I go here once a year, for one reason only: to get my boyfriend's birthday cake, the flourless chocolate espresso torte, topped in fruit and whipped cream. I order it ahead of time. It's a hit every year and I don't know anywhere else in town that makes this cake better than they do. It is expensive. My boyfriend is worth it. But that's the only reason I go here. There are a lot of cafes in Amherst and I'll go to any of them before I subject myself to the service at the Black Sheep. As you've already read,the service here is poor. "Grudging" is a good word for it. You may or may not be welcomed as you enter. And even though you can see three or four employees building a long sandwich together at the deli counter, you cannot count on one of them to turn around to help you. You might just have to stand there awkwardly for a while. It's annoying and I'm surprised all the poor reviews here haven't changed anything. I used to write at this cafe in the early morning but I have switched over to Starbucks, and it's not because I love the coffee so much. It's because of the service. Black Sheep, listen up: good service makes a difference! read more

We had the Black Sheep cater an outdoor birthday party for 50. They supplied a vegetarian and a meat chili, with baguette and cornbread. They also supplied hot mulled cider. Both chilis received high marks from folks, the baguettes were really fresh, and the cornbread was yummy. Additionally, they provided the set-up to keep the chilis hot; going to great lengths to fit an extension cord through a wall 8 feet up! We are very happy with the food and the support setting up. Thank you Black Sheep Deli!!!! read more

Great spot for lunch. Had "The Club" sandwich and cold brew. Great macaroons too. Right near Emily Dickinson home museum for taking in a tour. May be a wait during lunch time. read more

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Went here on a Sunday for brunch. Ordered a Southern Comfort and a spinach salad. The Southern Comfort was disappointing. It was supposed to have buffalo chicken, spicy mayo, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, but it tasted like a normal BLT. The chicken had little flavor and they put very little spicy mayo on the sandwich. The spinach salad had a good blend of flavors, but it was served in a plastic to-go container with plastic fork and knife, even though we were eating it in the restaurant. Our lunch had a lot of plastic waste, which is uncommon in an environmentally-friendly town like Amherst. They also do not have paper recycling (only cans and bottles). Service was ok. I recommend splitting into several checks since they were serving people with a single sandwich (who had ordered after us) before making our larger order. They do give a cash discount, which was nice. The staff were not overly friendly but also not rude. They ran out of napkins and water cups. When we asked them to restock, they said "I'll check if we have any left," but they were able to restock both. There was a jazz band playing, and they were extremely loud given the small dining space. Their volume made it difficult to talk to the other people at our table. Overall a pretty mediocre experience. There are better places to go in Amherst Center. read more

The staff is extremely friends, and the sandwiches are overstuffed which is great of you're hungry. I'm pretty sure they had a mishap and charged me for half a sandwich but I got a whole, considering my total was 5.85 with a water. Also, you can sub anything you want and they're okay with it. The taste is okay, nothing special. Probably won't come back unless I'm low on cash. read more

The Black Sheep - Supposedly a half. I think that was a mistake. But I'm ok with that! - Bakeries Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

Just got a Parma Express...no way it's Prosciutto...or from Parma... basically fatty ham...

Revision: My previous review was just based on the vegan cookie that I had, which was good. I was recently at a lunch meeting that catered from Black Sheep Deli. When I saw that we had ordered sandwiches, I was ready for meh. I've had many a sandwich at many a lunch meeting, and I've always found the vegan options to be rather uninspiring. My pessimism turned out to be totally unwarranted. Black Sheep's vegan sandwich was *so* good. It featured a marinated portobello mushroom that was cooked to perfection - juicy, with great texture. It also had hummus, tomato, sprouts, and a number of other veggies that all worked amazingly together. And the bread was quite nice as well. Well done, Black Sheep. I'm hoping to see more of you at my future lunch meetings! read more

I had an egg croissant sandwich here, recommended by the staff. It was sooo good. It's filling and a perfect brunch menu. The coffee here is pretty good too. A lovely place to enjoy coffee and read the magazine. read more

The Black Sheep - Egg Croissant sandwich with tomatoes, chicken, spinach, peppers, onions. Yum! - Bakeries Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich. The focaccia was delicious. My partner enjoyed his buffalo chicken sandwich as well. The real stand-out was the peanut butter rice crispy bar - it's huge and especially yummy. I would return in a heartbeat for an easy and quick breakfast or lunch. read more

This place is extremely overpriced $9.75 for a corned beef sandwich with two slices of meat, no pickle ? No chips ???? How about a drink with that for $9.75!!!! Also Horrible Customer service the cashier had a bad attitude and seemed annoyed at my very presence!!!! I will never EVER return! read more

Hands down the best sandwiches I've ever had. This a gem of Amherst. I am super picky when it comes my pastrami sandwiches and this made me order a second one because it was that good. The atmosphere is awesome too. Why didn't I notice this place sooner? Would have made all the sufferings from driving and being stuck in traffic to get to Amherst so worth it. read more

Stopped in for a quick lunch before touring the Emily Dickinson House. Both staff and food were wonderful! Will definitely come back in the future! read more

I tried this place when I was passing through town and given that I am originally from Amherst and went to high school here, I think I had only been in here once before. The place is highly overrated and no wonder some of the local students give it good reviews since that is the clientele it is pretty much catering to. The place claims it is a deli and wait a coffee shop and bakery too? Lets not confuse ourselves here. The menu selections are hardly creative and the sandwich I ordered (some odd looking turkey creation on a hard as rock baguette) was disgusting. It tasted day old and had no taste or uniqueness whatsoever. The pastries and desserts in here are garbage too. I tried a normal looking brownie and it tasted like I was chewing on a door stop. Either this place lets things sit out too long or they just don't know how to make good food. Throw in the clueless, snobby staff that seem to try and treat people like they are doing them a favor and the bad prices and we got ourselves one dud of a place that has surely gone downhill in the 20 years since I have left Amherst. read more

the Black Sheep has super-good sandwiches and amazing salads with lots and lots of veggie options. The coffee (Dean's Beans) is always good, and so are the desserts. I love the atmosphere, relaxed and cozy. The one reason that my boyfriend and I stay away from here is the staff. I have been in there so many times, and have probably had friendly and quick service two or three times. They can be so rude, and are often too busy talking to each other to actually wait on customers, even when it is slower than usual. It drives us crazy, and we have talked to others who agree. We stay away from there now jst because of that. It is really too bad, because the food is great. read more

Stopped in on a road trip to get a snack. I got a blueberry muffin and it was horrible. Probably the driest muffin I've ever had, and I've had/made a lot of muffins in my life. read more

Love the Black Sheep. My favorite pastries are the creme brûlée and fruit tarts. They also have a wide assortment of sandwiches listed via chalkboard. The staff are super friendly and approachable. However, the prices are a bit expensive when living on a college budget. Finding seating is also difficult during peak lunch hours. read more

The pastries are very good. The sandwiches are sometimes very good; sometimes dry. The sandwiches are usually dry and less impressive when they are for a catered event than if you go to the cafe. But it is even hit or miss at the cafe. The place is very popular. Even though they brew Dean's Beans (a very good local roaster), the coffee always tastes burnt, no matter which roast I have gotten. Requisite anecdote about bad service: Some people here were ordering sandwiches for a meeting; 7 sandwiches, 1 salad and 2 wraps (10 items) total. She called at 9am to place the order to be delivered at noon. The person at the deli threw a fit, scolded my coworker saying that "this is just unacceptable!" Apparently 3 hours is not enough notice for 10 items. They need 48 hours advance notice for 6 or more items. We were not asking to cater a 100 person luncheon or even 20 sandwiches. This was her first (and last) time ordering from them and didn't realize that they couldn't handle a normal lunch order 3 hours in advance like other places in town have routinely done without a hiccup. Also, they could have nicely asked her to order in advance in the future. Either way, they were incredibly rude to her. read more

I have been to Black Sheep twice today. I got breakfast at about 11:00am, ordering an Apple and Cheddar Croissant and a medium coffee. The medium is 16 oz which is great since some places a medium is 12 oz. The croissant was good. The crust was EXCELLENT and buttery and probably horrible for me. The apple part was to be expected, but they totally skimped on the cheddar when they baked it. But a satisfying breakfast for under $5. Round two was lunch. I ordered the Carnivore, which is a roast beef sandwich with onions and horseradish on pumpernickel. My only issue with the sandwich was that it was a normal "my-mom-made-me a-sandwich-size" and cost $7.25. Now I'm not advocating the New York-sized sandwich. It's really just unhealthy to eat that much sandwich at once... But it wouldn't hurt to get a little bit more for your dollar. Other than being $1.25 too much, the sandwich was delicious and I'll probably go back again tomorrow and try another one of their creatively named sandwiches from the board. It is truly satisfying food. A few more words: Apparently the credit card minimum is $5 (not a problem for what I ordered but you can't put just a coffee on a card) and they are a popular place and everything appears to be made from scratch or made in small batches so they are frequently out of something. Nine times out of ten it's not what you ordered, but incase you are unlucky and they start to make your sandwich and find out they are out of something, they are really good about offering you possible substitutes at no extra charge. read more

Age 1- ate my first muffin from the Black Sheep. Loved it. Age 9- went on my first solo errand to buy bread from the Black Sheep. Nailed it. Age 29- fed my wedding guests a delightful array of sandwiches and salads for my rehearsal luncheon. Ate every bit of it. I hope they never change. read more

I love, love, love the Black Sheep. Their sandwiches are *fantastic,* and if you love New York bagels, they get them and a lot of deli meats (fresh lox, yum) "imported." Their breads are stellar, too, and they usually have a great variety. If you're not a carb-lover, their salads are great and are inexpensive. I think that they get a lot of their goods locally, too. The reason why I gave the Black Sheep only 4 stars is the price. Holy crap! in the 7 years that I've lived in Amherst, the prices have skyrocketed! The Black Sheep's food is phenomenal, but I'm a starving grad student; $9 sandwiches are a bit out of my price range and more importantly are way out of context for the town. read more

I don't know what's going on with Black Sheep lately, but for the past few weeks they have really disappointed me. The food is still fantastic but the service has been awful! It seems that chatting about their plans for the night is of a much higher priority than completing orders. Very annoying when I'm on my way to work and have to wait for them all to stop flirting so I can get a move on. Several times I've had to interrupt conversations to point out that they were making my order wrong. Maybe they have just gotten lazy for the summer. Step it up Black Sheep! You still get a few stars for the food, but it really sucks to wait ten minutes for a sandwich with three ingredients when it is your only order. I don't really want to stand there listening to you talk about your personal lives. I just want to eat my sandwich. read more

Sandwiches are fab, desserts are imaginative and tasty, free wifi and usually quick service. Oh and the coffee is wonderful too! Only downside is that prices have risen in the past year or so. Still fairly well priced for down-town Amherst though. read more

Flies flies everywhere.. And these were well-fed fat ones. I got a cream puff, yes that huge thing which was quite nice - maybe a little too much chocolate icing - so my daughter wanted me to take the cream and try to catch some of them with it. Well, I should have but didn't... And yes, I agree with the bad service comments. They are just not happy (not even trying to act happy). read more

The staff could not be more inconvenienced by my existence. You will wait twenty minutes for your order no matter how busy they are.

I discovered this place while at UMass Amherst. Love at first visit was due to a sweet little cookie that looked like those Girl Scout Samoa's (the ones with the coconut, caramel and chocolate). Turns out their resemblance was not a mistake. They might go by a different name but you can ask for them as the girl scout cookie and they'll know..... oh they'll know. Too bad that more often than not they're out of my favorite cookie. My plan B is usually a good choice but nothing beats the girl scout samoa cookie. They have other stuff too, I'm sure it's good, never tried it though. read more

I didn't try the sandwiches; the selection looks and sounds fantastic! We had pastries, which looked fantastic too but unfortunately they were OK and that is a very generous OK. They were one day past being enjoyable. Even if they'd been free we wouldn't have finished them which is what happend. We both took a couple of bites then our pastries went in the bin. I have a huge sweet tooth so believe me I was disappointed. The custard in the Napoleon was drying out and getting hard and the outer shell had absorbed the moisture making it "not-so-good". My friend had the fruit tart which also looked great but wasn't. Most of the fruit was very bitter because it was nowhere near ripe and ready to be used when sliced and put on the tart. Again the inner pastry wasn't as fresh as it could have been. Let's hope for a better experience on the sandwiches we will give them a try sometime because they sounded great but never a pastry from Black Sheep will I try again. BTW they are over-priced, the tart/éclair came out to almost $10. Looking back, I must have been in a really good mood because normally I would have gone back to the counter and said, "no .. these aren't fresh, money back please". Of course w/ a smile and friendly tone cause I'm just so nice. (right!) read more

Watched as the counter person made my hot sandwich by putting meat in microwave. Sorry but microwaving meat is something I can do at home except I've got more respect for sandwich read more

My home away from home. When I'm in town, Black Sheep is my go-to hang-out spot. Zero pressure to buy buy buy, you can get a pastry, a hot or cold drink, or full-on sandwich with names like Purple People Eater [Roasted eggplant] or Humongous Fungus [hummos and marinated portobello mushroom]. Can you tell I'm vegetarian much? But some good looking meat-a-tarian options as well. Easy-going, great food and drink - how can you miss? read more

The atmosphere is the best. It's sunny and cute. Everyone who works there is friendly and lovely. Ask for extras of stuff! I always get the same- the florentine breakfast sandwich on an everything bagel with EXTRA spinach...they give me a ton of spinach with every order. Overall it's friendly and cute. Good for doing homework if you're a student. Check it out. read more

Good iced coffee. I was there a few days ago for breakfast and had a bagel and cream cheese. Very mediocre and not cheap. I made a mental note to come back for what look like delicious sandwiches (judging by the menu) and I am glad I had a sandwich craving for lunch today! I had the Great Garlic sandwich today and loved every bite! Goat cheese, portobello mushrooms, roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, lettuce, tomato, and roasted garlic on a baguette- I'll definitely try to reproduce this one at home! People-watching there was entertaining, as an added bonus. read more

I'm really surprised with the low reviews after going here. I had an excellent latte with perfectly pulled shots of espresso. I paired it with their (only) scone offering that day - an apple walnut scone that was absolutely amazing. Large pieces of apple were sandwiched between delicious walnuts in a delightful cinnamon-y dough. My boyfriend said his coffee seemed a little weak, but the staff was happy to warm up his cowboy cookie a bit to soften it up. The menu looked very intriguing, with lots of vegetarian and even vegan sandwich options. Black Sheep has a much more laid-back atmosphere than Amherst Coffee up the street. We sat lazily by the large front window reading our guide book and listened to the lesbian couple do a crossword puzzle at the table next to us. Oh, my beloved Amherst! read more

The Good - the sandwiches and baked goods are awesome. The Bad - servers are rude college students. And, it took them 20 minutes to make 4 sandwiches for the people I was with even though it wasn't busy at all. read more

This place is okay. I'd actually like to give it a 2.5 star rating, but yelp does not allow such accuracy. It has the potential to be great- the ambiance beckons you in and as you scan the list of sandwiches and the bakery case, you are convinced the meal will mirror the atmosphere. However, I have yet to enjoy a meal that I felt was really good. They fall short on taste. The sandwiches, the soup and even the pastries just don't hit the mark. I've waited nearly six months to write this review. After each visit, I convince myself that my lackluster meal must have been a result of a bad day. I have now concluded that my experience with this deli is consistently unimpressive. It is not a bad choice if you are downtown and looking for some food. But it seems important to honest and say, don't expect to be thrilled with whatever you order. And if it turns out that you are thrilled, please hop back on yelp and share the secret to your success. read more

Yummy sandwiches, cool staff, great baristas and they have the best bear claw pastries ever. Good place to have lunch and do some reading.

I love this sandwich shop. When I am in the area and I want to eat something fresh & inspired, I come here. They sell homemade delicious breads, desserts, sandwiches, and drinks. They have a lot of unique vegetarian options on the menu. My favorite sandwich is the Smokey Joes... So yummy! You can choose to order a full or half size sandwich. There is usually a line due to its popularity but they are well staffed and make the food fast so its worth the 10 minute wait. Check this place out! read more

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i usually am not awake anywhere near the hour of early lunch but i just so happen to be up to see a friend off. Ive been on a 10 day sugar binge and needed some good lunch, so my friend took me here. the place looks homey and kind of san francisco wannabe deli. It has a bakery type cold case up front by the door featuring sweet looking pasteries. walking a little back they have a open cheese case and the deli where you can see the kids making the sandwichs and see it come fresh off the line. A very nice teas selection. this place was such a professor/student hang out as well . i got a black sheep sandwhich. the roasted tomatoes were so enjoyable because they werent dry and hard like at other places. i also got a cream puff , which is gigantic! As well as a napoleon. Both dessert items where good. a little to much weight on the cream puff but the napoleon was amazing. 4 insted of 5 because i felt like the customer client interaction was very minimal. not a good thing when you want to build a nice small town clientele, or leave a good impression on out of state customers. read more

The short and sweet: Meh espresso, quality (but somewhat pricey) coffee Great sandwiches, but nothing mind-blowing. It doesn't help that they are difficult to eat. Also kind of pricey. The deli dishes (i.e. pasta salad)are also quality, yet probably the same as Stop & Shop or even Big Y down the road. NEVER buy the things in the open cooler cabinet like wrapped cheeses, crackers, water, etc. They are unfortunately overpriced. Finally, what saves this place from bring simply overpriced are 1) the salads and 2) the desserts. Both are FANTASTIC and, being so, worth the price tag (maybe only since everything is twice as expensive in NYC). If you're looking for a simple, but excellently done salad, try the spinach. They literally give you two or three servings of goat cheese. You could eat that thing for both lunch and dinner. And I won't say much about the desserts... they will be self-explanatory when you walk in and see the display case! And one last thing: the desks are a pretty good study space on weekends because of the big windows, ample coffee, and background noise. Though honestly, all the coffee shops in Amherst are relatively equivalent regarding study space and accommodations--just pick the one with the best coffee. I'd definitely recommend The Black Sheep, but only for several items mentioned above. For everything else, try somewhere a little cheaper. read more

Their sandwiches are really amazing, so I start with that. However it takes them literally forever to make a sandwich, EVEN if you're the only one in line and they constantly mess up your order and you have to continue to wait while they fix their mistakes. I think they should focus more on hiring good employees instead of the most alternative looking people they can find... read more

When I was up in Amherst last weekend, my family and I were on the hunt for an affordable and delicious breakfast and of course, we turned to Yelp for guidance. After spending two mornings at the Lone Wolf next door, the Black Sheep Deli was looking mighty fine and we were over the moon excited for some East Coast bagels. I got an everything bagel stacked to the brim with cream cheese, lox, cucumber, sprouts and onions - and it was everything I'd hoped for, and more. If you're visiting - make sure you stop by here and get your bagel done proper! read more

I've been here quite a few times due to lack of food around Amherst. I know a lot of people would say that there's quite of a variety here, but coming from a big city....I say otherwise. I have tried their sandwiches, salads, and pastries. They are good, but not outstanding, and in my opinion a little pricey. The main reason for three stars is the price for OK sandwiches. I have only tried their caesar salad...with AWESOME croutons...and it's over dressed, so I suggest that you ask for the dressing on the side. I haven't found another place that has good pastries, so whenever I have a sweet tooth, I come here to satisfy my craving. read more