Merced Bakehouse and Restaurant

If you care more about flavorful food than photgraphs then eat at Merced. Nothing about this place is instagrammable (see the pics as.proof). Instead, it focuses on serving consistently good food; no need for fancy decor and themes. The only thing worthy of really snapping a photo of would be the beaming staff as they proudly serve your food, a manifestation of how much they care for quality.

Recently placed an order for a custom cake here (see photo) - 👍🏻Affordable, looked good, and the cake underneath the (very durable) fondant was moist & tasty enough. Received positive feedback from guests at the party where said cake was served. [Those happy guests and I all share the common experience of having had dry, bland cake under a pretty fondant exterior, made by custom cake shops that we know charge a hefty price.] I appreciate that each tier of the cake can have different flavors (options are vanilla, chocolate, mocha & lemon). Merced's staff also sends a text/SMS reminder on the day of your cake pickup, to ensure you pick it up before their closing time at 5pm (especially for those who'll bring the cake to a dinner event, like I did). If you want a customized cake design, even if it's just to tweak one of the existing designs on their catalogue, better place the order in person at the shop. 🛎️ The wait staff on duty (when I went on a Sunday morning) was way more proactive and customer-oriented; he listened to what I wanted to change in the catalogue design, why I wanted it changed (to suit the party's theme), and was then able to make meaningful suggestions to pin down key details of a cake design I'd be happy with. He even had the initiative to offer me & my companion their dine-in menu just in case we felt like having a snack; we had no intention of dining there that time, but ended up taking the bait after seeing comfort food on the menu -- this guy deserves an employee award. 👏🏻 📱...This is in stark contrast with the custom-cake-contact-person on Viber who ironically isn't able to suggest any design ideas/alternatives, and more disappointingly doesn't seem keen to close the deal with an eager buyer (I had to keep chasing her, asking how to make a DP and how we can finalize / settle on a cake design). 💰 Note: Custom cake order can only be paid in cash (inc. GCash or online bank transfer) i.e., 🚫 💳, and it has to be paid upfront, so better come prepared with the moolah (or the means to send it online) when you drop by their shop to place your order. ☝🏻Tip: Check both the designs online and the ones in their hard copy portfolio at the shop because there are some designs that you'll only see on either the hardcopy or the website. ________________________ What I normally buy here: 🎁 For gifting: ube dimples (a hit with balikbayans), canónigo, pineapple tart/pie 😛 For myself: shing-a-ling, cassava chips, pinipig polvoron, sylvanas, egg pie

Merced Bakeshop in Edsa QC does not give senior or PWD discount except on dine-ins. And they misspelled the dedication of Lola Lita and put Lolo Lita! Only found out when we got home! Now too late to change it and the little boy is very disappointed coz the cake was his gift for his Lolo n Lola n Merced Bakeshop messed up with the dedication. Very poor customer service.