Noooooooo! Not Patisserie Valerie!

[tectonicplates]

"Patisserie Valerie on brink of collapse" - www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45824285]

According to the article they also own Baker & Spice and the Flour Power bakery, neither of which I realised before.

Sorry, here's the link again www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45824285

Well in the interests of public service, we must all immediately start going there every day. I'm game

Their cakes look nice but don’t really taste of anything not surprised really

I'm quite pleased - their cafes are always filthy, they seem to employ inexperienced staff who don't really know about clearing away tables and wiping down, their cakes look beautiful, but taste of air, and they charge an absolute fortune.

I’ll eat some macaron for the team...

One opened near me a couple of months ago.
I ordered a decaff coffee and a cinnamon thing.
Received a pain au raisin and a caffeinated coffee

There are people in the world who don’t like their cakes? They are delicious! I’ll have any you lot don’t want

I wonder if they've expanded far too rapidly from eight shops in 2006 to 192 in 2017, with the quality going downhill.

I remember going to the Patisserie Valerie in Old Compton Street in the 90s. Their eclairs were amazing.

We had a really bad experience in one of their places, one poor waitress on a Saturday afternoon when it was full, it took her half an hour just to take our coffee order. Swore we'd never go back which is a shame as I like the Black Forest gateau. I'm not surprised to be honest.

Might go and get some take away cake tomorrow ...

I’m glad, it serves them right! They put fabulous cakes in the window with a sign saying “We offer gluten/dairy/egg free!” Then you go in and they gleefully offer you a shitty square of allergen-free brown cardboard. I want a luscious cake like the ones in the window not a stupid dry brownie in a plastic wrapper! Twats.

I've had cooked meals there lots of times, which were all good. They're not just a cake shop.

I always get our birthday cakes from there, much nicer than the dry boring old victorian sponge alternatives from the supermarkets. I will miss them if they go.

SputnikBear If you need a whole cake, they will make one to order for you...... not much help if you only want a slice though, granted.

I find their cakes weirdly sickly (and I normally can't get enough of sugar and cream).

Took my mum there for an afternoon tea once. The cakes were quite nice but the sandwiches were rank. Bad service too and the table was dirty.
I do love their chocolate mousse gateaux thing though

Had one of the worst meals I have ever been served there, it was the only time I have ever sent food back.

I'm quite pleased

That’s rather unkind, especially when a number of people are at risk of redundancy.

I’ve visited a couple recently and both were pleasant experiences.

Their original shops were amazing - then they sold the business, someone tried to make them into the Starbucks of cake and they messed with every single of their recipes. It was like going into Sainsbury’s and grabbing a cake off the shelf. Very sad.

I’m with biblio. Far too sweet. And I like sweet stuff. Very pretty but disappointing.

Sorry about the job losses but the cakes are absolutely vile.

I can see why, it's horrid and grotty and I would only go if it was the only place open and I was really desperate for a sit down and it was raining.

Obviously bad about the jobs.

They're gross, very bland desserts and average coffee..

They’ve expanded too quickly
They are an odd mix of trying to sell “high end” in shops that don’t feel much above a greasy spoon.
Wonder how many stopped buying from them because they’re pro Brexit, I know I did.

My Sainsburys has started selling their cakes.

Yes. I agree with Cinna. The original shops were really special. The quality deteriorated rapidly when the business was sold. We've got one in our local shopping centre which is grim. Orange and brown decor. It's like eating in a BHS cafeteria.