Sweet Lady Jane

"I'll take this slice, thanks"

Sweet Lady Jane
1631 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403
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Type: Cafe, Late Night
Category: Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert
Company: Date, Friends, Family, Visitors
Cost: $7.50+/slice

Quick-Rec: Cake for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Yes, please. SLJ is open Sunday-Wed, 6:30am to 10:00pm and Thurs-Sat, 6:30am to 11pm, which means you can eat dessert first at pretty much any hour of the day.

OTC Tip: If you want anything (i.e. your slice of pie) a la mode, you will have to BYO - Jane offers pretty much everything except for ice cream, and that's not going to change.

Review:
"Why are you taking pictures of my cakes?" a cheery gentleman inquires boisterously as I aim my camera at his cake case.
"Because...I love them" I gush. He nods. Good answer, I note, and thankfully - apparently, I had just met Paul, the GM of SLJ on Montana (the original location is in WeHo).

I've been a SLJ customer for years. Taking a hiatus here and there due to my varying schedule and the less-than desirable commute from West LA to WeHo during the collision of evening traffic and prime dessert time, despite everything SLJ has maintained its spot in my heart as THE cakery for four reasons:

1. Slices of high-end cake, deli-style: along with availability of the typical bakery fare (think: whole cakes, cookies, breads, tarts, muffins) at all hours, SLJ notoriously sells slices of boutique-quality cake, pie, trifle, etc. Sure, you say, aren't there other places (like Susie Cakes) that does the same thing..?

2....Oh, but all those bakeries aren't open until 10pm during the week and 11pm during the weekend. Yep, so just when are finishing a late dinner or getting home from that post-work run, SLJ isn't just closing on you - in fact, they are staying open late just for you.

3. The staff. During my just-post-collegiate days when I could put down a slice and a half or so of cake in one sitting, the servers at SLJ WeHo would give us the "end piece" just so they could witness the sugared gluttony, and sometimes even plunk themselves down and join us with a cup of tea and sugar-centered banter. The smiling faces at SLJ on Montana are no different.

4. And now: SO CLOSE TO HOME. With the opening of SLJ on Montana in Santa Monica, I can now fuel my stamina for everything sweet for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert - all within ten minutes of my abode. I'm so happy it fits in to my schedule again - which will be about the only thing I fit in to within a month's time, guaranteed.

Back to Paul, the GM of SLJ on Montana. Not only was he an absolute delight to ensnare in the "What's your favorite...Have you had the Trifle? The Almond Roca?" frequent-customer game, but despite refusing to join me for a picture, he indulged my "Will you take a picture of me with my cake.." plea and even knocked it up a notch by handing me the cake from which it came (Chocolate Strawberry) to truly bring out the rose in my cheeks.

Luckily, I didn't drop anything, so our (I'm sure, brief) parting was not only amicable, but so fabulous that I pledged to tell every single person I came in to contact with there after (this morning) to go to Sweet Lady Jane. No excuses, it's open late! And tell Paul I say "Hi, XOXOXO."