Just back from WDW, went to the Cake Bake Shop Bakery three times for snacks & merch, did dinner at The Cake Shop once.
Bakery:
-Went for the first time right before Epcot rope drop because I had heard their iced coffees were some of the best on property. Had a coconut iced latte, absolutely adored it. Lovely, light, not terribly sweet. Ranks above a Joffrey's iced latte for me, but Gideon's PB cold brew is still my favorite cup of coffee on property.
-Went back that evening with the family for some sweet treats to take back to the room after dinner at Boardwalk. We got a walnut brownie, orange zest white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, and magic bar. Personally liked the brownie the best, everyone else thought it was just okay. Did not try the macadamia nut cookie, dad said it was good but maybe not much better than a typical Disney cookie. Magic bar was my personal pick, found it very dense and oily and it did not hold up well the next day. All in all, just wasn't impressed with the baked goods.
-Went back for the last time after dinner just for merch, lol. I fell in love with the "Brulee dragon storyline" and had to have a stuffed Brulee, keychain, and a crewneck sweater with him on it. They got me! Merch was also expensive but I really did love the majority of it, everything was whimsical & cute and I thought the adult merch was subtle without sacrificing any of that playfulness.
Restaurant:
-Reservation system maybe not the most reliable in the world? Went to check in for our dining reservation about 20 minutes early (made through Disney, not OpenTable) and it looked like the hostess was having trouble finding our reservation. She tried to be subtle about it but ended up asking for more information and basically making a new reservation on the spot for the same time slot. This was absolutely not an issue, just something I observed and wondered how it could be handled in busier seasons.
-I can (almost) understand why it took a million years to turn ESPN club into CBS. The space is undeniably gorgeous in every corner. We were seated in the room next to the "main" dining room but could see the carousel from where we were. I wish we took the time to walk around the restaurant a little bit.
-Every CM we encountered was so lovely. A large part of my job is about making my company's Customer Experience as bespoke and personalized as possible, so I observe & think about service probably more than the average person does and I really enjoyed the service at CBS. Our own waitress couldn't have been kinder and was extremely attentive but I was getting emotional watching the waitress taking care of the table with younger children nearby. She spent a lot of time playing with one of the boys' action figures with him and just being silly & fun without being disruptive to the restaurant. Cake Bake Shop has this character named Brulee, the dragon who sprinkles pixie dust over all of the baked goods and breathes the fire that lights birthday candles, and it was so cute watching the kids at the table paying such close attention to her while she told the story and put glitter in the birthday girl's hands so she could blow out the candles.
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Black Swann: This was their take on an espresso martini, this was very good and I loved that there was a hint of chocolate in it. Nothing super remarkable about it imo. I think Raglan Road's Irish Espresso Martini is still my favorite on property but this one beat out the mascarpone foam espresso martini at Narcoossee's.
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Chicken Velvet Souppe: This was the
best thing I had at Walt Disney World this week. I ordered this somewhat on a whim as an appetizer and I should have ordered this and half a sandwich for my dinner instead. Good lord, I need to find Gwendolyn's recipe for this immediately. Creamy, hearty, and perfect for the colder weather we had at WDW last week... I will dream about this soup forever. You must get this if you eat at CBS!!!
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New Orleans Shrimp Po' Boy: This was also very good but did not live up to the Chicken Velvet Souppe. It is a very hearty sandwich with a lot going on. The bread that they import from NOLA was incredible and the fried shrimp had a very light, crisp batter on it that I really liked. It was just a very heavy meal and again, if I could do this evening over again, I probably would have gotten the Chicken Velvet Souppe and half of the chicken salad sandwich as my main so I could save room for cake. The truffle pommes frites were also incredible, everyone at my table stole some from me!
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Millionaire Cake: My new favorite cake on property and it isn't even close. It just had that perfect balance between the chocolate cake, ganache, caramel, shortbread, and buttercream. I do love Gideon's cake slices, too, but there was just something magical here between the high-quality ingredients and how perfectly it was executed. I'm really looking forward to trying more of her cake slices when I come back to the Boardwalk for an evening this August. Had this boxed to-go since we were all full from dinner so the picture is not the best!
All in all, I really adored the Cake Bake Shop. The Bakery offerings other than cake were not anything to write home about, but dinner at the Restaurant was my favorite meal of the week. Everything about the story lining, florals, and decor makes it truly one of those magical experiences that brought out the little girl inside of me who loved to dress up and pretend to be a princess. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it was a dream come true for me and I hope I'll be back soon!