Reopening in January of this year after switching locations, Estelle’s Bakery (2530 Arden Way) sells all sorts of baked goods, ranging from fun-sized macarons to soups and salads.
On Oct. 21, fellow freshmen Miles Morrow and Arikta Trivedi joined me as we visited the bakery, which was surprisingly packed for a Sunday afternoon.
Walking through the door, I felt welcomed by the lively atmosphere, the pleasant smell of the pastries and the colorful paintings on the walls.
There was a buffet line to order the pastries. In the cases, ready for patrons to take, were a large assortment of macarons, cakes, tarts, Danishes and croissants.
An employee at the bakery gave us her opinion on the different pastries.
“My favorite baked item is the vanilla tart,” she said. “It has a vanilla mousse with a base of white chocolate. It’s really good. I can probably eat it in less than 10 seconds!
“I also like the almond croissant. This is also really light and airy, and I have it every day before I start working.”
She said that the most popular items are the macarons and the tarts because of the different flavors. Espresso, caramel and strawberry are the most common flavors of both pastries.
Miles ordered the raspberry dome cake and a Mendocino turkey sandwich, which included lettuce, Mendocino mustard, tomatoes and turkey.
Miles said that his favorite was the sandwich.
“It was the right size, so it was easy to finish,” he said.
“The overall taste of it was amazing, and I would definitely come back to order this sandwich again.”
However, Arikta disagreed.
“The sandwich had mustard in it!” Arikta siad.
“And I hate mustard because it is so bitter and ruins the taste of something.
“I was trying to remove the pieces of meat which had mustard on it.”
Arikta said that she enjoyed eating the other items she ordered, however.
“Because this is not my first time here, I already knew what to order,” she said. “I ordered a big macaron with cream inside and a vanilla tart.”
She said that the macaron, which was about 6 inches wide, was her favorite part because the tart raspberries and the sweet cream tasted well together.
I ordered a chocolate tart, which was surprisingly good. I had assumed it would have too much chocolate based on its appearance, but it was creamy and delicious.
The food looked fancy, and the designs were very intricate. Most of the food had swirls on the top; the tarts and macarons had a gold flake in the center of the dish, and other items had decorative fruit.
The only problem with the food was the price. The small macarons were $2 each, and a tart, which was about 3 inches wide, cost $6 to $7!
Besides the high prices of the food, the staff and the environment of the bakery were very friendly.
“I’ve been working here for about six months, and I love it!” an employee said.
The staff was very supportive when they found out we went to Country Day, and they explained that the owner, Esther Son, is the parent of seventh grader Caleb Shin and sixth grader Cara Shin.
Overall, Estelle’s has excellent food and service, and my friends agreed that they would definitely want to come here more often!
—By Sanjana Anand
Originally published in the Oct. 30 edition of the Octagon.
