The Busy Bee Bakery

it is with great sadness to report that the bakery is now closed. So much happiness was created at the bakery and your fans will miss you so.
We all hope you are ok Ollie and wish you the very best.
Dennis

I have eaten there twice. Once I got a plain croissant. It was perfect, buttery and flaky. Second trip there my husband ordered a turkey panini with provolone and bacon on cibatta. He said it was one of the best sandwiches he has eaten. I got the BLT on wheat. The bacon and the bread was very good. The BLT did not have enough tomato’s, so I was disappointed in that. I got their small chocolate cupcake with vanilla butter cream frosting. It was one of the best cupcakes I have ever eaten! So good. Perfect portion too.

Received a gift certificate to this bakery for Christmas so I figured I would use it on a bunch of pastries to share at a family event. I got a variety of pastries and cookies and also a sandwich for a friend. Everybody enjoyed it. I don’t really like sweets that much but had a taste of a cookie and it was good.
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Kind of disappointed they did not have the pesto for the the Caprese panini though.
Good service and good location with street parking.

Here’s the deal: although I have never been disappointed in anything that I have purchased here I am here to warn you that this place is pretty over-​priced. Popped in last week to get cupcakes for a co-​workers birthday. I ordered 12 mini cupcakes and a baguette (couldn’t resist) the cashier rung up the order and the order was $ 27! Whaaaaaat?! The cashier explained that she had given me ‘speciality mini cupcakes’ that were more expensive. How is it possible that I can go to Georgetown Cupcake on Newbury St. and get a dozen ohmygodthiscupcakeistodieforanditsnotmini-​cupcakes for almost the same price? I left feeling completely ripped off. Oh well. Note to Unilocalers: if you want a phenomenal breakfast sandwich head to Coffee Time across the street. Although its nothing fancy, the owner sure knows how to whip up a classic egg sandwich and the coffee is amazing.

I’ve been taking a Sunday morning walk to Busy Bee Bakery for months now. The key to getting a Nutella Croissant (my fave) is to get there early. You might also like the Raspberry Almond Croissant, Almond Croissant or a variety of breads, cupcakes and more. Huge windows give a cheery atmosphere.
If you’re going to buy a lot of croissants, call ahead to order so the rest of us still get some!

This bakery is close to work so I frequent it about two days a week for lunch and breakfast items. Favorites are the quiche, yogurt with mixed berries and granola, and turkey sandwich with brie, caramelized onions, argula and dijon mustard, so good!
The scones are divine as are the cinnamon and chocolate chip croissanrs.
I haven’t had one bad experience there. The staff is always friendly too!
It’s a great place to meet a friend for lunch. Everyone I bring here has become faithful customers.

It feels like we have about 20 bakeries in Melrose, so when this place opened I scratched my head. Well, that was a couple yrs ago and since then it’s become our go-​to bakery. Its a very nice, family-​owned establishment.
The service isn’t as fast as Dunkin Donuts, but by no means is it as bad as I’ve read here. The pocket hand sandwiches are insane, the coffee is excellent, and all the baked goods are all top-​notch. 5 stars for what it is, an excellent small neighborhood café/​bakery with a throw-​back feel. This place is great and I wish them continued success

BEST CROISSANTS EVER! Wow! The Nutella croissant amazing! My husband and I started getting their breakfast sandwiches, I get a two egg whites with cheddar and bacon on their homemade multi grain bread, outstanding every time, the egg is so fluffy. My husband gets regular eggs and bacon on one of their butter croissants, also outstanding. Takes a little while to get the sandwich but worth the wait every time! They sell out of the croissants fast so get up early on Saturdays and Sundays they won’t disappoint!

These guys do great work with baked goods, quiche, breakfast sandwiches and regular sandwiches. I’ve never had a chance to try their prepared foods.
Today — a Friday — I went in because my wife had come home with some of their sicilian pizza. One bite and I knew I had to go get my own. I had two slices, one buffalo chicken and one pulled pork. Someone deserves a medal for this stuff. The pulled pork was lighter than I expected, still moist and not overpowered by sauce. The buffalo chicken had good tang to it which was helped by mounds of fresh blue cheese and some cheddar mixed in.
Amazing pizza from a place I never knew made pizza, well done, Busy Bee. They only do the pizza on Fridays and only have a couple different kinds, but they all looked amazing, it’s worth checking out.

I haven’t been back for their sandwiches, but my husband has brought home cupcakes on several occasions and I must sing praise for their peanutbutter cup-​cupcakes. What a delicious and decadent dessert. It makes me want to try more of their bakery items!

I haven’t read the other reviews but was surprised to see 3 stars for an overall rating. On a chilly night, with impending rain, my wife and I were talking about what soup to make to assuage her chest cold while we drove home to Revere from her doctor in Winchester. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Busy Bee. Bread goes well with soup, right? so I pulled over so we could checked it out. Not only did we purchase a wonderful loaf of multi-​grain bread but, after inquiring about the availability of soup, we were politely offered a taste of their daily soup which was a delicious, vegetarian, white bean and escarole. The only thing better than great soup and bread on a dreary night is hardy having to lift a finger before enjoying it. I will also vouch for their brownies and Beth loved the mini cupcake. We will be back even though it’s a bit out of the way for us.

Who cares about the service when the pastries are divine? This the BEST pastry shop I’ve ever found outside of Europe. Seriously. I live in DC and have come to visit my bestie in Melrose twice. The dining highlight of my trips have been Busy Bee pastries EVERY DAY I’m in town. I have to have at least one croissant and a cinnamon roll. I haven’t actually been in the bakery because my friend picks up the booty for me, but I literally travel 1,500 miles to get my fix of Busy Bee pastries. The haters need to reevaluate what is most important in a bakery. If I lived near Busy Bee, I’d be at least 100 lbs heavier. That’s my only consolation. Otherwise, I dream about my visits and work out like a fiend before getting into town just so I can feast on their perfect, heavenly pastries.
My recommendations: chocolate croissant, raspberry croissant, almond croissant, cinnamon buns, spinach and cheese croissant, and pumpkin scone. All the pastries I’ve ever had have been the freshest, flakiest, most perfect confection. Still SMH wondering how these other reviewers can rate a bakery on their egg salad sandwich and paninis… Have a croissant already!

I was so disappointed on my first venture to Busy Bee that I doubt there will be a second trip. We were going to a friend’s house for dinner and for dessert I thought it would be fun to bring some different cupcakes. They are expensive… which I wouldn’t care so much about if the cupcakes were good/fresh…mine was SO stale and had no flavor. Sort of embarassing after having a nice dinner to have brought something that I viewed as a failure.

I live a block away and stop by on a regular basis, either to pick up some pastries for breakfast or to grab a sandwich for lunch. I have tried a majority of their bakery items and sandwiches, and have never been disappointed.
The croissants are fantastic, particularly the spinach. No, they are not Paris café authentic, but judged on their own merits they are buttery, flaky, and delicious. I am also a big fan of the blueberry lemon scones, which are more like some kind of magical cake-​muffin hybrid than any scone I have ever had.
The cupcakes and muffins do not look overly impressive, but the craftsmanship is top-​notch. Every baked good I have tried has been extremely well made, and right on the money in terms of texture and taste.
The soup of the day is always delicious, and the sandwiches are balanced and well-​constructed. The ingredients are always fresh and tasty.
Many people have noted issues with the counter service, particularly that sandwich prep can take a long time. This was my experience during the first 6 – 8 months after they opened, but recently there has been dramatic improvement. Recently, I have made 6 – 8 consecutive trips during the lunch rush without having to wait more than 5 minutes for my sandwich.

Over the holidays I ventured beyond the cupcakes to Moravian spice cookies (Reindeer shaped) and Key Lime Pie… DELICIOUS!!! Check it out and while your at it… grab a cupcake too… yuuuuuummmmyyyyy!!!

I’ve tried this place a few times and honestly, I’ll never go in there again. It’s a good looking store front, in an old brick hardware store, that has been converted and it is very clean. That’s where it ends however. Like the many other comments on the staff, I have to say that they are bumbling (no pun intended) and awkward. They take forever to get your order together, once they get to you, no matter how simple the request.
I’m not all that hard to please when it comes to a bakery. I usually get the tried and true chocolate chip cookie. First time I tried the place, it took forever to get a half dozen Oatmeal Chocolate chip and they were half decent. They tasted identical to the Betty Crocker Oatmeal CC cookie mix you buy at the supermarket, and I like those, but I expect more from a bakery. Next time I went in, the woman behind the counter was in a deep discussion regarding her weekend with what appeared to be a visiting friend or relative and the young girl behind the counter was struggling so hard to serve the two customers ahead of me, I left after 5 minutes of going nowhere and a sandwich that was getting cold. Same set up about two weeks later, grabbed a wrap at the deli across the street, saw no one was at the counter, and said «what the hey, I’ll get a dozen chocolate chip cookies. I was able to get in and out without much hassle. The cookies were, what I’d call, «stale» for a bakery. They were flavorless and had no body or chewiness what-​so-​ever. These were like keebler boxed supermarket cookies that someone left open for a few nights. I too wanted to like the place as Melrose could use a really good bakery, but this is not the place. It’s a long wait for a poor product in a nice box.

Awesome Boston Cream cupcakes, but I’m giving it two stars because no one in the shop understands someone with a local accent. The 20 something behind the counter kept asking me to repeat myself which was really offputting and unnecessary. I mean, I’m the customer, you’re supposed to have things figured out, not me.
Bos…ton…Cream…cup…cake. Van… illa…cup…cake…
Hire locals!

The baked goods I’ve had here are quite good, but service issues make any trip here a chore. I’ve been waiting for a month to write this review in the interest of fairness, hoping that the service would improve. But it hasn’t.
In short, the staff is slow and disinterested. I’m not sure if they tend to only hire shy employees, but it’s fairly common that you walk in and make eye contact with someone behind the register only to have them retreat to the back of the shop rather than greet you and ask how they can help you. That’s frustrating.
Once you finally get someone’s attention, getting an order filled takes much longer than it should. For example, if you order cupcakes, the staff will invariably take 2 minutes or more to construct the cardboard takeaway box, then carelessly jam in more cupcakes than will fit, smearing icing all over the sides of the box. Then, unable to determine how to latch the box shut, they’ll throw tape on all 4 corners. It feels like they are trying to install your cupcakes into a Rubik’s Cube. And, no, after all that, I really don’t want to wait for you to decorate the box with a ribbon. It looks like a mess, so what help is a ribbon?
I would suggest that the entire staff take a field trip to Mike’s in the North End to see how efficiently and cleanly goods can be packaged in a box by trained staff.
Wraps and sandwiches (which are not nearly as good as the baked items), also take ages to make (and again, to wrap in paper and place in a bag). On a recent trip, the chicken used in a wrap was overcooked and the lettuce was wilted and browning.
With all that said, I still have hope. The baked goods are a strength, and some training or (more likely) staff replacements could get this review up to 4 stars. I hate to see businesses come and go in this space, so I want them to succeed. But much more work is needed.

I found this place when walking my dog in the area. I decided to give it a try and order a breakfast sandwich. They took my order and I waited outside with the dog for 10 minutes. They were nice enough to bring the food out to me. The sandwhich was just ok, and the English muffin tasted old and stale. The egg was overbooked but the bacon was good. I actually didn’t care for it much and gave the rest to my dog.
The place had potential, but I hope they are reading the reviews here. A small place like this needs to do one thing really really well. I’d love to see this place become like clearflour bakery. They only do one thing, and do it extremely well.

Ooh, I really wanted to like this place. So much hope, such a great location, too.
This isn’t a bakery so much as it’s a café. I was expecting bakery items in the display cases (pastries, muffins, scones…). There were some stale cookies and one VERY hard cupcake that my husband and I purchased. To their credit, the vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting was very good. The chocolate with buttercream frosting was the hard one.
We went back for lunch the next day, to give it another go. The staff seems very… quiet? I’m not even sure the word for it. Not very engaging, no interaction. Didn’t ask if we wanted anything for here or to go, as they did for the people ahead of us. So we unwrapped our «to go» sandwiches and ate at the location. (I should have said something, but I just assumed… they’d not wrap it up and bag it.)
There are some logistical things happening in the café: one couple in front of us placed an order, then we ordered 2 sandwiches. Wait time? 27 minutes. Really.
My husband’s sandwich was fine (Italian), but I got the breakfast wrap — scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese and veggies served «panini style» according to the menu. It smelled more of jarred salsa, and the cheese wasn’t melted, either.
I dunno, I guess for the price it’s not so bad, but I think there are some kinks that need to be worked out.