REVIEW: Art's Bakery (Duluth, GA)

Hey readers,

Guess what I found?! The BEST BAKERY IN ATLANTA, that's what! And if you live in the Gwinnett/Duluth area and have never heard of this place, you can thank me later. As much as I love my cupcakeries, this bakery focuses on a wide range of baked goods-from breads to cookies to cakes and more!

You know how I'm always advocating to support small, family-owned businesses? Well, Art's Bakery is no exception! According to their Facebook page, Chef Artine Tekerian has over 20+ years of experience in French and Middle Eastern Pastries-and trust me, once you get a taste of his pastries/baked goods, you'll know that those 20+ years were worth it to create these devilishly delicious treats! If that wasn't enough, Chef Art also creates customized cakes, everything from fondant cakes to topsy turvy cakes to wedding cakes-just take a look at their albums, simply elegant & perfectly executed work-I'm ordering my next BIG cake there.

On to the review:

♧Art's Bakery Exterior

♧Chocolate Rat ($2.00)

♧Walnut Basket ($0.55 each)

♧Pistachio Basket ($0.60 each)

♧Cheese and Chocolate Croissant ($2.25 each)

♧Tiramisu ($3.25)

♧Pistachio Cake ($2.70)

♧FOOD (5/5): HALLELUJAH praise the dessert gods! I think I may have found some of the best tasting & most affordable desserts in Atlanta, right here in Duluth. I've had a good bit of their offerings here and I can honestly say it's a 5 star, real-deal bakery. Where to begin? The Chocolate Rat, minus the name, was really cute. The cake was dense and slivers of almonds baked into it, then covered by a marzipan/fondant covering-very chocolate-y. The cute little pistachio ears were adorable as well. My absolute most favorite things here (which was HARD to narrow down) were the walnut and pistachio baskets. Oh my god......I could seriously pop a million of these into my mouth and still want more. The handmade pastry shell was airy, light, flaky and perfectly crispy-like nearly PERFECTION. Then, on the inside, the walnut/pistachio is ground up pretty finely, and then later topped with their respective nuts to distinguish the two apart. I can tell you from personal experience that pistachios are NOT cheap (*insert sad face here*)- a tiny little bag of them is $3.99, whereas if you go to Sam's Club, even the larger bags will cost around $20+-a little insane, but so utterly delicious. In each "basket" alone, there's at least 5-6 whole roasted pistachios, not to mention all the pistachio bits underneath it. It's then laced with sweet honey, so it balances out the nutty flavor, with just a subtle hint of sweetness-SO worth it, I promise! While I didn't get to sample the cheese croissant since it disappeared from our kitchen table, the chocolate croissant was tasty-fluffy, butter and just the perfect amount of bittersweet chocolate in between the layers. Lastly, these two cakes I had to stalk down for a few days (I explain why in the "Service" section), and boy, was it worth it. The tiramisu cake-hands down some of the BEST I've ever had. Not too sweet, not too bitter, but just the right amount of ladyfingers and mascarpone custard layers, followed by the delicately whipped whipped cream. It was seriously awesome! I'm actually getting ready to put in a big order for the tiramisu for my family member's birthday coming up-they're tiramisu fanatics! For the price too, you get a more-than-decent portion, at least 2.5in wide & 2.5in tall. And last but not least was the pistachio cake. I ordered this for my mom since she's been a little under the weather lately and has an obsession, just like the rest of our family, with pistachio. The cake itself is a scrumptious soft vanilla sponge cake with vanilla buttercream layers and then just covered with pistachio bits all around the cake. As my mom was consuming it, I had to take a bite, and was again, just simply blown away! I'm usually not a big fan of buttercream since they tend to be a bit heavy and stiff (in my opinion), but this was out of this world! It literally melted in my mouth, and when combined with the cake and pistachio bits, gave it that wow factor! And for less than $3 too! GOODNESS-they're facebook page makes me want to drool! So many different things to try, so little time!

♧SERVICE (5/5): This week alone I visited three times! The first time I met the Chef himself, who was not only super sweet, but very helpful and friendly. The next few times I visited, I was greeted warmly by a female employee, whom I assume is his wife. She, too, was extremely amiable and even offered me a buy-one-get-one free on the croissants to make up for the pastry case being nearly empty from having sold out early in the day! A few days passed and I visited again, and she again offered me some of my newly favorite pistachio baskets. I love the service here! They treat you as if you're family, they always have a smile on their face, and they clearly love what they do! Heck, if I sold pastries that tasted THAT heavenly and addicting, I sure would too seeing all those smiles on my customers' face. Fair warning though-they do sell out early in the day of some of the cakes. The past 3 times I've been (usually between 1-4PM), I've only seen a maximum of 7 kinds of one serving sized cakes of the 20+ flavors or so they offer. It's totally understandable though since it's literally a one-man show back there as Chef Art bakes everything himself and from scratch. So be sure to check out their Facebook page pictures-if you see something you like, I'd highly recommend calling in to make sure they offer it that day. Trust me, I had to stalk down the tiramisu since Day 1 & I was finally able to get my hands on it!

♧DECOR (5/5): The decor here is nothing extravagant, but it's simple and just perfect. As soon as you walk in, there's three, beautifully large and lit displays. One side features pastries such as baklava, walnut/pistachio squares, and more. The middle glass display features all of the beautiful cakes, while the last display features an assortment of French cookies. Each item has its name and the price-very simple and clean. I like not having to look in a booklet or ask the employee for the price of every little thing, it's pretty nifty. In addition, behind the display cases is the counter/closed kitchen, and in front of the displays is a seating area for customers who'd like to enjoy some coffee and desserts. Each chair has a little java shape embedded into the headboard, and it's really adorable! I've never dined inside the bakery as I always carry out to share with my family at home, but Art's Bakery is definitely a place that I'll be frequenting more often and even sharing a cup of joe and dessert with friends inside. Unlike Korean bakeries all around the Duluth area where it can get rowdy, crowded and loud inside with all the blaring music and what not, I'll actually be able to hear and have a real conversation with friends and family here-it makes for a really nice ambiance. Heck, it's even great to bring a date here-they have outdoor seating too and bright umbrellas to protect you from the shade, and it's a super cute touch in my opinion.

Overall, Art's Bakery has officially made me a fan for life! I seriously could not be happier that they're located in Duluth! Goodbye to all those Korean bakeries, Hello Art's! Not only are their desserts less expensive than what you would find at your typical Mozart, White Windmill, Tree Story, Hansel&Gretel or more, but they taste better, are a bigger portion, and are made fresh daily! Once their sold out for the day, you're out of luck....until the next day that is! ;). Seriously, I can't stop raving about this place-I'll most likely be there more than twice a week! They make great little pick-me-up snacks/treats for throughout the day-I LOVE ART'S!! Stop reading! I'm surprised you're not in your car rushing over there now-you'll probably run into me or the line that forms there during the afternoon. 

Have a sweet day (literally),
-Sandy



FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review. All reviews and opinions expressed are my own.

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