Clasen's European Bakery

We ordered every type of cake Clasen’s offers for dessert for our wedding reception for approximately 100 people. By the end of the night, there was absolutely no cake left! What a hit! Our personal favorite is the tiramisu, which we used as our wedding cake. Staff were helpful in thinking through appropriate sizes and assisting with packaging the cakes carefully into my vehicle. 10/10 would recommend!

A very good bakery. Prices are reasonable, but higher than local supermarkets. The Cinnamon Swirl Bread is a favorite of mine!! They frequently have buy one get one bread specials. We use Bucky Book coupons to get great savings at Clasen's European Bakery. They have other great pastries like sticky buns, pumpkin loaves (seasonal) and Pecan tarts and much more. You can even take a seat, grab a reasonably priced cup of coffee and enjoy great baked goods!

This family-owned bakery is hands-down the best in the Madison area. The pastries are incredible, the bread is always fresh, and the staff make you feel right at home. Can’t recommend them enough!

Very disappointed in the quality of the Very Expensive fruit cake.I shared it with 3 people and we all agreed that it was tasteless. No spice flavor. The candied fruit should taste like lemon,cherry,orange and lime. For $60 I expected better. Don't get me wrong I like a lot of things there but that fruit cake didn't make the cut.

This bakery has the absolute best breads and sweet stuff. I really enjoy the almond croissant and my wife loves the morning buns. In season they have hot cross buns in addition to all the other Easter goodies. One of my favorites. Their line of breads is very nice, wirh many varieties.

Very helpful staff. First time there and everything looked so delicious. The cinnamon rolls are awesome. I'll be back for more

A lovely European bakery. Huge selection of interesting treats. Limited seating inside so think more traditional bakery than the modern cafe model. Everything I had was great and an even better sign was the constant stream of a huge diversity of customers.

Game day, hand decorated frosted cookies are great. Do not miss out on the cheese artisan rolls, I came all the way from Seattle to get them!

It's plum tart season! (Which is very short.) They are great this season. Add fresh whipped cream. The best. Go now. Before they run out. Before the season is over. (Calling ahead might be a good idea.) Also back in supply -- almond horns! Yay! Delicious. Gave two to my former professor. He looked quite pleased. I also purchased two giant pretzels. Ate one on the drive back home. They're still as good as they always were. Worth the drive from Illinois. I will continue to return to Clasen's for the superb quality, taste, selection and service. Thank you for what you do.

So many yummy items to choose from... made it hard to choose. The almond croissant was delicious!!! Chocolate croissant was also good. Morning bun was warmed up & perfect.

The moment you walk in, you're greeted by the warm, inviting aroma of freshly baked bread. We picked up a morning bun and blueberry coffee roll. The bakery is conveniently located right next to Culver's, and we found street parking. There were a few customers inside when we arrived, but the space felt relaxed. They offer a wide variety of breads baked fresh daily. Thiey have been around since 1959 and I've enjoyed their baked goods before, but this was my first time actually making a purchase myself!

Really great morning buns, pecan buns and Danishes. Best deal on coffee in the city!

I tried many items from this bakery. Everything was excellent. Especially when I look at the ingredients, things are made with really good ingredients. Prices were slightly on the higher side. Door county cherry tart had real cherries which gave a good sour taste. Marzipan ring and marzipan log were really good. I think I liked ring better. Bienenstich is another great product which tasted excellent. Rumball was ok.

I stopped in for a nice dessert for Valentines. The selection is always wonderful and the pastries always look scrumptious. I bought the Black Forest Cake and it was divine! Not only was it delicious but it had the flavor of Germany, my home. Thank you for always baking so well, from the breads to the cakes to the pastries!

Excellent food. Wide variety of things to choose from. Wonderful specials and promotions.

Came to visit my brother in Madison and I came back to Clasen's. They had free samples of their cherry frangipane. If you're like me, and not familiar with a wide range of desserts, you may have never even heard of a frangipane, but it's basically a tart/pie. OMFG, guys... This was PHENOMENAL!! The best tart/pie I had ever had in my entire life. My brother loved it too! We each tried a piece of their sample and knew that we had to get it. We got one each for $7 per tart. These ones were the smaller ones (maybe 3 inches in diameter?), which makes it a little pricy for the size, but SO worth it!! I would come back to Clasen's for their cherry frangipane alone, but of course, I also picked up a few EuroBark chocolates to take back with me as souvenirs! Those are great too!

A carb lover's dream! There aren't many bakeries like this one. The store is clean, well organized and spread out. I've never gone right at opening but I'm certain it smells like heaven! I appreciate that the store always has plenty in stock no matter what time you go. On this trip, I grabbed a loaf of cracked wheat sandwich bread, 2 baguettes (they were buy one get one!), a white chocolate macadamia cookie, and a spinach and feta croissant. It was hard to resist getting one of everything! Prices are fair, the variety and quality are unmatched. Do yourself a favor and take a trip to this fabulous place!

I should write this when my mother is in town. My mother is European like the founders of this shop. When she visits here from another state, a Clasen's shopping trip is always done on the morning of her last day. Why is that, you ask? So she can purchase a few loaves of the freshest possible bread to take home with her. Mom grew up with a bakery across the street so Clasen's can be trusted as authentic based on how consistently committed she is to this place! I have tried the variety of breads my mom has bought over the years. I can't name all the kinds. I call them earthy. They are so unlike manufactured packaged commercial breads. You owe it to yourself to try a loaf! My solo visits have been for artisanal cinnamon rolls, which I declare The Best in the Madison metropolitan area! Big enough, chewy texture, enough glaze though I'm a fiend for glaze and would always take more, good amount of cinnamon distributed throughout the layers, aesthetically pleasing. Looks like it has cinnamon instead of some of these plain rolls you see around that taste like air and failed dreams. The bakery itself is quite large and doesn't have the vibes of the bakeries in Europe I've been to. I don't get a warmth or community feel. But the products are superb so still five stars. Purchase and go more than a hang out. And if you cannot make it here during their hours, quality local retailers carry a selection of the breads. Lots of seasonal items too! Monthly specials. And if you want to be a good family member, some items can be shipped nationwide! Maybe send a surprise to the European in America in your life! Not every city has an authentic European bakery so don't take it for granted! Support this local family owned bakery today.

The morning buns are delicious! We also bought the sourdough with kalamata olives and it was delicious. There was a huge variety of fresh baked breads, cookies, and seasonal treats. They also have cakes which I have yet to try but I am looking forward to trying them.

We come Here every year for Christmas and once or twice during the year if we are eating bread. Their bread is excellent and they have a large selection of desserts, candies, and other German favorites. We got our wedding cake here almost 25 years ago. For Christmas we get fruit cakes. They are expensive but worth the treat. The 2# sells For $36.99, up in price about $4 from last year like everything else is. This year we tried a 2# Dresdner Stollen, also $36.99. We really enjoyed this powdered sugar topped quick bread with small bits of raisin, orange peel, almonds and almond paste, rum etc. inside. We will probably add this to our Christmas shopping going forward. They always have a special of some sort and one was purchase a quiche get a loaf of bread for free. We have had their quiche before and they are excellent. $21 for a 9 inch. There was another special to purchase 2 loafs of a specialty Bread and get 1 loaf free. On the sign there were 3 to choose from but only one type to pick on the floor. If I wanted it bad enough I would have asked if they had anymore of the other two types in back but I already spent over $165 as it was. It was my birthday and we were headed to lunch to celebrate with a friend who's birthday was the day before. I picked out a large rum ball (more like a mini round cake) for me and a slice of a dessert for my friend at the same price. I was attending a meeting with 7 others that evening so I found a cute cake like dessert (lemon) to share at the meeting and everyone raved at the taste. My husband also picked up a couple of coffee cakes to give to a couple businesses who help our Lion Club sell Chocolate bars for a fundraiser. They were $12.99 each and what a great thank you gift as we live an hour away. If your looking for "special" whether it is a treat for your household or family or friends, Clausens will not let you down.

4.1 A very nice old school euro style bakery. As Real as it gets, and it's a no brainer go to bakery, that should be open on Sunday.

Clasen's has been a long-time family favorite! Their breads and quiche cannot be beat and they always have amazing gift options for the holidays. Wish they would have Sunday weekend hours but it's worth the effort to plan your schedule around it!

I've always gone here for their breads, which never ceases to blow me away, but recently learned they also do birthday cakes. Little did I expect their cakes to be as good as the other breads and pastries, but once again I was taken aback by the quality and taste of the product they provided me. As a long time, consistent customer, I find it amazing I can still be surprised by the goods they create. If you have not been, and are considering going, I strongly urge you to give it a try.

If you like fresh baked goods this is the place for you. They always have something to sample. All sorts of old style baked delicious treats. But nothing healthy whatsoever. If you go around the holidays they usually have samples of everything in the store. I went in around Christmas and I must have eaten a pound of samples. My wife had to roll me out. I'm still sick thinking about my total loss of control with the samples. I would avoid taking kids because good luck stopping them from eating their weight in samples. My 4 year had a major sugar high and basically ran half a mile home afterward. The kid usually doesn't even like to walk.

We drove an hour and a half to finally visit Clasen's Bakery. It was worth every bit of the drive. Our main goal was to try their Christmas Stollen. It's excellent, very similar to what my German mom used to make. We bought a whole bag full of cookies, breads, marzipan, etc. everything is delicious. Their customer service is amazing. One of the items that we purchased did not make it into our bag. We didn't know until we got home that it was missing. I contacted the store and they immediately sent out a replacement via UPS. It just doesn't get better than this!

Good quality. Id like to try more of the breads. Tiramisu was a nice treat to celebrate my brothers exams. I still feel it's rather expensive and I have few reasons to spend that kind of money.

Great bakery with all the fixings from desserts to bread to quiches! The ham and cheese croissants are a personal favorite.

Not only are their morning buns to die for, clasens bread doesn't miss! I only buy their baguettes. Cakes, Danishes, Quiches, cookies, chocolate, and all kinds of treats, it's all high quality and very well made!! I highly recommend this place over any bakery's in the area.

First time visiting this famous bakery. I see ads in the paper for it all the time. The selection was amazing. I was told, since COVID, everything is now Pre-packaged... so I left with a pile of plastic in addition to my baked goods (and chocolate wafers). We got bread, baked pretzel bread sticks, pecan buns and chocolate wafers later on a Saturday morning. Everything had great flavors, but the bread and the baked-pretzel were a tad dryer than we personally prefer. On Sunday the leftover baked pretzel stick had aged too much for our liking, and even melted butter couldn't save it. Next time I'll buy less baked goods and have it eaten all on the day of purchase. I've been told I should have purchased croissants and buns-- items that are always top sellers. Next time!

I can't understand the lack of bakeries in this town. It's not that they don't exist, as they can be found. But finding a baker that can offer a top notch rustic crusty Italian loaf seems to be as evasive as a cockroach in an exterminators kitchen. This place, like seemingly every bakery fails this one item. All the French breads and twisty breads and dinner rolls and even some cakes. If this place, a rocks throw off my daily travels, could offer the one item I desire, I'd be a daily visitor.

Clasen's is the cutest bakery with amazing tortes, croissants, and other seasonal offerings that are definitely worth checking out! This has been my family's go-to place for birthday cakes for the last decade. Highly recommend the Signature Chocolate Torte for chocolate lovers. The truffle torte is very popular as well. I love visiting Clasen's around Easter/Christmas. Definitely try the Pfeffernüsse - which are heavenly!

Outrageous prices ...almost $6 for a croissant? There has to be more affordable bakeries around. I guess you can go there for the supposed authentic "German" bakery feel. A few cutesy cheesy decos and European prices. With prices like this, it's more of a rare treat than a regular bakery for most people. Mediocre customer service too

Love this place! Middleton/Madison staple. High quality and always fresh. The Staff is very nice and helpful.

I took my grandmother to this bakery to redeem an e-gift card that was sent from her daughter from across the country. After picking out several items, the cashier informed me that gift cards are only redeemable online, not in-store. They would not do anything about it or allow us to use it in store. This was very disappointing and unprofessional for a well established business. My 85 year old grandmother certainly will not be ordering from their Shopify store because I mean come on she's old. In this day of electronic transactions, it should be seamless (and frankly easier) to purchase in store.

Everything is delicious and made fresh daily. Some of their stuff is a bit pricey. $9.00 for banana bread. I did get some really good grain bread buy 1 get 1 free for $6.00. I love their breads They have a large selection to choose from. Their cookies and sweet rolls are good, they do run out near the end of the day. They have free coffee. There are picnic tables outside.

Amazing pastries. Super clean store. Very nice people. Holidays are an absolutely wonderful time to go in and visit. The store is abuzz with tons of seasonal things. There are often samples to try and a cool house in the back of the store for kids. A really special place to go visit. Plus its locally owned and I like to support that kind of business.

Never been there, but do buy their fruitcake at Christmas time from Metcalf's in Wauwatosa. Best available in the Milwaukee area. It's $20 for a small cake, but that's all your doctor is going to let you eat this Christmas!

We bought $54.00 worth of their products. When we came home and pulled the sales slip out of the bag, it read simply $54.5 Absolutely nothing was itemized! That is the last time I will go to Clasen's. There are plenty of other bakeries in Madison.

These are the desserts of my youth. For years my parents and I would drive 2 hours to another "konditorei" in chicago called Lutzs. That family sold a year after they made my wedding cake and the new owners modified things in the wrong direction. After moving here, I came across this place by accident. Their Black Forest torte is very good, close to what I would expect. Their rum balls don't look anything like what I've had in the past here or in Germany but they taste amazingly similar and are excellent. Lastly, their marzipan horn cookie dipped in dark chocolate was the best cookie I have ever eaten. Ever. I'm glad they are on the other side of Madison or I would be as big as a house.

This is a must stop when we are in the area. 3 weeks ago we stopped in & I was surprised to see fruitcake out already. Brought on back to Green Bay for my mom & she is loving it! Also the morning buns are to die for!

Almost every year we make a pilgrimage from Chicago to Madison Wisconsin for their marzipan and other holiday delights! The most amazing bakery selection we have ever seen.

Stopped by to buy a gift for a client. I was welcomed by friendly staff and beautiful displays. The samples won me over. I bought the gift and also some cookies for my office, home and an almond croissant for myself. Holy cow.. The texture, Buttery goodness and filling were perfection. I see that people posted about the cost, you get what you pay for you. High quality natural ingredients and the time to bake from scratch cost a bit more but I thought it was all well worth it. Outstanding quality.

my family loves this place !! i got a chocolate croissant today and it was amazing . great atmosphere and always has the best baked goods :)

Yum yum yum! If you want authentic German bakery goods this is the place for you! Super kind staff and delicious goodys! One of the best bakeries in town !

I have shopped here for about 2 yrs now. The quality is fairly consistent and so is the high price. =P The selection is wide, and during holidays, they push out special desert cakes. I have yet to try their bread and chocolates though. Things I've tried: Candied pecan cookie, chocolated-coated mascarpone cookie, morning bun, almond croissant, French cheese braids, chocolate truffle cake, etc. The big pluses are the right amount of butter and sugar in their pastries. It is never too sweet or too oily. The right use of butter also gives a desirable texture as well. The cakes have very fine layering (4 layers over 2.5in height), which makes the flavors of the cream blends very well with the cakes when you warm it up to room temperature.

It was my German professor who first introduced me to this place. During my course works, a very nice and smart professor whose class I took last year, frequently brought some German chocolate cakes to our class! Of course, we loved them! No offense to anyone who likes overly sweet stuff, the cakes from this European bakery are not sugary; they're just sufficiently sweet! This dear professor continued to bring not only the delish cakes, but also some Christmas sweets, also from the same bakery! and again, I fell for them. After interviewing my dear professor, I learned about this place and she gave me a very food review. Too bad, it took me almost a year to finally give this place a try! On one chilly Saturday morning, I drove myself to Middleton only to treat myself some sweet breakfast! Arriving at around 10AM, I found myself astonished: the bakery is so spacious and has lots of variety! What do you need for breakfast? You name it, and they have it! Breads, cakes, sweets, croissants, among other stuff are for you to savor! Two birthday cakes for my dear friends have been ordered from here and they both loved it very much: "Thank you, Nelly! It was a very good choice." And everyone devoured the cake happily :) Come here for some delicious, not too sweet cakes and sweets! You'll fall for them at the first bite :D. Trust me on this! :D

After spending a month in Europe, I was very excited to come back to Madison and rediscover Clasen's European Bakery. Though the shop is about ten times bigger than any bakery in Europe, you can find some pretty authenic goods, and the kitchen is said to be staffed by German master bakers. Of course, nothing tasted quite the same as the real European thing, and you are sure to find some pretty standard American bakery there as well. Clasen's doesn't look like too much when you first walk in, but who cares when you have a warehouse of good to gawk at? There are shelves and shelves full of cookies, desserts, breads, sweetbreads, etc! Everything I've tried is quality and very fresh. Be sure to come early for the best selection. Prices are decent, but the staff can be grumpy. There is ususally a sale or special deal to look for on one of the store's front tables, and a wide selection of holiday items. Also don't miss the sampling area near the back.

My husband says that the chocolate on the chocolate danish is over kill, but what does he know? THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE, if you feel that way, you can give your chocolate to me. Clasen's has fabulous chocolates. I like their crispy, chocolaty butterfly wings. My favorite part about Clasen's is all of the samples. I tell my husband that I NEED to try all seven types of cookies, they're good for me, I swear. Plus I am more inclined to buy some and that makes me and them happy. (my Grandparents are German immigrants that reside in Indiana and all through my childhood, I would bring them sourdough rye loafs. They appreciated the bread, I appreciated the winter gingerbread house I could play in. )

Love the selection but INSANELY EXPENSIVE!!!!! Seriously, I have never seen prices this high for pastries and I just came back from France. I suggest you get in on all the free samples, grab a cup of free coffee and call it good. Sheeeesh.

One of the top bakeries in Madison. While their breads are solid, I feel their cakes and tortes are some of the best. Always a creature of habit, I special order my favorite: Lemon poppyseed with raspberry preserve filling and a lemon buttercream frosting. A perfect balance of richness and sweetness.

This one is a big fail. After having been told numerous times that I had to go to Clasen's Bakery, I finally went. What I found was a large room filled with unappetizing, boring baked goods. Nothing in here did I want, or have any desire to try. There were loaves of bread, but the selection is better at Whole Foods or Willy Street Co-op. The cookies had the panache and flair of the garbage that is sold in Starbucks. Chocolate chip, peanut butter, sugar? What is so European about any of this? Greenjim H said about high prices? I am not sure what he bought, I saw nothing that would be classified as high priced. The pastries were as boring as the cookies, danish, morning bun? I don't know how this classifies as a European bakery. This is an average bakery, in a very far out of the way place. I am sure there are better places to go to grab a loaf of bread and a cookie.

On very short notice, I called Clasen's Bakery looking for a Black Forest Torte or something similar for my husband's birthday (it is his favorite dessert). They had one but it was frozen. They offered to take it out of the freezer and hold for me as it would be about 3 hours before I could get to the bakery to pick it up. This worked out perfectly for us to enjoy the treat later in the evening on his birthday! The torte itself was delicious. Even my kids (normally very picky) enjoyed it! Thanks Clasen's for making the birthday celebration a hit!

I was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful selection of candies, cookies, pastries, bread to be found here! All fresh and ready to eat. Staff was very helpful and professional and friendly. Place was bright and clean. A mouth-watering experience! Already looking forward to my next visit.

Sorry, there's no way a croissant is worth $4.49 or a scrawny morning bun is worth $3.29. You would have to be a moron to pay those prices. Go to Greenbush Bakery, twice as good at 1/3 the price.

Clasen's bakery is one of my top 3 favorite bakeries in Madison. The torte's are to die for, and they always have lots of samples to try. The cakes are AMAZING and the staff is friendly and helpful, despite how busy this place usually is. The pumpernickel bread is out of this world. Treat yourself and head over to Clasen's!

Nice bakery with good variety of bakery items. Their sales are a good deal. Just bought 2 packages of morning buns for $6.00. The chocolates are good. I would love to see an entire section of gluten free breads and bakery items. They'd make a lot of money if they did!

It was near my birthday, I was in the area, and I wanted a croissant. It wasn't as good as I had hoped. I like my croissants light, buttery, and flakey. A nice exterior with a good "bite" to it is a must. Sadly, my croissant was none of these things. It was doughy and heavy. I wasn't pleased with it. Before the disappointment of the croissant, I managed to get a simple of a brownie they had on special. The brownie was good. Not life changing, not memorable, jut good. Unfortunately, "Good" does not bring me back into places too often, and especially when things are overpriced.