Rising Loafer Cafe & Bakery

I took my wife in for lunch and our server (who is also the owner I believe) made some anti-​American and very political comments in the first few seconds of coming to our table. Without getting too political, she went on about how «we are to blame» for all of the terrorist violence in the world and that we are «profiting» from it! I should have stood up and walked out. Very offensive commentary… especially for a business owner. You lost a customer forever. Very poor business. Especially for someone that clearly is not born in the US! Think twice Ms. Loafer.

I am a brunch lover and this place is special. Warm and cozy decorations with homemade food that makes you feel at your grandmother’s nice but fancy kitchen. Eggs florentine are a delight with the fresh made Hollandaise extra Virginia press olive oil based instead of butter, just fabulous ! Maria the owner and her husband are so welcoming and nice, instant friends! Totally recommend this place! Will come back to try the homemade bread

I hadn’t been here for a few years and popped in for a quick lunch date with my 4-​year old. Our drinks arrived in tall glasses and I asked for straws. Maria told me unapologetically, «we are Green Certified and do not have straws». That should have been the end of the exchange, however, Maria felt the need to then give me unsolicited parenting advice in a not-​so-​kind tone by telling me that my child should know how to drink without a straw. Despite my obvious annoyance at the comment, and my effort to move her on to thwart off the deterioration of my lunch date, she continued on by telling me about an elderly gentleman who lost the ability to swallow… and that we should really appreciate our ability to drink and swallow without a straw.
The interaction was incredibly rude and unnecessary. As her customer, and a member of the same community, a simple apology and sharing the restaurant’s efforts to reduce waste would have more than sufficed. She knew nothing about me or my child who, by the way, drinks perfectly well without a straw! Requesting a straw was my effort to avoid, for the sake of the restaurant, the chances of a 4-​year old spilling a slippery glass of juice.
I was not thanked or acknowledged on leaving. Food was fine but I will not be returning.

They have the most amazing home made bread which makes their turkey club sandwich the best I have ever had. Not dry, didn’t fall apart and perfect about of bread. Highly recommend it

Excellent.
Homemade bread, hormone free fresh eggs, good hearty no frills food. I had french toast which used their homemade cinnamon raisin bread. It was great! The bread was hearty but soft, cooked perfectly, and there was a lot of it.
The egg was incredibly fresh, I was informed it was from a local farm, yes I can tell the difference :)
The coffee is always brewed fresh and is surprisingly excellent for a house coffee. Seating is cozy, no room for large unnecessary movements, but ample space for the excellent food to arrive.
Staff is friendly and helpful, anything you wish to know about their food they know and are more than happy to share. This being said, they are not intrusive at all, but seems to know exactly when you need something.
The atmosphere is calm, homey, fairly quiet, perfect for brunch.
I will definitely be returning here and will make sure to save some room for their pastries.

Still a five star review for the Rising Loafer. Coming here feels like visiting family. My five star review from 2012 still stands. They use the best quality food (no antibiotic eggs no nitrate bacon). They have never compromised on quality and their food is amazing. It is a true hidden gem. Not crowded for breakfast. A must try.

We love it here. My girls love the food & Maria makes you feel right at home, outside of home.
My new favorite are their pancakes… I’ve become a bit of an addict.
With that been said… I would like to add to Jaleh’s review… I was sitting two tables from her, remember the place isn’t big, her kids were the most obnoxious children i have seen at a restaurant in a looong time.
The Mom, on her phone, texting or playing candy crush, or facebook? Who knows, but she did not disciplined her kids when they started slamming the sugar bowl on the table, nor said a peep when her kid spilled sugar all over for amusement. Maria simply took the sugar away & asked her to please not let the children play with the items, to which the mom refused, saying is how she keeps them entertained while waiting for food.
I guess we all love kid snot and whatever else in our sugar bowl, salt/​pepper shaker!
To my surprise, i have seen this woman send other moms with kids to the Rising Loafer, standing right outside, other mom goes in, orders food, eats some & then leaves making rude comments without paying.
I take it Jaleh is becoming a moms club celebrity for her audacious review!

Nice place, nice people, good food and good pricing. It’s comfortable, and I value comfort highly. I love to support family owned business and so yes, I AM a fan, and I go there often.

We were looking for a place to grab breakfast and stumbled upon The Rising Loafer Café and Bakery. We were warmly greeted by the woman who owns the café with her husband. We had our 2 year old son with us, and she was very engaging, chatting with him and asking if he needed more time to decide what he wanted.
The food was out about 10 minutes after we ordered and was delicious. My fiancé and I both got omelettes (mushroom and veggie). They were cooked perfectly and just the right amount of food.
I highly recommend this place if you’re looking for good food and good service!!! Also, great way to support the local economy and small business owners!

Update: I feel compelled to speak up about a review I see below. I happen to have been in the café when an «incident» reported by a young mother by the name of «Jaleh,» occurred.
I could not hear the dialogue they had because I was in the other end of the café, and although it isn’t a big place, I was far enough so that I could not hear their actual words so I cannot attest to her claims about what was said.
What I can attest to is that her claims of her children being «well behaved» are baloney. The main reason I even paid attention to their party was that the children were yelling pretty loudly every couple of minutes or so. I was trying to get some work done on my laptop and it was very distracting.
Moreover, the children were definitely NOT keeping quiet while playing with the sugar packets. They were definitely playing with the sugar packets, but one of the children was also jamming his hand in the ceramic sugar jar on the table and spreading sugar on the table. It looked like they were going to knock it on the floor, which is when I saw Maria go over to their table. Again, I didn’t hear the dialogue, but I did see Maria grab the sugar pot and walk away after a brief exchange.
The reason this mother didn’t see what was going on is because she appeared to be busy on her mobile phone.
I have not known Ahmed and Maria for very long, but they have been kind to me and my family. They don’t strike me as people who are «anti-​children» I have since brought my 2 children to the Café and Maria was very warm with them. The Café is within walking distance of our home, so we are somewhat regulars now.
I don’t know if «Jaleh’s» claims of rudeness are a lie, because I could not hear. But I do know that her claims about her children’s behavior are a blatant lie because I saw what happened. If she lied about the latter, my guess is that she’d lie about the former.
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To say TRL is a hidden gem would be an understatement.
As soon as you walk in you get a feeling of being at home. You are greeted by a wonderful atmosphere, and the enchanting Maria. You get the sense that Ahmed and Maria really care about you as a customer and a member of the community.
The food is fantastic, locally sourced and prepared with the utmost care. I’ve had several items from the menu and every dish has been impeccable. It makes it so hard to choose a favorite. I simply cannot recommend The Rising Loafer enough, you’re all welcome.

This restaurant is a hidden treasure. The quality of food is unmatched my most. It feels like visiting friends or family every time. The food is all made from scratch. .ALL of it. Love this place!

They told me I couldn’t use my debit card to pay for my salad I was picking up to-​go because the dollar amount was too low and I had to buy a pastry. I declined the pastry and the begrudgingly took my payment and sternly informed me next time I would have to bring cash. After being a customer for 14 years, they could do better than that. If rather give my business to a more gracious business owner.

Long morning w the kids, needed to grab a quick lunch before we finished errands, decided to support local business and try this place out. Not kid friendly, not polite. I am sure they have great food and can be nice people, but we didn’t get to experience that today, as we waited to order I let the kids take the sugar packets out and stack them back in by color (this is my creative way of keeping them entertained when eating out when its taking too long), the server, whom I assume is the owner came and took the packets away; when I smiled and tried to explain to her I was trying to keep them contained, she said «most parents think to bring toys». I asked her if she would like us to go somewhere else and she quickly said «yes, you should go somewhere else». We ended up having an amazing experience at Kabob & Burger, food and service was so amazing and when I looked around at the dining room to see if we were annoying anyone, no one even seemed to notice we were there… hurt by the Rising Loaf ladies harsh judgement of me, I had a bit of a Pretty Woman moment as I walked past there and I thanked her for sending us away and told her we had a really good lunch and she said…“You should be a responsible parent and bring toys for your kids” and as I walked away I heard her vent to her table of customers about how annoying and misbehaving we were. Thanks Rising Loaf, for making a stressed out mom feel like horrible and despite how much I love supporting local business, we will not be dining there any time soon. To the table of customers she vented to about us (which btw is so rude and unprofessional) she knows nothing about the kind of mother or person I am, she has no idea that one of the first things my youngest learned to say was Thank you.

Excellent place to come to for breakfast. The owners/​staff are pretty personable and sweet, and the food is also delicious! Compared to other places, the price and portions are also a great value. We’re only visiting but if we’re in town again we’ll definitely stop by!

So much yesssssssss…
As a traveler who refuses to eat or drink coffee at chains, I seek out the sometimes hard-​to-​find local spots. This place is one of the best, A TRUE GEM.
Dynamite espresso, and although I would like some sort of milk alternative, I don’t feel like it’s their job to cater to my every dietary whim. The espresso was delicious on its own, without sugar or any sort of cream.
My omelette was outstanding, with perfectly sautéed vegetables, and the eggs, firm yet fluffy… AN OMELETTE LOVER’S PARADISE! Includes choice of potatoes (roasted and delicious) or fruit (delicious as well, I’m sure). While it doesn’t include the American ideal breakfast accoutrement of «toast», it does include a sampling of one of their house-​made pastries or baked goods. Try and set aside your preconceived notions of what an American meal is supposed to be for a moment. We are an overeating culture. That means you. That means me. The omelette and potatoes were more than sizable enough meal for one.
I picked up some baked goods for the road.
Finicky and self-​important Unilocalers may find quarrel with this Toast issue, or with the fact that they don’t take credit cards (cash/​debit only), or with the «Milk alternative’ issue I referenced earlier, or the fact that I had to ask for water, but these are all the tiniest details. DO NOT MISS THE BIGGER PICTURE. This place is true, unique, independent, local, and enjoyable.
«The Rising Loafer» is a gift of a restaurant. I would care for it to be in my hometown, but since it is not, I will have to settle for visiting it on my future business trips to LaFayette, CA.
See you there!

This place is awesome! Their omelettes are really good… family-​owned and really friendly folks. Outdoor seating is nice, too, when the weather permits. Kid friendly as well. We go for brunch and tend to stay and hang out longer but they are so nice there… they just let you. Very chill atmosphere!

THIS PLACE DOES NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS.
Despite what Unilocal says, this place only accepts cash and debit cards. A lesson I learned the hard way.
They have a small sentence on a small sign on their door and supposedly it says something on the menu. They have a bunch of other stuff on their door and on their menu so those notices get lost in the shuffle pretty easily.
They should definitely put up a bigger sign.
The food is pretty average. Prices are about $ 10 for lunch.
You should avoid this place. Kabob Burger nearby accepts cards and has much better food.

Great atmosphere, fantastic food and impeccable service.
Ahmed and Maria pour their heart and soul into this great little secret.
Breakfasts are substantial and healthy with plenty of options. The coffee is some of the best I’ve ever had.
Bread for burgers and sandwiches are baked every day by Ahmed. His chicken salad is amazing and a customer favorite.
Service is not only impeccable, but you are personally attended to by the warm and lovely Maria.
Go. You will love it!

This is the best breakfast restaurant in the area. It beats Millie’s and Chow for flavor, service, and using fresh ingredients. They are very accommodating to find great options that are celiac/​gluten free friendly without flavor compromise.
The restaurant is family owned and eco friendly. We’ve been coming here for 10 years and it always feels like mom and dad are cooking for us — delicious, consistent, and with care

FRIENDLY SERVICE
I was called to work in Lafayette for a month, and came across this café tucked away in the corner next to the Post Office.
Their roasted chicken /​avocado sandwich is delicious. I had arrived a few times after they have closed up for the day, and Ahmed and Maria were always welcoming to me, and would make me their famous Chicken Salad Sandwich.
The bread is fresh cut from a homemade loaf. Excellent nutty flavor, soft texture with chewy crust. A treat, they put toasted cashews on the sandwich giving it a special crunch and flavor in every bite. with a drink and a side of fresh fruit. $ 11 — a DECENT LUNCH.
Regretfully, I only discovered this place during my last 2 weeks of working in Lafayette.
Highly recommend to my co-​workers.
Sure beats the $ 13 small salads at DIABLO FOODS next door. A challenge as the smells from the Diablo Food’s deli are inviting, but just too expensive for LUNCH on a BUDGET. and still having to purchase a drink.