Paradox Pastry - Charlottesville

AMAZING place to eat. We stopped in for breakfast one morning and it was great. The breakfast foods were good, but I think they could have been heated a little longer; mine was cold in the middle. My dad and I got chorizo burritos, my daughters got banana bread and a croissant, and my mother got a meat pie. All were delicious and I think of them frequently. The deserts I took home were fabulous. I tried the macaroons, the chocolate torte (gluten free, I believe), a few hand pies, and some other things I don’t remember the name of. I would eat them all again; everyone loved them. The staff was super friendly and for the quality of food, the prices were fair. Thanks guys!

As longtime lovers of EVERYTHING at Paradox, picking our cake baker was one of the easiest decisions we made for our wedding. We had four large cakes in lieu of a special decorated wedding cake, wanting to have a variety of flavor options for our guests as well as gluten free options. Paradox's process for ordering cakes is so easy and readily customizable, and there are so many delicious flavor options to choose from. And the gluten free cakes are the same price as the regular cakes for the same size amazing!! We served a vanilla cake with maple cream cheese frosting that was a huge hit with our guests, a chocolate chocolate ganache cake, a gluten free chocolate with espresso buttercream, and a gluten free vanilla with lemon buttercream and raspberry jam filling. Everything was delicious and our guests loved the variety. Love Paradox!

Excellent cheesecake and nice indoor or outdoor seating, great study spot

If they had flavored syrups to add to coffee and espresso, I would have given it 5 stars. They unfortunately only have unflavored coffee drinks with simple syrup just sugar) if you request it. Of course, if you’re coming for the pastries alone 5 stars! That being said, the coffee was delicious I got a regular iced latte with simple syrup. I also got the breakfast croissant egg, cheese, and sausage), which was delicious much better than I’d expect from a coffee shop and I’d highly recommend. Well seasoned, lots of flavors, and filling for the price $4.75). They also have a very nice selection of pastries, sandwiches, muffins, and cookies as well. I also recommend the Fresh Fruit Crostada it’s a fairly dense, sweet pastry with almond/lemon flavors, and topped with fruit of choice strawberry). Atmosphere is 5 stars. If you can find parking which is difficult without paying), I’d recommend staying a while. They have 2 stories, outlets for each table, outdoor seating, and the indoor seating has a huge window that they keep open when the weather is nice. That allows for extra ventilation especially during COVID times. Definitely recommend stopping by!

They actually have some vegan options! I tried the vegan apple cider doughnut, and it was actually really good, coming close to the quality of Carters Mountain. A little expensive is the only thing, the item not being too much food for an alright price. Also, btw, this might have only been me, but this is not a coffee place, they have some limited options (an expresso machine, some shendoha does drip coffee) but that's all.