West End Bakery and Cafe

The most appalling service ever
For the past seven years that I’ve lived in Asheville I have been a very big fan of this bakery. Until a few weeks ago, that is. My mother and I and my infant son came in close to closing time. The man behind the counter seemed decent enough at first, however his behavior towards us quickly became what I can only describe as appalling. First, when my mother and I were discussing the options, I told her that they don’t have gluten free bread, because that was what I remembered, and the man behind the counter said to her, «she [meaning me] doesn’t know what she’s talking about. We do have gluten free bread, in fact it’s the best gluten free bread in Asheville».
Ok. I was offended by his snarky tone and rudeness but we continued on. Once we had established that you do indeed have gluten free bread, my mother asked him, well, what sandwich do you suggest? Her tone was very lighthearted and curious, no malice in it. To which he simply replied, «Nope». When we both looked at him blankly, he said, I’m not going to do that.
Okay. this was the second really weird thing that happened and I want to say at this point that I have never been treated by anyone in this bakery like this before. So this was really something of a surprise and I was getting a little uncomfortable with his passive aggressive comments towards us that were completely unwarranted. I kind of lost track of their conversation for a moment but then my mom must have been offended by something that he said, which was not surprising at this point, because she said to him – «excuse me but are you trying to insult me»? To which he replied loudly, «NO!» Absolutely no explanation and no apology. Then my mom said, well I’d like to give you some feedback because when you say what you just said, it sounds like you are insulting me. Then he actually had the gall to say, well let me give YOU some feedback, I’M NOT!
This was really incredible.
At this point both of us really wanted to leave but we were really hungry and my mom was really trying. She asked if there was another person who could help us besides him, to which he replied very much in the same tone of angry jackass, «yes!» The woman standing next to him who had been watching these proceedings with absolutely no comment or apology stepped over. Neither of them seem inclined to apologize in any way for what we felt was extremely rude behavior. In fact, the guy continued to stand there even after we made it clear we didn’t want to be waited on him as if he was going to supervise our ordering process with the new woman who has stepped in to take his place. It was really unbelievable and a little scary honestly. At that point we both left the shop feeling terrible.
This encounter really made me feel like West Asheville has really changed in a bad way and I’m really bummed about it. And I won’t be going back to the bakery, that’s for sure.

The Vegetarian Sausage, Egg, and Cheese is top notch. I ordered it on a biscuit, which was buttery and the right balance of fluffy and crunchy. They use local eggs, and the vegetarian sausage is seasoned to perfection. It is worth coming here just for this dish (my non-​vegetarian friends loved the sausage, too).

The staff is extremely rude. I get it: you think you’re hip because you’re a barista in a café and you have a mustache, but treating customers like they’re beneath you is ugly. Also there are dozens of other cafes and bakeries in Asheville with much better customer service, so get off your hipster high horse – you’re not special. This dude needs to be fired especially because upon reading other reviews, I’m not the only one who was treated like an ant by this colossal douchebag.

Delicious baked goods: cinnamon roll & raspberry scone. The French toast special (raspberry cinnamon pecan) was a hit. Sausage gravy on a biscuit had right amount of spice.

Even though the bakery is in West Asheville, I always get this «yuppie» vibe from the place which I do not like. I’m casual all the way. The only reason we’ve visited this bakery (and we’ve gone twice to be fair) was because we were doing laundry off Haywood Rd and were hungry. So we didn’t look too shabby considering it was laundry day and while we didn’t get looks or smell or anything, I just FELT out of place. Weird.
For the food, I like that they use local farm raised eggs and have generally healthy food practices. We both have gotten their breakfast sandwiches on biscuits and their cinnamon rolls. The eggs are amazing. The biscuit was way too dry each time for me. No complaint on the cinnamon roll.
Service has been decent. I don’t really have anything to say about it one way or the other. There is plenty of seating but on busy days it just feels like too much going in there. Maybe it’s that set up that made us feel uneasy. Either way, this was nothing too special for me.

Had better had worse. Staff is nice. There’s lots of places serving backed goods here and to serve a cinnamon roll that’s tasteless, or to make a horrible suck all moisture out of your mouth biscuit us just wrong. Especially with soooooo many other options available. That being said it is kid friendly and conveniently located near many other west Asheville businesses. Go in expecting average and you won’t be disappointed.

You know, I really want to keep my 5-​star review from the other day. I love this place’s concept and their food and drinks are GREAT.
BUT, I’ve been here three times and I’ve never felt welcomed by the person taking my order and money. They always seem mad or like they’re annoyed to have customers. That’s a huge turn-​off. I hope I’ve just caught the three different employees on a bad day.

I’ve had mixed experiences here. Some days it’s quick and friendly, other days it’s been cold food and poor service. Today has been nice. Friendly quick service, had the banana walnut bread this morning. It was light and fluffy not heavy and dense. The patio was swamped with dogs and owners but they, the dogs, we’re all social and well be haved.

So this place is by my house and I have gone a dozen times with my daughter but after today she said «I am never going back». The food is okay but the staff are nasty! They are very slow and rude. The café tables are always dirty and with all the staff just standing behind the counter doing nothing you would think one of them could do their job! If I was the owner I would put a camera facing behind the counter area. I think if any owner saw their paid staff just standing together behind a counter and ignoring the customers, would want to know. It’s sad because I won’t return, my daughter and all her friends won’t return and it’s not because of the food but because of the staff.

Most places in Asheville have outstanding service. When you go to a place like West End, where the cashier is so suave as to make every other Asheville server look like a ham-​fisted troglodyte, you take notice, and you give points! Whoever it was running the cash register last Friday was just such a gentleman and a scholar.
I ordered a rooibos tea and a Euro Turkey Panini (ungrilled, no cheese) with balsamic italian dressing, wheat bread, and chopped, roasted red peppers. The rooibos tea tasted exactly like rooibos tea everywhere. It was perfectly fine, and I like rooibos, so hooray.
The sandwich was also perfectly great. Not world class, but great. The most interesting part of the sandwich was actually the wheat bread it was served on. It was fresh, hand-​sliced, tasted like the old fashioned loaves of plain, wholesome American bread my hippie parents used to bake at home from the Tassajara Bread Book.

Very disappointed. After reading reviews was looking forward to trying this place. Finally arrived at register to order and they were out of everything we wanted. How does one run out of french toast; it’s a meal that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Which means it’s been prepared ahead of time… if I wanted prepared ahead of time I would’ve choosen fast food. Smh; disappointing.

Been there three times since first visiting Asheville.
Great coffee and food. Best hot cross buns
ever…nationwide even.
Indoor and outdoor seating
Offstreet parking
Very broad menu, includes healthy choices
FAST, friendly service
Bathrooms clean
Room for doggies on the covered patio
Free WIFI

I’ve stopped by here when I’m going through Asheville many times and the food is always solid. The only knock is their service. The folks taking your order are sometimes grumpy for no apparent reason.

Cold service, food, and coffee. +1 star for walking distance to the neighborhood and solar hot water.

Wonderful café! This was one of my first stops when I moved to Asheville and the staff (most of them) are very pleasant! The coffee was great and the cinnamon roll I got was divine.
It is very spacious and inviting to sit and hang out. They have a couch and big chairs and a reading area and lots of toys for kiddos. That was a huge plus for me. I was able to enjoy my mocha while my son played with a new friend!
I would give them 5 stars but it’s a tad pricey (at least for me) — almost $ 8 for a bagel and mocha. Definitely worth going once a week at least if you can. :)
Oh and it’s great that they had a lot you can park in. Because the other coffee shops nearby are almost impossible to legally park at.

Pretty decent selection of baked goods… Could use more vegan options for breakfast… good almond milk latte… please do something about the muffin wrappers you lose one-​third of your muffin when it’s stuck to the wrapper (pic attached)

My go to spot if I need some wifi and a bite to eat. Great vibe, quick service, decent food and coffee, all while not too expensive.
You will see plenty of local art on display when you walk into this café. My eyes go straight to the menu board though. Either that or the pastries.
Then to ordering. Sometimes, you walk right up, sometimes the line is to the door. Honestly, I’m not a fan of people blocking my view of the pastries. Once you get to the cashier, its pretty straight forward. I’m pretty partial to the trout bagel. I love the fact that they have almond milk for my coffee as well. When done ordering they give you a little number for your table and off you go.
I put my number down to grab a spot and then go get my coffee, have had many of good spots grabbed doing it the other way around. If you go back towards the bathrooms there is a large area for flyers and local event ads. its normally worth a gander.
The food normally comes pretty quick. Its up to you for refills and busing your own table. All pretty straight forward and labelled. I’ve spent plenty of time just drinking coffee afterwards and using the wifi without being harassed. All in all a pretty great spot for the purpose it serves.

I stopped by here on my way to Charlotte, hoping maybe I’d run into Adam Copeland aka Edge from the WWE… but sadly I didn’t.
This place reminds me of the mom and pop places in Austin and Dallas, and they didn’t disappoint. I had a trout bagel (it seemed interesting considering how many times I’ve had lox) along with a cup of coffee. It was interesting, and really hit the spot.

I’ve tried to give this place a chance, considering that it’s apparently beloved by the neighborhood, but I just can’t do it. Crummy food, every single time. Stale, hard biscuits at 10am? Really? No thanks! Service leaves something to be desired. Like, maybe a mildly friendly attitude towards the customer, at least… AT LEAST! No thanks, West End.

A great local place for breakfast. The selection of breakfast items was rather impressive, I was particularly pleased with their use of local ingredients. The Hickory Nut Gap Sausage Biscuit was buttery and warm. It was one of the best biscuits I have ever had. I was also happy that I can get a decent cappuccino here.