I really want to love this place, BUT they are not making it easy. It is a local bakery & coffee shop that supports local artisans and is part of the neighborhood fabric. However, I have been finding conditions (particularly outside tables) to be dirty and not well attended. And, lattes are only lukewarm. I am not one for scalding coffee, but it should be hot. Baked items and lunches continue to be delicious and well presented. Prices are fair and the setting is comfortable, if only it was a bit cleaner. Perhaps most disappointing for a local establishment, several of the employees are not particularly friendly and do not listen very well to the requests of patrons. I suppose dismissive is the feeling I am given. I visit Bread Furst twice per week and have been dismayed by these problems. After six consecutive mediocre to poor experiences, today I looked to advise a manager. But, I could not identify who was in charge and the employee I asked to steer me gave the impression I was unwelcome. I am sorry to see such a trend and really hope it will be reversed. read more

TBH I wanted to give 3 stars but that wouldn't be fair because this place has HANDMADE bagels. One star just for uping the ante. I appreciate anything handmade with skill and care. I originally ordered the Bahn Mi breakfast sandwich but they were out, so I opted for a bagel which seemed more appropriate anyway. The have a legit barista, so consider getting a drink if you visit. The drink prices are reasonable, cheaper than Starbucks (e.g. Less than $5). The bagel, ehhh you pay for the love hey put into it. $3.35 for a sesame bagel (all they had left, loaded with sesame seeds!) with vegetable cream cheese. Only thing about the bagel: don't expect soft and chewy. The bagel was thinner than most I had, with a huge hole in the middle, and crispy on the outside. read more

Bread Furst - Bakeries Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Best bread in town. Their sourdough levain loaf has everything a bread junkie could want. All it takes is a quick look around to realize that you are in the gifted hands of a master baker. read more

I came in on Father's Day 2017 for a solo breakfast. The line was SO long, and it seemed chaotic/very loud. I was hoping for a relaxing latte and pastry, but I felt overwhelmed. The latte tasted burnt and bitter--overroasted espresso beans, I guess. I got a croissant, which was incredibly flaky and delicious. Definitely the highlight of my experience. I also got a slice of the vegetable frittata, which I probably wouldn't do again. It wasn't particularly bad--I would say it was just OK. One weird thing is that they put the cheese on after the frittata comes out of the oven, so you just get some grated cheddar on top of your frittata slice--i.e. not melted. The ambiance was very chaotic and loud. They have outdoor seating, but it was just too hot outside. I think in the future I would get pastries to take home and make my own coffee. I'd definitely like to come back and try some of their sweet pastries--their doughnuts look amazing, as does the bostock Also, a really cool touch is that you can see into their kitchen--it's not an open kitchen, but there are windows. It's fun to watch them kneading, baking, etc. read more

Really nice coffee shop. Ice coffee was good but nothing to write home about. The food was excellent and they had a stunning array of options. I and a sausage and fog scone that was a real gem. Would go back if I was in the area again. read more

came here on sunday around noon, and the seating space was packed, but the ordering line wasn't too bad. we stopped by here on the way to the zoo. the ham and cheese biscuit is really good, especially when it is still hot and fresh. the biscuit is really buttery, but not overly oily also got the strawberry pie, really loved the crust, crispy and sweet. the filling is great too, the sourness of the strawberry complemented the crust well read more

Went for lunch today, and checked Yelp first. Surprised by the amount of negative reviews. I found bread furst to be a welcoming place. I had arrived as the last sandwich was scooped off the display plate. I was immediately reassured that if I would be willing to wait a few minutes there would be more made. In my 5 min wait I was asked if I needed help by every passing employee with kindness. Once my sandwich was ready it was rushed to me and placed in a bag, per my request. It was delicious. So we're the cookies! Looking forward to the baguette tonight. The sandwich was pulled pork and it was flavorful, and the bread was perfect. Go already. Wait your turn and enjoy your carbs. Life is short. read more

It's in a perfect location....if your getting your car wash you can come right next door and get a snack and chat with the workers who are always having a good day....everything here is made fresh with extra love and care....they have a rotating menu but I always make it a goal to try something new...pass on the donut but not the bagels or the chocolate chip cookie. Plenty of seating to sit back and relax but this place does get a little busy at times so be prepared to be patient. However, with all that said I have not had a bad experience yet and will continue to stop and support this place. read more

Amazing food held hostage by bad management and rude customer service. Sadly, the "reorganized" bakery is even more of a mess than it was before, which is hard to believe. Pop in to get a wonderful baguette, bagel, or dessert and find that you can't pay for baked goods until the 5 customers in front of you, between you and the only cashier, negotiate the type and amount of several antipasti they are ordering. Despite lots of mostly male, rude staff hanging around and chatting, even as those 5 customers finally approach the lone cashier, expect at least a 5-10 minute wait to pay in a non-peak time. Should one of the 5 order a coffee because the one cashier has to stop and fill that order too. Don't even think about subjecting yourself to a peak time like lunch or weekends. Only masochist foodies can tolerate the time and treatment here. read more

Do not go on the weekends. Food - 4 (barely) - Pretty much everything is left in the oven a minute too long and their menu is limited. This bakery does not offer standard brunch fair and often runs out of common foods. They will run out of home fries by 10:30am on a Sunday. Price - 3.5 - Overpriced for what you get, not terribly unreasonable Service/Organization - 1 - The space is terribly utilized and horribly disorganized. There is a pinch point so you have to push past people. There is no formal line so no one knows where to order versus where to pay. They take names, not numbers. Half the time your order will not be made, half the time someone else will take your order. When you ask them about it they might make it again; however, they will put your order at the back of the line. I waited 20 mins total to get my sandwich (no substitutions, 10:30am on a Sunday). I had to ask for it twice after I ordered and paid for it before they would make it for me. read more

Good food, good coffee. I've been trying to think of a way to make the ordering/payment/pickup process worse. Very difficult to imagine. 1 idea: Blast rap music. Or the sounds of jackhammers. read more

My boyfriend & I went here for the first time last Sunday. We were waiting in line and we asked the gentleman taking our orders - his name was John - what we should order given it was our first time there. He responded with "well welcome to the neighborhood, we are so excited to have you here! He proceeded to tell us about the messy eggs, ham & cheese sandwich and the pumpkin pie. We ordered the messy eggs & ham & cheese and he says 'the order is on me." Then he not only bought our meal, but he hand delivered it - and gave us a free sample of 2 other croissants. John then talked with us - asked us about DC, how we liked it..etc. There was a line out the door, but he showed us he personally cared that we were there. My boyfriend and I looked at each other after John left with our mouths dropped - we literally couldn't believe the service we just received - we have never had better. And not only was the service out of this world, but the environment of the place is great - very 'neighboorhoody' and the food was amazing. The messy eggs are to die for - and actually the best part is the croissant. If you haven't been here my only advice is GOOOO! NOW! Also - I really hope the owner / manager of Bread Furst reads these reviews because John receives so much credit. He made our experiance so I hope he gets credit! read more

Have been there several times and have introduced many friends to it. Definitely the best selection ever. The Biscotti is perfect. Love the peanut soup! Now I make it a point to stop whenever possible. read more

I used to frequent this bakery until the owner came over to me and kicked me out for studying at a table. He said only people who are there to sit and chat are welcome to stay. I won't be going here anymore, food was never great, but such unwelcome behavior by an establishment is disappointing. read more

I came here last week and was impressed by their Montreal bagels and cute decor; however, the woman taking my order was quite rude and snarky. I still decided to place my challah order with them for my break-fast last night. Upon my arrival yesterday afternoon, my order was no where to be found so they picked two challahs off the shelf for me, which had me irritated already. One challah had sesame seeds and one looked completely plain, although my order was for 1 plain, 1 raisin. I had THREE sales people tell me the one that looked completely plain had raisins on the inside. After I received only positive confirmations to my numerous "are you completely positive this is raisin?" I paid and left. When it was time to eat, we broke the challah- and shocker....the challah had not one raisin. You can only imagine the utter embarrassment I felt as a host last night. And may I add that the challah was over cooked and dry. Bread Furst needs to get organized and get educated. read more

Bread Furst - This is what they told me is their raisin challah... - Bakeries Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I got off at the Van Ness Metro for the first time ever, and thus I finally walked by Bread Furst for the first time ever. Let's just say I don't think I've been missing out on anything. First, the employees don't seem to know anything about the baked goods they are selling. I heard two employees argue about whether a pie was filled with cherry or strawberry. In addition to that, some guy in front of me in line was about to purchase a lemon meringue pie. When they said his total was $7, he said he thought that it was $3, but they said that was probably for the lemongrass bar, though he said an employee told him the pie was $3. So confusing... As far as the taste of the baked goods, I had a sesame seed bagel. It was hard and burnt. I slightly expected it to be hard at 3 pm in the afternoon, but I was hoping maybe they'd surprise me. I like the taste of burnt food at a BBQ, not in my bagel... I also had a slice of chocolate cake. It was more brownie or fudge like than cake like. It was good, but wasn't really the taste or texture I was hoping for. To sum up, the cake was good enough, but the bagel and staff members were not, so I don't plan to ever walk in here again. read more

Best bakery I've ever dined in. They know how to make real bread and pastry. You can see them bake fresh bread daily. Their lunch dishes are all really good. So glad that this is in my neighborhood. read more

From all the recommendations and all the hype, I thought this would be a straightforward 5 stars. But while the baguette is traditional perfection, for some reason I prefer Fresh Baguette. Bread Furst's is airier, less dense, wonderfully crunchy, freezes brilliantly, and again, technical perfection, but somehow not my favorite. Still a hell of a baguette. Chocolate chip cookies were good. Not great, but good. Donuts very interesting. A bit dense and chewy for me, but still, flavor and execution - as far as consistency and freshness goes - unsurpassable. Nice donut, if a bit of a non-traditional, old-world take. The place is a zoo on the weekends. One of the best bakeries in DC. Update: Tried some of the deli/brunch food selections and they were just fantastic. Hot roasted eggplant, potato and green bean salad, and barley, cabbage, pomegranate seed salad. Eggplant was delicious, roasted with tomatoes, straightforward, but nicely done. Potato salad great rendition. The kicker was the barley salad for me. Different, delicate, perfectly balanced, and again, delicious. Loved it. read more

When I saw Bread Furst being built, I was really excited to have a local bakery and coffee shop. When it finally opened, I put on my elastic pants and I was ready to eat. I skipped down Connecticut with smile of a kid on Christmas ready to tear into the glory that is a fresh local bakery. To my dismay, when I rolled up to Bread Furst, the situation was reminiscent of a Great Depression food line. Grumpy people were crammed together with minimal order and loud passive aggressive comments were being thrown around liberally. I patiently waited my turn to be served as more and more people crammed into the tight space. It was clear whoever designed the layout of the bakery was a fan of human suffering and enjoyed placing too many bottle necks at key points. I can say with 90% confidence that if a fire tore through the bakery, everyone would die because of the designer's sick sense of humor. Still being optimistic, I finally had the pleasure to order. I got a pork burrito with a chocolate chip cookie and a soda I grabbed while waiting with the Okies. The total was around $15. I don't mind paying a chunk of money for good food, and by the price I could only assume this was going to be an awesome lunch. My optimism turned to shambles when I took the first bite of that burrito. White rice, black beans, and a poor excuse for what could be called a small amount of pork. That first bite was one of the saddest things I've tasted in a long time. Calling this burrito bland is an insult to bland food. The $10 price tag was just insult to injury at this point. For that price, I should have gone to Chiptole but I guess some of us have pioneer into uncharted territory and I paid the price for that attitude. The only redeeming thing about my lunch excursion was the cookie. Despite it's $1.50 price tag for something smaller than my palm, it was pretty good. Worth the $1.50? Not really, but it was a better value than that POS burrito. Overall, I probably won't go back considering the absurd prices for suboptimal food. You can probably find me at Burger King next door actually paying reasonable prices for a bad meal. read more

Worst latte I've ever had and made by a guy who was as sour as their bread. I asked him to remake it and he scowled at me... Too bad, I really wanted to like this place. read more

Breadfurst is a super adorable bakery. It has a gorgeous atmosphere and I love the white tiles. However, the layout is difficult to navigate and my bagel with lox was iffy. With the layout, you can't tell what goods they have for sale while they are in line...which makes it difficult to order! Also, my bagel was burnt with a very small amount of lox. I usually go to Bethesda Bagels in Dupont where you receive a much larger amount of lox on a larger bagel. I would suggest they increase the amount of lox (especially since the sandwich is $8!) read more

OK, so I tried Bread Furst, the new bakery that just opened up 2 blocks from the Van Ness metro station (the area where I live and work). It's by Mark Furstenberg, who started Marvelous Market and BreadLine, and it's been hyped a lot on DonRockwell lately. (That's the *good* Rockwell.) It lives up to the hype. I managed to get some co-workers to go with me. When we got there they said baguettes were coming out of the oven in 10 minutes so we should stick around for them. (They try to have baguettes come out of the oven every four hours.) I ordered a baguette for the group, a loaf on "ancient grains" bread to bring home to my girlfriend tonight, and asked if they could do a cortado. They said no because they don't have the glassware, so I took a cappuccino instead. The cappuccino was good but very mild. (I got a Macchiato the next time and it was nice.) After about 15 minutes everyone had their food and drinks, so I asked after the baguettes and was told another 10 minutes. I conferred with the group and we decided that enough of us needed to get back to work that it wasn't worth waiting for the baguette, so I asked for a rain check. They said I could get a refund or just pick up a baguette tomorrow, but then the timer went off and the baguettes were ready. I am so glad we waited. Best baguette of my life. Steaming hot, our hands hurt tearing off pieces. About a third of a loaf was left when we got back to the office, so we ate it with olive oil. DC people, try this place. Out of towners, this should give you extra incentive to come visit. If they stay open late nights and weekends, then my life just got way better. read more

Food is great for the most part. But it seems they could really do something about their ordering procedures. Multiple visits have ended with me getting the wrong persons food or they got my order wrong. Kind of expensive for what you get, but that's DC and quality ingredients for you. Will post another review next time I go and hope to bump to a 5. read more

Bread over cooked Baguette over priced Too bad Mr Furstenberg no competition with the French bakers boulangeries your baguette is to small Robert weinrob read more

This bakery is awesome. I've come here for breakfast 3 times while visiting my college roommate and I have yet to be disappointed. The cappuccinos here are strong and flavorful... definitely wake you up in the morning. The parties are delicious, too. I have had the Chocolate croissant, buttermilk biscuit, and pecan sticky bun (I forget the exact name its called, but it starts with an "sp..."). The chocolate croissant is flaky, buttery, and not too sweet. While most conventional chocolate croissants come with 2 strips of chocolate in them, this one has 3. Bread Furst is doing it right. The biscuit is a bit dry, but good nonetheless. I feel like its maybe a whole wheat one? Not your typical biscuit, but good nonetheless. The pecan sticky bun is out of control delicious. How is this even a real thing?? Make sure to get it heated up. It is cinnamony, buttery, and perfectly sticky. I wish I would've gotten more, but alas, I got the last one they had. I have heard the monkey bread is great, too- I will have to try it next time i go! read more

Bread Furst - Bakeries Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Mark Furstenberg, the owner and whose name is humorously made pun of in Bread Furst, is truly a wizard of all things flour-based. They are not perfect. Their baked goods are quite expensive and the lines are really long with no real effort made to improve the flow of foot traffic. But they deserve a 5-star rating nonetheless. More on that later. Highlighting some of their pastries / breads: - Canele: Their canele is honestly out of this world. It's $4 for one and you could conceivably eat the entire thing in one bite, but nonetheless it is still the best pastry that I have had outside of Paris and $4 is a small price to pay for the happiness it brings. A canele is caramelized on the outside, giving it a crunchy and slightly sweet exterior while the inside is an insanely moist vanilla-rum cake, if you can call it that. Enough on the canele. Just do yourself a favor and get one, though word to the wise they don't start selling them until around 11am and are sold out by about 5pm so plan your trip accordingly. - Cinnamon buttons: These are the in-line candy bar equivalent of the bakery in that most people only buy them as a last second impulse thing. They're good though! Nice sugary-cinnamon flavor with a fluffy, light texture. - Chocolate croissant: The croissant was incredibly flaky and was a great complement to the chocolate. If they nailed the chocolate croissant, I'm sure they nail the regular croissant too though I haven't tried one yet. - Palladin loaf: One of their many famous breads, though I'm sure they're all amazing. This one had a nice, very crunchy exterior while remaining light and airy on the inside. I brought it to be paired with a soup when some of my friends and I were hanging out one night and it was a great complement. Next up on my to-try list of breads is their baguette, which I plan to eat alongside some mussels when the weather gets nice. They bake them every four hours and immediately sell them because baguettes aren't meant to sit on a shelf and become rock hard like most of them do here in the states. Returning to my thoughts on how I landed on the five-star rating: Some things are a bit off about this place. Another review on Yelp mentions this already, but the fact that the whole grain loaves are cheaper at Whole Foods ($5) than they are at the storefront ($7) screams price mismatch. Their coffee isn't the best, and while I've never tried their brunch food before it seems a step behind their breads and pastries. But that's the thing. Bread Furst was designed as the neighborhood bakery full of people that loved bread and loved pastries. They wanted more than to simply exist in the area, but to truly become a fixture of the community. And for every time I am taken aback by their prices, I walk by the storefront at midnight and see people toiling away making the next day's baked goods. Every time their service is sub-par, I remember during the 2016 Snowmageddon when some of their employees stayed at the Days Inn during the heart of the storm so they could walk over in the morning and open the bakery. Their blog is one of the most honest sources of reflection and through its writing, you can learn a lot about their desire to seek perfection in their work. If anyone from the Bread Furst team is reading this, thank you for your dedication - we notice and appreciate it here in Van Ness. How can I not give Bread Furst a top rating when it's filled with people who are completely devoted to the craft of perfecting their baked goods and is indisputably DC's best bakery? read more

Bread Furst - The staff still working hard in the middle of the night perfecting their craft - Bakeries Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I'm laughing as I read these reviews cause love it or hate it, this place makes people WRITE! So I'll try to keep it short. Sometimes I'm suspicious of good bakery reviews, because people kind of just like sugar. Au bon pain is still very much in business, for example. But this is not that, it's really beautiful craft. The croissants are so flaky and wonderful. We bought an extra bag to take back in the car. It's so stupid to try to eat croissants that flaky in the car, but we didn't care. That's why car vacuum cleaners were invented, so you can be stuck in traffic eating that chocolate croissant. Also bought a little pot of harrisa (North African hot-ish pepper paste). It's sadly gone now, but it was great on cheese and eggs. But the two most surprising items we tried were (yeah, we ate a lot, don't judge): 1) a banana peanut butter cream pie (erase what you think that is and just get one. No disrespect to Betty Crocker but this was not that.) 2) A canelle that was like someone took a delicate sweet egg custard and got it into a thin crisp shell...but in a baked pastry form. Mysterious. read more

Just got back from France and thought if give them another shot. Croissants are clearly burned- all of them had black lines and tasted bitter to both me and my husband. It was doughy but the flake was crispy read more

I really like this place. I live close by so I go for breakfast a lot, but the lunch looks really delicious. The coffee is good and the pastries are fresh. I pretty much just want to live in the refrigerated case with all the cakes and pies. The bagels are dense and tasty. The seating is fairly limited but the staff is competent and usually friendly. read more

Service is world class awful. Store layout is insane, most employees clueless. To be fair, their bread is excellent. Other products iffy. But even the bread is not worth the frustration. I would give the place zero stars if I could. read more

I'm very glad the owner of the late Marvelous Market opened this place. I was here a while back for lunch with a friend and thoroughly enjoyed the food, the atmosphere, and the service. I had the ham and swiss on baguette, and it was simple and tasty. The vegetable soup was excellent. There's a few seats outside, but the area is pretty noisy. The seats inside are lovely. I will be back! read more

Bread Furst - Wall of goodies - Bakeries Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

See all

red velvet latte was almost a scam. $6.50 dollars for a regular latte. no red color or flavoring or anything that would have differentiated this from something i could have made at home in 5 minutes for cents read more

A little bit of Yuppie Burn, but the sandwich I bought there was fine, though not cheap. I have had bread, rolls and other stuff from this place before, nothing too extraordinary like everyone says it is.. Good, but nothing like the founders first bakeries back in the day. Probably will return, but it is not top of my list. read more

I want to like Bread Furst. I really do -- but I can't. Why? Because they charge a lot more for food you can get elsewhere, only in a cramped space with distracted and unwelcoming staff. Salad portions are small, sandwiches are overpriced, and Spicy Peanut Soup is much better back at Breadline. Bread Furst has turned a delicious soup into some kind of Curry Peanut variety, which doesn't work. read more

Have to give this cafe an "A" for effort, the neighborhood cafe with a variety of freshly baked goods even cannelle, deli food, convenient artisan cheeses and even in-house made hot sauces! The cannelle was my husband's favorite but it's $4 a pop. We loved spending the Sunday morning there for a coffee and a pastry. The display of the kitchen is another attraction when you first walk in to the cafe. The team of staff was also professional and awesome! read more

It's a great idea in a great but oddly laid-out space...but they still have kinks to work out. I bought a loaf of rye, sliced. The counterperson should have said the bread was too warm to be sliced, or he should have grabbed a cooled loaf. What I took out of the bag when I got home was a mushy mess with the slices glued together. Their bread is also overbaked for my taste, so the crust is pretty hard. I also bought a small bottle of chocolate milk ($2) that I noticed -- again, after I got home -- was 4 days past the sell-by date. Come on, people...get your stuff together. Their $10 sandwiches are really good, if on the pricey side. (In fact, everything is on the pricey side. That gluey mess of bread was $6.50.) read more

The best bakery for breads and croissants in DC bar none. The breads are incredible, we've particularly loved the marble rye and rustic sourdough. The baguettes are out of this world, and the croissants and biscuits are so rich and delicious. Also, the lattes are some of the best I've had. The set up of the ordering is a bit confusing, but that's a small price to pay for such an incredible bakery. read more

Great quality bakery; lots of helpful staff. This place is not cheap and is obviously not trying to compete on price against lesser quality places. If you are ok splurging at a bakery, this is your place. If you will complain about a $7 loaf of multigrain (amazing, btw), don't come here. I would note the bakery is not huge and the place is crowded during meal times. They have lots of staff and they move the line, but expect a line. read more

This place is incredible, black coffee and a doughnut or ham cheese biscuit are both incredible! Everything they do is great and never had a bad meal or bread before! Buy the chocolate chip cookies! And baguette. A lunch of baguette with olive oil and salt has happened before the bread is That good! read more

My girlfriend and I went here with a couple friends who recommended this as a clutch brunch option in the city, but it didn't really impress either one of us. I got the French toast, which tasted fine, but the unique syrup they served wasn't a good taste to balance out the French toast in my opinion. I also ordered hash browns, which were great, but the maple glazed doughnut was average. The one thing that I have to warn people is that it's overpriced. I payed $10 for my breakfast. It could be normal for DC, but it felt like we didn't get enough food for the price we paid. This place looks like a lot of potential, so maybe trying more of the fresh bread that was made would be delicious. The environment of this place is quaint and so nice, but I truly believe we went there on an off day or ordered the wrong thing off the menu. read more