Harrison Bakery

Much like the last 4 or more reviews, I have to say my most recent visit to this bakery was respectively similar. Aside from the pastries that might be notable, this store front is run by less than desirable, unprofessional, seemingly young adults who lie to customers and seem to have no regard for the «historical» reputation the owner seems so proud of. Moreover, that some of these said employees hold a title of management is disconcerting. It’s rather sad that certain types of people authenticate notions regard employee/​business relations and ruin it for others.
Hi Mike,
You seem to regretfully hear or learn of inconsistent business practice or quality control of pastries as per the concerns of your patrons. Yet, it doesn’t appear that you actually address any of the aforementioned issues.?

I went in Twice this week asking if they were baking soda bread as I’m having people over, not once but twice I could not get an straight answer why how do you not know this? You are so close to Tip Hill. Very poor management in my mind St. Pat’s Day is not new!

Any bakery worthy of it’s title should NOT be using canned or preserved filling for it’s pies. It makes a complete nonsense of the place bothering calling itself a bakery at all. I’m a pretty bad baker but at least I prepare my own filling. Can’t say much for their bread either.
Pretty sad when you can get better and more authentic Italian bread from a flea pit like Price Chopper. Or is it once again the old story I hear, over and over and over again, ad nauseam, from locals claiming to be Italian just because their surname ends with a vowel. The nearest most of them have come to Authentic Italy is North Syracuse… and that’s pretty much all American too.
It’s pathetic. No wonder the Italian food here sucks so badly. Somebody, anybody, please point me in the direction of some really genuine Italian food, bread and also real pies filled with fruit, not gloopy sugary diarrhea!

My entire family and I have been going to Harrison’s Bakery since I was a little boy (born in 1952) and everything they make is as good as it gets. Forget the negative reviews, this is a classic American bakery with outstanding products. Some people are just ridiculous. They have a few specialties which are the best I’ve ever had ANYWHERE (half moons, brownies, napoleons, eclairs, etc., etc.). This is advice for people who have never been here… it’s AWESOME, go there. For the complainers, STFU and go someplace else, you morons.

If you are looking for Starbuck’s Pastries or Dunkin Donuts — skip this place. But if you want great donuts or terrific pies — this is a great place with friendly helpful staff.
Their breads are very good — they supply many of the local deli’s — their pumpernickel (dark rye) is great. I would like the crusts a little crisper but that is minor thing. Their onion rye is exceptional. Marble rye is great when you can get it.
I have been here about a dozen times (just moved into the area 16 months ago), I can say I have never had Nick H’s experience. I have taken their baked good to various group meetings at the university — and everyone loves the stuff I bring.
I haven’t tried the cheesecakes — I am real fussy about those — or a lot of cookies. I did come around T-​day and the line was out the door, but it moved fast and people seemed happy with what they were getting.

The best bakery in Syracuse, cakes, cookies and breads are amazing, ice cream too. I think the customer service is great.

Very nice having a bakery here in the heart of Syracuse but the thought is short lived. My first impression was this place is amazing with some fantastic pricing and a wide variety as will see from pricing. Everything is incredibly cheap compared to other bakeries that I have been to. They have everything ranging from cookies to donuts to stuffed donuts, to bear claws to cheesecakes. For those who love half moons, you’ll find that here. Pricing wise, a donut is $ 0.79… I’m sorry but that is ridiculously for home baked goods. $ 2.50 for a shortcake?! That’s too cheap to pass up.
Then things went downhill. Customer service was spotchy. There were 2 people, one male and one female. The male was very polite, informative and helpful while the female (no offense to those feminists out there, but no names) held an attitude that was snarky and made it moderately unpleasant. When we asked to see a donut that wasn’t currently on the shelf, the staff took it out to show us. To my horror, it came out of the freezer with frozen ice crystals in the bag. I never had the chance to ask if they bake the goods daily but I didn’t need to. Tried a couple of things especially since they were so cheap: Boston cream donut, cinnamon donut, half moon, poppy seed roll, and a few others that I honestly don’t eat enough to remember the names of.
I tried to like this place but honestly it isn’t something I would come back to. The donuts do not taste fresh. Bread is moderately stale, one of the donuts was actually near frozen when I held it in my hands when it clearly didn’t need to be (such the chilled temperature requirement of a cheesecake). Boston cream was okay at best, comparable to quality of Dunkin donuts at best and pales in comparison to any NYC bakery that bakes their donuts daily. Perhaps my taste buds were conditioned to high standards or my standards for breads are too high but I have no interest in spending money at bakeries that can’t bake their donuts/​breads fresh daily. Perhaps it was a bad time of day, but despite how cheap it is, I would pay my money’s worth for quality donuts/​pastries which I honestly don’t think you will find here.
Some other quick things to note:
— Poppy seed roll needs to be baked more, mine had uncooked dough. After breaking it apart, you could see it wasn’t cooked enough or the dough wasn’t handled properly.
— Half moons are very sweet. They really don’t need to be. Taste is mediocre at best.
— Cinnamon donuts are not baked daily. Either that or their recipe is atrocious and calls for stale bread. The difference a donut tastes when baked/​fried in the morning vs one that has been sitting out/​frozen/​reheated is huge.

I grew up on HB goodies and bread. Some things have changed over the years, though. The pumpernickel bread seems to taste saltier than it used to. The quality just seemed a few notches better back then than what it currently is. Possibly new management and a change in recipes or quality ingredients? I loved going there as a kid and getting my free chocolate chip cookie and go back whenever I’m back in the state!

Harrison Bakery is a long established and highly popular bakery on the West side of Syracuse. It appears to be generally well regarded for its products. Based upon my initial experience, there is a vast divergence between the service the employees provide and the products they serve.
Usually, I will visit a business more than one time before posting a review, however, there are times where clearly present characteristics are notable enough to warrant a review after an initial visit.
I will describe three elements: atmosphere, customer service, and product experience.
Atmosphere: after parking, enter this bakery through two automated sliding doors. If customers are waiting ahead of you, they tend to converge immediately at the entry door, unwilling to enter the store. Do they fear the bakery Nazi? (Seinfeld reference… get it)
Finally after waiting in line in an unnatural silent mode, I could approach the counter when called. I felt this was a very weird experience. Usually, customers take a number and peruse the offerings that the bakery offers. Oddly, everybody congregated by the entry door while they awaited their calling to the counter) Once called for service, I found slow, bitchy (sorry for the language) customer service.
The products: pumpernickel bread was excellent, although lacked some sweetness but still was excellent; pastries, prune and cheese, were merely average lacking expected flakiness and bland in flavor.
Maybe I should have asked for a marble rye… From the Seinfeld episode «The Rye» (
)
JERRY: All right. Look, I’ll tell ya what, I’ll give you $ 50. Now, be
reasonable you cannot turn down $ 50 for a $ 6 rye.
MABEL: No? Watch me.
JERRY: Give me that rye!
MABEL: Stop it!
JERRY: I want that rye, lady!
MABEL: Help! Someone help!
JERRY: Shut up, you old bag!
MABEL: Stop thief! Stop him! He’s got my marble rye!

Their half moons are the absolute best, I have never gotten a bad one. I also got the best «tie-​dyed» cupcakes for my wedding. People still talk about them and that was a few years ago now.

I stumbled upon this unassuming corner bakery in the «Polish Neighborhood» of Syracuse by accident. The front of the building was less than inviting with its large hazy window. The inside was equally unimpressive and sort of droll. I was greeted by staff, but they quickly revealed themselves as less than professional, alluding to profanity. That point aside, they were able to help me navigate the tremendous selection of baked goods. The volume of inventory was the most notable feature here. The presentation of the food was average, as if the high quantity of goods needed to be stuffed into the display cases, but the prices were well below expectation. The quality of the food was nostalgic. It was like eating cookies prepared by a grandmother at Thanksgiving or Christmas. Good or bad depending on your take of that comment.
Overall, it’s a quick cheap bakery stop that, if you happen upon, is worth the few minutes to grab a snack. Certainly not worth seeking out on its own. 3 Star is really for price and reminiscent feeling for me; could easily be 2 star.

Today’s annual haul was a carful! 28 loaves to be shared with friends in the Big Apple. Our favorite: the rye pumpernickel swirl.

This was my fav place to visit as a child and get a headlight donut or half moon cookie. The quality is still great but the customer service is not. I’ve been in there a few times on my visit to NY and the staff doesn’t even greet the customers and are not too friendly. Other than that, I still come back to this spot.

They don’t call them black and white cookies here, they call them «half moons» at one of Central New York ’ s best bakeries. Try the brownies with the chocolate icing! Mom’s favorite since I was a child.

I love Harrison Bakery! My parents are both from Syracuse and fans of the bakery so I grew up on their chocolate chip and half moon cookies despite growing up Florida! Every time my relatives come visit they bring boxes of cookies and bread. Its a real treat! Great local bakery that been around for a long time!

This place doesn’t improve. The though of having a real bakery close by was short lived. Terrible customer service and baked goods were dry, hard and not fresh. I’m not sorry to say that I won’t be back.

This place has been around for decades and little has changed. Our family has been buying marble rye here from generations, and it is delicious! One change, however, is that you now have to call ahead to order marble rye. They do have an abundant supply of separate loaves of pumpernickel and rye on hand for walk-​ins. Over the last few times we’ve been here, we have experimented with the sweets. The «half moons» a/​k/​a black and white cookies, are pretty tasty and more cake than cookie like. The cannoli and eclairs are good but not the best I’ve ever had. Harrison’s is a time-​honored Syracuse institution and on my list to hit up whenever I’m in town.

My Grandparents lived a few blocks from this bakery and consistently bought freshly baked goods from Harrison’s. 25 plus years later, I still stop and purchase their half-​moon cookies whenever I am visiting the area. Such a friendly bakery and the half moon cookies are so delicious! I wish I could find them in Chicago!

As soon as you step in to Harrison bakery the smell of sweets surround you! The pastries are delicious! They have everything from macaroons to half moon cookies to the famous Harrison bakery brownies. The brownies are my favorite. They are rich in flavor and have nuts in them with a smooth choclate frosting over them. The prices are so affordable I believe it is about a dollar a brownie. It cost more to buy «dogie pastries» for my dog. So if you are in the mood for something sweet! Do yourself a favor and stop by Harrison bakery.

Not a bad bakery. Stopped in to grab a loaf of french bread and to try what seems to be the famous half-​moon (black and white) cookies. And since I was in there, I grabbed a few other types of cookies for someone who is allergic to chocolate.
The bread wasn’t a standout. I prefer the bread from a few other bakeries in the city. Not bad though. It served it’s purpose.
Cookies were pretty good. Half-​moons were good. Had some oatmeal and sugar cookies too. They were OK too. They are definitely soft cookies, which I like. But I also like some chewiness to a cookie, which these don’t have. I still ate a couple of them though so they can’t be all bad.
Nothing about this bakery is bad, especially their prices. I just don’t think it’s a great bakery compared to some of the other options in town.