Jean-Jacques Bakery

Had a few of their pastries brought into my office and I found some larvae in the baked pastries. Lost a customer. Not appealing at all.

I just have this feeling that most of the inventory is older than it should be. I’ve def. had better pastries.

This bakery has potential if they just served fresh pastries and bread. I wish they also didn’t microwave all the pastries because it makes the exterior tough while the inside dry.

I love the thought of a place like this and if they have been here since 1983 — then others do as well.
That being said Clean The Place!!! Dust from 1983 hanging from all ceiling fans, dirty silverware, panini area — yuch, sorting thru plates to find a fairly clean one — really???
Clean it and I’ll be back — otherwise no way.

I bought a set of 2 Groupons when I knew I would be staying in Richmond for over 2 weeks. During my recent stays in Philadelphia I have found a really great European bakery, and somehow I have expected this to be something like that. No, deadwrong! Nothing European here!
I am from Germany (immigrant) and I know «European», believe me that! They had American breads there and American style cookies (with artificial dyes) and some pastries that l thought looked «European». I am putting that word into parenthesis as there is no such thing as «European» really, that term is purely American. Something can be Dutch or French or German or Belgian, Italian or Polish or Spanish (etc), but there is no «European».
The breads were not from that day, and they were sold as if they were fresh. I call that fraud! You can of course sell bread from an earlier day, but that must be clearly communicated and the price should be less than the regular price. Since I am used to this described standard, I of course assumed buying fresh bread for $ 4.95 per loaf! No sign or any hint it might not be from that day! No word from the (totally incompetent) sales person behind the counter!
So they sold me old American white bread as fresh «European» bread! Will I get my money back? After reading the previous reviews here, I know I won’t.
One of the pastries I bought was actually quite good. It was a croissant with raspberry cream filling. Maybe that was fresh? I also had an old dry double cookie with rubbery (old!) filling and a pastry with custard that would have been great had it been fresh.
So now I have still my second Groupon to use there. I guess I will only get pastries. How will I know what was made fresh that day? Will that incompetent person at the counter know? She knew nothing about the stuff she was selling. Will she even tell me?
If you are reading this to find out whether or not to go there or to buy that Groupon or LivingSocial voucher, please believe this German middle-​aged food snob: it is not worth the hassle!

Went for lunch with coworkers and was really disappointed. Pastries were not fresh and food was mediocre. It took at least 35 minuets for our 3 sandwiches to be made, and we were the only customers. It was hot, and the bathroom was disgusting. Can’t say I’ll be back.

I stopped in to grab a drink and use the restroom. Once I realized you have to have a 5 dollar minimum to use a credit card I ordered a couple cookies, I mean if I had to spend the money, might as well get a tasty treat. Let me start with the fact that the bathroom smelled awful and was so disgusting, at that point I questioned if I even wanted to eat the cookie, I mean if the bathrooms were that nasty what does the kitchen, which you can’t really see, look like? Bathroom aside I did try my cookie and it was hard as a rock and not fresh at all. When I walk into a bakery I expect fresh items daily. Heck panera can give me fresher items. I expected more and won’t be returning if they can’t even get a cookie right.

An actual bakery! They carry bread and pastries, and the quality of the products is pretty good.
It has the perfect atmosphere of those old fashioned, casual places where you can go sit down with a coffee and a cake and talk to friends.
The staff are very kind and the prices are fair. The décor is a little silly, but we like it.

I had a voucher and ordered a croissant with French ham, swiss cheese and a special sauce that was like mayo. I LOVE the jambone ham at Whole Foods deli and asked if it was that ham and was told that it was. I LOVE the fresh croissants T Sub Rosa Bakery and thought this would be a wonderful sandwich. Wrong!
The croissant tasted day old. Two thin pieces of ham were no different tasting than the tasteless ones from any supermarket deli. The sandwich was def. not worth $ 8.50. I won’t get it again. The croissant I got to go (my voucher was for $ 15) also tastes day old. I also got an allumette, which is a custard and fresh strawberry filled puff pastry with toasted almonds on top. That was delicious. I have learned to always ask if it was made that day, since I get that and sometimes it’s not fresh but they sell it at full price anyway. I forgot to ask that about the croissants. My mistake…
Last time I got an old, soggy alumette, I emailed the owner and got no response. Same thing happened when I got a cake that wasn’t very good a couple of years ago. That lack of response to a dissatisfied customer shows the owners don’t care what I think.
If I could stay away from those alumettes, I wouldn’t return here.

I wanted to love this place, but it was only okay. I ate here with my parents prior to attending the «Art of the Flower» exhibit at the VMFA. The décor was a bit strange, especially the unframed photographs of the owner and his wife kissing just taped haphazardly to the wall. Not sure what was going on there. There was only one employee working when I went there for lunch last Friday which seemed a bit odd for prime lunch hours on a Friday. She worked hard taking our orders and preparing our food, but I think she was a bit overwhelmed and could have certainly used an additional employee.
The bakery options were vast and reasonably priced. I ate my entire éclair while waiting on the lone employee to prepare my lunch. My éclair was delicious as all eclairs are, but it wasn’t prepared fresh that day for sure and didn’t compare to the eclairs that I have had in France. I ordered the quiche lorraine as I had been looking forward to it all morning, but alas, «the owner had not had time to make any that WEEK.» That week? That confirmed to me that offerings were not necessarily prepared daily as one would expect from a bakery… So I settled for the veggie sandwich on a baguette that was actually quite delicious. I was only able to eat half, so I’d say the serving was hearty. My mom had a chicken salad on a croissant that had a very generous portion of chicken salad. She too could only eat half. My dad had the roast beef sandwich which he said was your usual roast beef. They only have canned soda and a few bottled juices as drinking options which will cost you a comparable arm and leg. I still don’t know what I paid for them as there were no prices listed anywhere, but three sandwiches, three drinks, and one éclair cost around $ 40 not including a tip.
Suggestions: give it a go. There are a lot of beautiful pastries being offered. Just set your expectations accordingly that items are most likely not baked fresh daily. Also, don’t go if you are in a rush and avoid having to buy a drink if at all possible. No complaints about the food though! All had good flavors and portions.

We live close to Carytown and had been meaning to check out Jean-​Jacques for a while and finally made it in yesterday. First impressions-​the décor seemed a bit dated but not off putting. The display case looked a little bit sloppy but all of the pastries looked really good. We selected a chocolate croissant, cherry turnover and a regular croissant. The lady behind the counter was very polite and helpful. Total came to $ 11ish-​seemed reasonable. Now came the disappointment. Once we got home my boyfriend dug into his choco croissant and immediately set it down and made cereal. What?! I tried it and also agreed that it tasted like a dinner roll with melted chocolate chips (very few) inside. I’m not sure if this is a European style or what but it was really unappetizing. I’ve never seen him walk away from a pastry. My turnover was ok. Nothing impressive.
I feel like in this neighborhood the quality needs to be there. Sadly J-​J fell short on that for us. It wasn’t a terrible experience but we won’t be going back. There are much better pastries to be had.

What can I say about Jean Jacques Bakery?
First, The décor — It is refreshing to go into a «French» Bakery and feel the spirit of love all around you. After all if you think of France, you should be thinking of love. Yes, while the photos are of the owners, I personally would rather feel the true feeling of love from the people who are preparing my food than some machine generated ken and barbie type photos all over the walls.
The Music — This, to me, totally brought the establishment into perspective for me. It was not loud, it was not boring, it did not over crowd the ambiance of the bakery, however it added the perfect hint of melodious joy that made me feel that I had stepped off the heated pathway of the carytown streets and was whisked away into a small corner side bakery. I fell in love!
The Food — From the daily fresh baked bread to the amazing fruit tarts, hand created by several very talented people who put their heart and souls into their creations, I make it a point to every time I am in town to either start or end my day with a trip to grab a sweet and a chicken salad sandwich on fresh cheese bread.
The bakery is always clean, the bathroom yeah, you need to ask for a key, so WHAT! They are always clean. The staff always greets you when you enter, thanks you for your patronage and wishes you a wonderful day when you leave.
I have personally met the owners, sat down with them and had lunch. They are always willing to talk, they are always happy and hello their are married so they are yes, in love. I say again, anyone who comes into a French Bakery and has something against seeing two real people in love well. really doesn’t understand the true meaning of bringing a true experience from France to Carytown.
I am proud to say also they are doing my wedding cake as well. I am, and continue to be a proud Jean Jacques Customer.

I have never physically been to the bakery, but have sampled a few pastries and plan on going back for more! The allumette (a puff pastry with custard, some type of whipped cream, strawberries, and sugared almonds on top) is divine-it’s creamy, fruity, a little crunchy from the almonds, with just a touch of sweetness from the sugar on top. The pound cake with lemon icing is also to die for, though it’s not super moist, the flavor of the cake has nothing artificial to it… it’s light (or as light as a pound cake could be) yet so satisfying. The tangy lemon icing makes the cake. From my experience, these pastries will definitely be a change if you’re used to Starbucks frozen pastries or over the top bakeries, but I have come to enjoy the simplicity of the sweets from Jean-​Jacques. The pastries aren’t super sweet, which my family and I admire, but everyone has their own tastes and moods! I look forward to trying the fruit tart and macarons.

So, Jean-​Jacques Bakery was an OK experience. However, I am SO happy I did not pay full price. They had a large variety of cookies, cakes, French pastries, breads, and even Italian cannoli, but everything seemed to fall short. The cannoli filling was bland and almost hard and the shell was unbearable. The cookie we had was not very appetizing either.
The décor was quaint, but although it is very clear that the owners (I think?) are deeply in love with each other, I would rather not look at large formal pictures hanging on the wall of them kissing.
Next!

NIGHTMARE! I ordered a cake for my son’s birthday (he’s away at college) and requested that they deliver it to UR. They agreed to deliver the $ 45.00 cake for an additional $ 50.00 fee. Delivery was guaranteed for 10:30 — 11:00 A.M. As of 2:00, still NO DELIVERY! I called and was told: «Oh um yeah the cake is sitting here, don’t know what happened here»! After a few calls back and forth to figure out what happened, I was finally told that they would deliver within an hour. Hour and a half later still NO CAKE at the UR post office (they distribute packages to students) I call bakery AGAIN…3 of my calls not answered. Finally Graham answers «we dropped the cake with some lady at student services» WELL student services does not exist!
There is not cake to be found on a campus with 3200 students.
My thing is, if you are going to blatently ROB me, then do it professionally or tell me you are not equiped to handle a delivery! I will dispute with my credit card! Too bad I’m in Philadelphia.

Two words, cinnamon roll.
I consider myself a connoisseur of great cinnamon rolls. I typically like them warm right out of the oven. While Jean Jaques doesn’t offer a warm cinnamon roll, it is an exceptional one nonetheless. It far surpasses that of commercial chains like Cinnabon and Cinnamonster and boasts fresher ingredients. Worth every bite and excessive calorie.

I bought a cake here for my husband’s birthday and it just wasn’t good. I took the time to order a cake, weeks in advance, and then what I picked up was dry. With the prices at this place and other reviews I truly thought I’d find a real gem. The icing was overly sweet and the cake was somehow greasy, dry and dense. We did let it reach room temperature before eating. I hope I just caught them on a bad day… I will say the cookies are ok if you need a bakery to provide work snacks, but I would not recommend ordering a cake here.

I stopped by Jean-​Jacques to fill my sweet tooth after work. The display case has a variety of desserts for customers. It wasn’t easy for me to pick just two items out of the case. I chose tiramisu & lemon cream cake. Both desserts were tasty. The tiramisu chocolate blended well with the filling. Jean-​Jacques tiramisu wasn’t overpowered by espresso which was a plus. My favorite of the two desserts was Jean-​Jacques lemon cream cake. The lemon flavor really hit the spot. The portion size could have been bigger. The staff was polite and attentive. Jean-​Jacques has a small seating area for customers who want to dine inside. Parking is hit or miss depending on the day and time. Jean-​Jacque is a good choice for desserts in Carytown. I give Jean-​Jacques Bakery a 3.5 rating.

** Lunch review only **
I got the Country ham with Brie served with toast. This was one of their seasonal menu items. Took about 15 minutes for the food to come out. Brie was dry and a little hard but over all tasted decent. Toast was very very dry and a little hard. The major mistake on my part was that the country ham was NOT country ham… it was regular sliced del ham which was a huge disappointment. I know what country ham is and if you dont have then dont serve it.
Service was a little on the slow side but there was only one cook and one front end employee so that wasn’t a big deal. My friend got something with mashed potatoes and they came out with a Panini… so she asked where the mash was and they talked for a few mins and stated that they ran out of mash… apparently there was some sort of miscommunication and they offered to make my friend anything else, but she politely declined. It got a little awkward as both employees asked her multiple times if she wanted anything else and she kept saying no as we were kinda in a rush anyways.
11.99 for my dish and thought it was definitely overpriced and not entirely filling.
P. S.- i’ve come here on several occasions just for their desserts and they’re all amazing and possibly the BEST in town. Their fruit tarts are a must get. Won’t let this one bad experience prevent me from coming back!

Jean-​Jacques is a cute bakery located right in the heart of Carytown. I like to call that whole section of Carytown «French Row» since there’s Jean-​Jacques, Can-​Can, and Amour Wine Bistro within a stone’s throw from each other (am I missing any other Frenchie establishments in that area???). And For the Love of Chocolate (the most fantabulous chocolate store) is right next to Jean-​Jacques! Quel chance!
Jean-​Jacques pastries are delightfully displayed in glass cases allowing customers to ooh and ahh before making decisions. The pastries are tasty enough but I wouldn’t say they’re authentically European. The Danish pastries can be greasy and the choux pastries are a tad dry. Nevertheless, the flavors are decent and I do appreciate that we have a place like this in Richmond. I need to buy their fresh bread in the future; they look mighty tasty! I’ll hit up Jean-​Jacques whenever I need my pastry fix.