Willow Cafe & Sweetery

I am sad the café closed — ate here and enjoyed food and service!
However…BAD experience at Sweetery! Ordered vegan chocolate cake for my daughter’s birthday. It was not ready when I arrived, and staff was rude when it was their mistake and I was polite! Tried to blame me for their screw up –honestly I was shocked.
I sat and waited. When cake finished — it was rushed and sloppy. Hard to even read my daughter’s name. I asked (ticked off staff) if she could fix it and she said no. (??! Really? RALEYS could do this… and I was paying so much more…) I took a photo of it hoping she’d decide to fix it (nope, lol) but paid and left.
Would never purchase here again — poor quality, and horrible customer service.

Great find! Gluten free options abound. The bread is amazing! It made our turkey sandwiches taste bistro-​worthy! Their sugar cookies actually taste of butter. Can’t wait to try more of their goodies.
Staff is so friendly! And the prices are competitive.

Love the place for the natural, organic choices. Definitely will be coming back. Food was awesome and the portions were on spot. Give the Rachero breakfast a try.

Lots of good options here.
I work very close to here and walk here for lunch with coworkers often.
The service is friendly and upbeat. The menu has several different options for breakfast and lunch. You can eat healthy here no problem. I have enjoyed the different plates I have tried and their pastries are great. My coworkers seem to enjoy the gluten free options they even have a gluten free beer (that I have never tried). The salads here are especially fresh and tasty with many customization options. The deserts are top notch. They do a good job with the presentation of the food, it is never just slapped on the plate.
The location is a bit small but it has a nice outside area. They keep the place spotless!
A must try if you are in the area. I just wish they opened earlier so I could hit the breakfasts more often.

Definitely need more servers. Had one waiter for all of the tables so service was slow and he seemed overwhelmed m. The veggetables in the veggie sandwich were freezing cold as if they’d come out of the freezer… was a little disappointed

Quite place nice for brunch. Took a little long to get our food. But the food was amazing!

Located in a plaza with plenty of parking.
One door will take you into the café and another is the door to their Gluten Free «Sweetery».
The café has indoor and outdoor seating.
Casual
Open kitchen
Breakfast and Lunch
Ingredient-​wise, they serve the non-​GMO good-​good, etc. etc. They can veganize items subbing tofu for eggs or omitting this or that. but no vegan cheese. I had the Vegetable and Potato bowl and you know veggies usually get smaller or wilt with heat so it was more like eating a bowl of potatoes with slivers of vegetables here and there. Some chunks of veggies would be cool.
Service was good.
Now the Sweetery next door has a case of goodies, pizza dough, bread, coconut milk ice cream. The cased pastries have labels and the labels are color coded. If it’s written in green, it’s vegan. I think blue is dairy free. but everything is gluten free. It’s a large space but most of it is kitchen. There’s a water dispenser. I picked up some muffins and they were pretty good even receiving it cold and straight from the case. My favorite part being the crisp, hard edges.

I just called this bakery and the woman who answered the phone was both extremely unpleasant and unhelpful. If someone is calling your business and interested in being a future customer Id suggest you act friendly and enthusiastic about helping them. First impressions are big– and I was left with a bad taste in my mouth after talking to your staff member for approximately 30 seconds.

This place is the phenomenal for breakfast, lunch and dessert. They offer a menu with great options. Whether you are Vegan, gluten free, or meat eater you have great options here to enjoy. The staff is friendly and will welcome you into their family. Say hi to Matt, Bryce and Evelyn they are awesome!!!
The make everything in house and what they don’t make comes from quality sources. Organic eggs, fresh produce, grass fed beef and pasture raised chickens. Eating their delicious dishes will make you feel good. They do have a rotating seasonal menu, so make sure you don’t too attached to the menu. Lol
My dad and I frequent this place often. My faves are the house made granola, mini sirloin burgers and the Santa Fe chicken salad. His is the chili hash, and the house made pancakes. For dessert I love the vegan chocolate chip cookies. I am not vegan, but they taste like regular chocolate chip cookies. At least if I eat junk food, I might as well eat better quality, right?
Definitely worth a trip to, you will not be disappointed.

Super cute breakfast/​brunch spot!!!
My bf and I were at the Folsom outlets and decided to try a breakfast spot around the area, so of course I used Unilocal to help me out ;D
I picked this place because the pictures look amazing! Looks aren’t everything usually but pffft sometimes they are!
+ The interior of this café is gorgeous! It’s simple, but has this fancy-​ish feel to it. Very clean and inviting. Hell… I felt out of place wearing comfy clothes :(
+ There is outside seating! Looks like a cute little garden, so maybe we will dine outside next time.
+ When you first come in, the server will ask «how many?» and you get to sit wherever you want. Hmm or maybe because we came when not many people were there, haha but still!
+ You know how sometimes a place will have a limited, short menu so you’re kinda like «eh» about it? Oooooooh definitely not this place! I thought their menu was great because I honestly would try everything on there (and maybe I will if I come more often). There’s sandwiches, salads, breakfast food… forgot what else but take a look at my pic of the menu :-)
+ They have a bakery right next door! We didn’t buy anything, but we went to look at the sweets and they look bomb. So definitely gonna have to try something next time!
+ Service was amazing: D forgot the name of our server, but he was great at answering any questions we had and checked to see how we were doing while we ate.
LOL my bf said «you know a place is good when there’s a ton of older people here…» Now that I think about it, that’s kinda true… but also means it’s usually a healthy place.
As for our food:
Our plates look VERY similar, not much of a difference at all… I think the taste was quite alike too but they were both delicious anyways!
$ 9.50 Papa Scramble (my bf’s): house ground sirloin, spinach, mushroom, garlic, onion, Swiss cheese. (Yes these are words from the menu)
$ 9.75 Hayley Scramble: tri tip beef, mushroom, garlic, onion, and Swiss.
The food came to us steaming hot~ and delicious! The presentation’s pretty cute. There’s a little container for ketchup. Oh yeah, the egg dishes come with potatoes! I swear some of them were kinda sweet or maybe it’s the ketchup… but not in a bad way at all :-)
And you get a slice of watermelon and an orange slice as well!
Honestly, no complaints! We had a great meal and were very satisfied! We’re planning to come back and try the sweeter breakfast choices like french toast/​pancakes. (Omg def need to try the cinnamon apple pancakes… don’t they sound good?!)
Definitely try this place! It’s SO nice. Everything about it is nice! Even the bathroom. Okay well, not like an expensive 5 star restaurant kind of look but IT’S SO NICE.

The food is great, vegan and vegetarian friendly. I have been here three times for lunch since our office recently moved to the area. The server doesn’t usually come back to see if the food is OK or if you need anything else… You have to go up to the counter and ask if for anything you might need.

My Mom and I really enjoy coming here for a relaxed breakfast or lunch, with ingredients I feel good about. I cannot have gluten, so I love being able to have a normal meal here.
The tri tip sandwich is excellent and I love the salad that comes with it! Love the outside seating area and they are very accommodating. The bakery next door which is completely GF, is going to be my undoing! So many yummy treats — it’s worth the extra running to burn it off! I’ve had the chicken biscuits and gravy, tri tip sandwich, buckwheat pancakes, Haley scramble and grilled artichoke appetizer. Still need to try the french toast some time!

This place has potential. They have a good menu, nice outdoor seating and the staff are nice… even brought crayons and a coloring sheet for our kid. But the dishes were a little under seasoned. I can taste the freshness of the ingredients and certainly appreciate the options for accommodating gluten free. It would have went from OK to great if dishes weren’t on the bland side. Inside dining experience leaves a bit to be desired. And I agree with the others who commented about their ketchup. Tastes like sweet tomato sauce. I would like to see them improve and am willing to come back again to give it another go.

Short and sweet — the gluten-​free BLTA (turkey bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, aioli, on whole wheat) was delicious, according to my wife. She really enjoyed the moist, non-​crumbly, GF bread and the side salad. It is hard to find good GF-​focused restaurants in the area. Many try, few succeed.
We will definitely be back. However, I’ll stick to my gluten-​full sandwiches, thank you very much…

I suppose I should preface this review with «I’ve only gone to Willow after riding my bike from Sacramento to Folsom, so I’m hungry for brunch when I get here», but I really do enjoy Willow for being low-​key, friendly, reasonably priced, no wait, and serving good food. Every time I pull into the parking lot after getting off the beautiful American River Bike Trail, I say «ahhh, the suburbs can be quite nice, can’t they?» to my Midtown Sac friends (who give me eye rolls).
Why I love Willow:
1) The servers are very nice and attentive. They keep my tea hot during cold ride days and kept the patio umbrellas nearby on the warmer days. They don’t blink an eye when I walk in with bike shorts and clips.
2) The prices are reasonable and there is no wait on a Saturday morning for brunch (so nicely different than Midtown Sac!)
3) Buckwheat pancakes! Egg scrambles! Let me say it again, Buckwheat pancakes! Willow is known for it’s gluten-​free menu options, so your gf friends can actually eat most of the menu here!
4) The gluten-​free bakery next door (attached) has yummy treats. I’m not gluten-​free, but I like their orangey chocolate cookie that’s kinda flat with sugar crystals on top! They have coconut ice cream too (not the smoothest, but a nice option for those who are dairy-​free).
Bike riding tip: Ride from Sac to Folsom, have brunch at Willow, and decide if you have the energy to ride home or just take Light Rail (at the outlet mall) home. Great to have that option if you or others aren’t feeling the full 65+ miles. Plenty of bike racks in the parking lot of Willow, and it’s just off the bike trail! (take the trail on the south side of Lake Natomas)

I really love this gem. Everything here is unique and gluten free, which is a huge bonus in my book since I have to limit my gluten intake. Bottomless mimosas were also a huge bonus as well!

A little conflicted about this place. I love that they have gluten free options and all of their food is non-​gmo, cage free, etc, but even so you should be able to make restaurant-​level food. All of the food my family and I ordered for brunch I could have made myself with the same quality. It was nothing special at all. In fact, everyone noticed that the potatoes tasted like they had stayed out for too long. The ketchup that they make themselves was more like meatball sauce too. The food did not have enough flavor and nobody was wowed with their food.
The workers were very nice and accommodating. And the food came out very quickly. But my coffee took way too long to come out, they forgot avocados on two of the Omelettes, and the meals came out before the mimosas.
Pricing was ok. Each meal was $ 9 – 10.
Again, I feel bad writing this review only because I see the potential and the workers were nice. But cooking could definitely use some improvement. I have been to many places with gluten free options as I am gluten sensitive and the food tasted much better.

Got the House Salad (pears and pecans) which was OK. The goat cheese was more like a cream smeared on top, instead of being crumbly. Huge portion, even for a «small» — would recommend Willow serve this in a bigger plate for easier eating.
Also ordered the Veggie Quesadilla, which was pretty simple, but pretty good. Comes with sour cream dip.
Had the vegan apple pie — not very impressed at all. Grainy texture, clumpy apples, overly sweet and sticky.
For a place that advertises being vegan and gluten-​free on a giant banner, doesnt havent many vegetarian options for lunch. Plenty of pasteries though…
Great service though. And I love that they play Glenn Miller in the background.

Wow! We passed by and made a u turn when we saw a gluten free sign for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Our waitress was so sweet and super knowledge about all things gluten and dairy free. The patio has two different fountains and plenty of shade. We ordered two different dishes the Chile and Haley. The fresh Orange juice was perfect and they had almond milk for your coffee!
After we ate we stopped by the bakery next door where they have a great selection of gluten, dairy and vegan goodies.
We will be back!

My friend and I came here today and enjoyed a nice and simple lunch! The waiter was very attentive and gave us great service.
The menu is small but had lots of healthy options including small plates, sandwiches, salads and more! They also had a good selection of wine and beverages. I ordered the chicken wrap (you have the option of a gluten free wrap but I chose the regular)! It came with a nice salad as well. My friend ordered the tri-​tip sandwich. It looked amazing! They definitely don’t skim on the meat and fresh ingredients.
I would definitely recommend this place and the bakery to a friend!
Would be awesome if they had changing tables in the restrooms which was why I could not give it a five star.