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    Zera Artisan Bakery

    4.8 (14 reviews)
    Open • 7:30 am - 4:30 pm

    Zera Artisan Bakery Photos

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    A peak inside their pastry display
    Jessica M.

    I can go on and on about this place. The pastries are skillfully made with love. Flakey, buttery goodness. My favorite is the cinnamon roll that I just can't get enough of, truly the best one I've ever had. They have a generous variety of different pastries with all kinds of creative combinations of flavors and textures. If sweets are not your thing, they have savory items too like bagels and quiches. Coffee is on point every time and served with a friendly smile. Aaaand just in case all that is not enticing enough, it's located inside what used to be a bank. It's impeccably decorated and you can actually sit and enjoy your coffee inside the old bank vault! So cool.

    Yogurt bowl, gingerbread general, avocado bagel, and vanilla latte
    Maggie H.

    I cannot rave about Zera enough! This has become my friends and I's Saturday morning spot and we talk about it constantly to anyone that will listen. There is literally nothing I have tried at Zera that I have not loved. My go to is the avocado bagel, sometimes switching to the pickle cream cheese on it & no exaggeration, I look forward to it all week. The baked goods are also insanely good. My recommendations are the cruffins, danishes, quiche, and cinnamon rolls. Alongside the food, having a coffee there is an absolute must. My usual is a 100 Acre Woods Latte with Oatmilk but I have to stray from that for seasonal drinks every now and then & this year, the Gingerbread General took the cake on my favorite holiday drink! On top of such great food and drinks, the staff is the downright kindest you'll ever meet and they work so insanely hard! Zera is truly the loveliest spot in Waterloo and I cannot recommend it enough! When you visit, take in the gorgeous details of the space and pop into the cozy vault with a friend! P.S. They just now started selling their granola in bags and it's a must buy! It's 100x better than any granola you can buy at the store!

    Non-coffee drink from Zera.
    Keagan M.

    Zera is the perfect place to visit with friends, or work remotely from their comfy and cute coworking cove. The owners have done a wonderful job of making the space feel like a gathering place while also providing an area for remote workers to enjoy tasty food and drinks. The staff was friendly and the food was delicious! I ordered the chicken salad sandwich on a croissant that you could tell was made fresh. Highly recommend checking out Zera!

    Our pastries sitting in the window.

    My girlfriend and I went in today for the first time and we were blown away. It's a cozy coffee shop vibe with awesome history as well. The food was incredible. Best cinnamon roll I've ever had, and we got some stuff to go as well which we shared with others. The staff was friendly and helpful and provided great service. Definitely will be back and will come with others in the future! Keep up the great work and don't change a thing!

    Sugar Bun
    Kathy G.

    Love this bakery! This is a new place in Waterloo. Many years ago the building was a bank. Quaint seating to sit down and enjoy a coffee and pastry. The sugar buns are amazing.

    Margarita croissant.
    MaryAnn B.

    New bakery in Waterloo Il. What a treat of a place for coffee, tea, baked goods, sandwiches for breakfast, lunch. Extensive menu for all. Nice place to relax with a cup of coffee, a nosh. Friendly, helpful service.

    Limited time drink!

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    1 year ago

    Delicious food and the cookies are out-of-this-world! So yummy and unique flavors. Cute bakery in an old bank. Friendly staff!

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    Cafe on the Abbey

    Cafe on the Abbey

    4.2(70 reviews)
    7.6 mi

    Meeting friends here for brunch was a pleasant experience. The menu is varied enough to offer both…read morebreakfast and lunch options, with plenty of choices and nothing imaginative. The prices are very reasonable. When we asked about specialty coffee drinks, our server showed us an electronic tablet-- we had to pass it around to read our options. They were all very sweet concoctions named for desserts, and the ones my companions chose were indeed so pumped with syrup and flavors and sprinkles that the taste of coffee was nowhere to be found. Our food was just fine. The waffle was sweet and fluffy. The Berry Salad was exactly as described: iceberg, lettuce, berries, pecans. The berries were fresh; the chicken was heavily seasoned (mostly salty and saturated) and the poppyseed dressing was very sweet. The quiche had plenty of spinach in it but was rather rubbery (I know quiche can be tricky-- it has a really long cooking time so it can't be made to order, and rewarming does it no favors) and the potato soup was okay. Both the salad and the quiche/soup combo had a croissant on the side; they seemed similar to the ones purchased by the dozen at Costco. Mine seemed dry on the outside with a faint moldy taste in the bottom. The patio was very pleasant, and inside looked cozy. The staff did a great job of making everyone feel welcome and keeping our glasses refilled and such. There's a big parking lot adjacent, though many of the spots say they're reserved for a different business. I saw that high chairs are available. Gendered restrooms are inside. The place accepts cash and credit cards.

    We had high hopes for Cafe on the Abbey, but our visit was not a pleasant one. Based on other…read morereviews it may be an anomaly? So perhaps we'll visit again, however, if there weren't so many positive reviews we would never go back. Our coffee flight was probably the worst we've ever had. They were supposed to be iced but came out lukewarm and burnt tasting. We couldn't taste a difference in any of the flavors-likely because it was so burnt tasting that's all we could taste. Neither of us liked our food. My husband's pancakes were dry and he said they tasted like they had been microwaved. My healthy bowl tasted like mostly old/not fresh ingredients. The Brussel sprouts were supposed to be shaved, but were instead halved and appeared/tasted like they were from the prior day. The Parmesan cheese was also prepackaged and not freshly grated, and for the price we paid ($50+) we didn't expect to be served food low-quality food. The only picture I took was of our coffee. Our server did the bare minimum. They weren't rude, but also weren't friendly. We ran out of Cholula sauce and she grabbed one from another table with people sitting there. Overall a very poor experience. Based completely on this one experience we would never return.

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    Cafe on the Abbey
    Cafe on the Abbey
    Cafe on the Abbey - Enjoy inside or outside on this lovely patio!

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    Enjoy inside or outside on this lovely patio!

    Zera Artisan Bakery - bakeries - Updated September 2026

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