Nice Croissant - Redbridge

I had an extremely unpleasant experience here on Friday. This is a real shame as the food is fantastic and on one previous visit I met the owner and he was lovely and very hospitable. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the manager who was rude to the point of abusive. The reason for this was I purchased a chicken baguette and a coffee costing £10 in total on my card. The first time the waitress serving me told me my card transaction was unsuccessful. I tried again and the same thing happened, which was odd as I knew there were sufficient funds but these things happen so I repeated the transaction one more time and was told it had gone through. I sat down and didn’t think any more of it until I got a notification for three £10 transactions from the cafe on my NatWest app. I went up to the counter and was spoken to in a very patronising way. The manager was unpleasant and seemed reluctant to act as she kept emphasising the transactions were only pending. Eventually she said she had refunded all the transactions- it was very unclear how she did this as she did not ask to see my card at any point. She said I would receive a refund in the next 48 hours. Four days later I can see that I have been refunded, but only for £10, meaning I have paid £20 for one sandwich and coffee. I phoned the cafe this morning to try to rectify the situation. The manager refused to discuss the possibility of a refund, despite the fact I have been charged double and treated consistently in a rude and aggressive manner. I told her I would be leaving an honest Google review of my experience and she claimed repeatedly I was threatening her, before hanging up. This is not about the money (although £20 for a sandwich and coffee is extortionate) but the vile way in which I was spoken to, as if I was in the wrong. I will be chasing this up through my bank as the business has refused to refund me what is owed and I will not be returning- beyond that, I will be advising family, friends and colleagues not to visit either as customer service is just as important as food to a cafe’s success, if not more so. N.B. This review was deleted by the business, who still have not refunded me. I will continue to repost this until they respond appropriately given how they have they have essentially stolen from me and I have been repeatedly mistreated.

The owner is extremely rude and racist! The food quality is really good but customer services is appalling. I will not return as there are many other coffee shops nearby with better customer services. This place needs new management as the current one is not fit for the purpose.

Loved the fact that there is a kitchen in the back where goods are I assume baked. I didn't like that a lot of the displayed food was in the open without cover. Not many vegan options, only some kind of biscuit, like shortbread, so did not stay. I cannot fault the staff for this. I just wanted something sweet or savoury with a coffee to spend some time in this otherwise lovely establishment. But as there was nothing I was keen on I went on to the Larder further up the road.

This opening a few days a week doesn’t help. How is one meant to build any rapport? Either close down or pay people to work. Coffee is lovely, (best on the high street). But inconsistency of opening hours and now over priced is putting me off.

Visit La Bakerie often. The food is always high quality and the refurbished space is more comfortable and relaxing than previously. Staff tend to be friendly and helpful but it is clear that recruitment is problematic at the moment, as it is for a number of places. This does mean service is a little more variable than in the past as new staff get used to their new role. Variety of food, bread and cakes is very good and you definitely get that French 'patisserie ' feel about the place great care is given to the presentation as well as the taste. This is reflected in the prices charged which while relatively expensive probably still reflect reasonable value for money. As someone who has visited this bakery over the years, I do miss some of the previous menu but I hope once staff recruitment issues are resolved, they may return.