Zest

I ordered a cake. When I went to pick it up, I waited at the counter for 5 minutes before I had to ask for help. The cake was VERY expensive and not what I had wanted. There was no effort to make it right and I ended up giving it away since, for us, it was inedible. With so many better bakeries, go someplace else! I will stick to Li’s in the future. These people are very rude.

This tiny shop is hard to find: like hidden treasure, and that is what it is. You can taste all the hard work and good ingredients that go into everything they make. If you don’t know what I mean… enlighten yourself!
I have my favorite items here, but you can find your own, it’s all worth it! Go here!

I returned twice this week for the first time in about a year, being in the area for vacation.
It’s still great.
Sadly, there has been no bread pudding squares so far, but the bakers once again demonstrated their subtle flavoring. This time, I enjoyed multiple lemon-​based products, all of which had just enough — but not too much — lemon to draw out the accompanying flavors without overcoming them. The lemon blueberry white chocolate coconut bars demonstrate this balance and the essence of sophisticated baking for which this place should be more widely known.

Gluten Free which is a nice find when you have Celiac’s Disease. Had the Flourless Chocolate Cake, also for my non gluten free family got some pastry which they loved.

I’ve been looking for a lot of bakeries that carries different items. They have a pretty wide selection of pastries and desserts. I see some staple items and some items that change which is nice because it lets my taste buds be adventurous! :) I think when they get the rush of people like on Farmer Market days the service isn’t as polite or nice but I’ve been on here on weekdays and they are very kind!
They cheesecake was a bit dry for me but that didn’t stop my husband from eating it all. I love their flourless chocolate cake– delicious! :) I forgot what else I had bought but it was a bar with strawberries and that was yummy too!

What? Gluten free? Macaroons, cakes of all kinds and more. And it’s darn good too. Cute funky bakery in the borough. We need more places like this one. Good eats and full of personality. I highly recommend this place. They will also make you a custom gluten free cake.

What even is this crazy place? First of all, it is worth coming here just to check out this insane abandoned ex-​velvet factory that has been turned into this hipster enclave for artists in the middle of a sleepy Connecticut town.
Zest is known for their marshmallows and gluten free goods and neither of these disappoint. In fact, I could not decide whether I loved the chewy, orange scented almond macaroons or the chocolate covered marshmallows more. I also picked up a bag of the pretty flawless and amazingly light vanilla marshmallows.
I came here just before Christmas and so they also had a pretty awesome selection of ginger-​related treats. A gingerbread man with royal icing and a chocolate ginger cookie were both exceptional, with a moist, chewy consistency and a good punch of gingerbread flavor.
Honestly, the selection here is out of hand. Like I seriously didn’t get how a little bakery this remote could have maybe 30 different baked goods all of which were freshly made and not wrapped in plastic. For instance, I spent like 5 minutes debating whether I wanted an almond or coconut Mac (both gf) or one of four different cookies or this little beautiful gingerbread loaf coated with a sweet glaze.
I happened upon this place when I had to drive my mom to see one of the artists in the abandoned factory and honestly it made the trip. Anyway, I could go on but while these might not be baked goods worth driving a hour and a half for each way, as I did, they are certainly some very, very amazing treats in a very amazing location.

Scrumptious GF baked goods BEYOND ALL MY HOPES! Zest offers a GOOD selection of GF yummies including french macaroons. I chose a huge chocolate raspberry ‘cupcake’ covered in chocolate ganache. Omg. Moist. Velvety. Fresh ingredients. Melty chocolate heaven.
I also tried the cocoa/​punkin seed/​pecan/​bacon treat… wow. Different! With… bacon! Sweet and savory.
Very reasonably priced. Very, very good. Counter person was DElightful. Please spend $$ there soon.

My favorite are the brownies, best I’ve had in the area. They’re a little more dense/​hard than a chewy brownie but I prefer that style. The chocolate chip cookie wasn’t anything amazing, but the macaroons were light and delicious. The staff is very friendly and nice, I never pass up an opportunity to stop in.

The staff here is very nice and the hot chocolate was better than most, very chocolatey. Good cinnamon buns, though a bit overheated. May want to tell them how long to heat it. Macaron was a good texture but didn’t really have much flavor. Sadly out of the box of treats I got, I found just about all of it very bland. I really want to like this place more but I didn’t finish anything I ordered other than the hot chocolate and cinnamon roll. 3 stars is generous. I tried the rocky road fudge, pumpkin cream cheese bar, macaron, bownie, lemon tart, 2 mini red velvet cupcakes (stale), and eggnog bread pudding. Pudding was soft on the bottom, very hard on the top. Fudge was hard. Brownie was good in flavor but more the stiff texture of fudge rather than soft. I have to wonder if they taste their own products. Lis bakery in Mystic is way better than this place, no comparison. Make the ten minute drive. Prices for smaller items were reasonable but over $ 4 for a muffin is pushing it. I would not stop in again unless I was already in the building for something and wanted a hot chocolate or cinnamon bun.

i think a lot of people stumble upon Zest while visiting Beer’d. The building itself is interesting, a large space with lots of small businesses in a semi-​industrial old time structure that is being brought back to life by these new companies. Beer’d was great — and so was Zest. Their home made marshmallows were good, they had some vegan and gluten free options when we were here and they were yummy. Nice people, cool company — you need to check out this place (and go when Beer’d is open, because they make some of my favorite CT brews.)

Omgosh! Visited Zest’s tent today at a farmers market in Mystic and bought one lavender macaroon and another apple sweet. I just had the macaroon, and it was so delicious. I can’t wait to eat the other item I bought!

What a nice surprise! My fiancé and I went down to Stonington to visit the Beer’d Brewery. So we walk into an old mill coverted into artists’ studios and the fiancé visits the little boy’s room. I notice a paper sign with «BAKERY» written on it and an arrow pointing in the general direction, leading to more signs. I feel like I am on an adventure walking through the hallways of this old mill. I finally reach Zest and it’s adorable! They are cookies, scones, brownies, marshmallows, etc displayed adorably in a glass case. I ask the smiling, friendly man behind the counter what to order. He’s says, «Everything!» and I honestly wished I could, but gotta watch the waistline with the wedding coming up. So I finally settle on three treats: a blueberry scone, a pumpkin cheesecake bar, and a pecan tart. It takes me three days to eat it all, and everything was delicious! The scone was chock-​full of blueberries and not overly sweet with a nice texture. The pumpkin cheesecake bar was delicious with a crumbly buttery top and again not too sweet. The pecan tart was awesome! Even after three days, the crust and pecans were still crunchy; they didn’t over do the sweetness and amount of filling. And I swear I tasted a hint of ginger in the crust — very unique pecan tart. Everyone, please go to Zest! They’ve only been open for two months, so please support this new business. Next month when we go back to Beer’d to see what is new on tap, I really hope that they are still there. I need more pecan tarts!