Darshan Bakery

They had limited choices in the afternoon, and they'll heat plain croissants ("savory") but not chocolate croissants ("sweets"). Still a nice place to visit! But the warm plain croissant (good butter!) is excellent, even if I would have preferred a warm chocolate one!

After attempting to wait in line at another coffee shop, I walked 40 minutes to Darshan Bakery! I was nervous that it would be closed, because one time a few years back I came to this location wanting to try out the French bakery & it wasn't open at all. Luckily for me, the place was bustling with people. Which ensured me they were open for business. There were several people seated outside as well as inside. I'd say inside is more seating for solo, double, or three people at most. And the outdoor tables can seat +4! Ordering section was super easy, the menus are located on boards above. And they have a small & compacted area with the pastries displayed. Their tablet is quite a new one with a very sensitive swivel on it. I love the sleek look to it. The place was very homey, parisien feel to it. I went with an iced vanilla latte and pain aux raisins! The vanilla latte was good, I'm unsure of it was vanilla bean syrup or it was espresso grounds in the latte. The specks of what could have been vanilla bean seemed much larger and more dispersed than other iced vanilla bean lattes I've had. Who knows, I could be looking into it too much. // Next time, I will get the courage to ask what is the Bombay latte. The pain aux raisins was interesting and delicious. Of course it wasn't warmed as it was sitting in the display case for a bit. Apparently their pastries are made with butter imported from Normandy! It was interesting to see a pain aux raisins that alternated the raisins (regular raisin and golden raisins) for each of the swirl. The golden raisins were more plump (juicy) and had a light taste to it. While the regular raisins were more "dry" and shriveled-- with a deeper taste. The pastry itself was flaky and caramelized, and as you got closer to the center swirl it became more soft and airy. The only thing that looked different than normal was that it didn't have that glistening glaze on top. It was a bit dull, but you could see some color and caramelization to the pastry. I would get this again! I recommend it for breakfast with your coffee. The workers were friendly, patient, and adapted well -- to the morning rush! They kept the flow of the coffee counter moving as well as ensuring customers received their drinks. Coffee beans are from Cafe Virtuoso! Love that. I sat at a table which had some flaky pieces of pastry on the table. I feel like this would deter some other people to sit down here. I think people should do their part to clean up after themselves if they leave a mess on the table. (The trash can and napkins were just an arms length away. Wiping up crumbs take no more than 5 seconds to do). It's just common sense. There were several people on their computer at this bakery so I guess it's safe to say, their wifi is good! Prices: Iced medium vanilla latte for $5.65 (lovely price!) & pain aux raisins for $6.25. Just noting that the pain aux raisins price was $1 more than I usually would get it elsewhere. I didn't realize the price until the screen was turned towards me and I paid.This is a 'hidden' -- or an overlooked gem of a place to come eat at! They also have sandwiches so if you want to come here for lunch it would be lovely as well.

Pleasant place for beverages to relax after walking around the beach at SeaGrove. Nice patio for feeling the sea breeze.

Executive summary: good but not great croissant. If you like buttery, this is the spot. Flavor is very buttery with the right savory note. But texture needs improvement. Table is too clean after a bite with no flakes flying all over. And coffee is not to my taste profile - I think likely due to skill level of barista. Tempo pace, 18.35 mile bike ride to Darshan to make sure I deserve the croissant. Feels great to sit on the patio with a cool breeze, in the shade, and my bike sitting right in front of me. I wanted an almond croissant, but they ran out. Chocolate croissant (B): It's a good croissant. Pungent and buttery with just the right amount of savoriness. And the chocolate is good too although a little more would be better. But the texture needs improvement, and where Wayfarer is a significant step ahead while losing out a touch on flavor. Would I eat 4 of them if they were sitting in front of me? Of course. My latest top 3 croissant ranking (price agnostic, although I still wouldn't buy Izola):1) Izola2) Wayfarer3) DarshanCappuccino (C+): I'm definitely not a coffee expert and prefer chocolatey flavors. Not a very sophisticated palate profile according to coffee experts I know. But regardless, my thoughts are: too heavy with not enough microfoam and not enough milk in general, with a coffee too fruity for my liking. Not bad, not great. The barista looks really young so there's a good chance it's simply a lack of experience.

Oh My God - talk about shrinkflation extreme! Combined with good old fashioned inflation, it produced this thing they sold as "almond croissant" - for $6.25!!! It was dry, hard, dark brown, almost seemed burned, light as a feather (when I picked up the bag, first I thought it was empty!). It was so small that it fit into the case of my iPhone with space left over. And did I mention Darshan charged $6.25 for it?What happened to this place? They used to have good croissants, luxurious sizes, big, soft, heavy almond croissants, never cheap but, hey, this is Del Mar - now this? Unbelievable!

What a great way to spend the morning!I ordered:1. cardamom latte- tasty but not 100% sold on the cardamom yet...lol! It can be a polarizing flavor but I am still on the fence. The caffeine was strong in this one.2. Kouign-amann: delicious! It is one of my favorite pastries of all time and this one didn't disappoint. The egg-cream in the center was so decadent, and those buttery layers are irresistable.3. Rosemary focaccia: what a deal! The entire loaf for under $10? I don't know if they had any more earlier but I got the last one. Ended up sharing it for lunch with a friend and we devoured almost the entire loaf. The rosemary and salt were divine.I will be coming back as often as I can to score more of the focaccia! The staff were incredibly sweet and informative! They also have their own parking lot which I love!

The service was very good from the young man we ordered from. We did ask some questions and the woman in the back who answered was not so receptive. This is what we experienced this time.Coffee - Excellent as usual!Baked goods - all looked burnt so we didn't purchase.$15 Ham sandwich was good, bread was excellent.Quiche - Kinda gross due to the texture. It was gooey, like uncooked eggs but the crust was excellent. Serving a piece of quiche on a very small paper plate with plastic utensils is lazy IMO. Try cutting anything on that gracefully as your plate is sliding all around the table, it's a recipe for a mess and a bad experience. A small plate and real utensils are much preferred. Less waste is also a benefit. I have been here several times, primarily for the coffee and usually a sweet treat. Not up to par today.The location is great and it's a cute place. Usually able to get a parking space.

Cute little café that's perfect for a post-Torrey Pines hike pick-me-up! Food prices are definitely French (aka a bit high ;), but so is the quality so it's fair. Artisanal ingredients and fresh, daily preparations are the name of the game here. You can't go wrong with either sweet or savory, but do yourself a favor and just get both - you deserve it! The flaky pastries and flavor-packed quiches are fantastic, but Darshan could use an upgrade when it comes to serving utensils (e.g. actual silverware vs. the flimsy and wasteful plastic stuff currently on offer), and a better warming oven - our still-delicious quiches were hot on the outside but unfortunately cold in the center.

Darshan Bakery is generally good, tasty food, good coffee/tea, but could use some improvements. First, please have some real silverware (or bamboo utensils) available. All you have is plasticware (and pretty flimsy plasticware at that), which should be eliminated for environmental reasons. Second, it would certainly be nice to have real, porcelain cups/mugs as an option for eating in house. Only paper cups are available now. If paper, though, they should at least ask if you need a lid. (Plastic lids are also environmentally hazardous.) Better yet, have lids on the side for those who really need them. And, regarding the food preparation, recently they heated a quiche for me; it took a really long time, and then was still cold in the middle. The quiche was great, and given my time crunch, I didn't say anything, but improvement there is needed. Most of their pastries I've had there have been quite good. But once I got a plain croissant; it was overcooked (almost burnt) and mostly hollow in the middle. Almond croissants, however, have been delicious. In summary, this place is nice, worth a visit, but needs a few upgrades.

I don't normally write reviews, however I felt the need with this one.I walked in just in time to hear the owner chastising an employee. Now I completely understand why she isn't able to hold on to staff. The lack of respect she showed this employee is enough to keep me away, however the croissant was pretty bad too. Completely burnt! I understand they need to be dark however this croissant was so hard it completely flaked apart when I tried to bite into it and the inside was almost dehydrated. Not sure what is going on with the quality control but that should never have been sold. Someone definitely needs some more training.