Roswell Provisions

You can find Roswell Provisions at 955 Canton St, Roswell, GA 30 075 — it’s just to the right of Zest along the main Roswell town-​center drag — look for the bicycle on the window and sign. Parking is along the streets (difficult) or in one of the several lots. I parked across the street at the Canton Street Antique market.
If you’ve been following along you’ll know from my last post that while having dinner with some friends at Zest, we decided to try Roswell Provisions for coffee. Roswell Provisions is an independent market specializing in wines, fine cheeses, cured meats from the fabulous Patak in Austell, sea salt butter — you get the drift. They also have coffee and a display case full of desserts and baked goods. Conceptually modeled after Star Provisions at Bacchanalia, Roswell Provisions takes similar foods and places them in more of a small town setting.
The interior of this fine establishment is a bit over-​the-​top and forced, but I think in a good way. At first view there’s a lot going on with burgeoning French-​Provencal decoration and object-​de-​art items at every view. I think the idea is to impart the feeling of European corner grocer, and yes they do that in spades. Everywhere you look is another item that blends well with the overall design concept — not my style (I tend towards a more modernist, streamlined look), but for the Roswell resident, and especially for the Roswell mother-​of-​two-​point-​five, I’m sure they feel quite at home. It provides a fantastic setting for the terrific grocery offerings.
This is a place that you have to walk around and explore — very nook and cranny holds something special and it’s certainly worth your time to peruse. It’s also very difficult to walk out of without holding a bag of goodies. On this night besides coffee we purchased a couple of baked sweets. We sat in one of the few tables towards the front of the store and enjoyed more conversation while nursing some very good coffee. We had a croissant stuffed with almond paste, a nutty pecan tart and of course my favorite, ice cream. All were good and a terrific end to a great evening. If you’re in the area you must drop in — ‘nough said!
(also posted to my food blog)

Whether you drop in for coffee and a pastry or dessert or the perfect hostess gift or even come to find just the right cheese and charcuterie for your next party, this place has it all. Every time I find myself in downtown Roswell, I have to stop in, even just to sample some salami.
The service is typically pretty good. I have always been treated kindly, and I have found their staff to be so helpful.

Very nice selection of fine french fromage, charcuterie, olives, beef and poultry (including fois gras), and pastries. Not quite as extensive as Star Provisions but of that calibre and right here in Roswell! I wish I had found this place sooner. We picked up some Mimolette (french cheddar) for philly cheesesteaks (as per Alton’s directions), some very nice Castelvetrano olives, a fine light creamy blue cheese (called Fourme D Ambert) recommended by Robin, the cheese monger and a parmesan I plan to shave for carpaccio. Very pleased with all of it.

Downstairs — a cute little gift shop that caters to gourmands. You’ll find a thousand different types of rubs and marinades, a very nice selection of wines and imported French treats, and a nice selection of other gift type items. There’s also a coffee bar complete with a pastry counter. I personally found the cupcakes to be beautiful in presentation but disappointing in taste (dry, dry, dry — and if you’ve read my previous reviews, you know how quickly a dry cake ruins a perfectly beautiful dessert for me!) while the coffee was quite delicious.
Upstairs — a very charming French café. I’ve eaten lunch here twice, once inside and once outside. I recommend sitting outside on the rooftop patio if you get the chance — the view of hustling, bustling Canton Street can’t be beaten. The food is authentic French fare, but be warned — you’ll be waiting. The restaurant seems to have adopted a truly European approach to dining, and this is absolutely *not* the place to come if you’re in any sort of a hurry.
The chicken and mushroom pastry puffs are divine, as is the French Onion Soup, which apparently comes from the original recipe of the owner’s French mother-​in-​law, or something like that. However, the croque monsieur (I was sooooo looking forward to it, as it’s one of my all-​time favorite sandwiches) left a lot to be desired. Basically, the bread was more ‘bread’ than ‘toast.’ It was cheese bread, not crisp at all, and just didn’t work for me.
What really stood out was that it took us a while to place our order, took a longer while for the food to come out, and when we were asked if we’d like to see the dessert menu, we said yes but after twenty minutes in which the dessert menu never materialized and the waitress didn’t return, we finally asked for the check. I am all for a leisurely lunch, seriously, but don’t ask someone if they’d like dessert, get a yes, and then ignore them for 20 minutes. Otherwise, service was super friendly and the food wasn’t bad. Not my favorite lunch spot on Canton Street, but solid enough.

The truffles are amazing! Highly recommend the coconut cream pie. Delish! Great selection of pastries, meats, and cheeses.

This place gets extra points for location and ambience. I’ve stopped by here many times and looked in, but never bought anything until I came in today during a bike ride.
This is a review only of their bakery and coffee establishment on the ground floor. I ordered a small coffee and butter croissant. I decided to try this place because the AJC just had an article touting the coffee at Roswell Provisions. I found the coffee, however, a little weak and bland for my tastes. They didn’t fill my order correctly and gave me a ham croissant instead of a butter croissant. The croissant was Ok, but I think they should try to fill orders correctly.
The nicest part is the patio area in the front. It’s very pleasant to sit there with your coffee and relax, but seating is a little tight and you’ll have to be prepared to hear other guests’ conversations.
Pricing was not too bad– $ 4 for the small coffee and croissant.

First time actually making it to this area, as It seems I used to pass this everyday when I was in College on my way back home. First off, this area might be the move this summer, but on to that later. Me and some friends were in the area checking out some furniture places, got hungry, so decided to hit Downtown Roswell. Put our names down on a restaurant across the street and decided to check this place out as me and wifey love sweets. From the wide variety of pastries they go I ended up getting an Oreo cupcake for me, and Peanut Butter cupcake for the wife. It was awesome. I will be back in the next weeks to actually try the food here!

This was the cutest little café/​restaurant! It seemed very hip, with a wide variety of milk (almond, anyone) and a whole table of sweeteners. Though my coffee was not as hot as I would have liked, the atmosphere made up for it. Everyone was so warm and I instantly fell in love with the décor!

This place was fantastic! My boyfriend and I were strolling around downtown Roswell and decided to go inside Roswell Provisions to see what they had to offer. First of all the ambience is both cozy and inviting. The place is like an Italian market on a small scale. They had one counter where you could purchase coffee and other specialty drinks. My boyfriend had the cinnamon apple cider which was delicious. They had another counter where you could purchase a huge variety of meats and cheeses. We decided to get a meat and cheese plate to share. The two gentlemen behind the counter were extremely courteous and knowledgable. They helped us choose from the hundreds of meats and cheeses available and gave us generous samples before adding anything to our plate. We ended up with a gorgeous plate with 3 types of very unique cheeses and 3 meats, and they added artichokes, pickles, dates, olives, and sundried tomatoes as well. I can’t say enough about how excellent the service was. There were a couple of tables so we sat down to enjoy our plate there in the store. The only thing that would have made it better in retrospect would be if we had chosen to purchase a bottle of wine from their extensive collection to go with it!

This place is true to its culture. The coffee and pastries are delicious. The seating is very limited, probably for a reason. I recommend coming here, but not with more then three people and not on the weekend.

Love this place! Any day of the week! Also, if you are here before 3pm on weekdays, you should absolutely go upstairs to Le Bistro! I can move in there! It’s the coziest, most delicious place!

Although this place has a good selection of meats and things, and the staff is always very nice, I have had not so nice run ins with the owners. The two don’t have the best sense of customer service and I think they have a pretty bad reputation around Canton street. Just a word to the wise: with all of the other great businesses around Roswell, it’s probably better to save your money for them!

I love the gourmet items in this store! Wonderful selection fine cheeses. I purchased some unique sauces, pasta’s & crackers that will be perfect gifts for my foodie friends.

My family lives within walking distance to the shop. We are now getting our meats and cheeses here. The smoked turkey is SO much better than the grocery brands. We also buy the thick cut bacon. We found our favorite goat cheese ever, Humboldt Fog. Mouthwatering. The shop also carries a great wine selection at very reasonable prices. It’s nice to pick up your groceries, have a bowl of soup and a glass of wine on the front sidewalk and watch all the happenings in Canton street. Our favorite part of our walk :)

Loved it. Everything I ordered was perfect. Affordable. I was at the bistro above Roswell Provisions, it was really cool. It had a European feel to the whole place. Whoever owns both Roswell Provisions and the Bistro upstairs has a great sense of style. The atmosphere in both places is so welcoming and warm.
I had the breakfast quiche (no crust) and a greens salad. I could not get enough of either one. I am sure all of there baked goods were delicious as well, but was not eating gluten at that particular time.

What a wonderful morning we had! The supposedly «very grumpy dark hair lady with a heavy accent» was nothing but fun, lively, friendly and entertaining. She was extremely sweet to our girls and dog! A Super place !

Had to write an update. The consistently bad service here has turned me off to the point were I as a small businessman have actually taken my Patak’s business to the larger and more expensive Harry’s Whole Paycheck.
Nobody seems happy to be working there. They are always understaffed and poorly trained. How poorly trained? I go in there one day to get Patak’s meats. The girl tells me that she has no idea how to work the meat slicer and the owner Cyril is out picking up his son from school.
I’ve worked in a deli. It took me 12 seconds to learn how to use a meat slicer. Cyril comes back, perhaps gave a quick apology for leaving the store with zero people who know how to slice meat.
He takes me order, then brushed me aside. Why, after waiting on his ass for seven minutes while he leaves the store for personal business, he runs to the cash register, because nobody is manning the register in his grossly understaffed shop.
And every time I go, either I have to actually tell them to take the casing off BEFORE slicing the lunchmeat or I have peel off each individual piece. This happens literally once every hundred times or so at a competent store, yet nearly 100 percent at RV.
Every time I ordered a meat I’d get asked, «Which one is it?» Seriously? You don’t know what pastrami looks like? Did I mention they are poorly trained?
Because I like the food, I overlooked the nasty people there long enough. But it’s time to support a place that is run professionally. That rules out the grumpy and completely understaffed Roswell Provisions.

I have only been here a few times, but every time I go into this store, I feel like I am in another place… aka Paris. The guy at the meat and cheese counter is straight up french and so nice. He will make a cheese tray for your with whatever you buy, you just need to give him a few hours. They also look amazing and delicious. I want to eat all the cheese they have here.
Check out their facebook page for pics and specials they have going on!

This review has nothing to do with the food. I’m a big fan of old Roswell and the great restaurants that line the street, this place included, and I’m used to their usually consistent great service.
I stopped in here to ask if photographs were allowed inside. I was doing a session for a high school senior and we were walking along the area and thought it would be cool to sit outside with a drink and snap maybe 10 photos. We wouldn’t be in anyone’s way — just hanging out at a table with a camera and talking, keeping it casual. We didn’t plan on doing any crazy acrobatic poses that would block the sidewalk… and I understand everyone has different photo policies so I thought I’d ask FIRST and not be rude.
But I didn’t even get that far. The guy — and the silent girl next to him who did nothing but stare at us during the entire interaction — was incredibly rude and condscending when he replied to my one SIMPLE QUESTION. I mean, he seemed downright disgusted and he pretty much waved us off. He started talking about what a mess it becomes and no, it wasn’t going to happen. It was like he was both having a really bad day and needed to take it out on someone AND needed to rant about previous bad experiences. His tone was like we were lesser than him. He was wearing all white and a cap, so I’m not sure what his role was in the establishment, but he was such an a-​hole that it made me just turn around and walk out and NEVER want to set foot in there again. And I’ve never called anyone that in any of my reviews, no matter how they behaved. But this guy? Wow. I caught him at the wrong time, that’s for sure.

If you stop in to Roswell Provisions, make sure you check out Le Bistro and Provisions for Home upstairs!
The menu at Le Bistro is FANTASTIC! I highly recommend the French Dip. Ask about the Plat Du Jour, I haven’t tried one I didn’t like. Make sure you save room for dessert– the cupcakes are amazing, and crepes are delicious!

My review is about the restaurant upstairs, not the retail shop. (I thought the restaurant was called «Le Bistro» but since their menu appears on this site, I conclude that it’s one-​and-​the-​same.
Anyway — great outdoor balcony, overlooking Old Canton Street. Friendly and efficient help … and average lunch. My husband’s French dip sandwich looked really good — «3.4 stars» he said. It was too chewy — and he didn’t mean the bread, which BTW, was crisp and delish. My chicken salad was comme ci comme ca. The chicken was ground fine — why do they do that?! — and it was lacking punch and texture. Spice it up, even a little!
Got a 2-​glass carafe of wine for $ 13.95, which added to the ambience of eating outdoors on a beautiful day.
Verdict: not a stand-​out restaurant, but perfectly fine for lunch.

So have you ever checked in somewhere by mistake… Well this was it for me. It was my first time in this area and before I knew it boop… pressed the button on my phone and there I was checked in to a place I had no idea what it was… So I did what any normal person would do… I wandered right inside to check them out.
So my first thought of the shop was that it was interesting (kinda cluttered but in a cool unique way) and had lots of knick knacks to look over. But once I spotted the pastry case, I knew I had to get a nibble. There were a couple of items to choose from but I’m a sucker for a cinnamon roll so that’s what I was going for.
Service was okay… there were 2 ladies working behind the counter one was making a coffee the other was grabbing a pastry. It took a few minutes before I was acknowledge, as the girl grabbing the pastry didn’t think to help me, just looked at me a few times… but it was nothing to piss me off… Just slow on the service.
The lady making coffee actually asked what would I like, and I got a cinnamon roll to go. Again I rarely eat anywhere alone… So in the case I read 3.50 for a cinnamon roll, but on the ticket I took to the register it said 3.95… Again it was nothing to upset me, I also hardly complain about the price of food, because if I didn’t want it I wouldn’t buy it. Just prefer the price in the case and ticket to match next time.
They bring your togo orders over to the register by the entrance. I tried to talk to the guy at the register by saying oh hey it’s my first time in here…, but he was damn tight lipped, didn’t say hide nor hair about the business… so again, not the best customer service day for me, but when it’s approaching the holidays, it does that to people.
The cinnamon roll was okay, it was rather light on the cinnamon, but the pastry bread was actually pretty good. So if/​when I’m back in the area I’m sure I wouldn’t mind stopping in to try something else, just hoping their service will be on their A game…

A quaint Euro Market that adds marvelous diversity and carves a niche’ between sit down restaurants and bars on Canton Street. Come for coffee, snacks, and desserts as you walk, wait or stroll along the many stores and restaurants on the strip. Shop for meats, cheeses, wines to take to the parks or back home with you. Buy local art and Roswell themed souvenirs to share with friends or decorate your house.
Provisions has a bit of everything for everyone and offers a welcome respite, break, lounge, or quick in-​and-​out depending on what you need. Seats both inside and out, friendly staff, and a sister shop with more treasures a few doors down.
The wooded floors, tables, and chairs embrace the small shop, historical ambiance of Canton Street while offering a very personable, Euro market experience that is rare to find in such large metropolitan areas.