Cake Alchemist in Cheltenham

I ordered a birthday cake for my husband for £145. I gave exact instructions as to flavour and style. I was actually looking for a farmer themed cake. in the end I told them to make the cake in the style of a photograph on their site. This they called "farmer " on the site but it was actually a gardener themed cake. The photo had its moulded characters made in fondant icing. A week before collecting I rang the cake shop and told them I would collect the cake 3 days later than previously requested because our plans had changed. However - I came to collect the cake on the date I had changed to. The characters were wooden, the plants and greenery were made of synthetic material. No moulded icing characters. The characters were of a wooden farmer and his rake. The order appeared to have been lost in translation. It was too late to make a complaint. We cut the cake later in the day. The cake was not a moist lemon cake with lemon flavoured butter icing. There was hardly any lemon in the cake, or in the butter icing. The texture of the cake was dry and the cake had clearly not risen or cooked properly. The exterior icing was revolting. It was a complete disappointment . I contacted the shop and advised them of my concerns, instructing them to please refund me, and that I would return the cake to their shop. They did not want to know of my complaint. They refused to look at the cake or to refund me. Several emails passed with my pointing out that the Contract had been broken under consumer law. They would not refund me but offered me 20% discount on another. As if I were to take that risk to be given another dry tasteless flat cake with disgusting butter icing and even more revolting exterior icing, at an even larger cost. The cake was then binned. I recently ordered from another baker, a lovely moist lemon cake with beautiful texture. It was large and I only paid £40. I will never order or visit Cake Alchemist again.

THE best coffee in Cheltenham and a large variety of homemade cakes!! A must stop if you are visiting Cheltenham. Every time I travel to Cheltenham i make an effort to visit it.

Best coffee iv had in Cheltenham the last 3 years. Tried the orange cake and was honestly delicious. Get the orange cake!

Best brunch I ever had in a casual and relaxed place! Nice selection of savoury, not overpriced and definitely tasty; plus very friendly

3 points for friendly staff, nice tea and lovely bright cafe. Food Cold beans, cold undercooked eggs with dirt from the pan on top. The toast was bread! Omelette was nice but again the toast barely saw the grill. It appears one plate of food went cold waiting for the omelette to cook. To be fair they asked twice if our food was ok but I didn’t want to make a fuss. Very expensive for what it is. Wouldn’t visit again.

Amazing deserts and coffee in a wonderful atmosphere with wonderful people!! definitely a place to spend some quality time in!!

An excellent selection of cakes, cookies and cupcakes. We had carrot cake and coffee which we really enjoyed. The place is clean but where we sat you could see the grubby sink area which isn’t good but overall good for a sweet treat.

This is the best café in the High Street for coffee and delicious Italian cakes and pastries . This is our third visit. Once was with our grandchild who thought the hot chocolate and croissant and jam to be the tastiest she'd ever tasted.

Dreadful coffee! Popped in for a cappuccino. Asked for a double shot. Sadly - tasted like dishwater. Friendly service and the cake was very average. I don’t write bad reviews however this one warrants a mention as they say “Artisan coffee!” Pick up your game! Left most of our coffee in the mug! Awful!