Athan’s Bakery

Recommend：Napoleon pie
Nice dessert
Sweet but not the deadly one lollll
The decoration of this coffee shop is cozy and warm

The response to a defective birthday cake, one hour before the party, was: «so don’t take it.»
Our response: «We won’t be back.»
According the employees, this is common practice at Athans.
There are many options in the area with equivalent or better cakes, more reliable service.

If you want fresh, don’t come here. If You want a European bakery, this one is the frozen version. And if you want a place with good service, this is the worst place for that. Especially the girl at the front. She doesn’t understand that if a store can make a ham, egg, and cheese croissant, they can also make an egg and cheese croissant.

Stopped in for a post dinner dessert. Some big hits and some big misses. They have a huge baklava section which made me feel like a kid in a candy store as I love baklava. Turns out this was the biggest disappointment. There was way too much honey sitting on the bottom making the baklava too sweet. The bird’s nest baklava was the one baklava that was pretty good beause it had a crunchy top to balance the sweet bottom. It had a cinnamon filling. Eat it upside down!
The other items looked great, they have a lot of other pastries, cake slices and desserts for sale, as well as house made chocolate. We ended up getting an apple crisp pastry and heating it up at home. It was great! Like an apple pie filling but with a great doughy crispy texture on the outside. The house made chocolate is rich and delicious and also worth your money.
Stop in, but skip most of the baklava! Prices can be expensive but portions are huge, many items can easily be shared.

AMAZING BAKERY! Everything looked and tasted amazing. Great service, went over all the types of desserts they have and gave history of the store. Very friendly. Reasonably priced. Will definitely go back again!
I tried the chocolate éclair ($ 3.5) and the iced nescaffe frappé which was delicious! Felt like i was in Europe!

Came here with a friend today because Starbucks was full — we saw this little bakery and decided hey why not? The little shop certainly looked cozy and inviting when we first walked in, however we quickly found out the more quirky (not in a good way) aspects.
First, the customer service was subpar. You have to ask the cashier to bag pastries for you — no self service, I guess they don’t trust you — and the person who served me was brusque and insisted on asking me what kind of pastries I wanted at the counter, even though nothing was labeled and I had to go with her to show her what I wanted anyway. She then informed me the espresso machine was broken, which would be fine, except she said everything in a «can you please go away» kind of tone which really irked me. The whole counter was disorganized with cashiers ordering over each other and customers milling around, confused. After I paid, my cashier gave me the receipt to sign and immediately left, leaving me extremely confused as to what happens next — will she come back to pick up the receipt? Where am I supposed to get my drink? I guess I didn’t need to know!
When I finally figured it out and got my drink, we saw that we weren’t allowed to sit at the round tables — 3 people or more, apparently, and the owner will come kick you off otherwise — even though they were the same size as the rectangular tables and were all empty while the rectangular ones were full. Out of options, we decided to sit at the bar, where we then saw an ant crawling…
Drinks wise, my iced tea was nothing special. My friend ordered a cappuccino — I guess the espresso machine wasn’t broken after all — and it tasted like crap, like a lot of frothed milk with some coffee grounds stirred in. We probably should have read the other reviews before coming in, and certainly won’t be returning.

I really wanted to give this place a good review, I’ve come a few times and I love their large cappuccinos and the big windows :) sadly this time around I did not have a great experience. The owner was snappish when I tried to take a table that was near some random paintings laying on the floor, and the chai tea — which smelled so good– tastes AWFUL. I feel like the barista just used the espresso machine and instead of running water through coffee grounds ran it through an old chai tea bag. And then mixed some hot water and a dollop of milk. I feel a bit silly complaining about this but I’m sorry this is not a chai tea latte… :/
Hope to have a better visit next time.

Great place to duck in and enjoy a good cup of coffee and a delicious pastry. Athan’s has the best almond croissant ever. Layers of flaky buttery dough, filled with sweet pastry cream, and topped with slivered almonds. Haven’t found one as good anywhere else.
I really like enjoy their strudels as well. Their apricot one is delicious!
The gelato they serve is tasty. I’ve been dying to sample some of their baklava as well. Next time!

Charming — definitely the European café feel. Relaxed, chill, and nice feel.
The good news, the chocolate raspberry mouse dessert was to absolutely die for.
The bad news, the Prosciutto & Mozzarella sandwich was all out nasty. We took one bite and threw it away.

The best ice cream I ever had in the Boston area. I’ve lived in the greater Boston area for 8 years now and tried many different ice cream places from big chains to local farms. No where has ice cream any where close to Athan’s ice cream. Their ice cream is so non-​American by which I mean it’s only moderately sweet and highly creamy similar to what I used to have growing in the other side of the world. The flavors are so different than everywhere else and feel so natural; both the taste and smell.
My all time favorite is rose ice cream. It’s a god send. I recently tried their coconut and hazelnut ice cream too and they were so good and refreshing.
Their baklava is good too, but their ice-​cream is what makes us drive 20 miles to Brookline most weekends.

Gelato, pastries, cookies, chocolates… I want it all and it’s overwhelming!
While the presentation for all of their pastries is on point, the flavor of the Figo (fig mousse with chocolate genoise sponge cake; $ 4.95 for a 1-​person portion – you COULD share, but it would be an unsatisying 2 – 3 bites each) was disappointing. The fig mousse tasted too artificially sweet – and in fact I find fresh figs to be much sweeter on their own. The sponge cake too was not very flavorful and just seemed to serve as a very dry base for the mousse. The hint of chocolate mousse on the top was by far the best part, so I think I’ll stick with a more chocolate-​based dessert next time.
PROS:
So many options!
Delicious chocolate.
Nice space to do work.
They sometimes have free samples at the register.
CONS:
Prices are steep.
Not all pastries are winners… choose carefully.

Nice place with a good ambiance. We go to Athens very frequently, bakery is good, beyond the bakery I recommend the chocolates, fillings with dark chocolate, fig, almond, walnuts. They all go great with a pot of coffee and tea.
It is open until 11:00 pm many days and one of the best cage to go at night in town.

We took some of their chocolates and we loved it
Very delicately made and yummy
They also have seating arrangements fans they serve food as well
Very good location on beacon st. And very spacious
Very friendly staff

Starbucks closed at 10pm, so headed here to continue working. Bought 3 cookies and sat down with my 2-​sip-​left starbucks coffee on the table. An older gentleman (manager or owner?) comes up to me, looks at me for a few seconds in the eyes, and says, «Don’t bring drinks from outside next time. Our policy.» and walks away. I perceive this a rude gesture, as a paying customer. Would appreciate an «excuse me,» without an intrusive stare. Service 101.
I give 2 stars because the girl in the front seems very kind and eager to help patrons.

This is the second time I’ve visited this place. This is another lovely bakery in Boston. The baked goods look amazing and attractive. The coffee drinks are competitively priced in the Brookline area. A perfect place to relax with friends, possible reading and computer surfing.
Pros:
–Varied selection on baked goods.
–Great location in a local neighborhood. Easy walking distance to and from the T.
–Reasonable prices.
–Friendly staff.
–Clean bathrooms.
–Cash and credit are both accepted.

While the pastry selection at Athan’s Bakery boasts quantity – featuring baklava, gelato, and traditional Italian favorites – it does not offer the quality to match. The pastries seem to miss the mark, lacking any rich flavor or depth.
The baklava has a good, nutty taste at its core. Unfortunately, it’s drenched in sugary syrup, which makes it too sweet and soggy, instead of delicate and crispy.
The tiramisu, on the other hand, is the perfect texture (fluffy yet dense), but tastes like sponge cake soaked in bourbon. It misses the classic combination of sharp espresso, sweet chocolate, and poignant liqueur.
The result: Athan’s offers a bunch of almost-​good, forgettable desserts. Better to spend your sweet calories elsewhere.

This place has been nice for me to get coffee and pastry and get some laptopping done. The food is also good. But after may one year of coming here, I notice that they have beer and wine taboot. It is not a bar, but still, it is nice to have options.
I am enjoying a Greek lager called Aris as I type, but they offer Sam and other domestic beers too. Pleasant surprise for me)
If the summer of 2015 is as hot as the recent winter was cold, I may be sipping some beers over here !

Okay, you should know that I stopped what I was doing to write this review.
Athan’s has the best baklava I have ever had. It’s sweet without being overwhelming, soft without falling apart, and so so good.
They also have really great green tea caramels and lattes. Their seating area’s a nice space to kick back and relax too.

This is a great bakery/​café to do work or catch up with an old friend. It’s quite lovely during the weekdays, plenty of space and right next to the T. I’m fortunate that I love just 3 minutes walking away. Free wifi and all the pastries, salad, sandwiches and desserts you can eat while working hard or hanging out with a loved one. They have a decent selection of drinks and also lots of whole cakes that you get for parties or birthdays. I absolutely love the biscuit section! It’s fun to pick an assortment of interesting biscuits for tea. All these accompanied by a large seating area and free wifi, I’m in a great spot.

2 words: Fig dessert.
This Greek pastry shop is out of this world. It’s perfect in every way! Ice cream year round, delicious pastries to satisfy every sweet tooth craving, and free wifi.
Wooden floors, nice tables to chat or sit and do work, excellent service etc.
I highly suggest the fig dessert. And, «kourampiedes» which are almond pasties covered in white sugar.
Right by the green line with street parking available.

Excellent coffee and amazing pastries (LOVE the raspberry croissants). My go-​to for dessert if I’m having a dinner party or going somewhere. Delicious cakes.
Free wi-​fi.
We live very close and are frequent visitors :-)