Recently we had the pleasure of trying the delightful Nathaniel Reid Bakery located in Kirkwood along Manchester. The bakery is located in a small, non-assuming strip mall along Manchester in a less trafficked area than other parts of Manchester. Outside there is little indication of the bakery, but once inside the room is brightly decorated with white tiles and light pouring in from the windows. There is one wall table that runs along the front of the bakery that provides limited seating, while the back of the room has a long display case with an assortment of baked goods. There is also a window behind the display case that allows visitors to see the baked goods being prepared. During our visitor, Nathaniel Reid was working on what appeared to be a croissant dough.

There was a bit of a long line since his baked goods are ranked not only best in the region, but some of the best in country. We visited during Margaret’s birthday and decided to try a couple of the small cakes to celebrate. We ordered the Camille, a lemon curd mousse, moist almond cake, with raspberries and the Sambava, a chocolate mousse, vanilla bean crème brulée, with crispy hazelnut praline. Both little cakes were absolutely beautifully prepared, and tasted delicious. The flavors in each of the cake was prominent, but complimented well with the other players. The Camille was a subtle tart, that was subdued by the cake texture and flavor, to create a sweet sweet lemon taste that was highlighted by the raspberry, while the Sambava was quite rich, but offset perfectly by the praline base to create a rich gently sweet cake. We were both impressed by the cakes artisan appearance, and equally delightful taste. Nathaniel Reid Bakery is known for its phenomenal pastries; however, they also offer a variety of food options. Both of us enjoyed our visit to Nathaniel Reid Bakery and found the pastries to be quite lovely both visually and in taste.