Crema Bakery & Cafe

We came to eat breakfast here on a Sunday morning, I don’t know if we just came at a perfect time or what but there was no wait and plenty of seating considering it being a bakery. The staff was friendly and the pancakes were soo good! Both the chocolate chip and blueberry! The cream soda tastes like you’re drinking melted vanilla bean ice cream yummm! I wasn’t able to experience their bake goods but I will definitely be back to try them.

I’ve only been here one time but I was def impressed! I walked in picked out 4 cupcakes and they were ALL delicious. The tiramisu cupcake was my Favorite.

Great service. I went for the weekend brunch and had the special. It was perfect. The coffee is also very good. The special I had was seedsational bread with avocados poached eggs cheese and balsamic vinegar sauce. Plan to go back again soon

Really disappointing when called and left a message no one called back. Couple days had passed so I called to make and order. Then she tells me they can make my Anniversary cake. She also told me they can make a cake in 48 hours noticed. I am giving her a week notice and she can’t do it. And if they would of called me back days ago I could of gave her ever more notice. Very sad and customer service wasn’t that good either:

I have been going here since it opened and have yet to be disappointed. Their regular baked goods on display are always unique. Beyond just your regular brownies and cookies. Some items are «cookie dough cupcake» with a small scoop of raw cookie dough on the cupcake. They have some PB&J Muffins that I love to grab.
For brunch, it varies so be sure to check their Twitter and Facebook pages. Most often, it is some kind of benedict or stuffed french toast. Regardless, always tasty. They have a variety of sandwiches for regular lunch too. It is kind of tucked away on Brodie so you may miss it but be sure to stop by for a cookie an a coffee at the very least!
Only thing I wish they had were cinnamon rolls. But otherwise, amazing place!

The cupcakes and treats are delicious! It hidden in a neighborhood strip mall so it’s yet to become popular. My only complaint is the service is hit and miss and slow. But that has not hindered us from coming back for the goodies.

Walked in here the other afternoon. No one at the counter, but a few people standing in the back near the sinks. After waiting at the pastry case (which is filled with delicious goodies from cake balls to brownies) without acknowledgment for almost 10 min– I left. Sadly, I wanted to try this place. The guy in the back saw me, but didn’t say a word while I was patiently waiting. He wasn’t doing anything but utilizing his cell phone.
This place looks delicious and I was really excited to try it. I will attempt to go back another time I suppose (because the treats looks FABULOUS), but i’m not too happy with the service (or lack of) that i’ve experienced thus far.

Seriously the best local bakery. Coffee is always perfect. Owner puts 110% in everything she does and it shows!

I’ve been coming to Crema regularly for about a year now. Stopped in today for a latte and some treats to-​go. I requested an «almond joy» which the guy behind the counter said he could do. The latte was delicious!
Unfortunately… My lemon poppyseed was dry and had a black hair in it… Like baked into it. Yuck.
I like this place, but it is hit or miss. I agree with reviewers comments about the occasional «dry-​ness» of the baked goods and the sometimes less than par treatment by the staff.
The menu board has been «under construction» for months now, which is a long time considering it isn’t that big of a project.
I also think the owner should be less defensive in her responses to customers and just «listen» and incorporate the feedback. The same issues have been pointed out pretty consistently. Nobody is denying that Crema has many satisfied customers or makes tasty treats… people are however, providing valid feedback that should be relatively easy to incorporate.

So I will say from a Gluten Free perspective that this place isn’t for someone like me. they had one GF blueberry muffin. But, it still had dairy in it. I was told the coffee was good, but I wasn’t able to try it … I did set up to study, but within 15 min this place was packed. Was way too loud for me.
So between the hours of 10am-​3pm they say that if your with a laptop and using a table. then you have a 30 min limit. If tables are needed, then you have to give it up to other customers. So if your looking for a place to study, this would not be the place. I did see two people working on their laptop, but they were keeping the coffee flowing … I just can’t drink that much coffee lol
Update: did a review earlier and the owner said they have a lot of GF options. I guess the person behind the counter didn’t feel like elaborating on the gf options. I will give this place a shot again and update in 6 months.

As a huge dessert lover, my eyes ogled across the glass to see all the desserts creama laid out. They have a variety of delectables from cake balls to cupcakes to cakes. The ambiance is nice and cozy and the space is large. Definitely a great place to catch up with a friend or date night.
My girlfriend and I had the Espresso cupcake and Salted caramel cupcake. The cake itself is not very moist nor very big and the size of the cupcake is misleading as they pile the icing so high that you’re pretty much downing yourself with the icing. I suppose they are your typical cupcake sizes like the ones from your grocery store. For the same price other bakeries have a larger cupcake wrapper and the value is worth more there.
Both the cupcakes were very sweet. It was definitely sugar overload. Salted caramel didn’t taste like your usual salted caramel if that makes any sense, more like caramel. Expresso cupcake was more chocolate tasting with an Expresso bean at the top of the icing.
I may debate on coming back again to try the other baked goods. It’s the disappointing cupcake size and pricing that strays me away as there’s other places I’d hit up to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I have used Crema before for cakes for my kid’s birthdays. We occasionally will stop in for an afternoon treat. I love there desserts, latte’s and atmphosphere.
In July of this year I was planning my daughter’s 3^rd birthday. It was going to be the first party I was going to through for her. We were all very excited. I went into the store and ordered the cake. Three days later, my husband lost his job. I decided to cancel her party and I called up Crema and explained why I needed to cancel and If I could get my money back (I had paid for the cake in full). I was told a manager would call me back to confirm that could be done.
The next day I spoke to the manager on staff and he explained that they would be refunding my money. But there was more… He informed me that they were going to make my daughter’s cake anyways. He said «every little girl should have a birthday cake».
I cried. I was so touched by their generosity. They didn’t’ have to do that for us. It made me realize that the staff here and the owner are great people and love what they do. They know the joy that a simple cake can bring someone.
I will forever be a client of Crema.

Another South Austin restaurant with all-​over-​the-​place reviews. This usually points to an issue with management.
Pros:
It’s clean. The presentation of the bakery items is nice. Everything looks good and there are some whimsical items.
Some of the reviews have commented on sticky tables but I think that was probably more a matter of using the wrong cleanser on a varnished table.
They offer both dine-​in sandwiches and bakery items that can be ordered to go.
Cons:
Inconsistency. There has been times when I’ve eaten there where I felt like it was a sandwich that I could have made at home (and probably for a lot less than the cost at Crema). Nothing special. Other times I’ve eaten there, I felt it was tasty and a nice break from what most places in South Austin offer (read: not burgers, not pizza, not Tex-​Mex).
Some of the bakery items taste a bit too healthy– like they are lacking salt and butter. This seems to be something that affects a lot of places in Austin. If you’re going to make a dessert, please make it worth the calories.
An aside:
The bakery has both macarons (one «O») and macaroons (two «O»). Macarons are little colorful meringue sandwiches. A macaroon is a cake-​cookie that is made with toasted coconut and almonds. It’s easy to confuse the two items but they are different things.

I’d read the other Unilocal reviews and was hesitant to give this place a try. We stopped in last week with the kiddos for some cupcakes, and the staff was SO NICE, the cupcakes were delicious.
We stopped in again a few night ago when my in-​laws were in town, and now again today. Apparently the quality and the hospitality isn’t a fluke. Don’t be scared away by the other reviews folks.

Great little café close to home. They made the cutest custom personal cake for my daughters first birthday. The frosting matched our bohemian floral theme perfectly!

When I checked into Crema today, I tested something about ‘cry babies, no mimosas, and sticky tables is not an auspicious start to brunch.’ Other than my obsession with the word auspicious, this observation highlights an interesting phenomenon about the service industry in general: while the staff would only be able to control one out of the three things I mentioned, they all affect my (or any customer’s experience). Therefore, there is an extra onus on getting the things right that the business *can* control. Has the tables not been sticky, I wouldn’t have tweeted anything…
After eating, I can say this place a solid two. I’m wasn’t a fan of the cappuccino I got (which the counter girl wanted to put in a paper chip even though I was eating there): it tasted kind of bitter and oily. Not a fan of the 90s flashback music either and I can’t imagine the other patrons, who were all older than me, really wanted to hear Counting Crows with their brunch either.
The cupcakes were a tad over-​priced as other reviewers have mentioned and, they weren’t that great. The Eggs Benedict was pretty good, the eggs were cooked correctly and the English muffin and ham were good; the Hollandaise was very lemony though and the requisite side of fruit was about 50% edible.

Met a friend for coffee here recently and noticed two gluten free items. I was excited to try the blueberry muffin but it was dry and after several bites I desperately needed water. They had also pointed to a small looked-​a-​little-​dried-​up cupcake but… meh. It was tiny and expensive like a Tiffany diamond ring.
However, my Cappuccino was great! They also offer made to order sandwiches and breakfasts. My sweet friend had French toast and bacon which she said was «okay».

This is by far our favorite café south of 290. Their coffee and food is surprisingly good.
We weren’t expecting much since it is tucked away in a small shopping strip. When you walk in there are a few small tables, a couple sofas, and a display of some amazing looking pastries. They have homemade danishes, muffins, cupcakes and other awesome baked goods.
They also has a pretty good breakfast menu. We’ve gotten their breakfast tacos and french toast. Both were pretty good. Especially since each dish was under 10 bucks.
Their cappuccino and mochas are both damn good. I was impressed.
I was considering giving this place 4 stars because there have been some staff that seemed annoyed and impatient. Honestly it really rubbed me wrong. The only thing that saved them was their coffee. I’m a sucker for a good cappuccino.

I will probably update this review later. But I felt like I needed to write something since I’ve stopped by twice in the past 2 days. Here, have a story time:
Last night we came to grab something before we went to grab dinner. We were just picking up something to go and neither of us had ever been. The tired/​sad/​annoyed? girl behind the counter asks us how we’re doing and then stood there waiting. We said we had never been before and she just gave a little half smile. We told her what we’d like. 2 strawberry cheesecakes, 1 almond macaroon, and 1 small pie. No reply. She just filled the order. Rang us up. And sent us on our way. Pretty cold customer service.
Tonight me and my mom decided to go. Unfortunately it was 30 minutes before closing. I’m not usually that type of customer but it was desert, we figured we would just pick it up to go and leave.
We walked in and there were 3 people working. One guy reluctantly waited to receive our order, he might have been a new employee. I asked for a red velvet cupcake and right away he said «for to go?» with a fake smile (I know a fake smile when I see one, I’m the queen of them.) So it was clear we weren’t welcome to stay a few minutes to eat, even though we hadn’t planned on it.
My mom asked for the flavors of macaroons and he read them off a list. While he was naming the flavors, there was a fruit fly in the Saran Wrap of the macaroons. Crema keeps their deserts Saran wrapped overnight.
The other 2 employees looked tired/​annoyed. I understand the feeling of late night customers, but someone has to keep the business going right? We got our order, went on our way.
When I got home, we realized my red velvet cupcake had a hair in it (as soon as I opened the box). My hair has been tied back all day. I’m not too weird about hair, but I just know its a no-​no.
–macaroons are delicious, I like the consistency.
–cheesecake was amazing! Tastes like fresh strawberries. Good consistency and great graham cracker crust.
–red velvet cupcake was delicious, frosting was a little thick. I’m not too crazy about the icing flavor (cream cheese?) but the cake it self was good.
–lemon bar was very good. Tasted like true fresh lemon. But it was pretty dense.
My point here in this long boring story is that their customer service has been very cold both times. Maybe the employees are burned out?
However, the deserts are amazing and delicious. I’d definitely eat them again. I just hope I stopped by on 2 rough days, and I hope to be able to update this review later.
Side note: I read through some of the complaints and noticed the owners replies to them, they left a bad taste in my mouth. =/

The hubby and I decided to stop in one evening and just get a to-​go box of goodies. Reviews as follows:
Orange cream cake ball: husband «ohhhhh my God that’s gooooood».
Italian cream cake ball: pretty good, pecan on top could have been a bit fresher.
Turtle cheesecake: literally nothing special and I’m sorry, but when I pay $ 4 for a small piece of cheesecake, I hope for amazingness. No doubt it was beautiful.
Sugar cookie: I had a feeling about it that it wasn’t going to be the best, but I tried it and it was crunchy and very thinly iced. I will try that again if I return because I have higher hopes for it.
Lemon cupcake: Sweet GOD THAT IS GOOD!!! This will be bringing me back. I think they put what makes their lemon bars inside of this cupcake. It’s crazy!!! LOVE IT!!!
Bourbon Pecan mini pie: hubby said it was pretty good.
I got an iced mocha latte and it was pretty good and I’m loving their coffee prices! Much better than their rivals.
I want to try something salted Carmel next time.