Bread Garden Market

Faith “CheckingTheFactsFoodie”

2024-04

There are so many choices for on the go, lunch, dinner, cheese, wine, and BREAD. I love the options to customize your lunch with a kiosk and shop while you're waiting. Note, if you're new to Bread Garden like I was, once you have to pay for your food choice prior to being able to pick it up. They write your ticket number in big, black marker at the top of the receipts. Then you listen for the prep area to call your number and show them your ticket. Pretty cool, actually.The employees are very knowledgeable and always present if you need help finding something specific or just looking for ideas.Highly recommend!!

Susan Mallett

2024-04

This fresh food grocery store and eatery is a delightful gem in the middle of downtown Iowa City. It's popularity is immediately evident by the constant flow of people. The staff is plentiful and helpful and the food is excellent! I was served one of the best bacon cheeseburgers with red onion, lettuce and guacamole that I've ever eaten. It's really that good, and I would choose to shop and eat here often if I lived in the area.

Amanda Burns

2023-05

I love both the grocery store and the dine in options here. It's easy to find healthy, high quality foods despite it not being the biggest store. However, their prices are high even considering the quality. The higher prices are possibly due to their prime Ped Mall location. During this visit I was in a hurry, so I had to get my food to go and didn't get hardly any pictures except for the food I ate later in my car. For my quick to go lunch, I bought a slice of Zucchini Bread & a Thai Chicken Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Cucumber. All were delicious, as expected.

Brennan Whitacre

2024-04

Wonderful store, but they have a seating problem. About 80% of the tables are routinely taken by students who are camping out studying. Middle-aged patrons with families and elderly regulars struggle to get a seat for their dine-in orders. I’ve been going here every week for the past year and it’s a significant problem. The best tables are always taken by 1-2 students with their gear sprawled out and an empty coffee/soda can (sometimes no food purchase at all) perched in place to justify their occupancy.There’s a real dilemma here, and I feel it’s time for management to make an unpopular rule of no studying in the dining area. I’ve been a student of higher education for nine years, so I’m not unsympathetic to the plight of the broke college student. But there are ample university libraries, public libraries, and more appropriate locations to study than a cramped and popular marketplace. Management needs to lay down the law and not allow camping out/studying. They are missing out on more and higher-paying patrons who would use this awesome facility otherwise.

Burak Tas

2023-05

Found it! I’ve just found the most overrated place in whole city. All the employees I interacted were very kind so I appreciate their efforts to make this place better. But. It’s one of the most chaotic restaurants/stores if not the most chaotic one. Always busy, which is such a great thing for the business, and definitely not the reason I don’t like this place. I don’t like this place because it’s not designed well. I should not need to go all over the place to order, pay and pick up a burger, right? I don’t think I’m in desperate need of help when I go any other places but I do need a training and a senior trainer to find anything I need to find at this place. You know how businesses build their locations to make customers walk around more so they can spend more. Well this place just a horrific example of that. It’s designed as worst as possible to grab the simplest thing from a store or restaurant and pay for it. Is it the only reason I think this place is overrated? No. Every food I ate at this place is not better than any other average place in the city. To be fair I didn’t think any of the food was the worst but definitely not the best, but one of the most expensive of its kind. I don’t think I even need to mention it’s not the cleanest place.. Anyway, try it and let me know if I’m wrong and I’ll apologize.

Christian Johnson

2023-11

Phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal! My girlfriend and I tried this place for the first time today and absolutely loved it! They carry gluten-free buns at the grill for her, and I had a sneak peek preview of a new seasonal grilled cheese they're rolling out and both were delicious. All the staff we interacted with were fantastic and super helpful, too. Will be coming back! (sorry no photos to add, the food was so good we devoured it before this review)

Faith Wheeler

2024-03

A M A Z I N G!!! So very yummy! There are so many options. Fresh, made to order, or shop the store. Eat in or out. Take home. Whatever you like. Super busy, but you can still find all kinds of wonderful surprises. If you are a foodie, you've got to come here!

Ashley Quam

2024-02

My husband and I booked Bread Garden to cater our wedding and we loved it!! We did a taco bar for our summer wedding, and the food was both affordable and delicious. They also had many other options for both buffet and plated meals. The staff was friendly and helped to make sure all details were planned ahead of time (eg buffet vs. plated, venue details, cleanup details, etc). I would definitely recommend Bread Garden catering.

Bryce A Pashler

2023-05

Fabulous bakery and grocery store full of goodies and hidden treasures. Right off the ped mall. Highly recommend the wine, cheese and Mark’s Sweet & Spicy Tomato.

Chris Godfrey

2023-12

I went there for just a quick simple meal. The staff was friendly, and worked quickly on our order. The only downside is the outdoor seating in the winter, so they have heating elements that were turned on, it was still somewhat chilly. Also I would suggest not using their reserved parking

Sarah Duhon

2018-05

Incredible affordable bread (perfect sourdough loaf for 2.50!) and awesome $5 lunch options from the market fresh kitchen. Also, the fries are the best I've ever eaten - hand cut, crunchy like a chip on the outside, creamy on the inside. I try to stay away from fries but they've got me hooked...

Madison Brady

2023-12

While the prices may be on the upper end, I enjoy coming here to get fresh produce and other healthy items. They always have fresh bread which is nice as well as a great selection of veggies and fruits. As a student, it is nice to be able to walk here instead of driving all the way to Walmart or Hyvee. Definitely recommend trying some of the hot tea at their little cafe!

Scott Evans

2023-09

This is an Iowa City staple for awesome grocery, catering and great buffet style food. This establishment is owned by an excellent restauranteur that knows good food. I ordered fried chicken sandwich that was made fresh, maybe best I’ve ever had. We also got beef tips and other food items from the buffet that you pay per pound. Delicious and high quality food. Highly recommend.

Sunday Walker

2024-01

Love getting croissants and a peppermint mocha before my opening shifts. The hot lunch buffet never disappoints either.

dana h

2023-12

The food- even for people with dietary restrictions, is great! I love the vibe and all of the grocery options. A favorite when I travel to Iowa!

Kristine Milburn

2023-07

Good location, predictable meal options, delicious dessert menu. I visited around 7:30 p.m. on a Monday night, and I was a bit surprised by the minimal staffing. I had questions regarding meal items but could not find staff to answer questions. I finally chose a "second option" and went to check out. Even though I was the only person at the register, I waited longer than expected for staff to attend the register.The Thai Sweet Potato Chicken Salad was okay. I had to pull out some wilted greens, and the salad as a whole was less flavorful than I expected. A bright spot in my meal was the cookie I picked up at the last minute.

Julie Cipolla

2023-05

OUTSTANDING! Staff are Wonderful!! Selection of fresh REAL foods and their products from around the world is amazing!!! Plus, they make REAL Hot Sandwiches from the Deli; they have vitamins, cleaning products, essential kitchen items, greeting cards and plants! The layout is artistc and smart. And finally, their hours accommodate everyone from the early morning "larks" to the "night owls." Hours run from 630 am to 9 pm most days with their hours extended slightly on Thursday and Friday to 10 pm. And they have a bar with a very wide variety of wines and spirits. I was amazed at how comfortable they made me feel, ample seating indoors and outside.

Bryan Baxter

2024-01

Hey if you guys are gonna change your winter hours for the coffee bar to 7am why don’t you put that on google so you don’t have 10 people leaving their hotel rooms at 6:30 only to be met with a locked door. Just an idea.

MaryAnn Spicer

2023-12

If you have a hankering for freshly baked cookies this is the place Their peanut butter, and chocolate chip cookies are a taste of musical flavors busting with goodness!

alexandrasophia24

2023-11

Nice place to purchase deli meats. They slice it for you. Very clean store to shop and buy breads, desserts, and excellent wine.

Christopher Junk

2023-08

Great little grocery store with food and beer/wine. The groceries are overpriced and should not be used as your baseline grocery experience. The beer (brewed by ReUnion) is incredible on tap, and the best prices in town on beer. 5 stars for the tap beer alone.

Paul H

2024-04

Good selection of food options. Everything I have tried is good.

Nick Bowes

2020-05

We love the new cheese bar! Everything is absolutely perfect thanks to Mark! We will definitely be back soon!

Haley Lewin

2018-05

Amazing customer service! My friend had visited me in San Diego a couple years ago and fell in love with a sauce from a local business at our farmer's market. She traveled back to Iowa with several containers, and we thought she wouldn't have it again until she returned for another visit. However, as it turns out, the sauce is actually available at natural grocery stores in Iowa!Bread Garden Market typically doesn't offer grocery delivery, but they made an exception as my friend is currently in the hospital and I wanted to send her this sauce. They worked seamlessly as a team to connect me with the right people. Allison from their catering department was very organized and made the process so simple. They delivered to her room just a few hours after I had placed the order. Thank you for making this happen!P.S. The sauce is called Bitchin' Sauce, and you must try it if you haven't already.

Chad Carber

2023-05

This was my first time here, and it was a lot! I didn't really have time to take in everything and carefully consider my options. I know there's a cheese bar, a coffee bar, a Deli counter, and a grill, with a ton of options. (Not to mention a grocery store.) I ended up just choosing a cold sandwich, pre-made. It was average. I would be curious how some of the hot food tastes. The atmosphere is kind of cool in a hipster sort of way.

Milica Pavlovic

2023-09

Everytime I order salad, I exclude some ingredient (e.g., savoy cabbage, nuts etc.). However, I always receive generic salad and it became annoying because that is not what I ordered and paid. Please do something about that. I don’t know at what point mistakes occurs.

Trent and Ashley Gosnell

2023-05

The best catering company out there! If we could give more than 5 stars we definitely would. Never thought I’d meet someone more organized than me but Christa might be that person :). She is extremely on top of the ball, very responsive, and definitely someone that you can trust to perfectly execute your catering event. She also spent extensive time answering all my questions during our tasting and via email and response time was always very fast. Every minute detail was accounted for, down to ensuring what color serving platters or type of disposable plates we wanted for apps/desserts.We got so many compliments on our wedding food to the point where people were still talking about the food a week later! Sometimes food isn’t the most memorable thing from someone’s wedding day but definitely something that we and our guests will remember from our wedding day. Both sides of our families have amazing cooks so our whole family is honestly very picky when it comes to food so it is a HUGE compliment to say that there were no complaints and everything was cooked to perfection! Would recommend for catering to anyone and everyone planning a wedding and have already sent a few referrals Christa’s way :)-Ashley + Trent

Susan Van Duyn

2023-05

Today we picked up our Thanksgiving dinner. It was to be an order for 12. I received an order for 6. I didn’t realize this until home. When I called and spoke to the front manager, I was told they were too busy to help! I was told to call back on Monday! So, we drove back and the manager in the back told us to take food from the buffet. Not enough food there! The cook came out and offered to help us if we could wait 30 minutes. I am very grateful to the cook but extremely disappointed in the customer service of those in management positions! 5 star to the chef. 0 stars to management team.

N C

2023-10

Not happy with the thin sliced zucchini bread that is delivered to UIHC hospital. Lower the price if you can't give an adequate amount.

Jenna Gibbs

2023-05

Best ever grocery for higher end and nice products. And we love the wine tastings! We always end up getting a bottle or two. Karen is so knowledgeable. Great cheese and olives as well.