07/31/09

Good place to spend time but bad customer service

by Rickey26

I've been to Dilettante several times and have always enjoyed their store on Capitol Hill as a great place to go after dinner. However, I tried to order a cake from them yesterday and found them completely difficult to work with.

In anticipation of celebrating my boyfriend’s birthday, I wanted to order a nice cake from Dilettante to surprise him. I called yesterday (27 hours before I needed the cake) and requested the flourless chocolate mocha torte. I was told they usually request 48 hours notice but that they already had one made which I could reserve. The cake in questions was larger than I needed (and $50) but I was willing to splurge. I gave them all my information and requested they write “happy birthday” on the top. Unfortunately, I was quickly told that if I needed something written on the top, I would need to call 48 hours in advance for the bakers to bake the cake.

Now, I get the 48 hour request if the cake isn’t already baked but why do they need that much time just to write “Happy Birthday?” I asked the women this and she told me the bakers get very angry if they take orders with less than 48 hours notice. All I needed was some white frosting added to the top of the cake. It is upsetting that a high end bakery can’t accommodate a simple request like this.

Having a birthday cake with nothing written on the top seems somewhat lackluster. Instead, I cancelled my order and called QFC across the street. In contrast to Dilettante, they accommodated my request, asked what colors I would like on the cake, and are only going to charge me $14.99. It won’t be as tasty as the flourless chocolate mocha torte but just as exciting.

Bottom line, Dilettante is great if you need to spend those awkward hours after dinner but before the clubs but their service as a bakery leaves a lot to be desired.

• Pros: Good baked goods
• Cons: Poor customer service

05/15/08

Awful food, bad service

by mesembrianthemum

Three friends and I went here one night during the big Broadway Blackout this past December, since we all wanted coffee and it was the only cafe with power. The boys ordered their drinks, then my friend and I each ordered a mocha. It was bland, somewhat grainy, and burnt at best. Mere hours later I was sick. It must have been the mocha, since that was all I'd had all evening. My other mocha-drinking friend was equally ill. I can understand a one-time fluke, but this wasn't the first time I'd been severely disappointed with the quality at this place (Borscht with a scalding-hot outer edge and an ice-cold center, clearly pre-made then microwaved.) I haven't been back since.

12/03/07

Mediocre confections for a premium, not going back.

by heatherderick

We just returned from this place and were mournful we chose to go there. The german chocolate cake was dry (crazy isn't it, how do you manage that?!), the mocha mousse number my husband had was as he described "mocha flavored whipped fat" because it was so oily it coated your mouth with a fatty film, and the tall young man on staff at the counter wearing a beret was walking around the shop talking on his cell phone, loudly! To top it all of we paid $7 each for our slices of mediocre confections and $3 for 1 glass of milk. Corporatized crappy recipes, overpriced, and unprofessional staff. You are better of going to Costco for the goods, at least you'll get a quantity of mediocre confections.

• Pros: none
• Cons: bad desserts, overpriced, unproffesional staff