Bon Appetit Bakery

I guess I’m spoiled coming from California but I found the pastries here to be subpar. The cakes and fruit tart were too crumbly and didn’t have much flavor to them. The only highlight I’ve found is their bingsoo, especially the coffee one. The portions are not generous, but with what quantity they provide quality is spot on. With a mix of various toppings including cereal, red bean, caramel drizzle and dduk; the textures are fun in your mouth and the flavor is good. The only downside is they need to up the portions as at the end of the day it’s mainly ice; and that’s not a commodity that’s sparse in these parts as it rains everyday.

This was our dessert place back in MD. After bingeing on Korean food, we would come here afterwards for some bing soo. The green tea (matcha) was the best one! They also have bubble teas available but they weren’t as flavorful as I expected them to be.

Favorite sandwich/​lunch place. Their prices are super reasonable and everything is delicious.

I used to go this place after a lunch or dinner from nearby restaurants. I used to like cozy & friendly environment. However lately the services at this place seems to went down the drain. Young staffs do not look to be happy working here at all. They don’t seem to be eager to help customers.
One night I & my friends stopped by for a coffee & red-​bean bing soo. Paid all in advance. waited about 10 minutes to find out bing-​soo was not even made yet. Dark roast coffee were completely out. I had to wait more than 15 min for a dark roast coffee. There were only 2 tables of customers at the time. They close at 11pm but getting ready to close already at 9pm. Does the owner know what is going on at this place? Do they know how many competition places are nearby?
I am not sure if I want to patronage this place anymore knowing your business is not appreciated here.

Honestly, this used to be my favorite bakery in ellicott city. I have many Korean friends, and I was introduced to this bakery through them a couple of years ago. Since then, it has been my go-​to place to get Bingsoo and Mochi with my friends. I am Caucasian, and although that shouldn’t matter, apparently it does these days. My 3 most recent visits I have had the WORST service I have ever had there! In the past, normally they either bring the tray of Bingsoo to you (because I mean come on, they literally have about 10 tables. When I’m paying almost $ 7 for 2 scoops of ice cream, SHAVED ICE, some evaporated milk and fruit, you really can’t walk 20 feet to bring it to me?) but most recently they have been horribly rude. We ordered 2 bingsoo (fruit and green tea), and the first one was set on the front counter. We sat down at one of the circle tables at the front and we’re waiting for the second one. The young girl working (Korean of course) says to us rudely «uh, you know your other bingsoo has been ready right??». Apparently they decided to sit it on the BACK table which was not visible to us. They also normally say if your order is ready, but apparently she expected us to know. Ridiculous. There is also an old lady there who is EXTREMELY rude. We went to the counter and were waiting to order, and the old lady and the younger girl were talking to each other completely ignoring us. No «hello», no «we’ll be with you in a moment», absolutely NOTHING. I am not sure if it is because we are not Korean, or if they are just awfully rude employees. We waited probably 2 full minutes before they decided to look at us. I really should say something IF I ever decide on throwing away $ 7 to be treated rudely.
Previously there was a young boy who was so kind. He was so nice to us, and (knowing we were regulars) actually gave us a small pastry once. I really hope he still works there because he was so nice. It was a few months ago though so I can’t give higher stars due to my recent experiences.
Bön Apetit– you do know that Shilla bakery is right down the street right?

I was looking for a birthday cake for a friend who is very particular about her cakes. She does not like the standard American, super rich, sweet cake and also is not a fan of buttercream. Instead, she prefers light Asian cakes, specifically mocha. What was even more challenging was trying to find this type of cake large enough to feed ~25 folks. I asked a friend for recommendations and he suggested I come here. While I can’t vouch for any of their other items, I was very happy with this cake. It was beautifully made with multiple thin layers of mocha cake, which was light and airy, with fresh cream in between. The large cake was about $ 30, which I thought was a pretty reasonable price. Overall, I was very happy with my purchase and I’ll be sure to keep this place in mind the next time I need another birthday cake.

Really enjoyed this place. Pretty good but then i discovered Café Bene across the street!

To be honest I didn’t have the best impression from my last visit (which is more than a year ago), but I recently visited!
Everything seemed fine and the staff is busy, everything was average.
didn’t try the food, but it’s a good place to study. music seemed a little louder than usual. there is a group of girls working, clearly friends, and they don’t seem to be too loud. there was one occasion where a group of guys who seemed to be the friends of the girls came in with smoke and such, but otherwise it was good.

One of my favorite Korean bakeries in the area. I like that it’s not a chain like some if the others. My favorites are the rotiboy and mocha bread. Also love their green tea bingsoo and red bean bingsoo. Coffee is not that great though. Environment is mostly good for studying, but the music can get really loud and a little annoying because the speakers are very low quality.

The assortment of pastries sent my sweet tooth into over drive. I opted for a tiramisu with a white chocolate soy mocha. Although the tiramisu was the absolute best ever, my soy white chocolate mocha was off. I am not sure if it was the soy milk or the white chocolate, but something tasted old. I had to throw it out. I will return, but I am sticking to a simple coffee or better yet, water.

I have been stopping in to the shop every morning, afternoon. whenever I find an excuse to grab a quick cup of coffee. Delicious! My 4 year old son loves their Red Bean and White Bean pastries.
Employees are super nice and get greeted every time I enter the doors.

I’ve been coming here fairly regularly for the past two years and haven’t had a single negative experience. I’ve tried the baked goods, bingsoo of all kinds, the breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and the iced coffees and hot lattes– I’ve been satisfied with it all. I usually come here to study or do work; on weekdays it’s quiet, but on weekends (particularly Sundays) it can get busy. There are outlets everywhere, plus free wifi. Also, the staff is always friendly and I haven’t had any issues with perceived language barriers so yay for that! Most importantly– it’s cheaper than the other neighboring Korean bakeries (i.e., Caffe Bene or Shilla).
All in all, it’s a great place. Check it out if you’re in the area!

A sad bakery that does not satisfy your sweet tooth. Everything here is mediocre to pretty bad. I got their bingsoo. It had red beans, cocktail fruits, and condensed milk drizzled on it. It tasted like bingsoo I made at home when I was a child. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but there was nothing special about it.
Red velvet cake tasted like it was bought from somewhere. Decent cake though, but wouldn’t get it next time.
And macarons are sad. They looked ugly in the first place, so I should have known they were going to be a disappointment. Right when I took a bite it was way too crunchy and there was a huge gap in my macaron. Not worth your money.
I should have drove a little farther to another bakery, especially because it was my bday and I wanted really good dessert. Oh wellssss:(

This is a Korean style bakery. They serve everything from cake, teas, coffee, pastries, macarons, shaved ice to ice cream. This place is a perfect spot to relax with friends and drink some tea and chat away.
The atmosphere is very cute and playful. There are playful words and wall décor all along the bakery.
The red velvet cake is mediocre I have a sense that they buy it from a separate vendor and sell them by the slice.
Their macarons are okay. I feel like I bake better ones at home.
They sell tea bags by the box. It’s about five bucks for a box of tea bags. That’s a good deal in my opinion.
They also sell birthday cakes here so stop by if you need one. I do have to say that their birthday cakes are not super sweet, which I do not care for. I love super sweet cake. However, if sweets are not your thing, then a cake from here will be perfect.
Their bingsoo (shaved ice) is awesome for a hot summer’s day. My favorite is the red bean bingsoo. The red bean bingsoo they sell here is super old school. It’s a replica of the type I used to eat as a child. The bingsoo they sell is not upscaled and modernized like the ones you find in other Korean bakeries. The red bean bingsoo is childhood memory heaven. I love their red bean bingsoo!

I love our little neighborhood bakery! Walking in there is always delightful — the smell, the layout of the baked goods, and the very friendly folks working the counter.
Only thing keeping this from being a 5 star review? Their coffee. Definitely not great coffee… I enjoy the lovely Korean teas, however, especially the Ginger Tea, which is not an every day item here in the States!
**tip: get the acorn squash bread. You will NOT regret it!!!**

I haven’t been to shilla bakery so I can’t comment on how it compares but I enjoy coming here to grab coffee or a pastry treat. The croissants have always been fresh and tasty. The coffee is self serve and there are a variety of creamers to choose from, which is nice. It’s a very convenient location for those that live off centennial lane. I also really like the décor… The fake tree kind of makes you think you’re studying outside…
They sell whole cakes, Popsicles, macarons and other baked goods. Give it a try if you’re in the area!

We got our wedding cake here. Their price can’t be beat. A 4 tier cake was 475 vs another baker wanted 1400. They delivered to the hotel downtown at no extra cost.
Just make sure you give them a picture with multiple angles of the cake and a true representation of the colors you want. They are great at replicating what you want if you give them clean concise directions.

Customer service has been mediocre lately, and why are they hiring teeny boppers all of a sudden… Staff turnover is bothersome these last few months, because my coffee drinks are now pretty inconsistent. This past week I also found out they have been substituting skim milk for 2% (without asking the customer is totally wrong). Sorry, but there IS a difference… At least Shilla next block over tells me they’re sorry and are out of something, instead of just making the decision to substitute on their own. Bön Appetite also substitutes a certain bread as a sandwich side, if they’ve run out of potato chips — but they don’t tell you that until the food is out… and the customers I’ve seen just let it go — or question the side sub after the waitress has left…
Their mocha bubble smoothie is good (pre mixed) but still — very good compared to other flavors of bubble smoothies… Bubble smoothies just all seem to be pretty crappy on Rt. 40, so I wouldn’t get their fruit ones… But their boboa is consistent.

Date: 06/​08/​2013
$ 4.50 per smoothie
The smoothies at Bön Appetit Bakery were by far the worst smoothies I have ever tasted in my life. We ordered the following:
1. blueberry smoothie
2. kiwi smoothie
3. mango smoothie
The smoothies contain no real fruit; and if the menu said it does, it is so watered down and masked with the powder flavoring.
We literally ended up tossing the smoothies out after taking a sip. Waste of money!

Bumping it up to two stars! Since my initial review with the moldy box, I’ve had another bad experience and next two were decent experiences. The second bad experience was that the guy charged me all sorts it amounts for two different types of bread. I got three varieties (small pastries and a loaf) and the pastries were all the same price and the loaf was more, but he rang them up with at least four different prices total. I’m not surprised, given that none of the products have any prices (not even with a little price sticker gun) directly on them. Maybe it’s management’s way of hoping to make more money by tricking their customers — who knows.
Third time around, the guy — different than the previous time — was nice enough to get me the slice way in the front (it was prettier) and did everything correctly. The most recent time I went was a few weeks ago. We debated going to Shilla but it seemed just too expensive. We were glad we picked Bön Appetit as their macarons are quite cheaper than Shilla’s. I love their strawberry cake — which Shilla didn’t even have! Added some green tea and it was perfect.