I have been to many bakeries in my lifetime, many wonderful ones located in cities like San Juan,…read moreMadrid, 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.

This is an unfortunate review to write with so many rave reviews. However, it's a one off…read moreexperience 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.

I have been to this place a wide variety of times, and every single time they have impressed me…read more It's beautiful inside, the staff are wonderful and accommodating. For the food, everything I've had has been a 10/10. My go to is a half order of the biscuits and gravy! It is always so flavorful, the biscuits are giant and fluffy. The gravy is seasoned perfectly. My second go to, as well as my girlfriend's is the hot honey fried chicken biscuit. Portion wise that thing is hugeee, most of the items are so they are absolutely worth what you pay! The chicken is so tender and crispy, breading is amazingly seasoned as well. This paired with the jezebel sauce is heaven on earth. I cannot express how much I love this place, their food is wonderful, their biscuits are massive, and their service is great. Only issue I've ever had was my delivery order never showing up (not their fault but the delivery drivers) and they immediately comped and replaced my meal. 100% recommend.

Never again. Was excited to try this place as this is my 1st time visiting…read more Pros - ABSOLUTELY NONE Cons Coffee is absolutely disgusting Freezing cold insids inside Food wasn't hot Unseasoned eggs Overseasoned fried green tomatoes Undercooked French toast Severely undercooked bacon that they refuse to cook well done and gave a lame excuse as to why they couldn't. Bacon was all fat. Save your money and go somewhere else!

We asked our car where to eat and Gemini suggested Scrambled. When we arrived at about 1:00 pm, it…read morewas pretty quiet and we were seated right away. Amanda our server was there and delivered some really good coffee and took our orders. My wife ordered the scrambled eggs and sourdough toast, our daughter had the Denver omelet. I was looking for something light, so I ordered the Sweet and Savory combo. A half order of biscuits and gravy, plus their famous vanilla French toast. The large portion of scrambled eggs were light and fluffy, and the sourdough toast was very flavor full. Our daughter loved the Denver Omelet scrambler, but was unable to finish the large portion. I am really glad that I only had the half portion of biscuits and gravy, two biscuits and generous portion of gravy were the best I have ever had. I barely had room for the four half slices of delicious French toast. It did not need the syrup. My wife appreciated the fact that I ate my biscuits first and had to share the French toast with her, she loved it too. Overall, we all really loved Scrambled. The food was great, and Amanda was very attentive. If we lived in the area, we would definitely make this a regular stop. Thank you Gemini!

Located at one of the most prime locations of Roanoke's City Market Square in one of the corners of…read morethe Historic City Market Building, with a beautiful view of the heart of Downtown Roanoke, this breakfast restaurant is open daily from seven o'clock in the early morning until two o'clock in the afternoon, except Sundays that they open at eight o'clock, and they're closed on Mondays. Last time I visited this restaurant and wrote a review I found it simply amazing: its decor, its ambiance, its food, and most important of all, its excellent customer service by its friendly and very efficient servers. I invite you to read that review and view my photographs accompanying it to get a better sense of my experience here, then. However, this time around, it wasn't so good. And I judge restaurants by their consistency of quality of food and service. This time, the ambiance was nice and the service was excellent by a friendly young lady server, but the quality of the food left much to be desired, especially the way it was cooked. The cook was a total disappointment. I was one of the first ones there when they opened their doors. When I entered, a group of friendly and eager to serve servers who where gathered around chatting, waiting for their customers to arrive, greeted me and gave me a warm welcome, and invited me to take the table of my choice. Soon after I was seated, my server, a friendly young lady came by and took my order. I asked for orange juice and coffee to drink, as well as a glass of iced water. And to eat I asked for the dish that I so much enjoyed and was looking forward to having today: the Steak & Eggs. I ordered a five ounce filet cooked medium rare with two fried eggs cooked over easy, served with homefries as my choice of side, and for bread: white Texas toast. While I waited for my food to come out, I enjoyed drinking my orange juice and coffee, looked over the menu, and looked out the window where I saw in the distance, Ernie's, one of my favorite breakfast restaurants, for its consistency of quality food and service, and relaxing environment. When my server brings my food, the first thing I noticed was my flat filet cut. Usually this cut is for customers who like their steak well done. Last time, my filet was a thick cut one, cooked medium-rare to perfection. Then I saw the fried eggs. They weren't over easy, but over cooked as well. And the toast was over-toasted and laid there while the food was cooking, because it was luckwarm and hard by the time it got to me. When I cut my steak with the steak knife to see if it was pink inside, it was not. It was tough and dry. When my servers. I signaled one of servers asking for my server and tell her about my steak. She replied that now they were using a different meat provider, but that she would take it back and ask for another to be cooked. She only takes the steak back. Shen then brings me another back that not only had a weird shape, but was rare and with gristle. Judging by the quality of the second steak, the cook didn't intend to make amends, or maybe didn't know better. It's a pity because everything else about this restaurant is comforting, but when the food isn't, it takes away the desire to return. I hope the management and the owner of the restaurant read this review and take the necessary steps to correct the misdoing. Because restaurants' success is brought about through repeat customers and not by passersby.

I enjoy having breakfast at Ernie's for its warm and cozy ambiance. As soon as I enter the place I…read morefeel right at home. The sever already knows what I usually have to eat, and she serves me a freshly brewed cup of coffee as soon as I have a seat at my favorite booth. Ernie's on the Market is owned and operated by Bill Kopcial, a former Roanoke City firefighter and his business partner Scotty Smith. They are wonderful individuals. Bill always greets me when I'm having breakfast and he stops by. Just the other day, I ran into him and his family at McAlister, where they were having dinner. My usual breakfast there is two fried eggs over easy, with bacon, homefries, and white toast. I also enjoy their omelets. On weekdays they are one of the few restaurants that open at 6:00AM, so it gives you an opportunity to get a head start of the day. The server is a very friendly and hospitable young lady, who is always looking after her customers to see if they need a coffee refill or would like a glass of iced water to enjoy with their food. Today I had the usual breakfast. No matter how the cook prepares my breakfast, it always tastes so good. The white Texas toast is always fresh and soft, and the eggs and bacon tastes just right. I also enjoy looking at the historic photographs on the brick wall and their flamboyant decor. Their prices are reasonable enough to be able to leave a well deserved good tip. And one always leaves the place with a good feeling.

Quiet tucked away breakfast spot that look deceiving, but packs a punch. The actual dining space…read moreinside is small, they have outside seating but not the nicest place to dine as a tourist there are panhandlers just outside. The service was friendly and welcoming and the food was great.

Omelette was over cooked, with large sun-dried tomatoes inside. The coffee was cold and in short…read moresupply. Will not go back and would not recommend.

This is a local chain; if there's one thing Roanoke has a lot of it's bakeries (and if there's two…read moreit's bakeries and cafes). The selection here was a little more robust that the other location of this chain I visited. It's a lot of indulgences, but if you're going to eat sweets, do it right, has always been my credo. The chocolate mousse cake I ordered delivered a mix of tastes and textures that was worth the price and the time. I wish their food menu had a little bit more in the veggie department, but as a pastry shop, they have some good options.

Fantastic food and great environment! Every time we are in town we stop by for a croissant!!read more

What a cozy family style feeling when you walk into this bistro. The pastry case was loaded with…read morebeautiful cakes & macarons. I chose the mango mousse cake - WOW it's light & airy & refreshing , the flavors & textures all compliment each other. The young gentleman at the counter was friendly and ready to serve. I also picked up two chocolate ganache macarons for my husband to try later on. I tried their strawberry & cream iced latte - it was just okay - I didn't get much vanilla taste in my latte. Overall, would definitely come back to try more of their desserts & maybe try lunch next time too!

The mussels carbonara is out of this world! You can't go wrong here! The staff is amazing and…read moreextremely knowledgeable about the menu!

Love this place. Passing through and hungry so we relied on our Yelp app to get us to a great place…read moreto eat. This place did not disappoint. Appetizer of freckles was delicious which is fresh, fried pickles with a delicious homemade sauce. Portions are huge. Our main course was grilled chicken house salads which included perfectly cut vegetables such as heirloom tomatoes. Delicious dressings which seemed to be housemate. Bonus-bathrooms are decorated beautifully and super clean. Highly recommend.

Welcoming, friendly, inclusive coffeehouse vibes. What your mainstream shops wish they could be…read more Adorable rooms and spots for sitting give that private coffeehouse feel. Sirius xm only wishes their coffeehouse station had music this good. The chai was amazing! Lots of other selections of custom flavors, and a diverse food menu. I had homemade yogurt, and it was amazing. Fresh fruit, granola. Yes! If you're looking for a place to purchase local honey - they've got you covered. 10/10 will be telling anyone I know visiting Roanoke to come here.

This was our first stop on our roadtrip. My husband knows I live coffee and always tries to stop…read moreand find places for me to try. This place did not disappoint. It must be a local favorite as it was packed either the line to the door. It's a really cute place and they get my stamp of approval! We had a latte, smoothie and a couple of pastry items. We'll definitely return!

I'm a fan of First Watch and do seek them out when traveling due to their consistency of being…read moreabove average. So when in Roanoke, Virginia I found they had a location. They also have another location in nearby Salem. I used the app for getting in line which typically works flawlessly. My time to arrive was 15-20 and upon arrival in that frame a table was ready. A host seated us with menus and silverware. Our group of four looked over the menu as a waitress arrived minutes later. She got the drink order and arrived back in short order. We were ready to order. I cannot remember what everyone got, but I had the Spring chimichurri special and added an avocado. The dining room was packed as was their outdoor patio. The noise was elevated, but not piercing. We had a table near the patio. I enjoyed my coffee as we waited for brunch orders. It's impossible to not be impressed with the hard working staff as they quickly moved through the dining room. After around 15 to no more than 20 minutes the food hit the table. The millionaire bacon is always a huge hit and recommend. Everyone's dishes were correct. My dish overall looked smaller than I've had before. Everyone enjoyed their dishes. The avocado add was two tiny pieces which was disappointing. When our waitress checked in I alerted her the avocado add on was underwhelming. She immediately addressed it with additional. She also got another water craft. Checkout was efficient up front. In my opinion First Watch offers a higher level service, good and atmosphere. I plan on returning with additional visits in Roanoke coming up this Summer.

We stumbled upon this place and glad we decided to stop on in. The food was hot, fresh and…read moredelicious. The menu - beautiful and so many options - it was hard to choose but I settled on the farmhouse hash - potatoes with cheese & bacon, topped with eggs and avocados, served with toast. I also tried the honey caramel crunch coffee - a bit too sweet for my liking and the cold foam was off seemed more like marshmallow fluff . My husband enjoyed the Barbacoa Breakfast Tacos. We had a very nice waitress - food came out quickly. I wish I would have gotten some inside pictures - I'm a bit nervous when it comes to that - but it's spacious and trendy inside! I already plan to come back - to try that lemon blueberry cornbread!

Great food and beer! Stopped in for a flight and a snack, and was pleasantly surprised at the…read moreamount of options with both food and drink. We ordered some truffle fries and the jalapeño popper burger, and both were delicious. The beers were all fantastic, but J particularly enjoyed the pecan amber ale. Our food and drinks came out quickly and we were very well taken care of. We had a nice seat outdoors on the patio area and people watched. We will definitely be back when the tap list rotates!

The food was good although it seemed to take a while to get to the table. Service was good, very…read morefriendly. It wasn't crowded when we were there, so not too noisy.