Beloved for its exceptional pastries & sandwiches, but beware the infamous lines; worth it for the focaccia, less so for some croissants.
Willa Moore reviews Radio Bakery's second location in Prospect Heights, highlighting its popular pastries and suitability for picnics in nearby Prospect Park.
This beloved bakery is praised for its exceptional pastries and sandwiches, with standout items like the plain croissant and various focaccia creations. While many consider the baked goods to be top-tier, the consistent long lines are a recurring theme, with some customers feeling the wait outweighs the reward. It's a spot that generates buzz and conversation, especially among locals enjoying a picnic in nearby Prospect Park.
Radio Bakery is known for its excellent pastries, particularly its croissants and morning buns, though some find them not worth the hype. The sandwiches, especially the focaccia varieties like the smoked salmon and prosciutto options, receive strong praise. Some find specific items like the bear claw and corn bread to be less impressive, and the pistachio croissant has received mixed reviews for a medicinal taste. Prices are considered moderate to high.
"The focaccia sandwiches, such as the smoked salmon and prosciutto varieties, are highly recommended. The brown butter corn cake and the matcha mango morning bun are also frequently praised as standout items."
Customers generally have a positive view of the bakery, praising its delicious sandwiches and unique pastries. However, many note that the long wait times are a significant drawback, with some finding the pastries not worth the hype or the wait.
Important Note
The primary caveat is the consistently long wait times, which can be over an hour, especially during peak times or weekends. Some customers feel that certain pastries, while good, do not justify such extensive waits. The availability of popular items can also be limited, selling out early.
"Regarding the lines at Radio Bakery on a Saturday morning around 9 AM, a user reported a wait time of 45 minutes to an hour."
Neutral"The commenter expresses a strong liking for the tofu sandwich from Radio Bakery."
Positive"A huge fan of the tofu sandwich, the commenter agrees about the chili oil's quality and highly recommends the underrated brown butter corn cake. They also mention that the Greenpoint location offers earl grey morning buns, which are a personal favorite."
Positive"Even with limited selection, the tofu sandwich was still very good, and they also had pistachio croissants and corn cakes available."
Positive"It's hard to experience the full range of Radio Bakery's offerings late on a weekend because their most popular items sell out early."
Neutral"Radio Bakery uses chili crisp made by another restaurant called Chiko, and they also sell jars of this very good chili crisp."
Neutral"Despite initial concerns about long lines, the wait was short at their Prospect Park location. The tofu sandwich was exceedingly delicious, but the chocolate chip cookie tasted disappointingly like a grocery store version. The matcha mango morning bun was enjoyed by the author, though found 'confusing' by her boyfriend."
Neutral"The commenter disagrees with the comparison, implying that Radio Bakery does not offer the same amount of meat in their sandwiches as Katz's Delicatessen."
Negative"Radio Bakery is favorably compared to Katz's Delicatessen in terms of the generous amount of meat provided in their sandwiches."
Positive"The commenter loves the turkey sandwich from Radio Bakery and looks forward to the return of their roast beef + pesto sandwich, which they enjoyed last year."
Positive"The brown butter corn cake from Radio Bakery is highly memorable; the commenter still thinks about its unique flavor, which reminded them of movie theater popcorn with brown butter, two weeks after eating it."
Positive"The commenter views the turkey sandwich from Radio Bakery positively, appreciating the balanced amount of ingredients and preferring it over sandwiches with too much meat."
Positive"Confirming the previous positive sentiment, the brown butter corn cake from Radio Bakery was definitively 'in the best way'."
Positive"The turkey sandwich from Radio Bakery is criticized for seemingly having an excessive amount of lettuce, humorously referred to as a 'lettuce sandwich'."
Negative"Sandwiches at Radio Bakery are described as quite large and filling, although the focaccia was found to be very oily."
Neutral"The brown butter corn cake from Radio Bakery was exceptionally good, described as 'ridiculous' in a positive way."
Positive"The matcha mango morning bun from Radio Bakery is described as 'amazing'."
Positive"Criticizes the coffee situation at Radio Bakery as terrible and embarrassing, advising to get coffee elsewhere."
Negative"Considers Radio Bakery overhyped overall, though praises their lunch sandwiches, focaccias, and seasonal croissants as excellent. Finds regular pastries like standard croissants and twists unremarkable compared to other bakeries."
Neutral"OP reiterates that the sandwiches were delicious and the triple chocolate croissant was decent. However, the pistachio croissant filling had a medicinal taste, making the overall pastry experience mixed."
Neutral