McArthur’s Bakery

The food may be good, but make sure that they actually have the food that you are going to order BEFORE you pay for it. Me, I WILL NEVER GO BACK!
I went into this location on 6÷8÷16 and ordered the Sweet & Sour Cubano sandwich. I paid for it and after waiting quite a while for the food, they started handing me a bag and told me that they were out of the shaved pork, so it was just a ham sandwich. I told them that I didn’t pay for or order a ham sandwich, and asked why they did not say something BEFORE they made it. They said that I could pick another sandwich, so I just chose a simple chicken breast sandwich. They then told me that they were out of chicken. I told them just to refund me my money and I would find food elsewhere. They said that they cancelled the order in the system, so it would not process against my card. (It did and I ended up paying for food that I never received.)
I went home and got on their website and informed them of the experience and to date, HAVE NOT HEARD FROM ANYONE THERE.
Unresponsive management, incompetent staff, lack of product, and the theft of monies lead me to NEVER GO BACK TO THIS COMPANY’S STORES. it is unfortunate that I can’t give them 0 stars.

An awesome bakery. They have some of the best gooey butter cake in the city, not to mention several other great pastries. The donuts are huge, especially the Boston cream flavor. The employees are very friendly. The coffee is also very good.

Couldn’t figure out why this place was ranked so low when we were right next to it… figured it out. When my wife asked how big the sandwiches are from the new new menu she was told that the menu is right in front of her… I wanted to walk out after that but she wouldn’t let me. Who says that in the service industry.

This location is much smaller and doesn’t offer as much as the other ones do — which I use to come here a lot so this must have changed within the past few years.
We were there to order a cake and when we told the guy what we were looking for, he showed us a very outdated book, told us what we wanted he didn’t have but he could experiment and do something else. The book needs to be updated very bad as it made up our minds quite fast to go elsewhere.
Its a convenient location, just needs to update a bit!

My family has been getting cakes from McArthur’s Bakery for years. Typically we go to the bakery in Kirkwood, but the last few orders have been from the Chesterfield location because it’s a bit closer.
Each December for my dad’s birthday, we order a small sugar free cake. This year, the order was for a larger, ½ sheet, because we were having a party. We were very disappointed with how the cake appeared. The decorations were scant, and not to scale; the simple wording and balloons were small on such a large cake. Overall, the cake was very plain. When we asked if they had other decorations to spruce the cake up, such as the plastic decorations that are often used such as «Happy Birthday,» a plastic snowman or Christmas tree, etc., the man who was working the cash register made a sigh, like it was a problem to add to the cake. The other associate went to the back to look, and said they were out.
More effort should have been initially made to decorate the cake, even if was sugar free. And, customer service at the Chesterfield location leaves a lot to be desired.
Thankfully, we were able to purchase additional decorations from the bakery at Dierbergs. And that associate was very helpful.

Bought some very expensive cookies only to throw them away — stale as stale can get. NOT HAPPY!

Food Poisening. Eat half a fritter this mornig, from McArthurs Bakery. Tasted like a bar of soap. 2 hours later, Nausea, Diarrhea and Abdominal pain.
If you taste something bad, let them know.

We ordered a ¹⁄₈ sugar free sheet cake for my dad’s birthday. I’ve got to admit, I was pretty nervous! I thought there was a really good chance that it wasn’t going to taste very good and that my diabetic father would insist that it was disgusting and that we should have ordered a normal sugary cake. Boy was I wrong! It tasted great! In fact, I think it tasted better than standard sugary cakes! and as a bonus, no sugar coma afterward! There was none of that nasty fake sugar taste so I’m not exactly sure how they did it but it was one of the best cakes I’ve had! My brother exclaimed, «Why would anyone eat sugary cakes, when this one tastes so good!»
The cake was pretty cheap. It was about $ 20. They charge a small fee to order the sugar free cake. I think it was $ 4 extra. My mom said that when she went to pick up the cake, there was construction and very little signage so it might be a little difficult to find it. I believe this location is new so they probably haven’t added the storefront signage yet.
My only complaints about ordering the sugar free cake is that there are very limited options. You can only order the plain vanilla cake with a plain vanilla frosting. Contrary to what the website says, you can’t even get any fillings either. Luckily, my dad prefers plain vanilla but, I personally like chocolate and I know a lot of other people prefer chocolate too. If some dark chocolate ribbons could be added or something that would be great! I asked if they could put fresh fruit on it but I guess they can’t even do that because they put a sugary glaze on their fruit. I ended up buying some fresh strawberries to put on top of the cake but in the end, the cake was so good on its own, we didn’t even need it!
I’ll definitely be ordering sugar free cakes from McArthurs in the future! even if there are no diabetics enjoying it and it’s just for me!

This is a long overdue review. I’ve been ordering custom cakes from them for over a decade. I have moved from the STL area, however, I still use them when I’m home for celebrations.
Last month (November 2014), we went home for DD’s 16^th bday fiesta and I was able to complete my custom cake order via email. I emailed my detailed instructions and my desired photo. Their customer service team even called me to make a suggestion for the best outcome. The cake was ready on time and it was perfect.
Even if you don’t have a picture, their talented cake artists will create a cake based off of a description. They’ve turned cakes into full sheet pool tables and a forest of howling wolves for me. The results are always amazing. Our party guests spend more time Oohing & Aahing over the cake designs than singing happy birthday.
The prices are not cheap, but I think it’s worth it for the excellence in product and customer service. I personally can no longer eat their cakes (no vegan options), but my family has ensured me that the quality and freshness has remained the same. I will continue to use them for my hometown parties.

I always go to the location in Chesterfield, on Olive, although there are a couple of other stores.
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Now for the review. Like donuts? Love Danish? What about decadent cakes, pies and everything else that a master pastry maker could ever dream about. You have found the best of the real bakeries that used to be in every neighborhood in the Lou, but sadly have been swallowed up by the chain grocery «bake shops.» The chains are to bakeries as a C ration is to Delmonico’s. Uuugh.
You can tell immediately upon walking into the store that you are in for a treat. No mass production lines, no automation, rather hand made goodies that indeed are goodies.
If you are ever in need of a sugar/​butter/​fruit/​baked dish go no further. McArthur does the best job consistently of having the freshest and best baked goods around.
I volunteer at the USO, and for all the big functions for the troops, we call on David McArthur to do his magic, and magic it is. Cookies for 6,000 basic trainees going home for Christmas? Not a problem. How about donuts for all of Scott AFB, fresh and delicious.
I would tell you what I love but my cardiologist might find out that McArthur’s Gooey Butter cake would put the state of Wisconsin on rationing. It truly is beyond description.
Oh if you haven’t guessed, I love the place.

FANTASTIC cake decorating!!! My first visit and I needed a «treasure map» themed cake for the 6 year old. The extra friendly, helpful and adorable girl behind the counter took lots of notes for the baker/​decorator and asked good questions so she knew just what I wanted. The cake turned out AMAZING, with all the special details I requested plus the decorator took the initiative to get creative and add a cool volcano. The Boy loved it and of course it was delicious.
P. S. I went there because Clayton’s Bakery did not understand what a treasure map was. Honest. I said, «You know, the thing pirates use with an X-​marks-​the-​spot.» She said, «I have no idea what you are talking about.» This actually happened.

I started going to McArthur a year ago. Wonderful is every aspect! The helping staff are always cheerful and it does show! My new hangout!

I used to visit very frequently but events have resulted in adding this to the «avoid» list.
Their blueberry cake donuts were the best. I would frequently get two dozen donuts on Fridays. They stopped the blueberry donuts year round!
Poor customer service. There are two registers. Early in the morning the donuts were in trays behind the counter on the right. The female working the counter insisted I moved to the counter on the left (there was maybe one additional customer in line). After the move to the left counter, I could not see the donut options available so I was left guessing on what they may have. I noticed on this trip an apple pie on a table at the front of the store had a small area of green mold. I was planning to tell the employee but after the poor customer service I forgot. Shouldn’t they check this before they open?
The last visit I ordered a fourth sheet cake. I was given and charged a half sheet cake. The order receipt as written indicated half, though on the phone I am certain I requested a fourth. Oh well.

I went in for lunch the other day on a whim. After reading several average reviews, I wasn’t expecting too much out of my experience– the standard for any bakery, really– but I was wowed beyond belief.
I was greeted by not one or two, but all four employees upon entering, and there were other customers in the store, so they weren’t by any means bored. While I was waiting for my friend to arrive, I was courteously asked several times if I wanted to know about the items I was looking at or if I needed any help– not in a pushy way, though.
Once my friend arrived, we decided to use my buy one sandwich, get one free coupon. I got The Lou (on wheat bread) and she got Chicken Parmesan. I’m usually not a fan of cold sandwiches, but I would go back for the Lou any day! The bread was the perfect amount of crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. The ingredients were all fresh and tasty. And it is HUGE! I could only eat half of it! It was hands down the best deli sandwich I have had in a long time! I didn’t get to try the Chicken Parm, but she said it was delicious, and there was nothing left of it quickly!
When we were close to wrapping up, one of the employees came over to us and asked how our meal was, then said «Hold on a second… I have a surprise for you ladies.» She returned only a few seconds later with two delectable slices of Heavenly Hash Cake. WOW! It was rich and moist, and you could tell it had just been made that day. I read a previous review from someone who said that they used «fake oily whipped cream,» but the whipped cream used on the cake was definitely fresh!
After stuffing our faces (and most definitely our bellies), we decided to grab some pastries to go. They were having a special that day– 3 donuts for $ 1.85, I believe– so we both got three donuts. I got two of the chocolate iced donuts with buttercream in the middle and one white iced French donut. My boyfriend has an odd obsession with sprinkles, and when the gentleman at the counter heard me tell him over the phone that none of them had sprinkles on them, he took the entire box in the back and added them! The French donut was gone so fast when I came home that I didn’t get a chance to try it, so I’ll take that as a good sign. The chocolate iced buttercream were delicious, but they are most definitely VERY sweet. It took me three days to eat mine! I also got the Gooey Butter Danish… OH. MY. GOSH. So good!
Overall, my experience here was beyond my expectations. I will definitely be going back soon. Good food, GREAT SERVICE!
This place is wonderful!

Very generic breakfast. You can make something WAY better at home, believe me! We came here avoiding the bowling alley café next door and I think we would have gotten better food there. It was that awful. We asked if they had jelly or preserves for the French toast and we got «THE» look and a rude «NO» to follow. Same thing when we asked if they had soy milk for the lattes. The hot cocoa is from a packet (the kind u can buy in a box for $ 1). No thanks. Bad food, bad service. Not coming here again.

I don’t expect a lot in a bakery: fresh, ‘real’ ingredients, reasonable price.
McArthur’s has disappointed all three times I’ve been here. The «whipped cream» is fake. It’s that oily, shortening stuff. The food tastes stale — not sure how often they rotate their stock, but it’s awful. The cookies are HARD AS ROCKS. And (not surprisingly) very dry.
I guess it seems as though they’ve mastered buying pre-​made ingredients and combining them into other things (e.g., canned, gloppy fruit filling with industrial grade pie crust = cherry pie; weird faux whipped ‘topping’ in a chemically fortified ‘crème’ horn shell = cream horn). Yuck.
If you’re looking for a real bakery, look elsewhere.

Got some good stuff for lunch at McArthur’s Bakery on Saturday. They have frequent coupons in mailers, and I finally used one. It was a buy one get one free sandwich coupon, so I went with the wife and daughter, and got two «Lou» sandwiches (the wife & daughter split a sandwich). So, $ 6.25 + tax for two subs. Pretty sweet. They also have a little sign that says no more than 2 coupons per person, which is actually pretty generous. Most places would limit you to one.
They describe the «Lou» as, «St. Louis style Italian sub– Ham, roast beef, salami and provolone cheese with lettuce, tomato, onion and pepperoncinis, topped with our special house dressing on French bread.» It’s pretty accurate, and pretty good. I believe there were both iceberg and romaine lettuce leaves on the sandwich, a nice touch. Didn’t really taste the dressing, as another reviewer also noted, but it didn’t matter. Bread was nice and crusty & chewy. These subs on French bread always make my jaws tired. Not a negative, just an observation.
Couldn’t leave without getting some dessert. They wife got some small piece of chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and a chocolate covered strawberry on top. Kid and I each got chocolate cake pops with sprinkles. All were fresh, nicely chilled, tasty, and hit the spot!
Workers were all quite pleasant. Place was clean and quiet. Bakery goods all looked exquisite!

In love with this place! My family and I visit them and they are great! Their donuts and pastries are amazing! The Vanilla Nut Cream coffee is awesome! The place was very clean and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Also, their prices are really good! Definitely going back!!!

Went Saturday with coupons in hand. Got two The «Lou» sandwiches — St. Louis style Italian sub with ham, roast beef, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepperoncinis and house dressing on French bread. Had a coupon for Buy One Get One Free, so that was terrific.
While he was making these fresh sandwiches, I asked if I could use another coupon, because they all said «not good with any other offer.» He said, «Sure!» So generous.
So I selected a six-​pack of carrot cupcakes and a six-​pack of chocolate mousse cupcakes. Again. .. Buy One Get One Free.
The sandwiches were delicious. Crusty, chewy French bread with plenty of meat and cheese. I couldn’t taste the house dressing very well. That’s OK.
The carrot cupcakes were filled with a cream cheese filling, topped with piped on cream cheese icing and decorated with an icing carrot. Very cute. Very tasty. Very moist.
The chocolate mousse cupcakes were filled with chocolate mousse, frosted with piped on chocolate mousse and decorated with chocolate sprinkles. While the chocolate mousse had a good rich chocolate flavor, the cake was a tad dry.
The icing/​cake ratio on the cupcakes was divine. And that they were filled was a lovely surprise.
Two sandwiches and 12 cupcakes = $ 16.