croissant, a French macaroon and a whole lemon cake. With the help of two cups of coffee as a chaser, I ate everything except the lemon cake. That was to take home and besides, you don’t want to over do it.
A few things I learned from my visit here:
1. The body does have a carb threshold.
2. Don’t ever come in here on an empty stomach.
3. They have a menu of sandwiches and light lunches.
4. Coffee makes everything better.
5. I must be fed before going out.
My ramblings aside, Josef’s is a cute, little café with plenty of room to enjoy a pastry (ies), coffee and conversation. It has now become my meeting place on the east side.

Maybe it was just a bad day but the Hospitality sucks, I refuse to spend money in an establishment where no one speaks and when you do speak they whisper as though I am an interruption. There are two chicks hiding in the corner chatting away (personal), didn’t look up once, one looked up and walked into the back. There are plenty of pastry/​bakery shops near by. Will not be recommended… No ones pastries are that good.
I can normally ignore these issues but the customer service is the worst I’ve experienced in a long time.

Amazing little café. Has great pastries, croissants, cakes, macaroons, and much more. Few small tables to enjoy your coffee in a nice atmosphere. The time I was there, there were a group of pleasant old European men that seemed to be having a blast. Perhaps regulars.
Friendly staff. Great location. I will be back many times and highly recommend to others.

Josef’s has been a well known east side haunt for decades. Admittedly they lost a little something when the original Chef Josef sold the business but the shift in quality is only related to the particular style of the chefs; from a French style to a more Central or Southern European style. I ordered a custom cake for my wife’s 60^th birthday from them and requested it to be orange flavored with chocolate butter cream frosting and it tasted delicious. I also requested that they decorate the top with not one large flower but cover the top with several smaller flowers. They did not disappoint. The top of the cake was covered with over a dozen flowers; 3 different types of flowers, in different colors and textures. It was one of the most beautiful birthday cakes I’ve ever seen and it was exactly what I hoped it would look like. In addition to all of this, they were also more reasonably priced than most of the high end bakeries in the area. I drove from Livonia to order it and to pick it up and it was totally worth it. I look forward to my next order with this Grosse Pointe institution.

A++. The pastry’s are amazing. The cappuccino is one of the best I have ever had. Their pizza is very flavorful, the tomato sauce they use is lights out. I love coming to this place, it’s nice to see the bakers come out and interact with the customers as well.

The cakes and tortes are out of this world! Best place for a birthday cake if quality is more important to you then quantity. The tortes are light and decadent without being overbearing or too sweet. The brownies are soooo good. My only gripe is they have no labels telling you what the goodies are called or contain so you kind of have to ask what everything is, unless you know what you want.
Parking can be a problem if it gets busy. But the walk is worth it.

Great service, and wonderful cakes. I have challenged them with a couple crazy designed cakes, one being a doctors lab jacket and the other a baby elephant. Both cakes were beautifully made, they looked better than the pictures i gave them. We have used them throughout the generations of my family and i will continue to use them for all my pastry needs.

The chocolate croissants and biscotti are my pasty favorites! Their cakes won’t disappoint and oddly enough their pizza’s are amazing! They are light and delicious!

Don’t let the fancy French sounding name intimidate you – they’re just plain folks. And if you’re craving the sweeties, don’t shove a bunch of dingdongs in your mouth and expect the craving to go away – pay some shekels for the real deal, yo. We’re talking chocolate almond croissant or a slice of tiramisu! Can you say mouth orgasm?
The little girlies that work there are all sweet, and polite, helpful and high on chocolate, or so it seems.
We got them to design my mom’s birthday cake – she turned 90. And it was delicious, pretty, and everyone had more than one slice – yeah I cut the slices really thin, hoping I’d have a big piece to ferret away to eat by myself… pity – NO!
Seriously though, we all know Bombarito’s is ass kicking great with the pastries and bread, and it’s just down the street, but sometimes we want to upscale it a bit for something fancy. Behold the mouthgasm center of the universe smack dab in GPW!

About three weeks of living in the area, I still hadn’t found a really good cup of coffee, so I was very excited to spot this place while running errands. When I drove by, it was a Sunday morning and there were a bunch of people inside, presumably many on their way to church, judging by the way they were dressed.
A few days later, when I was able to stop in, there were no other patrons except for me (and my little girls). The woman behind the counter was really sweet and helpful. The girls ordered cookies and I got a cappuccino and almond croissant.
Thanks be to God, the cappuccino was delicious. The almond croissant was better than the ones at San Francisco’s La Boulange shops (which recently got bought out by Starbucks). Buttery and flaky with a creamy filling that wasn’t too custard-​like (which I don’t like) and not too sweet. Just the right amount of almond flavor.
It’s not really the kind of place where you grab a coffee to go, but I’ll definitely pop in whenever I’m in need of a good cup.

Ordered a first birthday cake and was blown away! Not only was the cake delicious as usual but the artwork on it was fantastic! I sent them a picture of the plate that had our theme on it and they matched it completely! It was fantastic! Our guests were amazed at how delicious and gorgeous the cake was.

I just had the BEST lemon meringue pie from this wonderful bakery. Most LM pies are too over the top lemony sour/​bitter. This pie was just lemon enough. The meringue was perfect. The crust really good.
Thank you!

A European pastry shop with Montréal owners. It looks like your typical European pastry shop and café. I like it. There are many people working behind the counter eager to help. However, I was so side-​tracked by the 3 free samples they had out (um YUM! 3!!!) that I had a hard time even looking at what was inside the display case. And let me tell you these were hearty samples. The two coffee cakes were quite good, not memorable, but oh my that stollen! Best part of my trip here.
–Chocolate Almond Croissant: It’s crispy, more so than flaky. There’s definitely a hint of marzipan which meshes perfectly with the decadent, moist chocolate interior. And finally, a chocolate interior that actually has a lot of chocolate and oozes a bit. It’s nice, but not amazing.
–Stollen (loaf-​shaped cake with dried fruit, sugar, powdered sugar and icing): delicious just the right amount of marzipan that makes it not dry – at all. I normally find myself drinking bucket loads of water after consuming stollen but this is super moist and I loved the pieces of fruit throughout. Yum.
FINAL VERDICT: It’s a great spot with freshly baked goods. It’d be nice to spend an afternoon here and indulge in the quiches and other pastries.

Best experience ever!!! The kids love it! my wife loves it and the list goes on and on… one of the owners Jimmy was very friendly and bought me an espresso! Best pastry shop in town!!!

I was charged with getting two pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving this year. and being new to the area, I was TOLD to go to Josef’s. This place is a gem! I could not believe the sheer amount of baked goods they had on sale. it is really hard not to just buy one of everything. But I did end up buying an extra Dutch Apple Pie to take home — I just couldn’t resist. It was really busy when I went as it was full with people doing the same thing I was doing, but I can’t wait to go back to sit down and enjoy one of their many pastries and a coffee. PS. the girls he has on staff are all efficient and extremely professional, and I love the fact that they give out large samples of different baked goods for their customers to try. This place is officially my go-​to whenever I’m in need of something sweet!

I wavered between a 4 and a 3, so 3.5 Stars, actually.
My parents are huge fans and make the 30+ minute trek often and this time they brought me and my girls along with them. My dad, being a sweet freak, picked out almost everything in the window for my girls to try.
I sampled a chocolate croissant, a standard croissant, a frosted cookie, a berry pastry, a chocolate buttercream cake and a tiny piece of their margherita pizza. Everything was a win but the cake. The chocolate croissant was my favorite — decadent and oh so good. I could have eaten the whole thing, but I restrained myself knowing what else was to come. The berry pastry (raspberry I think) was bright and fresh and the pizza sauce was out of this world. I may make a trip back here just to have lunch and have a whole (personal) pizza to myself instead of just a bite.
The cake left me wanting. It was just a little too dry and the frosting was a little too buttery. It wasn’t bad, but I’ve tasted better.
The shop itself is a cute little place, tucked into a corner, with just a few tables inside and a handful on the sidewalk outside. The service was just fine, especially considering how busy it was on a Saturday morning. I would have liked to try the coffee, because you can’t have a good pastry shop without a good strong coffee, but Starbucks had just re-​introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte for the season and I couldn’t resist.

Very nice little pastry shop on the corner. They have speciality cakes and pies, and also small individual pastries you can eat there or take home. Sometimes they may have some sort of salads, such as pasta, or chicken salad. Nice little table to sit at when it’s nice outside. Though I must say, on Christmas eve, I said I’ll take that yellow cake and that chocolate pie, and when I got home, I had the yellow cake, but a lemon merangie pie. She put the wrong pie in my box and I didn’t notice till later when I opened the box.

I’ve had a familiarization with baking and pastries for years. I’m also familiar with high-​end brands like Zingerman’s and Avalon International Breads, to name a few.
They all pale in comparison to the excellence that is Josef’s.
I’ve been eating there for years and I’ve always been taken back to the cafés and patisseries from when I went to Paris every time I Indulge myself here.
The design and look of the shop is clean, attractive and Parisienne. The staff is always friendly and the smells alone will make you want to live there.
I can eat everything there but my two absolute favorites are the strawberry torte and the florentine cookies.
The torte is light but full of flavor. Moist yellow cake with a strawberry compote in between each layer, surrounded by ladyfingers, and topped with a tasty Chantilly cream, then decorated beautifully.
The cookies are super thin with a base of caramelized slivered almonds in a praline-​style way, then beautifully dipped in dark chocolate on one side. The texture is decadent and chewy with a satisfying feeling afterwards.
Please do yourself a favor and buy all your special occasion cakes/​desserts here. It’s the best choice ever!

As much as I love supporting local, and as convenient as this is to my house… The birthday cake was meh. White cake with buttercream frosting and filling, with tons of white chocolate shavings and cute little white chocolate flowers for $ 12.95. (8 servings) The cake was a bit dry and the whole combo nearly flavorless.
The selection was amazing. Lemon squares, crossaints, tea cookies, pies, cakes. Staff was helpful and attentive.
Prices were almost reasonable.
For me it comes down to taste and it just wasn’t there I’ll have to check in to up my review.

I am stressed out. My world is spinning. And all I want is a damn pastry to satisfy my sweet tooth. I am longing for a House of Cakes banana boat with that amazing custard whipped cream, a fresh banana on top of a fluffy choux pastry boat… sigh… My cravings struck a chord and I was immediately off on an adventure for something sweet. Josef’s has been on my bookmarks for a LONG time.
Wins:
Chocolate cake — the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever had from a pastry shop
Tiramisu — not too sweet, made with marscapone cheese, nicely done
Chocolate chip cookies — they rival my own, chewy, a little salty, a little under cooked, with delicious bitter sweet chocolate… oh so good.
Meh:
baguette — a little salty and not crispy enough for my liking
fruit tart — a little sad and a little sweet
Fails:
cannoli — where the hell can I find a good cannoli??? it had way too much cinnamon in it, one taste was enough for me.
The pastries they make here are beautiful. Truly well crafted. The staff is cordial and accommodating, but oddly not inviting /​warm.
Advice: stick with the cakes and cookies. They are without a doubt the best things they have to offer here.
Other tasties found here:
hamentaschen
croissants
huge pull apart danishes
coffee cakes
all kinds of breads
all kinds of mousse cakes
plenty of small ready to eat for dinner kind of cakes
«tea cookies» — adorable small cookies at a costly $ 15 a pound
muffins
2 kinds of cupcakes
small tortes
eclairs
scones

I grew up eating cake at this place. It is under new ownership, and the cakes are still as amazing as when I was growing up. I always dreamed of having my wedding cake from this place. Well, my wedding was during the time when the old owners would close up shop for a month during the summer for vacation. Since I caught the new owners in the transition, they didn’t cancel my order when they realized they would be closed, and delivered an amazing, beautiful and delicious cake.
I went back again to share the cake with my dentist whom I’m crazy about, and his office went crazy for it. I shared with my bridesmaid and family when I went back to visit, and again, the cake was so amazing, just like I remember. Consistancy is key, and so yummy.
The strawberry torte is my all time favorite, although the plain chocolate with chocolate frosting is another new favorite (since that was the wedding cake with strawberry torte sheet cake in the back). — and price was reasonable considering I had to buy cake for 275 people.

I love any and all things French. French toast, French films, French fries, and of course those decadent French pastries. In Metro Detroit, there is no better place to go to to get your French on then Josef’s.
Located in Grosse Pointe on Mack Ave, Josef’s offers customers everything from cookies to cakes to delicate and delicious pastries. And like any good French sweet treat, Josef;s bake goods are decadent, oh so decadent. In addition, to tasty treats, Josef’s makes gorgeous wedding cakes as well as cakes for other occasions. It isn’t too often around these parts that you can find a bakery true to the French sense of baking. Luckily, Michiganders, we have Josef’s.