Baked Downtown Cafe & Bakery

I dig this place. My mum and I went here before we saw a show over at the Palace. I had a half soup and salad combo — Nadia’s Salad and the Cheesy Tree Soup. Both were excellent. That soup is my new favorite. My meal was served with homemade chips and they were delicious! My mom had some type of soup (can’t remember), and served in an individual bread bowl! it was a little ciabatta roll that they hollowed out and put soup in! So great for when you want soup in a bread bowl, but don’t want the size of a regular boule. She had a salad as well (also can’t remember this one), but she said everything she had was excellent. I do think it’s a tad pricey for what you get — but I’ll keep coming back. :)

In my opinion, baked is not worth your time. It’s not that the food or drink is bad, it’s just money you could better spend elsewhere for quality of food and service.!Baked is really slow even during the week lunch hour. By my estimate, they have been struggling to keep the doors open for quite a long time.
Baked, is long overcooked.

First time here the food was great! Fresh warm bread with soup and salad was delicious. 2^nd time they gave me oyster crackers instead of bread, didn’t even offer fresh bread. Third time, I asked for fresh bread and it was stale… disappointed. Maybe it’s the day of the week, both poor experiences were on Saturday.

If this rating was for their tea, it would be 5 stars. I’ve gotten the raspberry litchi and very berry teas, both iced, and they were excellent. The very berry is my go to and it never disappoints.
Foul Garden soup was AMAZING. It didn’t have the rice or pasta on it like it says on the menu, but it was so delicious I didn’t care.
Gobbler is a pretty good sandwich. Not the best thanksgiving-​esque sandwich I’ve ever had, but pretty good for a filling lunch.
Overall, worth checking out, and if you like tea, this place is a must-​visit.

I ordered a coffee before heading back to work and it was completely wrong, all cream and sugar, not black like I’d asked for. I wouldn’t had cared but it was $ 3.50. I went back with the receipt an hour later and the cold coffee and they refused to replace it. Screw that. Lose a customer over 3 bucks? I’ll go to Finesse a block away instead.

Food was pretty good, however their portions are too small, especially for what you’re paying. Unless you have a small appetite, this place is good for a snack, but not a full meal.
It’s just a café style place, so I knew i wasn’t going to get big portions like I would at a full restaurant, but what I got was a small unsubstantial sandwich and like 5 chips.
Came in hungry, left slightly less hungry.

Manger told me the «soup of the day» was made Friday. I got it served to me on Monday, it was horrible lumpy floury looked horrible. Anywho, they think soup of the day can be made many days in advance.

I’ve been to Baked several times since they opened and have always been satisfied with my experiences. The employees are very attentive and helpful. During my most recent visit, I got the half portion of their cobb salad and the half portion of the gooey grilled cheese sandwich with a side of watermelon. Everything was delicious and tasted fresh, They seem to have streamlined their store recently by getting rid of the bar and not serving dinner. The space is huge and doesn’t have a lot in it now so it feels a little empty now, but I think it’s easily fixed by adding in some big comfy chairs or something. I did notice they turned the bar area into a place where people could easily work on all of their devices and there are outlets readily accessible.

Service — excellent, although lack of knowledge regarding ingredients in smoothies was odd. I asked if there was real sugar in the smoothies and was told it’s all natural sugar from fruits.
Large smoothie is 4.99, I think… whey 0.75
Coffee — Sumatra was tasty. If you want soy or almond milk, you need to request it as it is not readily available.
TV’s — CNN was on which I love
Wifi — was locked, but didn’t inquire about it
Device charging — available at counter seats in front of TV’s
Back to the smoothies, when I took a sip, all I tasted was pure sugar. Since I avoid sugar and have for many years, I couldn’t stand the taste/​sweetness of it. So I went to find out what was in it (obviously, I have time as I’m taking time off work). Come to find out, it was made of purée that contained 41g of sugar out of 44g carbs. I’m just wondering why under the name Bāked, it says farm to table… hope this review helps. I’ll be looking forward to reading other reviews.
Oh, so anyway, I ended up getting a smoothie with nonfat yogurt, banana, strawberries, whey. It was really tasty, but the taste of sugar was stuck in my mouth even after drinking a coffee sans sugar, of course.

I stopped by Baked while in Manchester at a work conference. I needed a coffee pick-​me-​up and I actually had some issues locating a place that had almond or soy milk. My hotel didn’t have any either. What, no vegans or those suffering from lactose intolerance in town? Anyway I finally came across Baked, and the happy people behind the counter informed me they had both. I really enjoyed the prompt service, and the hazelnut latte was hot and delicious. Thanks for providing a much needed caffeine buzz.

Cute place. I’ve been for breakfast and lunch. It’s slightly pricey and food was so-​so but enjoy it none-​the-​less.

I recently ordered a customized Harley Davidson symbol birthday cake from Baked. Not only did the cake look amazing, it tasted amazing (go with the irish car bomb flavoring!). Thank you Dale & co. — you guys are awesome!

So this being the first of the elm street restaurants I have visited I’m not sure if I can accurately rate it as I have nothing to compare it to yet. But as far as my international foodie traveler standards go I would give this place a ⁴⁄₅ in the restaurant category but perhaps even a 4.5÷5 in the café category. Upon entering the restaurant I was greeted in a very friendly manner by the staff up front. I decided to go for their «the gobbler» which is featured under their pressing panini category on the menu. The menu has a lot going on it may actually be a bit too much as they were out of some of the things I originally asked about including their soup of the day which was promoted outside. The seating area was very well maintained and clean. The atmosphere was that of your typical café but instead of the generic hipster scene it has more of a simplistic feel with a bright flower in s square glass container on every table. Most of those already seated have came here with laptops and work to do. It is a perfect atmosphere to work in as groups of more than 2 people seem to take whatever they order to go keeping the seating area a calm area for those to read or get work done. The music is interesting either its from the 40s or the 90s. The food Turkey panini was great and the presentation of the food in the plastic container was very organized and simplistic. The staff are very accommodating to food needs and allergies. As they are able to put ingredients and toppings on the side whenever asked. The food came out in 5mins well they called my name and I came back to the register area to pick up my grub. I have also bought a chocolate mint Jr whoopie pie and it is absolutely marvelous, The presentation of their other baked goods is superb I will definitely be coming back here to try their other items soon!

I have ordered several times from Baked but only for pickup and the Nadia salad has always been good. Last week I went to eat there. It was tremendously slow, the ambiance wasn’t great and the food wasn’t very good. I ordered a yuppie salad and gluten free tart for dessert.
After asking for gluten free items at the register (I inquired if they had gluten free bread too), my salad comes with bread on it. I’m allergic so I mentioned it to them. They made a big stink about not ordering the salad gluten free. It’s a salad, not a sandwich. The menu doesn’t indicate that the salads come with bread nor did the cashier mention it after ordering gluten free items.
Wasn’t impressed by the service, food or speed.

When they first opened I went in maybe the second or third week and had a turkey loaf type sandwich… it wasn’t good… but recently I went in and ordered a turkey sandwich again and it was mouth watering. I devoured it and I’m very discriminating about these matters. The service was excellent… very nice people. The Bar is clean. very modern also. They also have woopie pies and other baked goodies with smoothies that will fill you up for the day.
I have to say that the reviews for Baked Downtown Café & Bakery are mixed though… this may be from a lack of consistency. I truly enjoyed my last visit here a few weeks ago and I give it 4 stars but when they first opened I would have given it 2 stars. I feel they deserve a chance.

First time here, after buying a ‘Couptopia’. Salads veggies were good and fresh, but judging from how long they took to come out, I thought the chicken would be fresh/​warm, but it wasn’t any better than fast food chicken on salad.
Tried the Vidalia onion app… not good (and not ‘stuffed’ as named).
Breakfast and sandwich menu look good but i won’t likely be back even though the place is cute and clean. Just not impressed with the food or service (or bathrooms)!

Even though we were dining in we were given the takeout menu. When we asked for the entrees the waitress told us that she wasn’t supposed to give out that menu because the chef didn’t want to make entrees tonight. Finally she brought the menu titled «Today’s Specials». Uh… Not so special!
We started with salads and bread. The bread was excellent — moist, flavorful and smelled fresh. The salad was very basic — iceberg lettuce, green and red peppers, cherry tomatoes and croutons that looked like they came from a box. The salad dressing was in a little cup and was very thick — looked more like dip than dressing but it tasted good.
Before we could eat a few bites of our salad our entrees arrived and we were asked if we were done with salad. Uh no! Everyone liked their entrees though — all «home style meals» — meatloaf, Shepard pie, etc.
It took a long time before the waitress came back to ask about dessert so we declined and asked for the check. While waiting for the check the restaurant suddenly became stiflingly warm. Other diners headed for the outdoor seating and we headed for the cashier to ask for our check.
This is our third time at this restaurant and each time we’ve been disappointed for a different reason. I don’t think we’ll be back again — lots if better choices in Manchester!

It’s hard to find a cheap meal that’s also healthy and fresh-​tasting, but Baked does it well. Great comfort food — soups, salads, and warm sandwiches. My 2-​for-​1 combo (tomato soup and a gooey veggie melt) tasted homemade, and was surprisingly flavorful.
But for all of the gingerbread men on the walls… the baked goods aren’t that great. Cookies were rather boring, gingerbread was dry, and coconut macaroons tasted several days old. You’re better off sticking to the main menu.
I’d love to give 5 stars, but the bakery section just doesn’t deliver. At least I brought my Manch. Monarchs ticket for a discount & free cookie.

Baked deserves 2.5 stars. Yes, I’ve had better but some of it is actually quite good. Great atmosphere and concept. I’ve been going there since it opened. Some of the sandwiches are really yummy, but I have to stick to salads and soups that are gluten free. While they’ve added a few gluten free baked goods, there is much more they could do. I’m dying for a salted caramel bar made with a crust of almonds or toasted coconut — same with cheesecake. I can eat these things if you just eliminate the wheat.
My disappointments have been the tortilla soup that had FLOUR tortillas rather than the traditional and expected corn tortilla, and the «Yuppie Salad» — which was great the first time I got it — your classic tomato-​mozz-​basil. But now they put it on a big ol’ mess of greens, virtually leave off the basil, and leave you to flavor it with a rather bland balsamic vinaigrette. A good and proper Capresse needs only fresh, ripe tomato, mozz, fresh basil, salt, pepper and a drizzle of good EVO.
Their house made potato chips — first time I thought I died and went to heaven. Second time was «was I outta my mind??» Consistently inconsistent. Sometimes they are super crisp and flavorful, other times it seems like excessive humidity got the best of them.
Consistency is important. Baked doesn’t have it yet.

I stopped in to check out the new Baked for an early dinner (takeout) very recently.
This new café in Downtown Manchester looks very cute and modern inside with nice décor and shiny hardwood floors. They are open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and desserts and offer fresh bakery goods, breads, bagels, breakfast burrito, a good variety of sandwiches & paninis (come with baked chips or apple slices), soups, salads, plus, smoothies, coffee, espresso, & tea drinks. Mixed drinks and cocktails served at the bar.
The place is order & pay at the counter and there’s an adjacent dining room with table seating (covered with black cloths and vase of flowers at each table) and seating at the bar with flatscreen TVs. The digital menu board above the counter is a bit hard to read (small print), paper menus are also available. You’re given a pager after you order, which lights up/​vibrates when your order is ready.
I ordered the Groovin’ Rueben ($ 6.50 plus tax) with a side of baked chips for takeout. The food was all set in under 10 minutes. While the presentation of the pressed panini looked like a mess, the Groovin’ Rueben tasted pretty darn good! This panini was very hot and had thinly sliced tender juicy seasoned corned beef with melted Swiss cheese, kraut, & 1000 Island dressing on hot pressed marble rye bread, crisp on the outside. The golden brown baked (potato) chips were crunchy and had that saltiness flavor common in potato chips. For what I ordered, I thought the price of $ 7.09 with tax was fair.
I would give my initial experience 3.5÷5.0 stars, but I am not rounding up. As Laura has pointed out (thank you!), I fully agree that Baked Downtown Café & Bakery in Manchester, NH is definitely NOT AN ORIGINAL concept since there is already a Baked Café & Bakery located along Main Street in Whitehorse, YT, Canada (approx. 3,800 driving miles away) with a very similar concept and logo of gingerbread men. Baked Café in Whitehorse was already open for business long before the Baked in NH opened.