LeoNora Gourmet Bakery
| Address: | 1108 N Irving St, Arlington, VA 22201, USA |
| Phone: | +1 571-527-0445 |
| Site: | leonorabakery.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 8AM–7PM 8AM–7PM 8AM–7PM 8AM–7PM 8AM–7PM 8AM–6PM 8AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 16
Reviews 19
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John Sale
These reviews have GOT to be fake--made by friends or the owner herself. Or...people with really, really, REALLY bad taste! I drove all the way to Leonora bakery from Bethesda on the weigh of the Yelp reviews. I had been craving some good pastries and hadnt had any sweets in ages, so I was looking forward to treating myself. Finding parking in that area was almost impossible, but FINALLY managed to find a spot and unload my fussy toddler from the car and troop into the bakery. The display case was quite small and poorly lit. The girl behind the counter, according to the owner, Carolina, LIED about the products and doesnt even know how to describe them properly. I bought three almond croissants due to the raves. When I got out to the car to tuck in to one, I found it had ZERO almond taste. I mean NONE. Why advertise almond croissants that dont taste AT ALL of almond? Its false advertising and extremely disappointing! Vie de France bakery, believe it or not, has FAR SUPERIOR almond croissants than this bakery, where they toot their own horn about everything being home made fresh daily. I sincerely doubt this, as the next three OVERPRICED pastries I bought (raspberry tartlet, eclair and chocolate mousse all tasted DRY and STALE. The crust on the raspberry tartlet needed a pickaxe to get through, it was so thick, dense, dry, and tasteless. No hint of almond flavor whatsoever. Dried out berries and tasted of fridge. The Eclair was supposedly covered in chocolate ganache, per the girl behind the counter. WRONG. It tasted like the CHEAP FAKE CHOCOLATE WITH CORN SYRUP you would get at a Safeway or Giant bakery...in fact, it tasted even WORSE because the pastry inside was dried out, tough, chewy, not sweet, and pretty tasteless! I kid you not...I spent almost $30 on these few sweets and I LITERALLY threw them away. I was thinking of offering the stale pieces to my family, to see if anyone else might find them in any way redeeming, but that would be INSULTING. I wouldnt feed this junk to my dog! I will NEVER come back here again and will stick to the AMAZING eggy, sweet, GANACHE covered eclairs from Pastries by Randolph on Lee Highway in North Arlington--which also happens to have plenty of parking in the back lot...Carolina says we dont give refunds unless people drive ALL THE WAY BACK THERE, BATTLE TO FIND PARKING, and bring in their stale, bite taken out of garbage back to them. What a stupid woman. I foresee this bakery going out of business within a year. Poor customer service and poor product, vastly overhyped by fake positive reviews.
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Melinda Contreras
Ive tried the banana bread topped with dulce de leche, and the chocolate croissant. Whenever I visit a bakery/cupcakery, I usually tell the cashier I dont need a bag, as Im going to eat the baked good right then. Here at Leonora Bakery, I made an attempt to be good, and requested a bag so I could save half the croissant for later. Save my croissant for later? Riiight. I finished my banana bread before crossing the street, and walked over to the benches located around the Clarendon metro, and ate the entire croissant there. Yummm. The croissant had a nice crispy outer layer with a wonderfully fluffy, chocolatey center. I really love this little place. Watching someone prepare dough in this quaint little bakery really adds to the pleasantness of the experience here.
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Adam Robinson
I stopped in to see Carolina manning the bakery by herself. It smelled delicious right as you break the threshold of the store. I was able to grab a hot out of the oven (literally, it was still hot when I got home to Ballston) loaf of capagne and some boxes of her madeleines to bring to work for the co-workers to share. I tried both the vanilla and chocolate dipped madeleines and they are amaze-balls! I expect the menu to grow as the business opens up and she can hire some more people, haha. As it stands, I will be there at 8:30 tomorrow morning to snag some of the fresh croissants and coffee!
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Daniel Bedell
Best bakery experience I have had. The food is fantastic...the chocolate croissants were one of the most delicious things Ive ever tasted. The LeoNora, her baguette creation with Gruyere and bacon should be approached with caution its so good. I didnt have one bad thing there and Ive tried a lot. The people there live up the the quality of the food to. A slight problem with an order was rectified in a way that was so generous I felt a little bit bad. If you can order the LeoNora ahead, they run out almost immediately it seems!
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Ali Dough
I love love love their chocolate croissants.... BUT when emoloyees are eating and licking their fingers and blowing their noses and NOT washing their hands and not using plastic gloves nor wax paper to pick up the croissants Im ordering-- its just disgusting. Such a shame but I cant eat their food again until they get some sanitary measures in place for the people touching the food and placing the food on the shelves. Gross. This was not an isolated incident either.
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Benjamin Frey
Really fantastic authentic croissants. As someone who has baked for 20 years and lived in Paris for a time, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble on this hole-in-the-wall bakery with real pain au chocolate and croissants. Im not familiar enough with DC to know if there are other places like this, but outside of a couple of bakeries in NYC, Id say you have to drive to Montreal or fly to CDG to find viennoiseries this good
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Laura Torres
My parents ordered a buttercream strawberry cake for 60 people for their anniversary. The cake was nicely decorated and it was delicious. The pastry chef and Carolina were very helpful throughout the whole process. My family and I will keep them in mind for future special events.
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Paige Mason
The coconut cream pie is absolutely amazing! Usually I skip the crust on pies (Im only in it for the filling and the whipped cream), but I had every last bite of that buttery crust on this pie. Its tucked away in Clarendon, but so glad I found it!
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Andrew Baisch
I spent three weekd in Paris earlier this year and tried to find a better croissant. Needless to say, I failed. Nothing against the amazing pastry chefs in France, but theres no comparison to be made between Leonora and ANYONE else!
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Melanie Asplund
Small storefront behind OSullivans with a variety of breads and pastries. The croissants, tarts, and macaroons are amazing. The staff is friendly and loves their work.
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Marie Byrne
Huge disappointment. Disorganized staff, $58 mediocre cake and a box that didnt fit (and had no top). No a/c in DC in the summer. Will not be back.
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Steve Dorst
Best croissants, pain au chocolat, and baguettes around.
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Cassie Hurley
I was on baguette duty for Thanksgiving this year and LeoNora has the absolute BEST baguettes in town! We never go anywhere else for good bread.
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Soar Free
Mail box full. No one answers the phone :-( Emailed to inquire about specialty cakes and no response. I will bring my business some place else.
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Allen Eickelberg
Amazing croissants! Great value compared to the other bakeries within walking distance. Wish they had coffee and not just espresso drinks. :-)
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Rachel Fox
If you live in the area, its a great place to stop in and buy fresh bread and other baked goods along with get a quick cappuccino!
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kurt-kshload Bendl
Croissants from this shop are the best Ive ever had They fill me with joy - A haiku from a lover of LeoNoras baking prowess
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J Foodgeek
Used to be better before the owner sold to Liberty Tavern Group. Still decent I guess.
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Jerry Niemczura
Best baguettes in town, along with some excellent desserts. Highly recommended!
