Sidewalk Citizen Bakery

The atmosphere inside the café is warm and inviting, and there’s also a lovely patio outside right by the river, which adds to the relaxing vibe. After placing our order, we were given a buzzer while waiting for the food. You'll need to pick up your drinks at a different station. I ordered the sourdough croissant and almond croissant. Since I usually enjoy croissants warm, I had the sourdough heat up. However, I found the sourdough croissant a bit too greasy when warmed. On the other hand, my friend had the salmon sandwich, and the salmon was well-cured and nicely balanced by the refreshing crunch of cucumber. We also tried the matcha latte, which we both found a bit too watery and lacking in flavor. I saved half of each pastry to take home, and surprisingly, I enjoyed them even more later. The sourdough croissant, after being chilled, had a more pronounced flavor that I appreciated. The almond croissant, lightly reheated, was delightfully crisp on the outside with a rich, satisfying filling. Overall, a pleasant experience with some standout elements!

I love it here. One of my favourite spots to hang out on the weekend. Their breakfast sandwiches are incredible and so are the pastries I’ve tried. I love the location and how close it is to the river too. During winters, the interior is nice and cozy and great for a coffee work date.

Beautiful location right by the river. The granola, almond croissant and egg bun were scrumptious. You get your drinks from the nearby coffee roastery. The brick building and wooden chairs and tables adds to the overall experience. They also have outdoor seating. Great way to spend a weekend morning!

Best croissant and pain au chocolate I’ve had in Canada other than in Quebec! The pictures don’t do them enough justice. So yummy!

I’ve always tried to find a good bakery, and I’m so happy that I finally found one. I had a crispy yet moist scone and a chocolate croissant, and they were so delicious. Next time, I’ll go earlier so I can try other kinds of bread too. It was the perfect day for a walk and some pastries

The bakery is tucked in the back of the Simmons building. The strawberry rhubarb is really good! Not too sweet, a bit floral, and a bit tart. Highly recommend trying this. Service is friendly.

Best experience in Calgary! Wonderful pastries and breads, excellent service, very pleasant atmosphere. The bakery team is to be congratulated - I will have dreams with that cruffin!

We had a delicious brunch here. Wonderful service from the kind and friendly staff members. The food is always so so good. Their house made sourdough is delicious. You won't have a bad meal here.

Enjoyed a chocolate croissant, almond croissant and sticky bun and all 3 pastries were flawless. Light yet crunchy with a buttery aftertaste. Also ordered the salmon breakfast sandwich and was also pleasantly surprised at the fresh quality of all the ingredients. The atmosphere in the late morning/early afternoon means there's more room to get a table and just relax, highly recommend coming around then.

Stoped by here on our last day in Calgary and we were definitely not disappointed. We didn't think much of the place and just wanted to pick up some pastries for a small breakfast and noticed the quiches on display. We got them heated up and it was SO delicious! They have a bacon one and a tomato one and both were so good. I honestly can't decide which one I enjoyed more. The egg was perfectly seasoned and the crust was fluffy and flakey. It doesn't look all that special but it seems like looks were very deceiving here. They also serve coffee from Phil and Sebastian which is a bit confusing because you have to pick it up yourself. It is an interesting system though, and it's nice to see these shops collaborating. The seating area is in an old converted warehouse and it's a very hipster vibe. Super pretty brick walls and overall great atmosphere. It's right along the river walk too, as if there needs to be another reason to visit. Definitely recommended!

I love the atmosphere of this space. It's is a converted factory, so there aesthetic is all wood, black metal and glass. The open concept makes it feel airy and light during the day. Plenty of indoor seating, but there is even more on the second floor. We came for a quick breakfast and was so happy to find this bakery. We had a ham and cheese croissant, almond croissant, veggie quiche and a savory scone. They take their baking seriously here! Every item was delicious but my first vote would be for the veggie quiche full of umami mushroom flavor. Tied for second would be the savory scone and the almond croissant. The scone was sizable and had the perfect juxiposition of textures from it's crusty dense outer shell to it's light fluffy soft inner layer. Also, it is hard to find an almond croissant that isn't too sweet, so I liked the balance that Sidewalk Citizen gave to their sweet croissant. Wish I was in the area more to try out the other offerings!

If I can give this restaurant 10 stars, I totally would! It's inside anyplace like a really nice dining hall that has multiple different eateries! We chose the sidewalk citizen because we wanted something easy and quick. We started off with some pastries (Pain au chocolate and banana bread) and for lunch we ordered the pulled pork on ciabatta and the curry chicken melt sandwich. While we waited for our sandwiches, I tried the pain au chocolate and the banana bread! Both were really good. The Pain au chocolate was soft with dark chocolate. So good! As soon as I bit into my pulled pork sandwich, I swear my eyes rolled to the back of my head! Omg! It was soooooo delicious. The pork was not dry and full of flavor. The pea sprouts with pickled carrots and the dressing really complimented the pork. The curry chicken melt oozed with cheese and toasted perfectly was just Devine! I love this place! Do yourself a favor and try this place out! Plenty of street parking, but there is also a parking lot right next to the building that you have to pay for, if you don't find any street parking on busy days. The restaurant is located on the east village close to the George King bridge. Nice walk after a big lunch!

Located across from our hotel. Had breakfast twice in the bakery. Coffee, sandwiches and sweets were all delicious. Service friendly and efficient.

Fantastic spot for brunch, or just a coffee and pastry. The amount of seating is a bit limited, but well worth it. There are a wide variety of sweet and savoury pastries, hot and cold sandwiches , and soups/stews - so something for everyone. It was right next to our hotel, and on the popular riverwalk promenade

We went for brunch on the weekend, and it was packed in there. There's a few tables for people that want to eat in, and a few tables on the patio if it's warm enough to eat out. The lineup to order and pay was out the door! Lineups are usually good signs. That particular morning I just wanted something simple, I ordered bread, butter and a fried egg. The bread was fresh sourdough bread that they bake. Crispy crust and chewy sour inside, topped with butter, delicious! Hubby ordered a breakfast sandwich. That came with fried egg, bacon, avocado and arugula all on a brioche type bun. Great combination ingredients, but super messy to eat with the sunny side up egg. After enjoying breakfast, we grabbed a scone (chocolate pear), and fruit topped danish (theres a better name for it, I just don't remember) to go. So glad I was feeling like a glutton that morning. The scone and danish were delicious. The scone had just enough chocolate to make it a sweet treat without it being overly sweet and dense. I liked the combination as well, not a common one, or at least not that I've noticed, elsewhere. The danish, pastry part of it, buttery, flakey deliciousness. One of the best danishes I've ever had. The plan was to go back the morning that we were to fly back to Toronto. That plan failed when we ran late. I was so disappointed..... If I'm ever back in Calgary, I'm going there for breakfast every single morning.

great pastries, gluten free dairy free Halva bar was delicious. small seating area to the side. street parking out front

Recomended to me ...I stopped by today and was treated to a meatball on salad for lunch. Great atmosphere. Friendly, busy place with upbeat music and helpful staff Meatballs can also be served on there own bread. I liked my lunch but was a little too salty. I'll be back to try their Sandwiches.

Superb food with an Israeli influence. Ingredients are fresh and extremely well seasoned. The sourdough is amongst the best I've had. Thick crust, not too tangy and perfect stretch. The pastries are equally well done and freshly baked each day. If you get there early enough you'll still see them being prepared We had the red shakshuka and the green. Both are delishiois but the green wins for originality. Great ambiance

Always wanted to try Sidewalk Citizen for a very long time. There are two locations and we went to the one by the Bow River. This location is shared with Phil & Seb. coffee and Charbar. A very unique location and would be an excellent location for the long summer days. They have an awesome patio as well (too cold today). Ordered a brioche sticky bun, Pain au chocolat, and banana bread. If you love bakery I recommend you come here and try it! The pain au chocolat is filled with large chunks of chocolate and the pastry is crispy but soft with it's own unique flavour. Love it! The brioche sticky bun is pretty sweet, but very good! the banana bread is vegan and it is has walnut and dates in it which made it absolutely delicious! Will come back for sure during the summer time when we are out for a stroll or in the neighbourhood.

If it's on offer, get the pulled chicken grilled sourdough. This is a change-your-life sandwich. Perfect in every way. Everything I've had at SC (here, at Sunnyside Market and at their cafe in Central Memorial Park) has been outstanding, but that sandwich really did affect me.

This is one of my best places to eat a really good sandwich and bakeries. I've had avocado toast and tuna melted cheese sandwich with oatmeal cookies. I would go back again to try more sandwiches and pastries. I have been coming back & it still offers great sandwiches & pastries. My rating still stands, but pricey for me.

It is in the ex-mattress factory, along with many other eateries. The food is not bad. We had the red shakshuka which was tasty, chicken melt and a pork meatball special. The sandwiches were ok, nothing special. The meatball was on the dry side. All in all, not bad

Sidewalk Citizen was definitely on our list to try in Calgary with it being in the much talked about simmons building. Service is pretty quick and friendly and I'm a sucker for places that have pastries on display. We had the almond croissant, strawberry danish, and charred avocado with sourdough bread. The almond croissants was overcooked and not enjoyable. The strawberry danish was my favorite. The custard was chocolate which was new to me and probably the best part. The charred avocado was pretty basic. All that for around $14 USD so I can't complain.

Ate at The Sidewalk Citizen for the first time on friday. I like the food. Had the Bacon & Avacado Fried Egg Sandwich. It was good but messy. Also ordered the Bacon & Cheddar Quiche. We ordered the drip coffee but it never arrived at our table. After half an hour, we realized the coffee had not come. When I placed the order, I specfically asked the lady at the counter if the food will will be served to us and she said yes. She literally meant only the food and not the coffee cos we had to pick it up at the Phil & Sebastian counter!!! There should be a BIG sign put up or the people taking orders at Sidewalk should inform patrons about the coffee pickup. I had to wait 5 more mins to get fresh hot coffees. Exasperating!

Grabbed a bunch of pastries and donuts for a few of us for breakfast, simply outstanding. Quite a unique place may have to go back for lunch soon.

They have the best cheese sticks ever but are always sold out! I'm not sure why they don't bring them to the Central Park location! They only have them in EV & Kensington! Call ahead of time to put some aside! They are super expensive though but sooooo delicious!

I don't know what took me so long but I finally got to try out Sidewalk Citizen Bakery! I've tried coming once at 4pm, and let my past experience tell you that 4pm is WAY too late to stroll into Sidewalk Citizen expecting croissants to be available. There was practically nothing left when I showed up at 4pm. Having made a rookie mistake, I showed up this time at noon and the Simmons building was PACKED! My friend and I ordered lunch and realized that no empty tables were to be found. For those who have not visited the Simmons building, apparently the tables between Sidewalk Citizen and Phil and Sebastian can be shared. This was told to me by the server who delivered my breakfast sandwich when I was still waiting for a table to open up. Unfortunately all the tables on the main floor were occupied, so we went upstairs where it was less crowded. There were so many delicious sounding items on the menu that made finalizing my decision very difficult. It also didn't help that the line to order was so long that I spent about 10 mins standing beside the pastry cases, oogling at everything. In the end, I settled with the avocado sandwich and it was amazing! Garlic aioli, fresh avocado slices, optional add-in bacon strips, and topped with a fried egg ready to ooze between your fingers after the first bite. Perfection. It was a simple breakfast sandwich that hit the spot.

Change your day, change your life at this amazing bakery. Right along the river in the newly restored Simmons building this bakery offers every sweet and savoury you heart could desire.

Last day in Calgary - knew that I would leave with regrets if I didn't try the sourdough bread here, so came back to try the red shakshuka (comes with a giant slice of sourdough). It was everything that I dreamed of and more! You MUST try the shakshuka here - I've had a lot of shakshuka in my life and can say that this one is my favorite. It looks simple, but all the magic is tucked underneath the two generously poached eggs. I really liked how the ingredients were distinct and each retained their own unique textures and flavours, instead of exist as a melted down, homogeneous dish, which most shakshukas that I've had in the past were. The bread was much bigger than I expected - super soft and chewy, delicious.

I had a breakfast sandwich; it was okay. Quite pricey. They make some excellent choices of breakfast. And I want to head you up with the order of coffees, they aren't own coffee shop or their own making of coffee. When I ordered a cup of coffee, they sent my order to Phil & Sebastian on the side of the charbar building. Their coffee made my day better.

So I've been to Aviv's place in the South (which apparently is now closed), to his place in Kensington and grabbed hints of his new bakery in the Simmons Building. It's always busy but let me tell you, but it's soooooo worth the wait and indulgence. Today I actually sat down for the first time during a meeting and enjoyed not only breakfast, but I stayed for lunch. A Pain au Chocolat and coffee from Phil & Sebastian's started the meeting. A butternut squash & carrot soup with a half egg salad sammy finished it. Their menu had me drooling....and I wanted one of everything. Most likely I will be back making my way through the menu as this is an extraordinary place to meet, breakfast and lunch. The staff, super friendly and accommodating as it took me awhile (with people waiting behind) to determine what to eat (so many delicious options). Looking forward to the next time.

Disappointed by the frantic woman working the counter with an unruly attitude. In her haste she did not get my order straight. What was to be a quick stop for 4 croissants on our way to breakfast at friends was bagged as 2 croissants and 2 sourdough breads?? As she quickly bagged our order out of site and thrust the bag in our hands, we never saw the contents until much later at our destination which was now too late and too far away to go back. Honestly she seemed far to concerned and distracted with whether people were masked up correctly that she was completely inattentive to customers requests. Phone call results in telling you that you cannot leave a message but send them an email. Anyone seen the Seinfeld episode of the soup nazi? ...sidewalk citizen is reminiscent of that! Advice go get your croissants over on 4th street at the la Boulangerie!!!!

I appreciate having some vegan options nearby to where I live. The first time I went to Sidewalk Citizen, I had some sort of vegan salad (argh, I don't remember the name!) which was just sort of okay, and a vegan mango cake which was also sort of okay (it tasted too wholesome - sometimes you want your dessert to be decadent, you know?). The second time I went, I had the hummus plate. For $12, it came with a lot of seasoned mushrooms and four slices of bread. IT WAS SO GOOD and arguably worth the price since the portion size was huge (I ended up taking half of it home with me) and I dreamt about it for days after. I bought some grocery store hummus afterwards and seriously, the taste does not compare. For dessert I had some vegan chocolate spiced cookies - which were amazing - and a slice of banana cake that I thought I'd try for kicks even though it was about $4-5 for a single slice. It was very, very good - and this is coming from someone who knows a good banana bread recipe. Not sure I'd purchase one again though, at that price. Upon talking to the cashier, it seems like this location has about 2-3 vegan options in dessert most days. Hooray, and thank you. I saw a few reviews complaining about the service, and want to say that everyone working there has been super friendly to me. If there's anything I take issue with, it's the indoor seating area - the tables are squeezed too close to each other in too small a space, leading to a lot of creative and bumpy navigating.

Love love this place. Will definitely be back! The customer service is wonderful and very knowledgable. The food is delicious. The hummus with pita dishes are really good. The only thing is the kitchen closes at 2 and they run out of things quickly. Wish the kitchen was open later as I would have loved to try there tuna melt and the pita dishes. Will have to wait until next time. They have vegan options also that look and sound tastey. Well priced too. Love the atmosphere and the bar. Kitchen is open so you can see your food being cooked.

Finally got to try something from here after multiple unsuccessful visits because they looked like they were always out of everything. I think they must have baked some extras because of Market Collective taking place in EV for the weekend. Tried the passionfruit cheesecake and it was really good! Not a heavy cheesey creamy taste, but more light and simple with a hint of the passionfruit puree. Wish they were a bit more generous with the puree. I gave them 3 stars because as mentioned above, they are always out of everything. If the demand is there, why don't you bake more things? I have visited at least 3 times previously to find they never have anything. Also, the place is a little bit disorganized. They should do something about managing the line better, as well as labeling their products better so customers don't have to point and ask a billion questions before they purchase which holds up the line as well. The person on cashier seemed confused and made mistakes on charging customers. Would be willing to give the place another try, but I guess I'll have to go really early or just hope to get lucky that they have any items left over by noon. I would check it out if you are in the area and not bothered by lines, but I would not go out of my way to visit this place.

I picked up a Danish Fruit Croissant and a fresh-baked loaf of sourdough bread. The croissant was so good, and so fresh, whatever kind of creamy filling they put in there is like heaven. Staff person was super helpful and friendly to me and there was lots of seating available. Only downside here was the abundance of flies and fruit flies. There were an insane amount of flies and the pastries are open to the air so...kinda gross. That being said I still ate here and enjoyed it and don't have any kind of stomach bug haha. Good enough that I'd come back!

Delicious breakfast sandwich & seasonal lentil salad. In a cute cozy corner of east village. Highly recommend!

Two days staying across the street at the Alt Hotel, and I can't rate this place highly enough. Excellent scones, cookies, and the sourdough is fantastic. Thanks for the loving care you bring to your craft.

Visited Sidewalk Citizen on Monday! Great location on the Riverwalk and East Village. There is street parking as well as a parking lot to the west of the building. Lots of baking available at 10am when I stopped in for a coffee and a croissant. I returned at 12:30 with a friend for lunch and noticed the baking selections were reduced. Go early for the selection! Lunch was a delicious curry chicken stew with a slice of sourdough bread on the side. Also enjoyed a tomato-feta-bread salad. A note that when you order coffee at Sidewalk Citizen, you have to pick up the coffee at Phil & Sebastian in the same building!

LOVE their baked goods, salads, sandwiches and soups. Everything is delicious. What prevents me from going more often is the service and terrible ordering process. Staff is friendly but the slow moving line ups make the experience unbearable. Most customers congregate around the till to stare at the menus for several minutes. I've gone early for lunch to avoid the bottleneck but found some items, like soup aren't ready at 11:30. Tables don't get bussed and often dirty. I don't mind paying more for their fresh ingredients and great recipes. I will however never order stew for two people again - $28!! I really hope the in store experience gets better as I really love the food.

Phenomenal breakfast and incredible staff. Everything looked delicious and so we had a hard time choosing but this seems like a place where there's no such thing as the wrong choice.

Very good food , would definitely come here again. The baked goods and lunch dishes are really good.

Every time we've been to Calgary we make a point to stop here. Have not been disappointed with anything we've gotten! Almond croissant melts in your mouth and tastes like love. Their fruit danishes are extraordinary, and so is the customer service! I highly recommend you try it out, you will be addicted. While you are here do t forget to check out Phil and Sebastian's cafe just across the hallway!

Nice location, with views of the river. I ordered roasted chicken sandwich for $12.75, which I thought was a bit steep for a sandwich but thought I would give it a try. It was good, could have used a few more veggies in the sandwich. Probably worth $6.75. The bakery goods looked amazing but did not want to spend $20 on lunch. This is a place has some good food but it's quite pricey.

First, I should say that I love the bakery. The pastries are excellent and the Simmons location is conveniently on my way to work, so I can stop and get something as I pass by. But I've learned the hard way that if you're there on a busy Saturday or worse, ordering food to stay, you're in for a long, frustrating wait, because the service is *so* bad. I was there yesterday for lunch and ordered the grilled cheese which, when I finally got to eat it, was delicious. It's drizzled with honey before serving, and it's a nice finish that actually adds to the flavor and not just the presentation. Unfortunately, everything leading up to it was a complete fail. There was only one person taking orders, and one handling and serving the food coming out of the ovens. I was told 10 minutes, but it took 20 to get my food and people were being served ahead of me, a major issue when you're hangry. There were at least 4 staff members wandering around at the front of the house, a few carrying binders to look important, but no one actually doing anything. The tables near the front were piled with trash so I had to sit at the bar and when someone finally started clearing the mess, the tub was placed on the counter top, right in front of me, as I ate. None of the staff seemed really aware of the fact that they were surrounded by customers, maybe because the pastry case was almost empty so they thought they were done for the day, at 1 p.m. I find it hard to believe that the owners don't know of the problems here, but if they do and they're not working on it, that's not any better. I'll go back every once in a while because I dream about those cheesesticks, but I'm definitely never stopping to eat again.

Dining a Sidewalk Citizen brings a few of my favourite things together....a great walk there, amazing pastries/scones and a beautiful building to dine in. This location does get VERY busy so I try to time my visits a bit off peak if I can. I also usually go for one of their quicker dishes like their soup of the day or the charred avocado with sourdough. The food is always delicious and worth the bit of a wait. Must tries include the cheese stick, the savoury scones and their fresh salads.

I was hoping to give this a 5/5 great review, but i can only give it a review based on what we ate THIS visit. most of the baked goods are excellent, and the only reasons for losing a star is service and price. We ate a piece of meat pizza and chicken pita and soup. The soup was hearty and amazing. Great taste and amazing confluence of flavours. The pizza too was great - lacking in cheese, but still great and on par with the price of a slice in calgary. The chicken pita was JAM PACKED with chicken, INSIDE THE PITA! A nice change from extreme pita where everything is highly processed. This was home cooked and down to earth.

ok, I'm totally low carb... ok not totally. ok maybe not at all. But I used to be, and sometimes still pretend that i am... that is to say, I hate to "waste" my daily carbs on substandard fare. Sidewalk Citizen to the rescue! I never really got the hype over the last few years as they have grown their business. Probably a good portion of that is that I used to be a lot more careful about low carb eating.... Then, I worked in bridgeland all summer, and frequenting Lukes for my daily coffee I saw those delicious looking scones staring at me through the display case... how whimsical they are, with their hand made signs and new concoctions daily.... I broke down and tried one, and since have been hooked! How are they so crispy on the outside, so moist inside? it's some kind of secret alchemy! I also love a good crusty sourdough, and when I splurge on bread, I usually look for Sidewalk Citizen (available at my local market 17 so I don't have to go to kensington/simmons) I'm not per se a fan of the new simmons location... i don't get why charbar, P&S and Sidewalk are all in there together like some kind of cafeteria. But mostly it was probably because the one time I went there on a thursday afternoon it was equal parts impatient business people and screaming children that I was probably feeling overwhelmed and regretting ever leaving the house that day... But that's really besides the point, the review is about the products, and they are consistently top notch. I super like that the scone selection is different every day, there is a sweet variety and a savoury variety that both seem to be the baker's whim, combining seasonal ingredients in a different way daily, and that is a nice touch. It reminds me that there is a person behind it all, which is pleasant.

On Saturday I waited in line for 15 minutes to order (nice day, COVID, I get it) then paid $101 dollars with tip for 4 grilled cheese sandwiches (2 with bacon, no honey on any of them), two almond croissants and two skim decaf lattes. After another 10 minute wait I got 3 grilled cheese sandwiches (all with bacon and honey), and one breakfast sandwich. The croissants were overbaled but the coffee from Phil & Sebastions was delicious. C'mon, $101 bucks!!!! At least get the order right maybe?

This place needs to reconsider their prices and service. We went here for lunch. Firstly the line up was ridiculous, the staff were disorganized and slow. At lunchtime they have run out of sandwiches?! Really? We have the one thing they have left which is a veggie pita, for over $12. It was mediocre at best. You can't get a coffee, because you need to get it from Phil and Sebastian's which is another painful line up. People, get you act together, Calgarians will soon tire of your over inflated prices, bad costumer service and less than stellar products.

One of the top places to get sourdough bread in the city. Also, at the Simmons building - one of the best places to eat and enjoy city life. Treat yourself to one of their sandwiches and take home a load of sourdough. The person/people who live with you will thank you when they see the bread you brought home.

With bread this fluffy and crusts so crunchy you will always be happy! Welcome to the new Sidewalk Citizen in the Simmon's Building. I just popped in here after exploring the recently opened St. Patrick's Island. It was just after lunch time so stood in a fairly long line, but it moved swiftly and had two amazing sandwiches, tuna and egg salad, they were sold out of grilled cheese, and this almond amaretto cake that was simply delightful. The space is beautiful, long, dark wood and you see into Char Bar. They are plenty of tables inside and out and benches to enjoy your take way of stay food and drink. They sell Fentman's drinks (GINGER BEER!) But when they take your order there are so many more pastries to choose from that you can't see. Don't be rash! See what they have to offer. Also. Pizza.

This review is mainly for the service at Sidewalk Citizen. I've been there about 15 times in the past year, and while their food is tasty (the tuna melt in particular is phenomenal), I find it overpriced, and I find the service to be subpar. Most of the people I've encountered there seem to have an attitude, they're not friendly, and certainly don't go above and beyond for customer service. For example, one Friday I went in around 11:30 a.m., and asked for the tuna melt. The girl said that was on their lunch menu, and they don't switch over until noon. Okay. It's not like I was requesting eggs benedict at 7 p.m., but they wouldn't make an exception. I've heard from other people they're really particular about times (e.g. if you order a "breakfast" item at 11:45 they will say no, because they're switching over to lunch). It's kind of a necessary evil because their food is delicious, and they have a great spot in East Village, but be prepared for a less than ideal customer service experience and long waits for food.

I hope to revisit this adorable bakery in the amazing, historic Simmons building again soon. Went on their opening day, and it was packed full of people. They had a lot of people working but were clearly working out the process of expediting and delegation. Many employees were sort of wandering aimlessly, and often two or three employees were working on the same order. Once they manage to make their process more seamless the ordering and waiting for food will be as enjoyable as eating it. Because the food is to die for. I had half a ham sandwich and shared a cheese stick and both were the best tasting items I've had in a long time! The space they have is magnificent, I love the bar stools and the decor of the building. It was such a pleasant visit, I cannot wait to return once they've had a bit of time to adjust to being new.

Food here is great. However, I went in at lunch time on a weekday and there were about 20 people in line and all of them were ordering sandwiches and salads. There were 4 people working behind the counter. One asked if we were getting anything from the bakery section and when we replied no. They informed us we would need to place our order for non bakery items once we got to the front of the line. So these 4 people continued standing around doing nothing because no one in line was ordering anything from the bakery. There was only one person at the check-out that was responsible for taking orders for LUNCH items such as sandwiches, salads, etc. He was taking all the orders and dishing out the salads and sandwiches. The 4 other people were standing there doing nothing and perhaps could have been helping dish out the salads? They could have been taking the orders and telling him what the customers ordered and he could ring them in. It was a bit ridiculous. Ordering and getting our food took an incredibly long time.

Brilliant food, made with patience, care, and top ingredients. Where else can you get a proper French sourdough or croissant in Canada? I've recently been taken off gluten but didn't suffer at all from eating a slice their delicious bread. This may explain why: "Sourdough bread, fermented for at least 7 hours or longer, is the time it takes to transform the bread. Then it [is] not only easily digested, but often can be handled by those who are gluten intolerant." Of course you should be cautious if you are celiac, but Sidewalk's traditional sourdough method is totally the way to go for all bread lovers. More about it here: http://m.naturalnews.com/news/042793_gluten_sensitivity_sourdough_bread_celiac_disease.html http://www.culturedfoodlife.com/can-sourdough-change-the-gluten-free-diet/

Seriously the best bakery in town for my money. Sourdough throughout, and always amazingly delicious! 3.5 stars does not do it justice!!