Colleen's Cafe - Certified Tastiness At Colleen's

Colleen's Cafe Takeaway. Colleen's Cafe crafts delicious pastries that hit the spot without trying too hard. I'm giving it a solid 7.8/10 based on my pastry haul, with standout scones that actually stayed moist and macarons with that perfect crunch-to-custard ratio.

It's the kind of neighborhood spot that makes you glad you live nearby, even if it's not going to change your life. If you're in Clayton and craving quality baked goods, it's absolutely worth the stop.

The location right off Forest Park Parkway makes it super convenient for a post-activity treat run. You can spend the morning at Shaw Park and head over for lunch. Counter service was smooth but a bit slow due to the crowd. Parking can get tight on Saturday mornings.

Colleen's Cafe Experience Summary

We stopped by Colleen's last Saturday morning after my kid's activity, and honestly, I didn't know much about it going in. It's a standalone bakery/cafe/lunch spot tucked in Clayton on Forsyth. It's actually super easy to get to right off Forest Park Parkway.

First challenge? Parking. We arrived at 11am on a Saturday morning and snagged literally the last spot. And it was one of those compact spaces that makes you question your parallel parking skills.

My wife was impressed.

Walking up, it has the feel of a place that knows what it's doing.

You'll get a trendy, modern bakery vibe. It's not your grandma's neighborhood bakery with the floral wallpaper and dusty charm. This is more like what Starbucks wished it still felt like, back before it became a soulless corporate machine on every corner.

Think barista energy, clean lines, and that hip coffee shop aesthetic that actually feels authentic.

The line was maybe three or four people deep when we got there, and it moved at a reasonable pace. Took about 10-15 minutes total to order and grab our goods. Since we were just doing pastries and not waiting for hot food, everything was ready to go immediately.

No complaints there, but if you were ordering hot food, you'd need to add maybe another 10-15 minutes to the wait.

Here's the thing about my quest to find the best food in St. Louis: sometimes the winners aren't the flashy, mind-blowing places. I'd give it a 7.8/10.

That's a very solid neighborhood spot that consistently delivers quality without making a big deal about it.

Colleen's fits that bill.

It's not going to rock your world, but it's going to make your Saturday morning better. And in the grand scheme of mapping out St. Louis food, that matters.

Places like this are the backbone of a good food scene.

The Food At Colleen's Cafe

Let me start with my favorite part of our order, the blueberry scone. This thing made my taste buds genuinely happy. It was light, fluffy, and here's the important part, actually moist. The number one sin of scones is drying out into these sad, crumbly hockey pucks.

This scone had zero dryness issues.

The blueberries were perfectly balanced. Not too many, not overpowering, just enough to remind you they were there without turning the whole thing into a sugar bomb. It still had that nice biscuit-y flavor underneath, which is what you want in a scone.

This is probably the only scone I've had in the area, so I can't exactly compare it to a dozen others in St. Louis proper, but based on my general scone experience? This one nailed it.

My wife grabbed the orange cranberry scone. It had a bit too much orange for my personal taste, but if you're an orange person, you'd probably love it. The orange wasn't subtle. You got it on every single bite. It wasn't overpowering to the point of being offensive, just more assertive than I typically want in my pastry.

But that's me. If citrus is your thing, go for it.

The kids each got chocolate croissants, and look, I have opinions, like everything, about chocolate croissants. Why take perfectly good, buttery, flaky dough and stuff it with something you can get anywhere?

Give me a plain croissant any day.

But the kids absolutely demolished theirs, so clearly Colleen's knows what they're doing. The croissants looked legit, with all those beautiful layers.

Then there were the macarons. Each kid got one, and I managed to snag a bite of what I think was a chocolate one. Holy crispy exterior. That crunch when you bite through the shell, then it gets all fluffy and the air rushes out, and you hit that nice custardy filling in the middle.

Really, really good execution on the macaron front.

Now, here's where I have to be honest. My dad paid, so I have zero idea what the actual cost was. My best guess is around three to four dollars per pastry.

Not cheap, but for quality baked goods, that's pretty standard. You're not getting gas station prices, but you're also not getting robbed.

I need to mention that the people around us were getting quiches and breakfast sandwiches, and everything coming out looked absolutely delicious. We were just on a pastry mission this time, but those hot breakfast items will be on my plate the next time we come.

Colleen's Cafe Atmosphere And Miscellaneous

The vibe inside is that trendy neighborhood bakery. Clean, modern, with that coffee shop coolness that feels genuine instead of manufactured. They've got seating both inside and outside, so you can eat it or grab it to go.

The service was straightforward counter service. You order, you pay, you get your stuff. No table service, no waiting around.

My general take on the St. Louis pasty scene is that you have one major stand out in Nathanial Reid, a big gap, then a couple of others.

Colleen's Cafe comes out on top of the other side of the gap. It's one of those neighborhood spots worth having in your back pocket.

Parking At Colleen's Cafe

Parking can be tight, especially on weekend mornings. We got there at 1am1 on a Saturday and grabbed the last spot, which happened to be a compact space.

If you're not confident with your parallel parking skills, you might want to come at an off-peak time. Or just embrace the challenge.

The location right off Forest Park Parkway in Clayton makes it super accessible, though, so even if parking takes a minute, you're not going out of your way to get there.

Colleen's Cafe Receipt