The Bakery Café by illy

Mind blow! Kerpew! I had the Croque Madame last Saturday and it was phenomenal.
The dish was served on top of a perfectly toasted piece of delicious bread. The bread was piled with layer upon layer of the most succulent Black Forrest ham I’ve ever tasted. The ham was slathered with a rich and decadent Morney sauce that was pure bliss. A perfectly fried egg adorned the dish. The egg was lightly season with salt and pepper.
I took the egg off and ate it separate because I was eager to taste it. I hadn’t had a fried egg in a long time. It was delicious. The meal came with a side of sea salt and vinegar chips. They were made fresh in the kitchen and provided a nice crunch between bites of ham.
The ham was so savory it just burst in my mouth with flavor. The sauce was fantastic. It was rich and complex and I sopped up ever ounce withy toast. It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. If I could give seven stars, it would be done. Bravo!

The service was friendly, attentive, prompt and informative. Being located in a world renowned culinary school, gorgeous building the atmosphere and food is all I could expect and more! The Mac and cheese had an add on option of truffles. Devine! Also had a panna cotta for dessert, delish! Totally recommend!!! Now can’t keep writing, must have some more, yum!!!

Fabulous experience here for a late lunch on a Tuesday afternoon at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) when you can’t get reservations in their main restaurant. Flights with 2oz pours from the Christian Brother’s Greystone Cellars are only $ 6. Had an excellent lunch with my mom. The fried chicken sandwich, $ 13 was perfect with a juicy boneless chicken thigh on a fluffy cheddar biscuit with tomato jam with meyer lemon aioli and pepper jack cheese. The Little Gem Salad, $ 12 was nicely dressed with Green Goddess Dressing and had little delicious fried goat cheese balls that added the perfect bit of crunch and flavor. For dessert we had the passion fruit panacotta, $ 3 and almond pound cake, $ 2. The passion fruit panacotta had a nice passion fruit jelly, tart and sweet. Pound cake was moist, buttery and very good. Will definitely come back. Also, the students prep, cook and serve and thus are not allowed to take tips. Great food, service and value.

Stop there for lunch on the Friday after Thanksgiving since we were in Napa. The Turkey sandwich was Thanksgiving dinner on a sandwich, tasty and delicious. The Ham and Cheese was too much bread and tough. My grill cheese was delicious but my tomato bisque was too acidic for my taste but everyone has different taste. The person who took our order was not so friendly or helpful. Seem like she did not want to be there. We waited a while for our sandwiches and service was slow.

Amazing and beautiful pastries. Menu changes frequently. Today’s special: Cinnamon rolls that would put Cinnabon to shame. World class coffee. Free wifi. What more could you want?

This place is NOT a hidden gem. We arrived at 11:30a on Sunday and the menus were not printed up. They did not have the bisque or fries. They were short handed. The side was a pickle instead of a salad or fries but the price was the same. I would not come back. This place is disorganized. The pastries in the window were not fresh.

While in Napa I made sure to stop to eat at the Culinary Institute. The restaurants themselves were closed. However, the Bakery was open to the public.
Ordering is easy, limited menu but very well executed. We came twice on our visit for lunch. The first day we ordered Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque. This was the BEST tomato bisque we ever had! The grilled cheese had a few different cheese combinations that made that home-​style cooking all the more enjoyable. The second visit was a hamburger that had a few different toppings with an over-​easy egg. I never had a more perfectly cooked over-​easy egg made in my life! The hamburger was so flavorful and juicy too.
If you are a foodie, you definitely need to stop and pay a visit for lunch. After eating before hitting up another winery, take a stroll through their gift shops — lots of cook books, wine books, cooking utensils and cookware galore. You can also view a cooking class going on in the next room next to the Bakery.
No reservations are needed, and the building is open to the public daily. Check the website for hours.

Beautiful location & really fun to see the students & staff in the kitchen! Unfortunately, we had a poor experience in the café. We ordered the BLTA, but had to take it back to the counter for a refund. The toasted bread was falling apart, what was supposed to be avocado looked like a smearing of green wetness on one of the bread slices (not even the consistency of guacamole) and the worst part… the bacon. It was wobbly, fatty chunks of smoked fat. Literally, no meat & all fat. Really disappointed. However, they were very kind & offered a refund immediately.

In all honesty, I expected more from The Bakery Café by Illy. I couldn’t quite figure out if the standard is being held by Illy or if it’s being held by the CIA. Either way, it fell a bit short of my expectations. It is only a café but should be an incredible café! I chose to have the chicken pot pie for lunch. I was surprised that my drink and meal were delivered to me and found the staff to be nice but hesitant /​uncomfortable. Perhaps it was just a learning experience. The pot pie was piping hot as it should be but the puff pastry top was overly done. It was a darkly baked color and when trying to break it apart, I found it hard to maneuver. It didn’t want to break apart but once I was able to crunch it up, found that it was dusty dry on top and rubbery on the bottom. The chunks of chicken were a bit too big to eat on their own so I had to cut them. The consistency and taste of the béchamel cheddar sauce was incredible. I was uncertain of the cheddar component and it did make the dish a bit odd but it was so subtle that it was still good. The mix of root vegetables were so good with it as well and there was the perfect ratio of sauce to meat to veg.
I came back after shopping to grab a couple cookies. I got the Non-​Oreo cookie and the double chocolate cookie, neither of which I enjoyed. The Non-​Oreo had no sweetness to it what-​so-​ever. The cookie portion was so dry and dusty tasting and the cream filling was bland and pasty. The double chocolate cookie was mostly dark chocolate which is not my favorite. My partner ate it and said it was ok.
I guess I just expected more because it’s at the CIA.

Great tasting food for a great price. If you are in St. Helena and don’t want to spend too much on some lunch this place is for you! It is beautiful outside and a fun experience just to say that you have been to the CIA.

Because it’s in the CIA youre going to get access to all types of goodies. Charcuterie, sandos, coffee, tea, chocolates… made by on site staff. The chocolates by the recent graduate are pretty outstanding. My only gripe is ey close pretty early so get in sooner rather than later

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? If you’re looking for a delicious meal at a great price, you have to stop by the café. Everything is fresh and delicious! They have some of the best french fries I have ever tasted. We loved them so much we actually ordered a side of fries when we finished our meal. The bread used for all the sandwiches is made in the bakery each day. You can really taste the difference. Try one of their amazing pastries to finish off your meal. The best part? Everything is very reasonably priced. Of course, I just used the extra money I saved to buy some of the CIA’s hand crafted chocolates.

While it’s located within one of the nation’s culinary landmarks, it’s also a bakery/​café. It’s not 5-​star dining at Alinea. As such, the best a bakery/​café can likely earn 2 or 3 stars from any restaurant critic of any credibility.
The salads here are good, but not great: decent execution, decent ingredients, but lacking much creativity or originality. The sandwiches good, not great: there’s some slight inventiveness with the ingredients (an unusual cheese here for the vegetarian option, etc.), but you still come away thinking, «That was a good sandwich» and little more. Come on: you’ve had better sandwiches.
The baked goods are very good, though not quite up to excellent standards. The cookies are mostly American standards, and they do a good job at them. But there’s a lot of places all over the state and probably in your home town that do that at least as well.
So even if you rule out that it’s basically a bakery/​café, it’s a good one, albeit not nearly among the best of its kind. Most of the reviewers here seem to have gotten lost in a «Miss Scarlet» moment of pomp and circumstance, losing themselves in a feinting spell so much that they forgot to actually critically taste the food without hyperventilating over the space and what the place represents. This is hardly unusual for us mortals: people thought the coffee in Paris was fantastic because of where it was, completely oblivious of how horridly tarry and ashy it was prepared by European standards until a few renegade Parisian cafes pointed it out in recent years.
Speaking of coffee, being an illy café with the CIA’s association with the Università del Caffè, I was also expecting better espresso here despite knowing that we were being served by students. But one day here for a class my espresso came to my table with absolutely no crema and looked and tasted like it was made from stale beans (giant illy cans aside). The next day it had a richly textured crema with darker spots («tiger stripes» in the industry parlance) with a lot more typical illy flavor.
As what you perhaps can expect with students, the quality can be very erratic.

We weren’t expecting much, but our lunch was great. Just a turkey sandwich, BLT and fries, expertly prepared and presented. Surprisingly blown away by, of all things, the truly spectacular sparkling water on tap. No kidding. I’m just spending time writing this review so I can have another glass.

I’m here, finally! After many failed attempts in trying to visit the CIA at Greystone, I have now come to start my day off at the lovely Bakery Café.
Being in the middle of lush Napa Valley, it’s hard to escape that inviting scent of freshly baked goods, cheese, and wine — your plot to decrease sobriety before noon?
In all seriousness, the atmosphere of this place is *French accent* romantic, classy, and simplistic (cue in the violins) ~ There’s an aura of sophistication, a strong sense of history and culture, and a high-​class lifestyle that isn’t snobbish, rather indulgent.
This café welcomes you with its delicious sandwiches, soup, and dessert. I ordered the Ratatouille & Mozzarella — C.I.A. farm ratatouille, mozzarella, arugula, focaccia. Scrumptious, yet light and subtle with each flavorful bite. We also got a few pastries and sweets I forgot the names of, but they were all good and a perfect note to end the meal.
If you have time, I recommend going on a tour around campus, beyond their visitors’ store and culinary classes, and maybe even enroll in a one-​day course to broaden your mind in all things culinary, and fall more deeply entranced with this special place that is Napa Valley.

I’ve been meaning to come here for almost a couple years now, so I was pleased to finally arrive at the door of the Culinary Institute of America on this year’s Labor Day weekend. There are many different places to eat here, but we opted for the Bakery Café, which is located adjacent to the gift shop.
Everything was so clean when we walked in and definitely brought us to ooh’s and aah’s as we looked around. The Bakery Café is a mix of fancy food names and casual atmosphere, if that even makes sense. The café offers a simple menu with items packed with freshness and flavor.
For today’s lunch I was able to try the tomato soup, BLT sandwich, and housemade ice cream. The tomato soup tasted fresh and creamy, definitely better than the tomato soup from the grocery store! It complemented my sandwich very well — fresh lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and crispy bacon, served on crunchy yet chewy sourdough bread. But for me, the housemade ice cream was the winner! Cinnamon to be exact — and it tasted just like horchata. I wish I had more… but I’ll be back, CIA!

I simply love this café! How on Earth have I never heard about this magical place before? This is going to be in my permanent Napa rotation for all future visits. I don’t want to write this review because I don’t want the best-​kept secret to get out!
The Bakery Café is run by the pastry and culinary students at the Culinary Institute of America (where this café is located). It’s inside the giant Greystone building. Don’t let the exterior scare you, the public is welcome. Simply waltz on in and take a left after the gift shop and you’ll see the Café. The hours change frequently so make sure you call ahead or plan to be disappointed. Even when open, the Café has bizarre hours (like 1 pm to 3 pm or 11 am — 2 pm).
The Café is set up like a Panera — you go up to the counter, place your order and pay, then sit down with a number and a server will bring your food out to you. The menu looks like it changes often depending on the seasons or what the students are learning to make. I zeroed in on the fresh strawberry cake in the case and the shrimp, artichoke and grilled lemon salad caught my eye. I settled on the salad and the hubby got the Charcuterie plate and we split a bowl of the Tuscan bean and kale soup.
What amazed me is that while the stuff isn’t cheap, you are getting FANCY RESTAURANT QUALITY FOOD prepared by real chefs-​in-​training for much less than the same dish would cost you down the street at a big name chef restaurant. My salad was freaking amazing and set me back $ 9. This same salad would’ve been at least twice the price if not more at most other establishments in Napa. My hubby enjoyed his charcuterie plate and was able to select which meats he wanted in the sampler, including wild boar (something we fell in love with on our last trip to Italy). The Tuscan bean and kale soup was yummy too; I ordered it because, well, I just cannot pass up a bowl of soup!
Water service is completely free and self-​serve. I LOVED this because they had a counter with small glasses and larger glass bottles where you could fill up a bottle for your table with either filtered still or sparkling water! This worked out great for us since I love sparkling and hubby loves still. That had me won over immediately!
The students brought out the food and soon after, the culinary instructors /​professors would come over to each table to inspect what they did. It was sort of like being in the classroom and was so cool! I saw this going on at every table so if you are weirded out about that sort of thing, just be aware that you are dining at a school where chefs are being trained right in front of you.
After we ate our lunch we HAD to go back for dessert and coffee. The Café serves Illy Italian coffee (one of the students told me that she is being trained by actual Illy folks from Italy). We got a slice of that amazing looking strawberry cake and I wanted to try a cookie so I asked the girl at the register to pick out her favorite of the day for me (she chose peanut butter). I had an espresso and hubby had a macchiato (in the traditional Italian style of course, NO Starbucks here).
The pastries were amazing; that peanut butter cookie was fantastic. You could really taste the butter, nuts; you could straight up just taste the amount of CARE that went into baking that cookie! The espresso was fine but the crema on mine has disappated as soon as it was brought to the table. The student who brought it out noticed it right away and offered to pull another shot before I even could say anything about it but I declined. It’s so difficult to learn to make the perfect espresso shot so I guess I should’ve had her redo it but I didn’t want to look like an ass.
The dining area is very small and tables are scarce. The small bistro tables are cute but not so much fun when you are attempting to juggle lots of plates and cups. We saw lots of students and instructors dining here between classes. The selection of sandwiches, salads, wraps, pastries and soup is limited but everything sounded so good. I don’t believe there was anything over $ 15 on the entire menu.
I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to tip here but we left a little cash. I didn’t see anyone else tip, however. If anybody knows the proper protocol here, please let me know. And while we were eating, a chocolate making class started up in the open classroom right behind the café. How cool is that?

This lunch spot is undoubtedly the best value in Napa Valley. We were completely blown away by the sandwiches, soup, desserts, and breads. And their prices are a fraction of what you’d pay at similar high-​quality establishments in the area. Also everyone you’ll encounter at the Culinary Institute of America is just as friendly and nice as can be.

The desserts and sandwiches were wonderful! Our server was great. If you are looking for some light eats and a caffeine hit, I highly recommend coming here.

I came here with family one afternoon for lunch. What a delightful experience! The café is deep inside the gorgeous Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and anyone who’s visited knows what a dramatic building it is! You truly feel like you’re in a castle. We found our way to the entrance, through the huge gourmet kitchen store and into the sleek and modern Bakery Café by illy. The impressive display case held all sorts of delights — we stood around for forever trying to choose. I eventually ordered the French Market Brie sandwich from one of the friendly and knowledgeable students who helps run the café and create the fantastic items it offers. (We spoke to a few students during our experience at the café and all of them were very professional and had a polite and thorough answer to any question we posed.) When I ordered a side of bread and butter, I assumed the bread was made in-​house. What I didn’t realize was that the butter was, too! Amazing. My sandwich was the perfect cool lunch on a warm day — the fresh-​baked bread held slabs of creamy brie, delicate slices of pear, and sweet caramelized onions. Wow! So simple and SO tasty. My husband was supposed to share the asparagus soup with me but I only got one taste before he wolfed it all down! My fellow diners were similarly pleased with their meals. We went back and ordered quite a few desserts after we finished our main courses. From the Peanut Butter Cup to the Almond Milk Panna Cotta to the Gluten-​Free Grasshopper Cupcake (which didn’t taste gluten-​free at all!) to the stellar Coconut Cream Pie, we were in heaven. Nothing was left on our plates when we finished our lunches and wandered into the kitchen store to browse a bit. A great experience overall. What an excellent opportunity to taste the wonderful things they’re cooking up at the CIA!