Artisano Bakery Café

I come here often when I am waiting for my daughter. The only reason I keep returning is the free wifi, and the plentiful seating. I struggle every time to find something to order. The selection is abysmal, and the quality of the food is terrible.
I just ordered a Mac & cheese, and it was the worst I have ever eaten. I’m fairly certain they just took noodles, tossed them in shredded cheese and nuked it. Greasy, with no sauce at all. Disgusting. I was going to order a quiche, but asked if I could get it without a soup or salad, and they said «Sure! But, it’s the same price.» Thanks, I’ll pass…
No tea selection, and for a bakery, the baked goods are bland and boring. I’ve tried just about all of them… I’ve really tried to find something to enjoy!
I think I’ll have to find other place to hang.

This establishment is not dog friendly. We were asked to move our very peaceful dog so that he was outside the patio area — yet at a restaurant (yes, a real restaurant) nearby, we were able to sit comfortably within the patio area. I found the staff aggressive and discourteous and will not be returning to any Artisano location… I used to like this organization: pity.

Pros.
Food is delicious, although a little on the pricey side.
Plenty of seating.
Pleasant grey haired lady who is always pleasant and has a smile on her face.
Cons:
–It seems whenever I go there they are out of at least a couple things.
Today was no different. Out of broccoli soup, and two different kinds of bread and it was only 1pm.
–Confusing register area, no one knows where to line up and as other reviewers have said, the layout is just poor.
–Food handling area is very dirty. When picking up my order I peered over the counter and the floors were filthy, with more than a days worth of dustballs. And the counter was a mess with old food beneath the grill press and random sandwiches everywhere.
–50 cents for a small bag of chips seemed like a money grab, seeing as other eat-​in bakery cafes in the area, offer chips as a free side.

Artisano is almost identical to other chains — Paradise, Panera, Atlanta Bread, etc. All of them (Artisano included) are «okay». They have soup, salads, sandwiches and a few pastas/​pizzas. It’s more expensive than fast food but not all that much better.
In any case, this Artisano is kind of a hot mess. They were out of multiple ingredients — cranberry mayo, ciabatta, apples, the list went on. Some things we were told about when we ordered, some things we discovered when we picked up (completely dry sandwich, no apples). Staff was certainly friendly but appeared completely frazzled and disorganized.
Based on other reviews, it seems like this location is frequently busy so you’d think they would be, you know, USED to it and perhaps take steps to PREPARE for it. Or maybe they just enjoy their customers’ disappointment? Whatever — the only thing that sets Artisano apart from almost identical chains is their incompetence.

Such good bread. I love the olive bread. The coffee is pretty good as well. The is plenty of seating and the atmosphere is good for a coffee shop.

This used to be a really good coffee shop a few years back. Muffin and coffee combo (free refills) were $ 2.29 and the Eggs in my pocket were delish (like a huge panzerotti but with a western omelette inside and marinara sauce on the side) and were around $ 6.99 at one point. They raised the muffin and coffee combo to $ 2.49 and now is $ 2,69 and the Eggs in my pocket went from 6.99 to $ 7.49 to $ 7.99 to $ 8.49.
Fair enough. I can deal with price increases in today’s world. Everyone’s gotta make a living. However, they’ve gotten cheaper with the side dishes. They used to include a skewer of fruits (strawberry, cantaloupe and honeydew) and now all they give is an orange slice??? seriously!!! The one on Dundas near the Costco gives fruits.
Also, the last time I went here, it took about 40 minutes for the food to come out (usually takes 15 minutes). I get that places get busy, but here’s the kicker, after 39 minutes I get up and inquire — the cashier said «someone before you ordered the same thing so we cancelled the order». UMM WHAT??? I PAID FOR IT UPFRONT!
This isn’t the first time I’ve come to this location disappointed. Another time, they said their oven wasn’t working. Not their fault, but still.
I try to avoid this location as much as possible and you are better off at the Dundas location near the Costco.

I usually love the food here, but this time it was awful. Hands down worst lunch I’ve ever had.
I asked for the Turkey club and requested it with NO bacon. Easy enough right? Well I should have checked before I left with my take out because sure enough… there was bacon. The bread was so hard on one side that I had to tear my sandwich apart to remove the hard parts. Isn’t this supposed to be a bakery?!
Now if you think thats bad, wait for the soup. I opened my cream of broccoli soup I found it looked curtled (like when you put cream in your coffee that has gone back and it forms small chunks.) Yuck.
Total waste of time and my hard earned $ 11.50+ (which by the way is too expensive for a half sanwhich and soup!)

When I went here it wasn’t busy at all, thankfully, so I didn’t have any of the problems all the 2-​star reviewers mentioned.
I was so hungry that I pretty much inhaled the Choose 2 combo (choose 2 of either soup, small salad or half a sandwich). The gourmet steak sandwich was delicious. It had roasted red peppers. The spinach and arugula salad was good too. The caramelized pecans are amazing! They accommodated my food allergy.
Whole thing came to about $ 11. More expensive than McDonald’s right beside it but much more delicious and healthier. It’s funny, the McDonald’s drive-​thru was really busy, but for a couple bucks more than a Big Mac combo you can get a much better option. It also comes with «signature bread,» which is maybe ¼ of a white baguette.
This is a nice place to eat before jumping on the highway. I definitely recommend it for a quick bite.

The Newer Slower Williams Coffee
Like a new and improved Williams Coffee (if you’ve ever heard of one of those). Artisano’s offers better coffee, gourmet-​ish styled food and FREE WIFI.
The Good
Yes the food is quite tasty, and the staff exuded a positivity that will put a smile on your face. You get a bottomless cup of coffee for $ 2.09 — and its better than most of the other coffee places. i. e Timothy’s, Second Cup.
The Bad
This place has one fatal flaw. There is a huge problem with the way the restaurant is setup. AKA people line up right next to guests table… Its a little awkward at times. Also, Artisano’s really struggles with high traffic times, in and out side of the restaurant. The service will take quite a while during lunch (just try to avoid this), and the small strip mall style parking lot will not aid your experience.
Recommendation;
PARKING;
Unless you see a spot immediately, then don’t waste your time hunting just drive right around back.
My FAVS;
Try their dark roast coffee and split pea soup…
This place would have been four stars if I dined during at a low traffic time. Besides that, if you happen to what a coffee and freshly baked/​cooked sandwiches and soups HEAD ON DOWN to Artisano’s!
Haiku for you;
Artisano’s has
great food, great coffee, great times…
Horrible line ups

The food is great but man, figure out where customers are supposed to line up and give them some direction. I was there on a busy day and customers were lined up in the narrow walkway that goes right between people’s tables meaning you’re sitting there and someone is standing practically on top of you. It’s like eating lunch on a subway car. Then to top it off, customer’s think that’s how you get back to the other tables as well so they try to squeeze through which is almost impossible. An older woman with a walker had to get through so I bunch of us had to get out of line just so she could fit through.
Poor planning to say the least.
Food was good but I did feel sick later but can’t conclusively say the two were related.

Artisano Bakery Café really reminds me of Panera Bread which I frequented in my hood.
But with more items aside from sandwiches on the menu, the cashiers were slow in taking order and then the kitchen got really overwhelmed and the lines started building!
I dropped by wanting to get a coffee… I know Tim Hortons just across the street, I should have went there instead. The line here move so slowly… 5 minutes later I am still lining up. I just want a coffee!
$ 2 for a bottomless coffee is not too bad since Artisano has unlocked WIFI access. but this is definitely not a good place to have enjoy your coffee leisurely and get some work done. The seating arrangement are kind of boring too, all cafeteria style seating…
How come the line still NOT moving!!?
I guess I should go somewhere else!

Seriously folks, get over it. Artisanos is just trying to fill a niche. Sure the whole delivery process is a bit wonky with the pagers and the ‘get your own food’ approach is cumbersome. And yes, the name doesn’t really jive with the style, the food and so on… But it’s just a middle-​of-​the-​road eatery. The food is OK, the prices are a bit high but it is what it is. If I’m in the area, hungry and need food — they fill that requirement. Would I go out of my way to go to Artisanos — not really.

Been once and never again. Fully agree with Tammy Y’s take on the place
Went for a quick bite with the wife — two sandwiches and one water was $ 20+. My immediate thought was with the close proximity to Sheridan, how the hell could students afford to eat here?!
My biggest problem with the place is the ordering process — there appeared to be 3 lines of people with no staff direction. After a couple apologies, we placed an order with an apathetic staffer who immediately forgot to enter ½ our order. With no direction as to where to go once the order was ready, I just kinda hung out near the «kitchen» area and took what was thrown up on the counter.
PS — I don’t take kindly to places like this, (Starbuck’s is another) where you can order a coffee and sit in the comfy chairs for hours on end reading the paper. I could do that at home and I don’t even have to wear pants there.
Alas, we had to search for a while for a place to sit down. I’d rather elbow my way through soccer-​moms and nannies at Whole Foods down the road.

There’s something about Artisano Bakery Café that doesn’t feel exactly right… its very name sums it up, actually. It’s a name that sort of directly grabs the «artisan bakery» trend by the horns and tacks an «o» at the end of it and — Bam! You’ve got a franchise baby packed and ready to go. Everything from the menu, to the food, to the décor seems to reflect this — mimicking what a genuine artisan bakery/​family-​owned café might look like. Additionally, giant signs that basically scream «Franchise!» everywhere seal the deal. I’m not sold.
It’s a weird system — you go up to the counter, order your meal (pizza and pasta deals, soups, salads, sandwiches are your mains). Staff are friendly enough, but also a giveaway that the people behind the counter don’t love or worship the food the way a true artisan establishment would. They love it the way they might love being behind a Tim Horton’s counter. After ordering, you get one of those flashy black notifiers that blinks when your order is ready (wow! really traditional and authentic!). Sadly, the table next to us had a faulty one and had their meals sitting at the counter with no claimant, and a confused server running around checking everyone’s flashy thinger.
Food was average considering the price — pizza is a thicker dough with lots of air bubbles, and it tastes alright, fine but nothing noteworthy. Something of note, however, is a rather reasonable multigrain crust. Surprisingly doesn’t taste like cardboard and there are poppy seeds! Charming! Among our party was someone who ordered soup and another who went for the cannelloni. All came with a nice crispy salad, which was perfect on the patio. In short, this place’s niche is for that target market who wants something sort of more chic than Swiss Chalet, but not quite Sassafraz.
I just can’t get over the fact that they’re called «Artisano». I was set up for Puccini and I got Il Divo instead.