(5 star ) We had caramel macchiato coffee and pastries at Bread Garden Market, and everything was delicious! The service was great, and the staff were friendly and welcoming. It's also a wonderful place to shop for groceries, with a great variety of fresh breads, pastries, meals, and other food options. There's something for everyone! Great food, great service, and a great place to eat and shop and very clean inside the store. We'll definitely be back! always! read more

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In every city I go to I find a diamond in the ruff. My hotel was near the Bread Garden Market & Bakery and I decided to check it out. My personal feeling is this place is awesome! In my travels I haven't found many places where you can get a double bacon burger, brisket fries and a cold beer for around $20. The burger with brisket fries was awesome and the Pilsner was a great combination to wash it down. Service was awesome and the patio offers a great view. Overall this is a great spot!!!! I not only recommend this place but personally can't wait to come back!!! read more

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Bread Garden is a number of things: bakery, generous wine and beer section, cheese monger, grocery store, deli, and patio. I probably missed a couple descriptors, as I really needed another visit to wind around this place some more. I left with a single beer (for an evening nightcap at my hotel room) and a scone (for the next morning). I appreciated the friendly help as I might have looked confused as I wandered along. read more

Those recycling bins? They don't use them. The owner has told staff to just toss all recycling into the trash bin. The warm food is also reheated food from their packaged meals that were about to expire. read more

Great space to hang out and shop for unique and healthy products and produce. Very friendly staff that can actually help.

I went here for dinner and it was on a friday night and they had great happy hour specials for cheese platters, sandwiches and salads. the service was really nice and excellent in answering questions and the salad was really flavorful, great ingredients and good portion size. the accompanying bread was also really good read more

Amazing, affordable bread (a perfect sourdough loaf for just $2.50) and fantastic $5 lunch options straight from the market kitchen. The fries are next-level the best I've ever had. Hand-cut, super crunchy on the outside like a chip, and soft and creamy on the inside. I usually avoid fries, but these have me hooked. read more

Bread Garden Market - Grocery Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

This is a staple during any of my visits to IC. Get the Tuscan tomato soup and sourdough bread. Amazing! You can put in a catering order to get bigger sizes of it ahead of time. Decent place to meet up for lunch or study. Can get loud at times. I appreciate that you carry a lot of drinks, but would love it if you carried Wild Wonder for those of us who don't drink alcohol. read more

This is a fantastic business. It's like cafe meets bakery meets gourmet grocer. I stayed at the hotel next door and had a daily food and bev credit for Bread Garden Market. I ordered the spicy ginger chai latte each morning and a breakfast scramble. Both delicious and the breakfast was healthy and filling. They have gelato and other delectable baked goods in addition to a selection of fresh produce and packaged foods. Really great place to pick up snacks for a road trip, some staples for home, or a hot meal. read more

Bread Garden Market - 3 egg scramble with sourdough - Grocery Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

great place to grab lunch. had a very good fresh made salad and ate outdoors. recommended for a casual quick lunch.

The food at the hot bar is fresh and delicious. They also have a deli where you can make your own sandwiches. 10/10 recommend read more

Bread Garden Market - Grocery Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

This market has a ton of variety, indoor seating throughout the store & outside, great coffee bar--had a seasonal peach cobbler latte YUM! Also got the salad bar and some vegetable barley soup to go. Flavorful & good quality! Staff friendly! read more

loved it, fantastic selection and wonderful staff. Would come again for sure. check hours before you go!

Food was delicious. Unique grocery store slash pub bar. Homemade bread and gelato is my favorite.

Selection was great however experience was terrible and made me uncomfortable. The person who I assumed to be owner/manager marched up to cooks yelling at them to turn their music down in front of customers. He kept returning -getting louder each time. I understand him not wanting their music loud enough for customers to hear, however his aggressive tone and inappropriate, unprofessional handling of the situation left me stunned! If you have staff who are not understanding talk to them somewhere else. You may not want to hear their music but I don't want to hear you yelling at them. I'm not a student (not that it should matter)- just visiting- staying in adjacent hotel. I will definitely be shopping somewhere else. read more

The service here is beyond poor. The wait staff is rude and has poor information, incredibly slow too.

The food and drinks are fine a the bread Garden at University of Iowa Hospital. Some of the customer facing staff are rude. I ordered a drink on a busy morning and when an item was placed that was identical to my order buy iced rather than hot, and no one seemed to be coming up to claim it, I said I ordered this but it was ordered hot. The girl putting the drinks on the counter to be ordered said, it will be up later. The heavy blond girl working at the order window looked over at me and said in a loud voice," "your drink is 5 th in line". I just thought there might be a simple mistake, but this young lady was loud and rude. read more

The food and wine selection and grocery was a great find! I went a few times for lunch and dinner and it was great! Highly recommend.

At the main UIHC location maybe less people standing around talking to each other and more producing orders. 5-6 employees 3 actually working and 2 customers and they still forgot my sandwich read more

Great selection of pastries and a decent variety of groceries. Excellent fresh-squeezed lemonade! A good place to stop in to get a quick bite if you're walking around downtown. read more

Great pastries and customer service in the the heart of Iowa city tried the cheese danish

Delicious food! Great Café selection for grab-and-go. Not the cheapest, but the food all feels quality. Staff is very friendly. The space is limited, but they pack a great mix of things you love and new things to try. I love grabbing a little $1 piece of nice cheese from the charcuterie cooler along with a the BBQ turkey sandwich and a Diet Coke for lunch. As much as they have healthy and organic items, they make sure to have your "normal" guilty pleasures as well. They even have a wine bar that looks to open onto a patio in the summer (it is closed off for winter now). I have yet to try their breakfast items, but their self-serve batches of unsweetened tea are great in the morning (although I recommend sweetening them). It's very convenient in the Pedestrian Mall to run down instead of ordering delivery when staying in the nearby hotels. read more

Small town shop, big time grade!! Like a combined Whole Foods and TJs, ..... including bar and good food.

Yummy and delicious, I love their sandwiches. The staff is always so friendly, I just wish it wasn't so expensive, but isn't a deal breaker for me, since the stuff is so quality read more

I had a delivery order and it was very secure but eco friendly. Loved the vegan salad!

This review is only about Bread Garden Market's STELLAR catering. Consider it the millennial in me, but I love me online ordering. ESPECIALLY when it comes to catering. Because quantities aren't a science and sometimes it takes me a second to realize what I want. I ordered 48 hours before I needed it. (Which the site SPECIFICALLY says is the minimum they need to ensure orders are done. Since I needed it for about twenty people, I had a little more leeway to order closer to the event. A week is sometimes required.) I made an account online. The pricing and sizing were all well outlined. I opted for both the Gourmet Cheese Tray and Mini Sugar Cookies. Once I put in the order I was contacted online by an employee, clarifying things and confirming my order would be done at the time I requested for pickup. The day of, pickup was easy peasy. The food was perfection and I was happy with the quantity/quality for the price. Each tray stretch more than I anticipated. And the 'custom' plaid sugar cookies were adorable. After the event, the catering manager (Allison) reached out to ensure everything was to my liking. Five star catering for me. I'll without a doubt use Bread Garden Market Catering in the future, and you should, too! read more

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An Iowa City staple. What happens when it's Sunday morning and you're in a pinch for quick breaky? Bread Garden to the rescue. We didn't have an hour to wait for a table but we DID have time to rapidly order our food on a kiosk and have it prepared by the wonderful staff at Bread Garden. I forgot to take photos but if you could have peered at the pumpin' party on my tastebuds, you'd understand why there are no photos to be had. Let's be real, a girl has gotta eat. Ooo, the breakfast scramble was worth every up-charge for the ingredients I selected (yes, they'll charge you $0.50 for extra salsa but DON'T SKIP ON THE SALSA VERDE-- it packs a punch)! The bacon was flavorful, the portion was filling, the roasted potatoes were umph* kisses fingers* brilliant! We had a hot chocolate and honey lavender latte from the pastry/bakery section too. I don't think the latte is worth the money, it wasn't mixed well and ended up tasting like oatmeal? But all the same, it wasn't bad and ya can't mess up hot cocoa. I love a quick on-the go food place and Bread Garden has been faithful to us the past three times we've been on the run! BG for the win! read more

Great variety of options. The breakfast burritos were great. Awesome beer and wine selection also.

This place is something special. Where to begin?! The Ped Mall location is convenient and centralized, which makes their huge patio all the better when the weather is nice. They have a sign deterring students from doing homework during lunch hours, which I'd say is effective for the most part (though maybe less effective on days with really nice weather); whenever I've visited, there's been a blend of customers, from moms with toddlers to solitary students to people hosting meetings--it makes me feel less disconnected from Iowa City compared to, say, when I work at Starbucks and Java House surrounded by other students. In terms of the store itself, it definitely lives up to its name with an abundance of delicious bread items, but bread is only one of their many offerings. Their desserts are soooo good, if a bit pricey. Seriously, if you're having a "treat yourself" kind of day, do yourself a favor and buy a cake. Or a cheesecake. Or another fancy dessert. Whoever said the store is like Whole Foods really hit the nail on the head. It has a wide variety of fancy, often healthy products and well-known brands. If that doesn't convince you it's worth a trip, Bread Garden has an extensive selection of wine and beer, a pay-by-the-pound lunch buffet with winners like quinoa salad, tofu, and hot soup, and of course a little café section where you can pick up some insanely good pastries, coffee, and gelato. Oh, plus parking next door. I mean really, what else could you want? read more

It was very cool to go there the customer service was good the food was very good I would recommend their ice cream and the have a bunch of organic food and healthy foods that taste good. It was worth every penny I spent. I would 100% recommend. read more

Bread Garden Market has something for everyone and is a great place to grab a quick lunch with a friend. The location along the Ped Mall makes it a great place to grab a sandwich or soup before heading to Film Scene to catch a movie. They offer a good variety to suit even the choosiest eater. Salads, soups, sandwiches, pastries, sushi, and the list goes on. I would liken it to a smaller scale Whole Foods. The prices can be a little high, but you do get good quality, fresh food. At the peak times, catching a table can be challenging, but it is worth the wait. read more

I just love these kind of places. Beautiful food, endless carry out food options with dishes like tofu fajitas and white bean soup to steamed kale and meatloaf. Why, yes, I'll take one of everything and try to cram it all in this biodegradable box. This business is part cafe/restaurant and part grocery. Their fresh fruit, juices and kombucha offerings are quite extensive. The also have a hefty baked goods section with croissants, cakes, doughnuts and more. Prices are higher than your big box options like Hyvee but I'm not complaining when it comes to that tasty and diverse box filled with home-style and healthy eats. Cherry on top? Their huge patio with covered seating on the pedestrian mall. Perfect for people watching! (They also sell beer and wine- feel free to linger and soak it all in!). read more

Bread Garden Market - Grocery Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

This is a pretty cool market. They have wine tasting when I visited on a Saturday. They also have tons of salad, sandwiches, and order to made goodies. What I liked the most in particular is their bread. They have a wide selection of breads and I picked up the jalapeno cheddar bread. SO so good! They even have a bread slicer where the staff (super helpful by the way) helps you put in the machine, slice, and bag it for you. It was $5! What a great price for the bread and the slicing. I love how thin they slice it, because it tasted wonderful straight out of the toaster. You don't even need to put anything on it and it's still delicious! read more

A great store that's perfect to grab food and has outdoor seating you can enjoy. Staff was helpful

The Bread Garden Pros: Food Selection, Freshness of food, Friendly Staff, lots of register's & location Cons: Parking Lot Whenever I want a fresh sandwich or fresh fruit in Iowa CIty, bread garden is the first place that comes to mind. Every time I visit the bread garden it's a pleasant experience. The place not only has a great appearance it smells fresh too. I've always loved the way "health food stores" look and smell and the bread garden is no exception. When you walk in the store you're usually accompanied by other friendly customers and guest. The selection of meat, cheese and fruit is one of the best in the area. You can get a custom made sandwich made at the deli with your choice of meat and cheese and the bread they carry is a delicious treat. If a sandwich isn't what you're looking for you can opt for fresh fruit or something from the hot food area. The bread garden is a great place to go by yourself or with friends, they even have a patio area where you can enjoy the view of the library and Ped MalI. The only 'con' I would like to mention about the bread garden is the parking lot it's sort of small for the area but hopefully in the future they are able to expand to meet the demand of their customers. Overall, I highly recommend the bread garden if you're looking for great, fresh, delicious food. read more

Bread Garden Market - The parking lot - Grocery Near Me - Iowa City, Iowa

If you are looking for healthy and convenient food, this is a great option on the Ped Mall. It is insanely convenient for me, so I frequent it far more often than I normally would shop at a fancy grocery store. They have really good fresh bread (go early in the morning to get it when it's still warm!), an adequate selection of grocery items, milk, frozen goods, and cheeses. And then there's the hot and cold buffets, and the deli counter, and olives, and the burger counter... and they have a wine shop. And beer. And a gelato/coffee counter. And a butcher counter. And some quality cooking hardware. This place has pretty much anything a yuppie desires, proportionately priced for convenience. I recently tried a poke bowl, which is hidden on the 2nd page of their digital menu, and it was quite tasty. Odd to have a poke bowl made with sushi rice, but raw fish tastes good with that kind of seasoned rice, so I wasn't too concerned. Definitely a fan! read more

Such a great place! I was surprised by all of the items at the market and the great food made to order.

Bread garden is my go-to lunch spot during the week when I'm too lazy or disorganized to pack my own -- mostly because they have an amazing salad bar! This spot also has tons of grab & go options, including delicious and unique pre-made sandwiches made with Boar's Head meats, sushi, snack packs with Oasis hummus and veggies, and pre-made salads. They also have a hot food bar with a menu that rotates daily, and five soups that rotate daily (the menu is posted on their website every day by 11 a.m.) You can never go wrong with a little mac and cheese, chicken tenders, and bacon brussels sprouts. My go-to salad concoction is arugula, pepitas, almond slices, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, feta cheese and a little balsamic vinaigrette. Best part about the salad bar is you get two complimentary slices of bread! I should also add that Bread Garden has great coffee, and a totally addicting cheddar chive scone that I've ordered more mornings than I care to admit. read more

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I have eaten here more than any other place in IC and I feel like the rest of the town is probably in the same boat if they really think about it. It's a great local market - but the Deli and the food options they offer are the real award winners here. There is a generous hot bar, soups, salads, sandwiches, pizza, sushi, I mean, you name it and you can probably get it for lunch here. There is a smoothie selection, gelato, and an coffee bar. They've got a lovely bakery, you can snag a burrito or breakfast items. A decent meat department, all the yummy cheeses and a solid wine selection, too. When traveling in the area I love it because I can stop in and stock up my hotel room with treats and eats. My most recent trip was early in my pregnancy and I picked up a full bag of anything I was craving and created my own mini fridge feast. Indoor and outdoor seating available. read more

The Bread Garden is one of the places you need to stop by to experience. The place has got some hippie flare, but doesn't cross the line that says, you can't shower if you shop here. They've got an incredible selection of cheeses, some great beers and a fantastic wine selection. It's not quite up to the level of John's Grocery, but it's about as close as you can come while remaining outside the hallowed beer laden hall of John's. The folks here are very nice and always helpful when we're looking for something a little out of the ordinary. They've got good coffee and plenty of outdoor seating for those study filled days or when you're just looking to chillax on the ped mall. Overall, it's a good place to grab more specialized items and has less of a selection than the co-ops in town. Not a place to go when you're looking to get good deals on things to feed a large group with, but worth going to when you're looking to grab a couple lesser known beers and some strong cheese. read more