This is the most iconic neighborhood bakery café ever in Los Angeles, created by previous owner Jane herself. They now have 8 locations, so you really have no excuse to not try their magical bounty! They have lunch, including salads, soup, sandwiched, brunch, and of course many sweet items. I went to the one in West Hollywood, which is walking distance from my home office. I remember, back in the day, walking over here on any given morning and having a wonderful coffee press with a big, huge croissant. Always a great way to start my morning. I have been in this fabulous neighborhood for 35 years, so Sweet Lady Jane was always a way to bring the comforts of home into my very refined palate. It’s all one big happy experience no matter what you try at Sweet Lady Jane.
When you go to someone’s party and they see you coming in with a Sweet Lady Bag and cake box, you immediately become the most popular person at the party. This highly recognized staple in the greater So Cal area is thought as major prestige. Knowing that, the host will go crazy for your very thoughtful gift. Plus, the fact that the cakes and other bakeries items are the highest quality.
Owners, Matthew Clark and Julie Ngu, were customers before. When Matthew heard on the local news that Sweet Lady Jane was closing, Julie said, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if we bought this store?’ The closure was in Feb 2024; and in 3 weeks they managed to get their permits along with everything else needed to purchase the business, starting process of reopening the original Melrose store and 7 others in the Los Angeles area. They also have a few newly purchased food trucks that are for street fairs and farmers markets. Mathew believes that Sweet Lady Jane was meant to bring neighborhood people together in a happy environment with great food and wonderful baked goodies, that treat the mind, body, and soul to a lovely experience. Mathew is very hands on. He manages to get out to every location weekly and he has hired the best managers, seeing that all of them are keeping to their original mission statement. He is very proud that his staff loves their jobs and that they continue with the glorious history that Sweet Lady Janes food and baked goods have to offer. They are going to start adding homemade gelato soon, and the first store to have this will be their downtown store.
Matthew has had many promotional deals, the most recent is buy 1 lunch item, get the second one free. He says that he does that just so their customers can try different food items and not have to pay full price. Their busiest time is for lunch. Sweet Lady Jane also does many catering jobs along with getting lots of online orders for the major studios in the area.
What else can I say, this is just the best way to spend a morning, afternoon, or evening. It’s in a busy West Hollywood shipping area, seconds away from Melrose place. They have free parking behind the building.
Here’s What I tried.
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Cappuccino
Cold Brew Coffee
Iced Mache Latte
All of the beverages were just perfect.
Salads:
Caprese Salad, with fresh mozzarella, Himalayan Sea Salt, freshly cracked pepper on a bed of arugula threshold, and basil served with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Lots of fresh cheese and lovely tomatoes, making this salad a real keeper.
SLJ Salad with baby lettuce, jicama cucumber, kidney beans tomatoes, Gorgonzola cheese olives, green onions hearts of palm, and quinoa served with lemon olive oil vinaigrette. This is a great filling salad with lots of great ingredients.
Triple Berry Salad with dried apricot caramelized, walnuts, strawberries, raspberries, on a bed of mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The dried caramelized apricots set this salad apart, its really great.
Soups:
Tomato Basil Soup, with fresh basil, and as a grilled cheese baguette, with cheddar cheese and grilled tomatoes. This very special combination; it was just so luscious, I would order this every time.
Sandwiches:
Chicken Curry Sandwich, with all white meat, chicken, and a light curry dress seasoning with scallions, fresh tomato, and lettuce. This is a must have sandwich, the curry flavor is light and wonderful. The best part is the raisin bread that they put it on.
Albacore, Tuna Sandwich, with white albacore tuna, lemon juice celery, scallions, tomato, and lettuce. A straightforward healthy sandwich.
Brunch:
The Scramble, with three eggs scrambled, chives, bacon, a freshly baked baguettes, butter, and orange marmalade preserve. The bread with the eggs really makes this so amazing.
Triple Berry Challah French Toast with fresh seasonal berries, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. Oh my, I could not get enough of this dish.
Side:
Egg Salad, egg salad can be easy to screw up, but Sweet Lady Jane really makes the perfect egg salad. When I was a child, my dad would always get me this sandwich for lunch near his business in Beverly Hills. This sandwich was great and brought back lots of wonderful memories for me.
Cakes:
Heavenly Dark Chocolate Cake – Layers of decadent chocolate cake with a divine chocolate buttercream and lush chocolate ganache, this is every chocolate lover’s dream. Unapologetic and heaven-sent, you won’t regret it.
The New Beverly Cake – The Beverly – A customer favorite! Yellow cake layered with Cordillera chocolate mousse, vanilla cream and rich ganache wrapped in Divine chocolate glaze and decorated with cocoa nibs, buttercream flowers, with an edible gold leaf.
Proper Carrot Cake – Nice and spiced, our carrot cake is a cozy crowd-pleaser. Made with our special blend of warming spices, walnuts and raisins, our walnut-caramel filling adds a touch of sophistication to the cream cheese. Every bite takes you a bit further in your reverie.
The Waldorf Red Velvet Cake – Sumptuous red velvet cake like you’ve never had it. Bittersweet cocoa and elegant vanilla notes mingle with luscious cream.
Triple Berry Cake – Our world-famous Triple Berry Cake. Fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries layered between lightly
Chocolate Cake Pop, their chocolate cake pop is built on a foundation of rich, fudgy cake — dense with cocoa flavor — then hand-dipped in a glossy dark chocolate shell that snaps just right. Indulgent without being over the top and deeply satisfying in every single bite. One is never quite enough. This one’s for the chocolate devotee.
Vanilla Cake Pop, some flavors just never fade. Their vanilla cake pop is made with pillowy, fragrant vanilla cake — warm with floral notes and a gentle sweetness — hand-shaped and finished in a pristine white candy coating that gives way to something impossibly soft inside. Refined, timeless, and the kind of thing you keep thinking about long after the last bite
*Disclaimer: Sweet Lady Jane lovingly crafts all of our baked goods on shared equipment that also handles tree nuts, milk, eggs, soy, and wheat.
Every single cake and cupcake I tried were just the best thing you would ever put in your mouth. It’s just so worth going there for a slice of your favorite cake or a cupcake, or any of their baked items. It’s a real treat that you just have to experience. I was also able to try a nice array of cupcakes, each was otherworldly.
Chef Bernie has been with Sweet Lady Jane for 20 years; everything is homemade from original recipes. Whatever your culinary pleasure is, Sweet Lady Jane has it all, with the best most wonderful cake assortment ever. It’s a neighborhood spot, come relax, good food and the best desserts in town. You just got to walk in those famous doors, and you will see what I am talking about.
“TODAY IS THE SWEETEST DAY”
Locations;
Melrose, Downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Larchmont, Studio City, Calabasas, Encino, Santa Monica, San Fernando – cakes pick-ups only.
Sweet Lady Jane
8360 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA. 90069
Sun – Wed: 8:00am – 12:00am Thur – Sat: 8:00am – 1:00am
Cafe Service 8:00am – 5:00pm
https://sweetladyjane.com/
