Duke Bakery

Great bread in such a small space. Service is fast and friendly. Keep in mind this place uses high quality ingredients.
I couldn’t figure out why my daughter stopped eating break from that 85 place on Alton and Jamboree. That’s because she detected they changed the ingredients around. I was skeptical that they would do such a thing but things don’t taste the same like they did before.
Lucky for us, we came across Duke Bakery near our house. My daughter would eat the things here but spit out things from the 85 place. I totally agree.
You can taste the difference here.

On the list as my favorite Asian bakery as of now. I come to this location or the branch in Diamond Bar Plaza at least one to two times a week.
Some people complain that Duke Bakery is overpriced for what it’s worth but I have to disagree. The quality of bread you receive here is much higher that what you’ll be getting at 85C and Sunmerry. The ingredients they utilize aren’t your normal cliché ingredients; they use ingredients like grape ferment, longan, blasé blah unlike other bakeries. Some breads I recommend are the chocolate buns of course, truffle bread, chocolate and Blue Mountain coffee bread, and the bread with chocolate and cream cheese filling! The bread here isn’t too excess in terms of sweetness, it’s all just about right. They’re very filling and are very soft on the outside and chewy in texture, I absolutely love it.
They don’t serve coffee here yet like the branch in Rowland Heights. I talked to the employees there and they said they are expecting to have Lavazza coffee available at this location soon! Don’t forget to check in to receive a free chocolate bun or scone.

One of the first things is that with a help check in, you can get a free chocolate bun or a scone. The scone was my favorite item even compared to the breads I bought. Another bread to try is Hades because it’s limited edition and has lots of chocolate, even on the base. Everything else has samples so give it a try and get it if you like it. The bread is good quality so it’s definitely worth the price.

Cute new bakery with very nice service.
Set up like 85 Degrees where you pick up a tray and fill it with what you like and they fill it up for you.
Selection was on the small side and everything a bit dry and bland though.
Prices also a bit sweet for an Asian bakery, most items are around $ 3 which I think is a bit high.
We got a few desserts and while they were ok, they were not worth rushing back for.

This tiny bakery makes some incredible bread.
When you first walk in, grab a tray and tongs. There are several enclosed cases with different types of bread, each labeled with its ingredients, each having unique flavors. These are mostly small loafs of bread not intended for a single person but for several people to enjoy (or one person on multiple occasions). There were easily a couple dozen bread flavors to choose from. Pineapple? Caramel? Cheese? Blueberry? Coconut? So many choices!
The nice fellow working there offered me a sample of taro bread which was fantastic but I opted for a loaf of chocolate-​coffee bread. I also got a small loaf of sliced milk bread and three slices of strawberry cake to enjoy later with co-​workers.
The chocolate-​coffee bread was soft and fresh while slightly chewy, with both the flavors of chocolate and coffee distinguishable. It had a slight sweetness to it but wasn’t sweet like a pastry. Beware: it does give you «chocolate fingers». It’s a great bread to enjoy with a glass of wine.
The milk bread was superb — a basic white bread perfect for spreading some butter or jam on. The slices are larger than typical American white bread. To me it seemed slightly more dense than the bread I get at Japanese bakeries. The strawberry cake was good; it was delicious but the fruit filling just sort of tasted «fruity» to me and not necessarily strawberry (my co-​workers disagree with that assessment). The cake and frosting was lightly sweet (or what I call «Asian Sweet»). The cake itself was light and moist.
No tables — grab and go. The store had a steady stream of customers while I was there. I hope this unique bakery does great business because I’m now a loyal customer of their breads (I’ve subsequently tried their Hawaiian and Pineapple breads — both excellent!).

I usually come here once a week. I’m greeted by friendly and warm staffs every time I step into this bakery. Breads are great and soft. There were lot of samples to try in front of each section. You should take your advantage of this. Taro Bread is one of my favorite!!!
One of the staffs impressed me a lot with her High-​Quality-​Service. She greets all customers with high energetic, and helps customers to narrow down what they actually need. I can tell she is willing to help others by putting her effort and smile to each of the customers. I can rarely see this kind of excellent service in other bakery areas. I think her name is Rebecca.
Will keep doing business with Duke Bakery.

Awesome bakery! The store is pretty small, but very neat and there are quite a lot of bread choices. I really like that I could try almost every bread they have before I buy them.
I got chocolate bun, chocolate cheese cream, and sweet potato bun. All of them are very soft and chewy at the same time (I dont know how, but amazing!)
The cashiers were really nice and friendly. (Dont forget to get a free scone or chocolate bun when you check in Unilocal!)

Compare with a transitional American bakery, Duke is more suitable for Asians like me, they use less butter, less sugar and natural yeast. The bread is healthy and delicious, i tried the limited chocolate toast bread and cheese tart, both of them are good. Definitely I will go back again for their fresh bread.

I love this place!
The bread is so soft and delicious. And service is amazing! Lileen and Rebecca are the sweetest :)
My favorite bakery as of right now! ^_​^ would recommend to everyone.

Duke Bakery is on the way to my work, so I went in for some bread for myself and my coworkers today~~ I bought the garlic bread, red bean toast, choco buns, and a japanese bread~~ forgot what it was called~ but they’re super delicious!
My co-​workers said she doesn’t usually like chocolate bread, but she really enjoyed the choco buns from Duke Bakery! :D I really love their garlic bread~~ some of the garlic bread I get from other places are usually really greasy, but the garlic bread from Duke is not only delicious but they also taste healthy! haha: D
When I walked into the store, I was also greeted by a super nice lady, I believe her name is Rebecca~~ she has such beautiful smile. Even when I was waiting in line, I noticed how observant and thoughtful she was with all the customers~ She has such great customer service! Her smile and her energy really brighten up my day :)
Rebecca was also very patient with me when I had questions about the bread. When I didn’t know what to pick, she’d thoroughly go through the ingredients of the bread gave a really good recommendation! I was sooo happy with it! :D
I’d highly recommend this place! I feel safe eating their bread :) Knowing that they use mostly natural ingredients :) I am also very, very happy and satisfied with their customer service! A BIG THUMB UP!
Thank you, Rebecca, for being so patient with me and your beautiful, energetic smile :)

Located right across from the Irvine Valley College campus, this small bakery is nestled next to Long’s Kitchen and is now my favorite place to stop by after my morning class for some breakfast bread!
First off, I am a huge bread addict (which some of you may consider unhealthy, but I can’t help it… bread is too heavenly), so when I heard that a new bakery from Singapore landed in Irvine, I knew I had to check it out. The website states that their baking process incorporates European, Taiwanese, and Japanese baking methods, which is supposedly the reason why their breads are soft and healthier than regular Asian pastries.
On some days they offer samples for you to try before you buy, and I really wish this system was implemented more in other bakeries too because I hate wasting food and money. So far, I’ve tried the Hokkaido Azuki Bread, Carbell, Strawberry Milk, and Chocolate Cheese. Out of these 4, I definitely liked Carbell and Chocolate Cheese, because the dough is so soft, cream cheese is stuffed inside, and there’s only a hint of sweetness (so it won’t make you feel sick later).
The bakery also sells cake slices too, and I’m really intrigued by the Varlhona Chocolate and Yakult Cheesecake… I have yet to try it but I do hope to taste test them soon!
There’s one employee at the counter (I don’t know his name) but I do see him often and he is so friendly and provides great customer service. I read other reviews about this location and I was sorta scared off a bit because some of the customer service stories creeped me out. But I haven’t experienced that at all, and I’d say the employees at this bakery are one of the friendliest I’ve ever met!
Oh, and one last thing: breads here tend to be pretty large, so if you can’t stomach that much it would probably be a good idea to share with a family or friend!

I got my free scone and tried a few other their other tasty treats
If you like 85 degree… Then. This is your place!

Nice cashiers, store is extremely clean and pretty, plenty of samples. Bread itself is pretty plain (a lot of loaf types), simple and yunmy. Be sure to check in for a free bun /​scone! ^^
Update… some parts (the way inner wall) of the taro was still doughy. But the chocolate bun was good

I come in here at least once a week for lunch and to pick up some desserts for the next day and everything here is delicious! The place is really clean and the pastries are always fresh and well stocked.
The prices are really reasonable, I can get plenty for less than $ 10.
They could be a little friendlier, but I think it’s just because they’re used to ride people our students.
I highly recommend stopping by!

I think their service needs to be improved.
There was no greeting when I came into their store. After two minutes, there were two girls coming in, and they did greet to those two girls who were looking for a cake lol And after one minute, there was a guy coming in, and they didn’t have greeting to him. Not sure they didn’t greet us because we are not girls or we were not buying cakes lol
But to be honest, their bread is really good. The smell of the bread was really fresh, and the texture was soft and smooth. My 2 stars are only for their bread.

This review is only about their service.
I’m not so sure what is more important to them.
your phone or your customer.
When we were shopping around, the staff were making fun of each other.
When we were at the cashier machine, iDragon (his name on the cashier machine) pretended that he never saw us (1 feet distance), then he hold his hand palm to our face (the talk to the hand pose) and let us wait until he finished texting/​playing with his phone. (at least 1 minutes).
Are you kidding me? What kind of service is this?
Game development or a bakery?
Then he gave us free sample and said” who doesn’t love free stuff, everybody loves free stuff“
WHAT!!!
Their bread is fluffy and some of them are pretty good, however with customer service like that? I’m not so sure how long you will stay open.
Yes to the bread, no to the idiots.

The small shop had more of an upscale-​casual ambiance — exceeding my expectations; the attractive, whole loaves of bread were nicely displayed, in single columns, within glass cases — with some samples provided. For my first visit, I opted for items already pre-​packaged: Milk Toast ($ 4.00) and Honey Cake ($ 2.75). We enjoyed the Milk Toast: soft, with a mild sweetness. The Honey Cake had a nice dense, spongy texture, but its taste didn’t have us desiring to order it, again. A complimentary tasty Chocolate Bread Roll was given with the purchase. Service was pleasant-​enough. Perhaps I’ll return to try their tempting slices of cake or fancy loaves of bread.

I’ve made a couple visits here at Duke Bakery and for it being new in the area, I“ll tell yeah, this place is not having a good start.
I will start with service. My first try here was around the evening, the cashier was on her phone didn’t greet or even make eye contact to customers walking in.
Before I made my purchase, the lady who appears to be the manager asked if I had a VIP card, so I told her «no, it’s my first time here» Then, she just told me my total and ended my transaction. She sounds friendly but didn’t make an effort to offer me and be a part of their loyal program. I walked away like Huh… I guess they don’t want me to save money or comeback?
I wanted to make another trip here and tryout some of their breads with Red Wine flavor and I thought maybe this time they make some kind of improvements in service. One of their baker’s happen to be the one running the registers, and I noticed he was covering a co-worker’s break. He seems enthused but he also didn’t offer a VIP card or even asked for one.
Now for their breads, they appear puffy but most of them are dense and too heavy and barely have flavor in them. I personally prefer breads that are airy, fluffy and melt in your mouth. I do find their Ham & Corn Bread the softest and probably the only one I liked because it was the tastiest choice. There some that are priced around $ 2-​$ 3 and most priced are in the higher side $ 4-​$ 5.
They do have a flyer on their counter how to preserve and re-​heat instructions. Coming in at night there are fewer selections.
This place is the smallest self-​serve bakery I’ve been to compared to others. I was told they’re known in Singapore but this kind of stuff just doesn’t cut it for me.
Sadly, after my last visit here a few days later I went to a competitor just for superior breads, better price points, and exceptional customer service that want my business.

Duke Bakery is the newest Asian bakery to open in Irvine. Based in Singapore, but with stories in Rowland Heights and Arcadia, it’s the smallest of all of the bakeries in the area and has a very limited selection (although that may change). However, based upon the upscale boutique décor — dim lighting, dark brown walls, and chandelier — and the smaller selection, I suspect that Duke looking to emphasize quality and exclusivity over quantity.
On my visit, there were some interesting and unique flavors on display, such as Lychee Bread ($ 4), Strawberry Milk ($ 2.50), and Red Wine & Longan ($ 4). I didn’t try any of these and instead opted for the Japanese Scones (3 for $ 4), Smiling Custard Bread ($ 1.60), and Salt Flower Bun ($ 1.50). The scones were not your typical coffee shop scones, dense and crumbly; they were instead lighter and breadier. Not bad, but I like my British-​style scones. The custard bread was a tad sweeter than what you might find at 85C or JJ Bakery, but it was pretty good. My least favorite was the salt flower bun, which was really chewy and did not seem particularly fresh.
I did like the fact that were samples of some of the more interesting breads though. I sampled the Truffle Bread ($ 5) and Choco & Blue Mt. Coffee ($ 4). The former was chewy and rather subtle in terms of its truffle notes, while the latter was too sweet for my tastes.
For now, I can’t say that I’m a fan of this place. But since they just opened, I’m willing to give Duke the benefit of the doubt. With all the other Asian bakeries currently in Irvine, we’ll see if they are able to duke it out in this competitive market.
Sign up for their VIP and get 10% off future purchases.
2 ½ stars

Interesting. Looks like a healthier version of Asian bread. I would go back to try other pastries.
Four stars because:
1. Open at 9a– who goes to work after 9a? So no fresh bread for breakfast?
2. Close when sold out– got there at 6p and it was almost empty.
3. Friendly staff– Rachel is awesome. Best customer service. Hands down. She even helps this annoying lady who requested Rachel to write down all their cake options since they don’t have a cake menu.
4. Interesting bread with healthy ingredients– wolf berry, lychee etc.
I will be back. Very soon. :)