I have been to many bakeries in my lifetime, many wonderful ones located in cities like San Juan, Madrid, Rome, Paris, Brussels, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Washington, DC, among others. I have truly enjoyed dining in each and every one of them. But Bread Craft, located in the Star City of Roanoke, is in a class of its own. After being ranked 4th among Yelp's Top 50 Most Prolific Elites of 2025, a distinction recognizing my consistent community engagement and high-quality contributions, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants, businesses, and establishments, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to go back and write follow-up reviews on those places that impressed me the most during 2025, and Bread Craft Bakery, located in Downtown Roanoke, is the perfect example of one of them. Bread Craft is a premier, artisan European-style bakery established in 2006 by owner Alex Eliades, who besides having a passion for baking, has over 25 years of baking experience, and leads the bakery focusing on traditional slow-fermentation techniques. The bakery is known for its high-quality, scratch-made sourdough, pastries, and Croissants. It evolved from a wholesale operation into a popular 6,000 square foot café on Church Avenue, also supplying local restaurants. The bakery specializes in Franch and German-style baking, utilizing sourdough as a natural leavener. It servers breakfast and lunch items, including sandwiches, salads, and some creative breakfast egg entrées. They are open Wednesdays through Sundays from 8:00AM - 2:00PM and are well known for running out of items before the end of the day. For this review I visited the Bakery / Café for breakfast on two consecutive Wednesdays. The first Wednesday I arrived too late to be able to have their Chorizo & Eggs Cocotte from their Breakfast menu. Breakfast is only served until noon, and I found out about this on that day. So instead I had a Cheese Danish and a house-made Mocha Coffee. Both items were delicious. On the second Wednesday I arrived much earlier for breakfast. Luckily, right before a whole rush of customers arriving to place Take-out orders. As soon as I walked inside I immediately felt comfortable with its clean and contemporary architectural design and decor, and an exposed red brick wall that gave it a warm ambiance. One can see that the owner spent a substantial amount in renovating the place when they moved here, and that they took good care of it, because it looked as if it had just opened for the very first time yesterday. While I was looking over all the baked items they had, I received a friendly greeting and warm welcome from a lady behind the counter who seemed to be the manager and took my order. To start I ordered a Chorizo Quiche which happened to be the Quiche of the day, and a house-made Mocha Coffee. Then since I was planning to turn this into a Brunch, for my main entrée I ordered their Chorizo Cocotte from the Breakfast menu. And for dessert I had a Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant that was simply irresistible. Everything tasted amazingly delicious, especially since I love Chorizo. The Quiche had an amazing crust with the eggs inside cooked with the perfect amount of chorizo. The Chorizo Cocotte was served in an elongated bowl with two poached eggs over Spanish sausage, accompanied by three slices of freshly made Baguette. And if all this wasn't enough, the Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant was the perfect ending dessert to this fabulous put together Brunch. Oh and the coffee was the best of the best. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. What an outstanding dining experience I just had at Bread Craft. Wonderful ambiance, amazing food, and extraordinary customer service. I highly recommend this Bakery/Café whenever you're in the area. I'm absolutely certain it will become one of your favorites bakery. read more

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10 out of 10 recommend! This place has the best pastries and bread in all of Roanoke! If you're thinking about trying it, do it! You will not be disappointed! Best almond croissant I've ever had. I am obsessed with the sour dough. They usually have daily specials but you need to get there early (before 10am) to try one before they sell out, especially on the weekend. The have a refurbished old cigarette vending machine in the front, ask the front desk for a token to get a piece of art from it! Tokens are $5 and well worth it and a fun activity! They stock the machine with little pieces of art work from local / regional artists. read more

Bread Craft - Campagne sourdough - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

best coffee, pastries, and service in town! the art vending machine is also super cool. read more

Bread Craft - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

This is an unfortunate review to write with so many rave reviews. However, it's a one off experience with me being out of town. I specifically targeted Bread Craft with its stellar reviews. I parked off street which was free. The business has a small sign and larger one over the entry. The walk up was debris free. The interior was somewhat compact, but a few tables were available for eat in which I planned. I'm confident they have a heavy takeout business with bakery items. The case of baked goods looked fantastic! However, I had my eye on their Eggs Florentine which can be difficult to find on a menu. Ordering is by counter and I found the woman to be friendly. I ordered the Eggs Florentine and coffee and was given a mug for self serve pour and a table number. I thought the bill was affordable, With few customers and not had anything to eat at 1 PM I hoped for them to roll out my dish quickly. About 20 minutes went by and a nearby table received their order. However, just moments later the waitress realized her mistake, but it was too late. She gave my order to another table that took a bite. The waitress apologized, but this point I was starved. No offer of a pastry etc. Unfortunately the coffee was lukewarm and not tasty. A manager I believe said hello, but no apology if he even knew. I mean the place is small of course he did. Another 20 minutes or so and my food hit the table with no additional apology or again offer of pastry etc. Even if it was to go. On the bright side my eggs Florentine dish was amazing! It saved the review from going under water. I switched coffee to the dark roast which was hot, but still not tasty. I would not return or recommend. 2.5 rounding up with a fantastic eggs dish. read more

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Food was really good! We got the turkey pesto sandwich and the egg cocotte. We did end up waiting almost 30mins for our food and had to ask the server to check on it but was worth the wait! read more

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Bread Craft has been on my bucket list for a while, while the coffee didn't knock my socks off the pastries were out of this world, I loved their selection and the rotation of their menu, we came in early on a Sunday and it was lively and welcoming. We will definitely be back read more

Serving breakfast and brunch, this trendy bakery in the heart of downtown Roanoke has everything you would expect - lots of coffee, lots things labeled 'milk' because they are white fluids, and complex confectionaries that are oh so tasty. Everything was easy clean and fast. I do kind of wish they had a better selection of non-coffee beverages, but that's just me. read more

Bread Craft - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

Understated bakery with large seating area and cafe. Simple coffee and teas offered alongside artisan baked goods. Friendly and quick service. Clean bathrooms. You might have to wait in a small line to pay. Bread items and cookies are always good, go early as they often sell out of their most sought after items. These items are delicious but they do cost. 4 items runs about $20 and a small box of Christmas cookies sells for $10.50. read more

Bread Craft - Spinach and Feta Croissant and Ginger Bread Cookie - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

This bakery is on a downtown side street that is one way and has a short parking limit, so it is reasonably well suited for a quick stop. The spread they had out featured more non-vegetarian items than most bakeries, but on the sweeter side I still did not have any problem finding something. I landed an impressive-looking if messy croissant with cream and almonds which was decadent and filling. I did not have need of a loaf but they have some good varieties that I would consider coming back for. read more

Bread Craft - Croissant - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

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Excellent Mother's Day breakfast. Unique dishes that took a while, but the quality, tastes and presentations were all worth the wait. Tiarmasu French toast, farmer's omelette with mushrooms cheese and chives, and a chorizo poached eggs in a chèvre sauce. Loud rooms, a lot of echo, very stark decor and cold. But we were there for the food and were not disappointed. Highly recommended. Try it all! read more

Came by on a Wednesday and Thursday and there was a short line. We tried several of their treats such as the chocolate croissant, strawberry bostock, and banana pudding pastry. Everything was so delicious! The pastries they have available do change every so often. The staff were also super nice and friendly. There are also several tables for you to sit down and enjoy! read more

Bread Craft - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

I'm new to the area so I was really excited to find a bakery with great bread and food. There is just something so much better about French Toast from a place that's makes the bread. It was Absolutely delicious. I was surprised to see it was 3 slices. Hardly needed the syrup. We were all really happy with our choices for brunch. And we shared some good cookies as well. Everyone behind the counter was really friendly. And we loved finding an Art-o-mat machine. I'll be back for bread to take home and that French Toast. read more

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Was in town for a few days hiking. Hit this place up every morning. The sandwiches were so fresh and so good! I got the Smoked Salmon Sandwich delicious. read more

Bread Craft - Fresh Smoked Salmon - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

Friendly service, delicious pastries and coffee. We went on a Saturday morning. At first it was crowded and there was no space for my group of 5 but then one of the workers slid open these panels to reveal a larger back room with more tables and seating so we were able to get a booth for our group. They gave us a table number and brought our plates of food to our table but for drinks they call out your number and you pick it up at the counter. Lots of families with kids and young people getting delicious morning bite. Only critique is the French press coffee was weak. read more

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AJ and Autumn are my favorite!! They're both so sweet and fun and help me figure out what I should get haha! The pastries are always amazing and their coffee is great! I love coming here to work remotely - the vibes are warm and cozy! read more

The food! The ambience!! The PASTRIES!! I love this place and recommend it to everyone. There are a decent amount of pastry options and a fair amount of coffee options too. I really like this place and it has such a nice ambience. read more

Loved everything we had! The almond milk lattes were fabulous and the focaccia Florentine that I ordered was mouth watering. Full of juicy sun dried tomatoes. My Husband ordered the lox baguette and he loved every bite. We will definitely be back. read more

Wow! We've been hearing folks rave about Bread Craft and finally decided to give it a try. So glad we did. Everything we ordered was awesome! read more

The staff was rude, I didn't leave a tip because I ordered it to go, but I saw the staff looking at the screen and then whispering something to the person who does the coffee. It was the most expensive and worst coffee I have ever had. This place is overrated and the staff only cares if you give them a tip. Fyi I used to work as a server and I never behaved like this whenever it was a pickup order. Super Caro y la gente del staff es súper ruda, no deje tip y vi que estaban chismeando acerca de eso. Luego me entregaron un café súper malo y costoso. read more

Bread Craft - Macchiato - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

Food 8 + ambiance 4 + value 8 + service 4 = overall 6.9 / 10 (good) Look, the "Chorizo & Eggs Cocette" ($10.00) was truly delicious from top to bottom. Perfectly poached eggs, chorizo you think is too spicy, but then all the broth for dipping with delicious baguette, to take the edge off. I thought it would be the pastries that would be this place on my map. But it was the chorizo breakfast dish. Éclair ($4.15) was cold from the fridge (kind of par for the course in my éclair experiences in recent years) but decent. Not too soggy. The chocolate croissant ($3.85) was billowy and beautiful, nice flavors and acceptably flaky. It's a sky-high ceiling, cacophonous kind of cave space with hard surfaces. Farmhouse meets kinda Parisian. read more

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Wonderful, delicious pastries!!! I don't know of any other place in Roanoke where you can find such amazing pastries. If you haven't tried them yet, you should check them out! read more

I'm into it. You can taste the effort and dedication. I've had cinnamon roll, baguette, a ham and cheese pastry and a croissant. All excellent. The staff are friendly and courteous, the prices are reasonable, and it's clean and tasteful inside. I am about to return once again this morning to grab breakfast and a coffee. Enjoy some yourselves! read more

Dear Roanoke, & all points in a 100 mile circumference, why aren't you flooding these folks' doors buying them out by 9-AM? You'd be in a long line in RVA for this level of artisan baking. Incredible breads, pastries, coffee drinks, in a safe, easy parking downtown area. Like many wonderful places I'm finding in Roanoke, they use these older buildings with brick facades well. Very cool tables, ambiance, friendly staff, & vibes. Support places like this please. read more

The place does not disappoint! The portions are good and the prices are great and I always enjoy coming here for Brunch. The food is always delicious as well and the staff is friendly as well. Next time I go back I will have to try their baked goods! read more

Love everything about this place! Food is amazing and fresh. Always good service, but you bestthere early or the best pastries are sold out.

Amazing breakfast bakery! Husband and daughter had the unbelievably good bienenstich croissant. I had the poached eggs with chorizo cream sauce which was so yummy! The folks behind the counter were so sweet and made us all smile. Just go, you won't be disappointed! read more

Bread Craft - Chorizo & Eggs Cocotte - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

This place is a gem! I was looking for a place to pick up some bread to bring with us to visit family for Christmas in an area without any good bakeries. I got a baguette wreath, traditional baguette, country loaf, 2 seasonal scones and 2 double chocolate cookies. Cute place with great service from friendly employees. The scones were ENORMOUS and so so good! I don't even love scones that much but these were terrific. Same with the double chocolate cookies - huge & delicious. Everybody loved and quickly devoured the baguette wreath. Wish I'd bought 2! The country bread was great too. We will definitely be back on future trips. Bonus: A selection of cute earrings and large display of handmade greeting cards. Love this place! read more

As you can see, we got a little of everything. Each pastry was phenomenal!! They are clearly experts at light, fluffy, buttery breads. The layers of each croissant-style item were perfect. Many of them are topped with a glaze that's very creme brulee reminiscent that adds the right amount of sweetness and crunch. Even the tomato croissant was well-balanced. read more

Good, service, ambiance excellent-price steep. Love their salmon salad-dressings excellent. read more

Writing with a satisfied stomach... Wide range of pastries to choose from. I tried one sweet, and one savory. Both taste nice, but the quiche is not toasted fully, so it affects a little. Lemon Lavender is very interesting. Light sweetness. With stuffing. Cute look. Nice taste. Come in at 9am Saturday, the busiest time. Sitting area is clean and cute. Suitable for groups and individuals. Nice vibe. Also like the hot breakfast A LOT. The quality, quantity, and price just forms a perfect triangle. Would recommend a visit. read more

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Yeah this place is pretty good. Not much to say about it it's all just pretty well done. I think it's my favorite normal coffee downtown but I don't know it's just normal. they're pastries are probably where they're goated but I'm tryna watch my kcals so I haven't tried much. They're good tho, favorite grab and go breakfast for me. It's just good idk what you want me to say. read more

Everything I've ever eaten from here is exquisite! The pastries are so flaky, the pecan shortbread is so far and above more delicious than any other, and I keep craving the sandwich. The people all seem happy, they're helpful, and there's always plenty of people to help and serve you. It's a warm and inviting place. Love, love, love this place! read more

Lord, have mercy. I could stop there, but I won't. Everything, and I do mean everything, at Bread Craft is delicious. The French cheese omelette, which is devoid of cheese (it's true) is absolutely divine. The maple French toast? OMG! Add to this list the quiches, tarts, loaves of bread, and truffles, and you are getting the picture. In addition to amazing foods, Bread Craft offers great service and is conveniently located to accommodate the downtown crowd. The interior could be spruced up, but it's not so bad that it detracts from the experience. Bread Craft: yay!!! read more

Bread Craft - French Toast - Bakeries Near Me - Roanoke, Virginia

I am a pastry snob, and you will not find more delicious pastries and breads, or friendlier people anywhere. There is a reason they supply all the best restaurants in the area. So so delicious, and expertly crafted from scratch. Do yourself a favor and have their incredible croissants, and any of the pastries of the day. read more

This should have been so much better, but the atrocious service put me off. Let's start with what was not right: they dropped the ball by forget my order, then it took my walking over to the counter twice, after waiting for my side salad for about 15 minutes, for one of the staff to say ever so nonchalantly, "I'll check on it." Another thing that made me feel awful (for them) is that one of the staff who was right there making coffee and clearly knew I was standing there and even saw my reflection in the mirror, simply turned the other way. And this was the same staff I'd asked about the salad. The bacon and mushroom quiche was decent, and would have been great if only it had been heated up properly; it wasn't even warm, but cool. Here's the thing, Bread Craft. I think you have good products, but the appalling service today makes me feel like there's a group of people who cook and a whole different group of people delivering 'service' totally distanced from the products. I will not be coming back, but wish them well. read more

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This place was excellent! The eggs with chorizo were well cooked, and wel balanced in terms of heat and creamy. The baked goods are excellent. Really a notch above. read more

We genuinely enjoyed our experience. Staff was super nice. Cute ambiance. I had a ham and cheese croissant and my daughter had spinach feta croissant. The pastries were flaky and buttery. She enjoyed her hot chocolate and I had drip coffee which was good. Would definitely return! read more

Great food and service. but it can get a little busy in the late mornings. ;) we ordered the egg and chorizo cocotte (chorizo with an egg on top and bread on the side) and the peanut butter and jelly French toast. The French toast was *chef's kiss* read more

French Toast bussin Very cutesy, very cozy, very demure. Coffee good but nothing crazy.

Quality food wished they more choices and they had sold out before 11 The bread is delicious! We enjoyed our breakfast French Toast was to die for yum! read more