I've been getting the Roast Beef & Cambazola on Multi Grain for a couple of years now & I have always loved it. Until today. I will point out that today is the first time that I have had it since they reopened from their remodel. So, not sure if they have changed their weight guidelines on ingredients or if it was a fluke and I got screwed. Today there was at least 1/3 less meat and cheese on my sandwich, if not half as much, as it has had in the past. Unfortunately, I was too hungry to think about taking a picture but I visually noticed it right off the bat. The other thing I noticed was that the bread was very dry. And this was only at about 11:15am. I'm super bummed. Their prices are very high but I've never really minded because of the quality of the ingredients and the fact that it's organic. In addition to my sandwich, I decided to try a cup of the Minestrone soup. I'm not going to say it was terrible, but it wasn't great. I found it to be bland, but I am going to assume that it was not beef based broth, but probably vegetarian. Which is cool for vegans & vegetarians. The lack of tomatoes and kidney beans was apparent, but this is their version and I chalk it up to just not my preference. I thought the pearl cous cous was a nice addition, but felt the soggy bread wasn't necessary. They might have been croutons to begin with? But for a takeout order, maybe put them on the side? Lastly, I do love the gherkins! Nice touch! read more

I'm always on the hunt for good tuna salad. At Rustic Bakery via Door Dash I found a great one with beautiful fresh lettuce topped by two generous scoops of tuna salad. Delicious! It took a pandemic for me to realize that here in Novato (my home since 1965) we have Rustic Bakery where tuna salad is made with real albacore and a light use of mayonnaise. First-rate in every respect. My son, Adrian, who recommended Rustic (and treated me) had the Breakfast Panini. According to him, a perfect breakfast made perfectly. I can't wait to try the Trio Platter. I'll be sure to ask for the same Sides that came with the Tuna Salad Platter. Sourdough flatbread cracker and a slice of soft slough dough. Delicious touches. My first thought after I finished read more

I had read about the start-up and mission of this company in one of those free foodie magazines they have available at Whole Foods and was impressed by their efforts to use all local, organic ingredients. First off, I was very pleased to see they serve Stumptown Coffee which I find to be one of the best! AMBIANCE: I appreciated how clean, simple and ruuustic (nudge, nudge) the feel was. FOOD: The pastry options were more limited than I imagined but were by no means scarce. I guess I have been conditioned on quantity expectations of the West. Their chocolate pistachio croissant must have weighed 3lbs! That thing was dense than a mofo but was very delicious. You will need to take 1/2 of it home. The cauliflower soup was easily a top three best in the history of life. I am a soup connoisseur and if a restaurants soup is perfectly salted and balanced, chances are the rest of their menu will be like par. They are VERY generous on what they consider a "bowl" serving as I have found that other restaurants seem to think adding an extra shot glass to their cup serving and charging you $4 more is CIVIL. The gift baskets on display looked like great gifts. Didn't check for a price although, judging by the menu prices, you aren't walking out of there paying less than $50 for one I'm assuming. Let's not assume though, give them a call. Now, their quiche, sad to say, did not take me to the moon but was maybe a C+, 3 out of 5, the Robin to Batman in my book. It was a bit on the soggy side and I like my quiche crust flaky dammit. OVERALL: I would go again for their soups alone. Me being gluten intolerant, I would like to see more gluten-free options (I believe I saw 4 fruit scones that were so) but hey, I get we are the minority here. read more

Rustic Bakery - Cauliflower soup - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

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While the food here was absolutely fabulous, as is any of their products on the shelf, I was absolutely dumbfounded by the lack of service. Three of the things I attempted to order were out of stock, with no a acknowledgment of their absence. So I was suggested to have something else. (Equally as delicious but still not what I wanted.) However, all three of me and my guests dishes came out separately... Like 10-15 minutes apart. Then, our mimosas (which were indeed delicious) didn't come until the very end of our brunch.... For a meal that was meant and supposed to be served together, it came out spread over half an hour. and then the drinks came last....? read more

Rustic Bakery - Florentine - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

This bakery is very good . It seems my service issues are being corrected . I really think the staff has evolved & they seem efficient. I had not mentioned in my previous review , how much I love the provisions they carry . I have given the granola and other treats to many friends and relatives, and always get raves . They seem to rotate some items , and many are holiday /seasonal driven . They carry the fantastic granola , in a huge bag , which I sent a few out for Xmas , again people flip for this , some say , " best I have ever had " Or "its like candy " Crackers also , so good . Nuts , chocolates and teas also , nice quality and value for price paid . Support your local bakery , Check out this small chain , it's a great cafe . Note : they are closing at 4 now , a few hours earlier then they used to . read more

I love Rustic Bakery! It's crazy this place has 3.5 stars because it's well above that! What I love most about this place is the longevity of the business. They've been doing great pastry work for long before it was cool in Northern California and it was great to see where it all began. yep, this is the original location, founded in Novato. I had the plain/butter croissant, grabbed a couple boxes of the famous crackers and a small coffee to go. The croissant is underrated because it's flaky, has nice crunch and the inside is super soft. I wish I had taken some photos of it because it's beautiful. :) My only complaint is the equator coffee partnership. I'm not a fan. The beans are roasted too dark and it's tough to find variety in their offerings. I get it though, local meet local. Just wish they had someone else for the coffee provider... read more

Breakfast paninis have been my crutch during the pandemic. But everything is good - the salads, pastries, bread and coffee. It's one of my favorite places. read more

I am giving one star only because of customer service and appropriate behavior of staff. The food is to die for at Rustic Bakery but if they can't serve you right they lose you. My husband took me here for Mother's Day because it's the best croissant I've ever tasted. He however is vegan and ordered the organic steel cut oats. When he got them he said they didn't taste like oats so I tried them and I said wow this is like tapioca. So I asked the table server who is very nice, but didn't seem to speak English so she brought someone over and they said that they cook the oats with cream which I then found out makes it taste like tapioca. However I said well that would've been nice to know since my husband doesn't eat cream. It's not on the menu board. She said oh well it's definitely oats. She made no attempt to replace it with something else or credit us back and I was stunned and didn't say anything. I then go and buy a croissant to go and asked for a container for the oats. I reminded them the board does not say cooked with cream and still no offer to credit. The gal said we have multigrain cereal cooked with water for future. Excuse me. Why didn't that person who came to our table say that? I usually put up a fight but I didn't want to ruin the start of my special day. Then the icing on the cake (Pun Intended) was when I used my First Hawaiian Bank card to pay for the croissant and as she turned around the machine to sign it, and I put my finger up to sign it flashed to "not accepted-declined". I said that's odd. We just paid with my husbands same card. She said "well do you have any cash in it" EXCUSE ME. I never. That was so out of line. These young kids need to be trained how to respond appropriately. We called FHB and they checked and it said the machine did not pick up all the numbers from the card. I don't usually do this, but if I do not hear from Rustic Bakery with an apology and appropriate response to this Yelp. I will not be frequenting their bakery again. Which is harder on me t 6/5/18 still no response from Rustic Bakery. Disappointing read more

Whoa I thought I did this, maybe it was Larkspur location. Anyway, the orange olive oil cake is delicious especially with a Americana! Their baguettes are very good as well, but a tad pricey. read more

This bright clean place offers good sandwiches. The rustic club sandwich is on toasted bread of your choice filled with good flavors. The panini on the special menu is also yummy. The chocolate chip cookie is the crispy type with good flavor although I prefer soft chewy cookies. read more

This is the place to have a healthy breakfast in a nice terrace and drinking an amazing coffee. Looks like an European place to have a breakfast. The staff is really good and helpful. I will be back next time with the family read more

The owners need to pay more attention to their cafes. Things have only gone downhill since my last review. First we tried to call to find out the soup of the day and no one answered -- repeatedly. Would it be that difficult to list the daily specials on social media?? We ordered online at 12:45 -- three sandwiches, and an oatmeal and a couple pastries. When we came to pick up the food, they told us they were out of everything except two of the sandwiches. Not sure how they're out of oatmeal. Sadly this isn't the first time we have ordered online only to be told that items we ordered are unavailable. While I appreciate that Rustic has tremendous success with its commercial division, they need to remember they had their start with cafes. read more

Really disappointing service. We have been huge rustic bakery fans, but when you get a rude employee experience it makes it hard to keep going back:( the employee was clearly angry at something and took it out on us, throwing our food on the counter, speaking rudely then slammed the door to the bakery saying he was "taking a break". Unfortunately we are going to take a break too... read more

This place is somewhat overpriced. I ordered an egg salad sandwich which was fairly good, but nothing that I couldn't make at home myself. I also got an almond chocolate croissant which is HUGE (big enough for two people) it's pretty good, however it seems like it's been sitting out for awhile. There plenty of street parking on near by. However I'm only giving it 4 stars because the seating arrangement is awkward they have this one really long table in the center of the room (used for groups) and if you're eating alone and all the other smaller tables are taken, guess what? You get to sit here. It's not a bad thing, however the dishwasher guy probably came by at least 10 times to empty dish racks the had no dishes. (If there wasn't any dirty dishes a minute ago, there probably still won't be any a minute later) so quit bugging me while I try to eat read more

Rustic Bakery - Different taste than normal cane sugar soda - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

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I've been here several times before for in house lunches. Today I decided to order ' to go' online and pick it up. Ordering online was easy and was able to add/remove select items as needed. Order was supposed to be ready 15 minutes from time of order. I arrived 20 minutes later, no order ready. I stood at to go area, one person asked me my name and went to check, never came back to let me know if it was ready or not. I see bags of to go orders being dropped off, not mine. Ok they were busy I guess. Finally I went to look at names (behind the counter) to check in the off chance my bag was there. Of course it was. 4 individuals standing behind counter doing nothing but chatting and I had to ask for my order.??!! 'Oh yeah ' here it is .(I was the only.person waiting mind you) Ok got it. Then i discover that they didnt follow any of the rules on my order. I got ham when i asked for bacon (highlighted btw on my ticket!). Gosh I don't know if it's covid or shortage of staff but they seem to have enough people to handle orders etc. So sick of not being able to rely .on quality food and service anymore. I was patient in the last two years but I think I'm just going to cook my own food from now on at home. read more

Went in for a quick look and a quick snack. I didn't realize this was a chain, though it was a independent bakery. We grabbed a pistachio chocolate croissant and a Ham and cheese croissant. As (too) often happens...the one I was looking forward to the most was a little disappointing (the pistachio pastry)...I preferred the Ham & Cheese. What was a bit surprising was that it was (good quality) ham cut into chunks rather than the usual slices, made for more meaty/hammy bites. read more

I had a wonderful 37 year expat career working and living on five continents. I came to love the wonderful breads available worldwide, and particulalrly those of Europe. The "Bauernbrot" loaves of sou rye in Bavaria. The baguettes of french bread made in the Provence. In the USA, Nancy Silverton's original Le Brea Bakery (1989) in Santa Monica was a favorite. Now, the "Flax Sunflower Seed Loaf" baked at the Rustic Bakery in Novato, is my choice as current "best ever" bread. Fabulous loaf! Great on its own, or with a little butter, or as a sandwich bread. Always baked to the same high standards. Kudo's to the bakers! When I eat your Flax Sunflower Seed Loaf, it brings back wonderful memories of many fabulous meals in some really great eateries of Europe. read more

When it comes to my love for rustic bakery where do I even start? From their salads (super filling and tasty) to their ficelle sandwiches (you'll wanna get 2) they can do no wrong. My favorite item to order is their avocado toast! It's simply perfection. They use their champagne bread that I believe they make in house. So yummy! I've tried almost everything on their menu and I have no complaints. I see people mentioning the price which I don't mind because it's worth it in my opinion. Whether you drop in to order or use doordash you won't regret it. read more

Ordered pastries this morning for pick up and found out that it was not available. Not sure what happened but could not get the pastries that I ordered. Not very good service read more

Nice addition to an otherwise mixed bag stretch of Grant Ave. in Novato. It goes without saying that Marin is pathetic in terms of good coffee/cafe choices, and the addition of Rustic to the county is a plus. Lots of good things to mention about the Novato location: 1) Open until 6 PM, a good 3-4 hours after most non-chain coffee places in Marin. 2) Good selection and very good execution on most items, including the carrot cake, croissants, salads, and some of the sandwiches. 3) Outdoor seating is ideal this time of year. Nice music playing too. 4) Employees are friendly and generally pretty good as what they do. A few NTIs: 1) Occasional propensity to run out of staples, such as iced tea (!) and even the ice water; no excuse for that. And even running out of glasses for those of us consuming beverages on the premises, which is also pretty lame. 2) Why does Rustic Bakery eschew public Wi-Fi across their stores? Seems like a small investment to keep people happy and potentially ordering more stuff. But maybe they view it differently. Perhaps the owner is a luddite. :) read more

I love the avocado toast here but I wish that there were more vegan and vegetarian options. Also when we call in for pick up for work meetings, often things get left out of the order. As a whole the food is good. read more

Please add a gluten-free bread option. Salad is not the only thing gluten-free eaters want to eat - thank you! It will really make a difference in the quality of the service experience for GF eaters and open the menu for a lot more sales and customer engagement. You don't need to guarantee that it's GF (ie for a celiac), since you serve a lot of wheat, but having the option is an easy fix to serve more customers. You're also located a few blocks from a GF bakery and could easily stock their product (and it freezes). read more

So disappointed. To start off the prices are over the top. My 8 year old asked for a grilled cheese and they charged me for an adult one and i had to correct it. I asked for sourdough and they brought it on seeded wheat but he was too hungry to ask them to change it. Then they didn't bring our drinks and we had to go back to ask again. They made the drink wrong and it still cost a fortune. The whole experience was just a bummer. read more

we've been taste testing nearby bakeries to find our new staples and tried their chocolate banana croissant which looked nice but unfortunately wasn't warmed through entirely as the chocolate was still whole and while that may be good to some folks, it wasn't quite what i was expecting. and the banana, i'd recommend they do a puree ala almond paste so that every bite will have banana as opposed to just that one section. read more

Rustic Bakery - Banana chocolate croissant - Bakeries Near Me - Novato, California

The people who work there are very nice And the best pastry is the chocolate almond croissant!!!! Their coffee is way better than Starbucks in Peets. They are our favorite bakery of all time. And we come every Friday and Saturday. read more

Used to love there almond croissants but they have dramatically changed in size! So small and expensive! Don't understand why all the sudden they are half the size they used to be! read more

First time here. Had the chop salad. Best salad I have ever had! Boyfriend had turkey club. Said it was good. Nice patio and dogs OK.

Brie and Ham sandwich and a latte, you can't miss with it! My companion gets the shrimp and avocado crostini (sandwich). Very good!! read more

They DO have wifi and it's free. They seemed reluctant to share it and they are certainly not friendly to those with laptops (no plug-ins anywhere in the cafe). A note on the sound in this cafe - it's louder than it needs to be, they play pop music and if they're reading this review, I suggest you turn it down or switch to a different genre. I like the music...when I'm in my car or getting ready to go work-out, not when I'm sipping coffee and eating a croissant in a nice cafe. Wifi, laptop and sound issues aside I do enjoy this bakery/cafe - they always have a nice variety of delicious pastries and are consistent in their quality. I enjoy their salad options and find myself here for lunch at least once a month, and as other reviewers have already noted, it gets quite busy during the lunch hour so I aim to arrive 10-15 mins prior to noon to miss the rush. Mornings at the cafe are much quieter, more walk-ins and lots of empty tables. The bathroom is ok ,it's good sized (one toilet/stall), not super clean, and you don't need a key. All in all it's fantastic RB is in Novato and I wish there were other cafes/establishments like it. read more

I'm an unabashed fan/groupie of Rustic Bakery. I heart their location in the Marin Country Mart as well as their tiny restaurant in downtown Larkspur. You can always count on them to make a hearty salad and sandwich for a reasonable price. In my humble opinion, their Rustic Chop Salad is one of the best salads around (chopped romaine, tomatoes, hard-cooked eggs, bacon and scallions in a champagne vinaigrette, topped with Point Reyes blue cheese crumbles). I could eat that salad every day of the week. Plus, their coffee and pastries are top notch as well. I stopped into their Novato location the other week. Let me backtrack a sec... my mom was recovering from serious dental surgery and could only eat soft food or soup. One of her favorite meals is Matzah Ball soup. Since there aren't a plethora of Jewish delis in town, I took my chances and poked my head into Rustic Bakery to see what they had. And as luck would have it, they were selling quarts of the stuff (just in time for Passover)! How lucky was I? So I threw down my card and decided to take this soup home to mom. However, I was a little surprised when the cashier rang up my soup and told me that I owed $18. Yikes! While I love Rustic Bakery, that's a pretty tough price to swallow for chicken broth, noodles, and egg-based dumplings. Long story short - I paid for it and took the soup back to my mom's house. I tried a few bites. Personally, it was a bit salty for my taste. But my mom enjoyed it, and that's all that matters. I guess the point of this review (if there is one) - Rustic Bakery is awesome, but I think I'm going to stick with the salads and sandwiches. read more

Awe. You will be in that of anything that you purchase here. No croissant unfilled, without proper crunch and delightful buttery flake. No brownie left unfudgy. No breadpudding without decadent custard, not a cookie without satisfying crunch outside and brownsugary chew inside - I can't even name all of the treats that Brown Eyes has brought me - I have devoured them all from this GEM of a bakery, but I have honestly loved EACH one and while I love my sweets, I am tough on execution and taste and I cannot rave enough over Rustic. I'm a raving Rustic reviewer. read more

This place is amazing! Coffee and food is so good! I would recommend the Carmel latte, orange olive oil cake, and grilled sriracha chicken sandwich. Not to mention some of the best customer service I have ever had! Shoutout to Angie, Cathy , and Kiana for helping me and answering all my questions. read more

I found this bakery while walking around Grant and downtown Novato on the weekend. Such delicious items and I especially like their sourdough bread. It was a large loaf, but they offered to split it for me and slice it too. That's great customer service! read more

I used to think they had the absolute best coffee in Marin- I drink lattes and cappuccinos and loved theirs until they changed the milk (to a cheaper, much worse quality) and now their coffee is not only not the best-I think it's really bad. And that goes to ALL locations, not just Novato... I still occasionally will pick up a scone but never coffee. 2 of my girlfriends just noticed the same thing... it's a bummer that once the business starts going better they are willing to compromise quality to quantity I'm bummed... read more

I go to Rustic in Novato for a scone if I can't get down to Arizmendi. Yesterday I was headed out of town, didn't want to stop anywhere else, so I ordered a Chicken Salad sandwich. Aside from Rustic being outrageously expensive, their food is inconsistent. The sandwich, which I didn't open until later (or I would have given it back), was AWFUL. First, it was loaded, and I mean loaded, with mayonnaise. The lettuce was limp and old. The sandwich itself was completely tasteless. There were precious few pieces of apple and or water chestnuts. I at the top piece of bread, and literally threw the rest in the garbage. The scones are always good, which is why I gave them two stars, but $20+ bucks for a bad sandwich and scone was outrageous. I doubt anyone reads these reviews. I'll make the effort to go to Creekside from now on...... read more

I cannot sing enough high praises for Rustic Bakery! This place is an amazing spot for breakfast or lunch. I stop here almost every morning to pick up their ham and cheese strata but all of their other breakfast items look great as well. For lunch, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Their soups, salads, and sandwiches are all delicious and reasonably priced for being a small bakery. read more

Pastries are delicious no doubt. If you want to splurge and treat yourself to a nice treat then look no further. Love how you can look into the kitchen and watch the Bakers at work. My one disappointment was the coffee. It wasn't hot enough and the froth was flat (I ordered a cappuccino). read more

The food and decor are beautiful, simple, and elegant. I had the beef stew with a side of quiche, and I am fairly positive I actually died, it was so amazing. I mean, just the peas in the soup - ah mah gawd. Huge, fresh, delicious, crisp peas of looooove. The boything bought us chocolate almond croissants for this morning, and having just bitten into it - I actually MUST be dead. This is too delicious to exist in the human realm. Om nom nom nom. read more

Thought I had the fortune of mistakenly and coincidentally finding myself in front of a tempting looking bakery when I just happened to be craving coffee. What a treat, I thought, and eagerly went in... After spending $20 on 3 little goodies and a coffee, I walked out a bit annoyed at myself that I went through with the deal - the purchase, that is. The woman who helped me behind the counter actually didn't help me. She was short (in attitude), non-forthcoming and puzzling puzzled to any of my questions about menu options and what else I might want to order (I could've and would've ordered $50+ worth of goodies had she given me some exciting details). There was no welcome what-so-ever, and nothing but blank pathetic stares when I was deciding what to have. She made absolute zero effort to answer any of my questions. This wasn't a teenager with her first job, as a matter of fact she seemed like she'd been working there quite a bit, as when an elderly person walked in, she knew her name and went right to her (maybe I was treated poorly because I was new?). To be fair, there was a younger woman working there who seemed to sense the poor customer service and went out of her way while doing other busy tasks and apologized and helped finish my order because the woman who helped me but didn't really forgot to add 2 of the goodies that I paid for in the bag. All and all, was the food worth it? I was so hoping so, but no, it wasn't. As I write this, I am eating one of the items ordered - a piece of banana cake. It is dry and not worth eating. Much too overpriced for what I paid for. What I thought was a fortune happenstance turned out to be a lesson learned. Meh. read more

I wish I could give 5 stars because the food is delicious. But when a customer in this country comes in to buy an over priced meal we expect more than just good food. The CUSTOMER SERVICE is soooo bad. Reading the reviews I am surprised that these people have not been fired already. 1. I waited 25 minutes for a sandwich (tuna). Another lady who came before me ordered a chicken sandwich. One Woman at the cashier kept on asking me can I help you. Yes lady ... I ordered my food a long time ago and you already asked me the same question five minutes ago. 2. Finally the food came in. The lady got her sandwich and left. I got mine and was ready to leave. The lady came back running into the café and asked me do you have the correct sandwich. We looked inside and realized they switched the sandwiches and gave us the wrong order. So they made us wait half an hour for a sandwich and then in the end switched it all up. Thank God the lady checked if not we would have gotten food that neither one of us wanted. This kind of service is un acceptable. 3. While waiting for the sandwiches I saw four customers and they had the same problem. Several customers were going to the counter to check when the order was going to be ready. They kept on saying few more minutes, but nothing was served. Please give us better customer service!! read more