Metropolitan Bakery

This is just concerning their Baguette. They consistently bake the best I’ve ever eaten. It’s better than any Baguette in France for that matter.
It’s a shame the little outpost on Germantown Ave. is now closed, but it’s apparently going to become available now in the new store that has taken over the location.
Here’s a little tip though, the Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop and the Weaver’s Way Cooperative both sell Metropolitan’s Baguette, and it’s actually cheaper to buy it from Weaver’s Way. Also, you can pick up some really good cheeses at these other places to accompany Metro’s best Baguette ever.

Their tarts are good. However, the service is substandard. The older lady who was working behind the counter appeared very unfriendly and almost as if she didn’t want to be there in first place. I am hesitate to go back there again.

Well Below standard! This is for the location in the Chestnut Hill Marketplace.
Although the pastries were nicely displayed and looked wonderful, each of the three things I purchased were real disappointments. This is why I am reviewing them here.
First I’ll mention that the salesperson was kind, positive and professional. As for the products – I purchased three basics: a brownie, a cookie and a croissant. The brownie was a ‘midnight brownie.’ It had no flavor whatsoever. I love many types of chocolate but this recipe was missing something.
The cookie was an oatmeal pecan one with raisins. Again, surprisingly disappointing. It was horribly sweet (and I like sweet) and had no texture – and again no flavor. Worst oatmeal cookie of all time, and I’ve had loads as they’re my husband’s favorite.
The ‘almond’ croissant was the most shocking of all. It was so tough that I had to literally TUG a bite off with my teeth. It was also sliced in half with old, oily, badly flavored spread inside! This ‘filling’ tasted like old butter with a tiny bit of almond flavoring spread unevenly. I love almond croissants and have enjoyed many here and abroad. This one was disgusting. If I didn’t live too far away I would have returned to this location and asked for a refund.
This was my first – and will be my only – visit to the Metropolitan Bakery. The products resembled a novice baker’s experiments rather than the staples of a well-​established business.

The chocolate croissants are amazing, an actually better than the ones I had in France. The coffee is some of the best as well. The bread is pretty good.

Solid breads and pastries. Their croissants are light and flaky but not too heavy. Their breads have a good crust and flavorful interior. I only wish I lived closer.

Chocolate chip cherry cookie with salt flakes was to die for. The stout and smoked popcorn was also ridiculously good. Other things were just ok like the Guinness cake and the pear hand pie (crust was nice and flaky though) so overall I would go back definitely get those first two things and then try some more

I only come here for their desserts, which by the way are to die for ~ especially the carrot cake and chocolate layered cake. The staff is fun and very personable and always a joy to see. I haven’t tried their bread, but it always seems to fly off the shelf when I’m there.

Owners of Chestnut Hill store are unwelcoming, rude & do not provide good service. Bread is to die for good… best in the US. I give the owners 1 STAR, 5 STARS for the bread. Will now be driving into town to buy my Metropolitan bread!!!

when i worked in chestnut hill, i would visit metropolitan every so often for their prune danish… it was freaking phenomenal, and large enough to split with someone
i do remember that they would sell day-​old breads at a discount, which comes in handy if you are planning on making french toast or bread pudding
4.5 stars

Metropolitan bakery was the only reason I attended church without complaint as a kid. The bribery became something of a ritual, as every Sunday morning (gotta get there early! It’s gutted pretty quickly, especially on weekends) my mom’d get a latte and a millet muffin, my brother’d get a lemon bar or a slice of flourless chocolate cake, sister’d get a rosemary & olive oil foccacia and a Yoohoo, and I’d get a plum tomato & pesto foccacia with an Orangina. I’ve also had their gingerbread (regrettably seasonal– only in Winter in my experience) and it is an amazing holiday treat– moist and tender. I love their croissants, and lust over their chocolate croissants, but savory always triumphs over sweet in the life of me. Plum. Tomato. Pesto. FOCCACIA.
Not your daily bakery because it’s not cheap, but an easily justified sporadic treat!

This bakery is really a pleasure, with a well selected range of products that are just about all top-​notch or nearly so. Even though the breads and other baked goods are not prepared on site, they don’t seem to suffer for it — except maybe the baguettes. Some of these breads, in particular the signature «pain au levain», could stand shoulder-​to-​shoulder with any breads anywhere. Other highlights include the olive loaf, the country white and the chocolate cherry bread, though the last of these is not always consistent.
Crust… the crusts of Metropolitan’s breads are in a different class than many of its competitors. At their best, they have that quality of being a bit like Christmas glass on top of a thin layer of leather. Crusts tend not to last long, so it’s best to get the breads early in the day. I cut and freeze the bread immediately, and this preserves the quality quite well. It can then be restored simply by toasting.
Crumb… the crumb (that is to say the insides) of Metropolitan breads are generally dense and moist. You can make a sandwich out of this bread and it will hold together. It’s definitely not «air bread». Many are part sourdough. This kind of bread, sliced and toasted and cut into little squares is a perfect base for a ripe creamy cheese.
There is a refrigerated section with specialty butters and cheeses and spreads. This is the priciest part of the shop, but the products are good, in my experience.
Among the highlights here are their pastries and cakes. At the top of the list are the canelés, a specialty of Bordeaux. Don’t be put off by their burnt appearance. In fact, the darkest ones are the best. These delights consist of a crackly caramelized shell around a rich, yellow bread-​pudding-​like interior that is subtly flavored with vanilla and rum, and it seems, a bit of lemon zest. Many of the other pastries are also excellent, such as the mixed berry danish, the cream cheese brownies, oatmeal cookies and the carrot cake. The fig bars can be a bit dry and unsatisfying.
They also have very good prepared sandwiches and the vegetable focaccia is a treat.
The handsome, tall painted glass sign outside the shop tells that this bakery took inspiration from the bakeries of Paris, and breads say so as well. It’s about as close as you can get in these parts to a real Parisian boulangerie. Thank you, Metropolitan!

Got the hankering to make some french toast last Sunday but didn’t have any bread so we headed on down to this little bakery towards the top of the hill. I’ve picked up a couple of unimpressive loaves from the Flourtown farmer’s market so my hopes weren’t high but their shop offered plenty considering the small size of the storefront. Needless to say, the quality was much better than found at the farmer’s market (cut out the middle man); the white loaf was superb and their veggie focaccia really went down well. They also offered a smattering of fresh goodies; cheeses, fresh pasta, hummus; not exactly what I expected from a small local bakery.
Keep in mind that nothing is baked on site so you won’t find loaves still warm from the oven but their goods are still plenty fresh; I wavered on the four stars but that loaf did make some damn-​fine french toast and the service there was excellent.