Laurent Bakery

As a lover of cakes, Laurent never disappoints. With branches scattered all over Melbourne, it’s always easy to pick up a cake from them. ☀️The sunny bits: The Charlotte is my all time favourite cake from Laurent. With a perfect combination of raspberry, beetroot and sponge cake, it’s a beautiful looking cake. Swipe to see a close second - the citrus tart. Full of tangy curd in a lovely buttery biscuit base. ☁️The cloudy bits: It can get a bit chaotic when they are busy but otherwise it’s all good. ⭐️The forecast: I can never say no to cake especially if it’s from Laurent!

The food was ok, good even. But nothing special. The staff seemed nice enough to me, maybe a little short, but they were a little busy at the time. However, the coffee was so expensive for the size, and so very burnt. The coffee was so disappointing i couldn't finish it. I hate wasting coffee, but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. Not a bad place to grab a baked good or roll or pastrie, but I wouldn't recommend it if your after a coffee fix.

We were at MLC this morning for our son’s VCE Music performance exam and since we were not allowed in, we decided to walk to the nearby Glenferrie Rd shopping strip. Popped into this bakery and grabbed some takeaways. Previously we bought their products from Coles however the ones here taste better. Could have been 5 stars if only we can dine-in. Save this for another visit upon opening up soon.

2019: The latte I ordered and was served today at approx. 3.30pm was watery. There was hardly any coffee in it. It was terribly diluted. How disappointing, especially from a reputable cafe. Also, I did mention this to the barista on my way out and he seemed disinterested. 7 March 2020: I returned to give this cafe another go. Service has improved dramatically. Coffee (latte) made by Martin is strong and delicious. The chicken, avocado and walnut with poppy seed buns are absolutely delicious. I will be back again. 29 Nov 2021: At approximately 3.30pm, I walked into your cafe on Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn. There were 2 tables occupied (1+3 customers each), the rest of the tables at the front was unoccupied. I waited and waited patiently to receive some service for about 5 minutes. One female employee was leaving as she chatted briefly with another male staff who was making coffee, then left. Another male employee came out from the kitchen and was busy at the wall oven. Female employee who left the premises returned for her coffee that she left behind. I said to the off duty female employee who walked pass me, "where is the front counter service?" Female employee then got the attention of both male employees, as they continued to ignore more customers walking in. I mentioned that if you are busy and occupied, at least look up and acknowledge your customers walking in and say "I'll be with you shortly sir/madam". The reply I got was some excuse that they are busy fulfilling uber orders. I can see Laurent staff members are poorly trained when it comes to customer service. Also, it is would appear that more trained staff members are required to assist at this store. There was absolutely no courteous service at all at this cafe, so I walked out, rather disappointed. I went to Kurtosh instead. The service, coffee and apricot tea cake was magnificent at Kurtosh. In hindsight, I should have gone to Kurtosh in the first place.