- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Breadbar - CLOSED
Categories: Food Bakeries Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Restaurants French Bakeries, Breakfast & Brunch, French [Edit]
8718 W 3rd StLos Angeles, CA 90048
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
(310) 205-0124
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Breakfast
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
183 reviews for Breadbar
Review Highlights
"Ludo Bites was exceptionally good from the food right down..."
(in 9 reviews)
"Lacquered pork belly with mustard ice cream (very nice."
(in 3 reviews)
"...aside from the fried chicken in duck fat---how many times..."
(in 3 reviews)
Loading...
183 reviews in English
-
Review from Julia S.
8/26/2011
I love this place, I really do. Still haven't done their Ramen thing but that's because I go in the morning, when they open.
Servers sometimes seem to disappear for a long time but when my water gets low or my coffee, they are there to fill it.
You need to know, the menu does not tell you everything the dish includes. You need to ASK since it may include things you dislike. My friends keeps ordering the 'Steak & Eggs, flank steak, roasted potatoes' ($15 good deal) and forgetting its smothered with a mushroom sauce. Oops.
I HEART the 'Eggs Benedict with Salmon, yuzu hollandaise' $14.75
The bread that comes with it is okay... perhaps they'll substitute it next time.
Their Breadbasket is hardcore. If you are in the need of intense amounts of carbs - there you go. The Cheesecake Factory ain't got nuthin' on Breadbar's basket.
Oh, and nice people. -
Review from jessica a.
Los Angeles, CA
11/7/2011
Was super excited to try this place. Unfortunately, I was NOT impressed.
I went there with a friend of mine. On our way there I said to my girlfriend "hey do u want to order a sandwich and split it and then get our own soups?" She told me that they had a half sandwich and soup special and we could each get our own.
Upon looking at the menu I noticed that the soup& half sandwich "special was $16.50 Two orders of those would have been $33. THEN i looked at the soup and sandwich prices. A bowl of soup was $8 (which is RIDICULOUS btw) and the sandwiches were around $10. Soooo two soups and 1 sandwich to spit would therefore amount to $26....LESS than the special....
The menu made no sense what so ever. Why would a soup and sandwich special be more than ordering individual meals? Of course we then decided on a sandwich to split and ordered our own soups.
The waiter informed me that they no longer had cups of soup...only $8 bowls. If your menu is that small why would you limit the size of soup someone could order? The give you a lot of soup I guess but who the hell wants to eat a gallon of soup for lunch? (they do this at PF Changs with their wonton soup. BUT PF changs is smart enough to serve the $8 soup in a large bowl with a serving spoon and then give the table small bowls and spoons too).
We tried both soups before ordering. One was a butternut squash and one was their signature cauliflower soup. Well, the butternut squash came out and I was disgusted. It honestly looked like baby food...same exact consistency. Not sure what the chef was thinking. On top of looking gross it tasted like bland nothing. The cauliflower soup wasn't much better. It was thin and watery and very bland. My friend told me that it was served with a garnish so I went ahead and ordered it anyway hoping the garnish would save it. (I was SO hungry and with the 45 degree temp outside I was also freezing and craving soup already) NOPE it was still gross. I had to add tons of salt and pepper just to feel like I was tasting something.
The club was good but very basic.
In addition, my friend ordered a fresh squeezed OJ when we sat down. Later on the bill we noticed that it was FIVE DOLLARS. For OJ?! A small glass? Was there gold in the OJ?
The atmosphere is cute but it honestly makes no sense at all. Why have a cozy menu with warming soups and sandwiches but then only have high top bar tables to sit at? Its impossible to get comfortable when you cant lean back because you are on a stool and your feet arent even able to touch the floor. They really need booths.
I have to say, the only thing great about the place is the free parking lot. Though I wont be coming back anyway. -
Review from Iris T.
10/25/2011
A good place to have breakfast before hitting up Robertson for some shopping. The food is allright, less than $15 per entree. I got the make-your-own omelet and it was huge -- kind of explains the almost $14 price tag! I could've done with just half of it.
If you're looking for a place to fuel up before throwin down some dough on Robertson, definitely check this place out! -
Review from Chris B.
9/28/2011
"Foodlatio" (140 character reviews blog):
Bread makes the sandwich so if gonna commit carb sin make it count. And while you are there pick up a baguette, pastry, and a mini cupcake. -
Review from Heidi S.
Auburn, WA
12/26/2011
I now have a brunch addiction because of this place. I went here 3 days in a row because all I could think about was this one dish: Eggs benedict with Salmon. I don't have words to describe HOW GOOD the food was. It reminded me of France and the quality of food you'd expect there, but I didn't think you could find it here (in America). The star of the dish was THE BREAD, no I'm not kidding. I literally wouldn't leave until I finished the last bite. I have an affinity for acidity and this dish just did it for me. The light golden brown sourdough bread with the slightly acidic yuzu hollandaise paired so well with the soft runny eggs and peppery dill salmon. DELICIOUS! Oh and the breakfast potatoes were super crispy on the outside, but soft and mushy on the inside. SO GOOD!
-
Review from Eli G.
My Personal Ramen Tour - Chapter 19
When I think "ramen" I think Santouka, or I think back to ramen shops in Tokyo, where the broth is deep, salty, meaty, delicious, and all the toppings add to the experience.
When we ate at Bread Bar for their ramen bull event, none of those adjectives came to mind.
The meal started with some very hard to eat crunchy noodles. The flavor was flat, and the dish seemed like an afterthought.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
The highlight of the meal was the tongue. If it was possible for meat to be too tender, this may have been in trouble. The meat was soft, supple, and full of tongue flavor without any hint of offal. I could have eaten that all day.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Here's where things got rough. Both our ramens came with some weird foam on top (aren't those passé now?) and a few other random accompaniments. But the failure was threefold, 1) the noodles were too thin and squiggly, 2) the meat in both the corned beef and the ox tail was tough, bland, and didn't match well with 3) thin, soulless broth that had no depth or discerning character to it.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
And for $15, you'd expect your ox tail to be tender and falling off the tail-bone. In this case, all the outer layer of meat was again bland, and tough.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
After tax and tip, we spent $40+ on ramen for two. Had it been amazing, price wouldn't matter. But since I know I can go to Santouka or Asa and get perfection for only $9, it was too much to swallow.
The second star is only for the tongue.Listed in: Ramen Ramen Ramen
-
Review from Brittany B.
Los Angeles, CA
8/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had lunch here today and while the food was actually quite good (at least 4 stars) the service was painful :(
We arrived for lunch around 12:30 and the place was just getting busy. It was one of those days when everyone arrives at the same time. It wasn't really clear whether we were supposed to order at the counter or wait to be seated. I was finally able to get someones attention and we sat down outside.
The menu had a great assortment of sandwiches, salads and soups. I opted for the beet gazpacho and a half of the vegetable panini. I asked for the alpine bread, which alone was delicious. It had cheese baked into it. It was a good thing as the inside of the sandwich was incredibly plain. No cheese, a small spread of pesto and the "grilled" vegetables tasted as though they had no seasoning whatsoever. The soup was great too. I've never had a beet gazpacho and I found it refreshing and flavorful - the perfect thing for a hot day. It came with a bit of goat cheese and had a really pretty presentation.
I also tried the "grilled cheese." It was decent but I think a grilled cheese should be mind-blowingly good.
I love that they use great ingredients and that was really evident in the food but they really need to step up the service. It seemed that they were heavily understaffed and frankly I wouldn't voluntarily want to sit through that experience again any time soon.Listed in: West Hollywood, lunch time in LA!, sandwiches in LA
-
Review from Ana F.
7/27/2011
Another stop on the Cedars-Sinai Grub list.
I had a fantastic time here since my server also happened to be my old server at another Culver City restaurant at which I'm a regular. I hadn't seen her a while, and yet she still provided excellent service.
Came here for lunch on a gorgeous day this week and ordered the $12.50 sandwich and salad. Sure, you could pay less for the same meal, or even $10 and get unlimited of both at Souplantation, but Breadbar really does provide awesome ingredients. I had their club on buckwheat (YUM) and a caprese salad. The bread really is awesome, and makes the sandwich. The mozzarella on the caprese pretty much melted in my mouth and I was a huge fan of the fresh greens, tomatoes, and savory olives. Not to mention, both server and bus boy kept my iced green tea filled at all times (way yummy Jasmine green tea).
And for a mere $3 you can get BREAD PUDDING WITH HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM. This is less than the cost of a latte at Starbucks but made with much more care and better ingredients. I'm a bread pudding whore so this really hit the spot and the homemade whipped cream was just divine with the fresh strawberries and warm, warm, bread...drool nom nom....slipped into a bread pudding coma just now. Ok, I'm back.
Breadbar, you are pricey, but you are WAY worth the money. I'd go to you over any of my other similarly priced CSMC spots any day.
I'm a huge fan of service, food, and even coffee here - great place to start your day (with local coffee and yummy croissant, nom nom nom....*food coma*)Listed in: Cedars-Sinai Grub
-
Review from Loic C.
8/15/2011
I will agree with other yelpers. The food is Ok to good but the service is non existent. It was ok as we wanted to relax and take our time but if we wanted a quick lunch or brunch we would have been annoyed.
Reuben and garlic fries: The bread was good but the meat was not really great. It was dry and not so flavor full for a reuben. The fries were nice
Grilled cheese: Bread is good. grilled cheese as tomatoes in it. It was not so good at all.
Chocolate almond croissant: Breadbar has great pastries and it was one of those. The almond paste ( frangipan) was great. The pate feuillete was good. It is a great dessert/snack/breakfast.
The food is heavy and oily. We felt a little sick after the meal.
Conclusion, Go for the bakery. -
Review from Harrison G.
Los Angeles, CA
8/10/2011
Came for the special ramen dinner. I ordered the oxtail. The broth was flavorful as was the meat, although I wish it hadn't been on the bone. It didn't come off quite as easily as I wanted - had to pick it up a couple times and pull it off. The noodles also left something to be desired, compared to other ramen restaurants. That being said, we were all very pleased and full afterward.
Also got the beef tongue appetizer which was very tasty - thin slices of slightly salty beef tongue
Lastly, a couple people had the homemade sodas and really enjoyed them but I opted for the BYOB option.
Seems like a nice place to spend a relaxing afternoon or evening. I'd like to check out their regular menu and pastries some time. -
Review from Carlo C.
Torrance, CA
4/17/2011
Located across the street from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Breadbar is a nice little sandwich shop for lunch. Any other meal would be best served in other venues, with so many great ones around for dinner.
The menu lists a small bevy of sandwiches from the common chicken pesto to an exotic vegetarian portobello with a mushroom tapenade.
So what's the general consensus on this joint? If you're on a hospital visit, it sure beats the cafeteria in terms of sandwiches. If you're ordering for other items, be warned. -
Review from Jon G.
Santa Monica, CA
10/4/2011
Good food, miserable organization and communication with the customer.
I walked in yesterday and ordered a sandwich to go. "It'll be ready in just a couple of minutes," I was told. Ten minutes later the woman walking by the counter said she'd 'check on it', then said 'almost ready'. 10 more minutes passed, same update. Finally after 25 MINUTES it arrived, she was on the phone.
I looked at my receipt and asked her to confirm the current time on her computer to make a point.
"We had a big order ahead of you," she explained.
"You should have let me know it would take so long," I replied. She scowled as she said "I'm sorry" (do people think their body language is so opaque?) and returned to her phone call.
I'd eat the food again, but won't accept such a wait. No plans to go back. -
Review from Erlina D.
Beverly Hills, CA
2/20/2011
Breadbar on 3rd St is excellent. Tried their bread pudding for the first time and it tasted better than what I expected. It came with fresh whipped cream, strawberries and raspberries, sprinkled with icing sugar. HEAVEN! And did I mention it was warm and it tasted even better because I had it on a cold day. All for $3. What a steal! A pot of English tea for $1.50. And it wasn't the usual dipped tea bag. They used tea leaves!!
So this afternoon, I dragged my husband out of bed, walked there and had the same thing. My husband was very impressed.
And let me tell you, being from Melbourne, where good bakeries and good cafes are everywhere, we are not easily impressed. But this place satisfied our afternoon tea cravings with affordable prices.
Love it! -
Review from Michael D.
Studio City, CA
5/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
SHORT REVIEW: Fantastic spot near Cedars. Great breads and worth checking out. Truly enjoyed my meal.
WHAT DID I EAT?: Ham & chee croissant, mini chocolate croissant
LONG REVIEW: This place serves high quality food in a very relaxed environment for a good price. I highly recommend giving it a chance, as the ham and chee croissant was fantastic and everything I had was realy fresh.
Is this the greatest place in the land? Well, that breakfast would be served in my kitchen when I'm feeling like making a good one. However, if I'm in the area and I have time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast for a fair price, I'm heading here. TOTALLY WORTH CHECKING OUT!!! -
Review from Dorothy K.
Los Angeles, CA
10/7/2011
I went here with a friend during restaurant week....we shared our plates:
-Japanese Shishito peppers and edamame were roasted and salted - yummy and an excellent take-me-home snack.
-Beet soup with just a little goat cheese. The goat cheese tasted surprisingly good in this soup. That said, I think all beet soups are great in moderation - after a couple bites, you just get sick of it. This was no exception.
- Quiche Lorraine - this was the tastiest thing on the table. The only problem is that they only give you a slice. It was a little on the thin side too. =(
- Grilled Cheese sandwich. I don't recommend this. The cheese didn't melt in my mouth and the bread was much too crunchy - so much so that I coughed several times trying to get the crumbs out of my throat. =( The ones I makes at home taste way better.
-Bread pudding - looked delicious; tasted pretty good (not amazing).
I'd say this is an okay place - I heard that their breakfast is tasty - hopefully, better than lunch. I'm honestly not sure that I'd come back here. I'd rather go to Jack n Jills or Sushi Mon. :/ -
Review from Marilynn L.
Los Angeles, CA
9/29/2011 Seated via OpenTable
BreadBar is interesting because they don't have much on their regular menu that entices me (I've had the burger, creme brulee, and a croissant, all of which were very average and I can find better versions of rest of the menu elsewhere) but they have great chefs come in periodically. I enjoyed the Ramen Bull they hosted very much. But I don't know if it's fair to rate a restaurant based on a guest chef. So for the regular menu, it's okay. For the special menu's, it's better than okay. what I do appreciate is that it's a great place to catch up with friends - the space is never filled to the brim, the servers are sweet and nonintrusive, and you can easily sit their for a couple hours without feeling pressure to leave. Not many places in LA you can do that!
-
Review from Alannah B.
Los Angeles, CA
2/4/2011
ERIC. KASER. INVENTED. THE. BAGUETTE. AS. FAR. AS. I'M. CONCERNED. Or at least, that's the impression I got when I was in Paris two years ago. I was addicted to his boulangerie(s), seeking out several locations, trying to find SOMETHING wrong with his fine establishment but failed. Miserably. So you can only imagine how excited I was to hear about Breadbar in my city -- yes, MY city. But that's where all the excitement ends; I cannot even begin to explain how disappointed I was.
Like with most of my Yelp reviews, I try to go to a place 2-3 times before I do a write up. (Hey, maybe I catch them on a bad/off day. I understand.) But every time I went to Breadbar (twice on 3rd, once in Century City), I thought, "Hm, I could've bought better/cheaper bread at Trader Joe's."
I purchased half a rustic loaf on all three occasions -- how can you go wrong with a WHEAT & RYE hybrid?! (Those two are my favorite kinds of bread, BTW.) The crust was hard and chewy and the rest of it tasted like...mushrooms? Which is not only confusing but disturbing when you think about how mushrooms are really fungus. So all in all I was eating fungus-y bread.
On top of that, service was slow, or they were trying to ignore me because of the obvious look of disappointment on my face. I am pretty tolerable in situations like this, but after the third strike, I had to split my ways with Breadbar.
Oh, but we'll always have Paris, Eric. Oui. -
Review from S. T. V.
Los Angeles, CA
4/5/2011
Came here on a raining Sunday morning. Brunch time! We found parking on the street right away, no hassle. We had made reservation on http://opentable.com but was confused because there was no "hostess table". The girl behind the counter told us to just sit anywhere and they'll come to us for table service.
The service was very friendly. :) The food was great!!! We had the croque madame and the ham omeltte - both very excellent. Their potatoes were good, we wondered if they were fried twice or something... we couldn't stop eating them! The side salad was fresh.
I had their jasmine green tea, and I liked that it came in a tea pot with a separate strainer. Real tea leaves!
There were alot of people coming in buying their pastries and bread. We didn't have enough room to try them but I think I would come back to this place. -
Review from Sam M.
Los Angeles, CA
9/19/2011
Simply reiterating what most people have already commented on -- The food is relatively decent but the service needs some serious remedying. My girlfriend and I dropped by here on a Sunday for brunch, around 11:30 am or so. As far as I could tell there were two people working the front but given the amount of time it took us to get our food, I assume only one cook. However, the place wasn't crowded at all, only about four or five tables.
While the server carried out his job with a smile and relatively good attitude, he and his associate seemed to be poorly trained. Simple things that even people who don't work in the service industry know about were flat out neglected. Things like drinks being served before food. I'm sure most everyone is in agreement that drink orders placed before any food had been ordered should thus result in drinks being served first. Right? Not after the food has already been delivered to us. I ordered an Arnold Palmer and my girlfriend a cup of coffee, neither of which were seen even when the server brought out our food. After setting down the plates, the server said he would go make our drinks. By this point, given that twenty minutes had elapsed, we simply told him to "forget it" and bring us a couple of glasses of water. It's unfortunate because there goes about five or six dollars that the server could have brought into the restaurant... And I must admit the coffee looked extremely good. Rich, frothy, and full-flavored. Needless to say, my girlfriend wasn't too happy about that.
Besides our marginally disappointing experience, the menu itself is quite pricey for what you get. Omelettes will be in the thirteen to fourteen dollar range and even basic sandwiches will run the gambit from eight to ten dollars. While they do have quite a variety of options (obviously with many things featuring bread or other baked products), I ordered a breakfast croissant with egg, ham, and cheese, accompanied by a small side of diced potatoes. The croissant was very plain. Have you ever eaten something and it just feels like something is missing? Like some sort of ingredient or seasoning should be there but isn't? Well, that is exactly how I felt about the croissant which was very drab and oily. Coupled with the fact that the potatoes were completely dried out, it made for quite a disappointing meal. That alone cost me twelve bucks plus tax. If had gotten my Arnold Palmer then another three bucks would have been tacked onto that.
I'm hoping that I was simply unfortunate enough to perhaps order the wrong thing or to come in at a bad time but, and I've said this before, a restaurant is only as good as the worst thing on the menu. For a place that markets itself as a prime location for brunch, they need to do a better job of staffing the restaurant, training the servers, and making sure their breakfast items are up to snuff. Parking is a challenge but that's typical L.A. and anything on 3rd street in that area is tough. While the menu is quite diverse and has some very interesting choices, it seems to be a bit steep for what you get. Stick to a cup of coffee (if you can get it) otherwise the soup or a salad may be your best bet. -
Review from Amy C.
6/28/2010
Stopped by here Saturday for the Yatai Ramen Twist event cuz I was craving some oxtail ramen.
We sat outside on the patio and our waiter was really friendly and helpful. Great service.
The food was a bit of a disappointment to me. I ordered the oxtail ramen with truffle oil and it was too heavy for my liking. It tasted more like beef noodle soup than ramen and the oxtail meat was kinda chewy. Broth was very beefy, not sure I was really expecting that. Noodles were cooked good, not too soft and not too hard.
My dining companion liked his miso ramen and raved about the pork slices. He said it was so tender it basically melted in his mouth. Wow. If that isn't something to rave about, I don't know what is.
I didn't taste any truffle oil in my soup. Boo hoo. I love truffle oil. The oxtail ramen may be a good choice for someone who is really into beef.
I'm not knocking it, since I'm a huge fan of oxtail. I was just overwhelmed with the intense flavor.
Very big portions and neither one of us finished our bowl.
Not sure if I'd come back, but if I did, I would give the spicy miso ramen a try. Maybe oxtail and ramen just don't mix.
pix -http://pandaliciousfor... -
Review from Jenny B.
7/8/2010 2 photos
This review is only for their chocolate and pistachio Macaroons since I was so excited to try it when I saw them from my seat after having Yatai ramen.
Spoiled by Le Maison du Chocolate macaroons in NY, this one was pretty bad in comparison to that. The chocolate macaroons was more like a brownie with macaroons feature, very thick on the inside and the pistachio, I could hardly taste anything pistachio from it. Major disappointment for me. Not recommended at all. -
Review from Rebecca P.
Los Angeles, CA
7/19/2011
If the samples of bread available at this year's Extravaganza for the Senses (annual fundraising event for the Saban Free Clinic with lots of wine and food, mmm) was at all representative of what Breadbar can do, then this place rocks. The bread served was so perfectly chewy and moist with just the right amount of flavor to hold its own if served in a bread basket without a side of butter. Easily 4-5 stars. The reason for 4 stars is because I hesitate to judge merely on this event and because the piece of bread I got was topped with a bit of pesto. Although yummy, it was almost a bit too flavorful for the bread, drowning out its perfection a bit.
-
Review from jo jo j.
Torrance, CA
8/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
absolutely LOVE the ramen from the Ramen Bull event!! My favorites are the oxtail and spicy ramens.. so much umami, dark, beefy flavors that arent usually found in ramen
beef gyoza with sherry-soy is fantastic!
pineapple/lime soda.. DELICIOUS!!!! -
Review from Trini P.
Los Angeles, CA
8/23/2011
Two words. Cotton mouth. After taking the first bite of the oxtail ramen, my first thought was "borings". Yes - so boring it's plural. The salt was so overwhelming, some of us poured water into the broth. Secondly, they give you this fried noodle thing to munch on and that tasted like stale broken up ramen noodles. We ordered tongue which was pretty good but I didn't really enjoy it since the ramen was so disappointing. The oxtail was also drenched in salt and didn't fall off the bone like you expect. I was like really? I have to pick up this large bone and knaw on it? On the bright side my favorite thing about this restaurant is that you get to bring your own booze which is pretty awesome. No corkage fee whatsoever.
-
Review from Armando N.
Los Angeles, CA
6/14/2010
Invited here by my good friend Yim, great choice!
From June 8th to July 24th Breadbar will be serving different types of Ramen and other sides for dinner....alright let's dig in!
For starters we shared some pig feet gyoza, highly recommended.
And for the main course I decided to get oxtail ramen with truffle oil, loved the taste of the broth and the Oxtail meat was tender and effortlessly falls of the bone. Very very good stuff well worth the $14 price tag.
Don't park in the residential area if you can, you can find free parking behind the restaurant if you don't feel like having your car towed. -
Review from Ayelet B.
Danville, CA
7/27/2010
This is one of my favorite areas in LA. Tried Breadbar for the first time. The food was ok but the service was not so great.
We had the peppers and edamame starter, which was nice with the right amount of salt. We shared the 3 sliders and they were ok. I was surprised that there was no tomato included as this is their best time of year. It was a bit bland. -
Review from Maggie Z.
Los Angeles, CA
Updated - 3/6/2010
Sorry Breadbar, we have to break up.
I used to like to come by for lunch or to get some bread to go. Then last night I popped in on my way home from work to pick up a loaf to go with dinner. And you refused to sell me any bread.
I guess your focus at that time was on serving dinner. But when I came in, there were only about three tables occupied, so it wasn't like I was bothering you when you were really busy. And you had all this bread on display under glass at the counter. It was the same bread you usually sell me.
But last night, when I asked the girl which kinds of bread were left for sale, she said, "Oh I'm sorry, nooooo." Like me asking to buy bread was silly. Like I'd walked into The French Laundry and ordered peanut butter and jelly. But you sell bread--that's your thing! And you shooed me away because you didn't want to sell it at that moment?
Here's a little tip for you BreadBar. Even if you don't want to sell bread during dinner for some reason, if a customer comes in and asks to buy some, and you have the bread right there, all labeled, where we can see it, and you're not really very busy, maybe go ahead and sell me the bread that one time. And just explain that it isn't usually sold at that time and then I'll know that you don't sell bread after dark or whatever. Don't just shoo me away like a red-headed stepchild. I have come in for lunch and dinner plenty of times, so I know your dinner customers are more like "lucrative" than your bread customers. But after I took the time to come into your store and you just refused my business like that, I have to consider our relationship over.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
10/10/2009
Yummy bread plates to share. Good brunches. But if you just pop in for a sandwich, you'll be… Read more »
-
-
Review from Yi Z.
9/21/2010
I went to Breadbar for the ZaZen pop-up. I'm convinced that except for extreme cases (like LudoBites), pop-ups are for "chefs" who just aren't good enough to have their own restaurants. I mean, seriously, $46 for the food I ate was outrageous. I dragged my friend along and at the end of the meal, he told me that he felt like he was just putting food in his mouth just because he was hungry. The only course that we both enjoyed was the mochi dessert. I'm pretty sure I've had the same mochi in China for about 25 cents. One of the major flaws was that there were bones in the sashimi. I've seen enough Top Chef episodes to know that bones in fish is unacceptable in most cases. I was fortunate enough to feel the bone in my mouth as I was chewing the fish but my friend got a bone stuck in his gum as he was eating. He didn't look very happy after that.
The service was also spotty. I know it's a pop-up so the chef and servers don't know each other that well but our server had no idea what was being made. She just kept saying that she loved this dish and loved that course but when I asked her what the items were, she read off a piece of paper or looked at the chef with confused eyes.
Luckily, there was no corkage. At least my wine tasted good. I also arrived right at 7 so I was able to grab a free parking spot right outside of the restaurant. -
Review from Brian W.
7/1/2010
RAMEN!!
At... wait... where? Breadbar?? Uhhh okay.
Cold tofu-- big chunk of firm tofu with leeks and whatnot. Leeks are a bit too chewy, green onion or chives would have been better. Nice but being such a big*ss chunk was not very attractive.
Pork feet gyoza-- very tasty pork, but that was about it. Not quite crispy on the bottom or anything.. so good, but not amazing.
I had the...
Ox-tail ramen: pretty average. Ox-tail itself was excellent and the broth was rich, but I think that was just all the fat in it. Rest of the ramen was a cut above the usual around here, but decidedly below the best places. I liked the noodles, but it just wasn't anything special enough to make me want to come back.
Then for dessert, crap, the kitchen was closed to hot food when I ordered the bread pudding. The waiter thought that was weird, too.
So we had the berry tart. Pretty good, actually very yummy, and for 3 people it was fine to share.
I mustn't forget the coconut pearl tea, which tasted pretty much like straight coconut milk. I was expecting more of a tea taste.
The killer, though? Service and the kitchen were SLOW. Service got better as our waiter changed halfway through, but we spent something like 90 minutes in a restaurant barely half full, and we spent maybe 20 or 30 minutes actually eating. I don't mind paying Beverly HIlls prices for food, but man, it had better be worth it, and this wasn't. -
Review from Robin Z.
11/19/2009 3 photos
How very convenient to be seated directly across from the double hung kitchen doors as this allowed me to witness the grab-assing going on amongst the boys of the house while preparing meal orders for their clients. Every time those doors swung open, someone was goosing someone else. Other than that, it's a boring scene. Very boring.
P.S., the garlic fries were delicious though I have no idea how much they figured into the goose games going on behind "closed" doors. Probably none. Probably. -
Review from Jolene M.
Los Angeles, CA
7/27/2009 7 photos
I saw chef Ludo freaking out with his pigs ear quesadillas on Top Chef Masters and instantly liked the guy. I'm glad I caught him on this "limited time only" run of Ludo Bites. If you're interested, make reservations now cuz time is running out; it's only lasting until August.
We ordered:
Pork Belly, Asian Marinade, Mustard Ice Cream, Frisee, Vadouvan ($18): My favorite dish of the night. The pork belly was melt in your mouth, and the mustard ice cream on top of the frisee was surprisingly refreshing after all that fatty pork.
Fried Chicken in Duck Fat, Fingerling Potato, Tapenade, Red Bell Pepper Ketchup ($19): Tasted like good fried chicken. Not my favorite dish, but the red bell pepper ketchup was a nice addition.
Foie Gras Black Croque-Monsieur, Ham, Cherry, Amaretto ($20): I loved the presentation of this dish--ham and foie gras sandwiched between two slabs of soot black toast with cherry sauce underneath. It was like a piece of art and was so sinfully rich. I loved this dish.
Vanilla Panna Cotta, Caramel, Caviar ($15): Tiny. I mean, the size of a half dollar. The mix of salty, sweet and creamy always works. Great (tiny) dish.
Chocolate Cup Cake, Foie Gras Chantilly, Candied Bacon-Almonds, Maple Syrup ($12): I'm a sucker for chocolate paired with bacon. Add foie gras into the mix, and I'm all yours. Geez louise, this was a CRAZY dessert. The candied bacon-almonds sprinkled on top were chewy, like toffee. The bacon added a wonderful smokey aftertaste to the dessert. I loved it!
Oh, and did I mention the complimentary bread with lavender honey butter? OMG, that butter is addictive.
I give Ludobites 4 stars because I think that all of these dishes could have been priced a little less for the portion size. However, my taste buds definitely enjoyed the experience and I can't wait for more innovative dishes from Ludo.
P.S. Yes, you can see Chef Ludo in person running around the restaurant.
*See pics* -
Review from Kevin F.
3/15/2010
Breadbar is located along a pretty stretch of 3rd street, close to the Beverly Center. Generally famous for chef Ludo Lefebvre, the place was a lot smaller than I thought. Inside, there's a singular row of high-seated tables, simple wood blocks on legs, and is very clean and stripped down. They had a 'mad men'-esque series of pictures on the wall in black and white, and that's how I would describe Breadbar. Simple yet remaining fashionably chic.
They serve Lazilla coffee, italian coffee evidently, so if you're a fan of the brand, then just letting you know. I'm a fan of illy coffee; I didn't think it make a difference, but somehow when I have illy coffee, I feel that much better.
Madame croque here was about the best I've ever had. The bread they used was much more crispy and buttery than places I've been (I expect good bread from a place so named), and then after that, the ham and the over easy egg were delicious. In a showown of croques, Breadbars was a bit better than the one I had at Little Next Door.
Overall, despite seeming like a brunch place, doesn't really feel like a brunch place, but indeed its a good place for brunch. Simple and delicious; have brunch then shop 3rd st or the Bev Center. Not a bad way to spend sunday, huh?Listed in: Brunch Spots, Ze French Craze
-
Review from Linda N.
Los Angeles, CA
9/16/2008
I ordered the half roast beef sandwich + half soup de jour - (tomato yesterday) ($12.50) online. The soup was tangy just like you'd expect a tomato soup to be, perfect for dipping the two pieces of bread that accompany it or your sandwich. It got to be too tart for me though as I like the creaminess of tomato soup like at The Little Next Door as of late.
After finishing dipping so much of the bread, I had to take a break before I had the roast beef sandwich. The meat was excellent, great tenderness to it. There was a bit too much mustard that overpowered the sandwich. It wasn't that big but enough for lunch.
I remembered to use my KCRW card, finally.
Also, I saw Adrian Grenier (Vince from Entourage) waiting for the valet at the restaurant next to BreadBar. I gave him a big one and sent him on his way. -
Review from sook w.
Los Angeles, CA
11/22/2008 19 photos
You eat with your eyes first, that's what they say, so at Breadbar, the first bite is delightful. The pastries are simply beautiful. There's golden flaky looking danishes and croissants and hefty moist and buttery looking apple turnovers.
However, when you actually start to eat - with your mouth - that's when the delight takes a detour into the land of oh, hells no! The apple turnover had a lovely flaky pastry but the guts were lacking in any chunks of actual apple. Breadbar uses a brown paste so heavily spiced with cinnamon, it's clearly just a vehicle for getting rid of the world's excess supplies of cinnamon.
My apricot danish was the best part of breakfast but no better really than a WholeFoods danish. The ham and egg omelette came with a mini french baguette and breakfast potatoes. The potatoes were charred. Eating them was like biting into little squares of crunchy salty oil, like those burnt potato chips at the bottom of the bag. Not good. The french baguette had the right crusty outside but the inside lacked chewyness and that clean fresh feeling you get with even like a supermarket La Brea Bakery baguette. If your business is called breadbar, shouldn't the bread be good? Yes, I rather think it should. And it was not. No, it was not.
Service was slow but friendly. Thumbs up for the discretion showed by our waiter when we ordered lattes, two pastries and two breakfast entrees. Instead of saying, what you got, some kinda tapeworm situation? He just said, "um, oh, okay" after we each placed our order. Amazing discretion. European almost. Our lattes were oh-kay. All in all, while I had a great time chatting and sitting on my ass, I wish had had breakfast elsewhere. -
Review from Lila H.
4/9/2010
This review is for Seoul Town Tapas by Debbie Lee (Food Network Star).
First of all the whole place was surprisingly empty on a Thursday night.
Service was great and friendly and Debbie was in the kitchen.
Things we ordered:
Small-
Tofu and Jap Eggplant Robata-Style Skewer
Medium-
Korean nachos (fried rice cakes, beef and topped w CHEESE!) *my fav
Sesame Flat bread w braised beef and pesto
Large-
Slow Cooked Cod, Chile Scallion Sauce, Roasted Daikon, Mountain Rice
I thought the concept was unique with a cute name and even though Im Korean I thought it was a fun twist on traditional Korean dishes.
I would go back again to get the Korean nachos again (genius) and to try the Fried Chicken and Nutella Blueberry Sammie!
I hope more people go and try it before its too late! :) -
Review from natalie t.
Los Angeles, CA
6/19/2011
friendly staff and a good variety of baked goods!!
the almond croissant is amazing!! its a little pricey but they really use a lot of almond paste in the croissant. its on the doughier side and not as flakey, which is what i love. im not a flakey kind of person.
also bought a mini white chocolate loaf of bread. couldnt wait to cut it up into slices and just bit into it like an animal. it was GOOD!!
some items are a bit pricey but ill definitely come back to this place, its well worth it! -
Review from Jane K.
VALLEY VILLAGE, CA
7/29/2009
LUDO BITES!
After watching chef Ludo on Top Chef Masters, my wonderful bf made reservations for his new pop up restaurant at breadbar and we had an amazing dinner! We had the Chorizo and cantaloupe puree, which was simply delightful! The heirloom tomato salad, green beans and coconut...loved! The fois gras sandwich...amazing...he dyes the toast with squid ink!! And the Beef tenderloin...all very savory dishes... ending with the chocolate bacon cupcake. I loved the $5 corkage, and had an amazing time. If you go with someone stupid, your experience will suck, but great company makes for an amazing time. -
Review from a l.
Los Angeles, CA
10/19/2008
It was 6:55pm on a Sunday evening. We walked into the bakery and all we wanted was some french bread or a brioche to go. They had a full display case of breads and pastries.
The Guy Behind the Counter (TGBC): We will be right with you.
Me and Cutie Petutie (CP): Okay, wow what should we get? Brioche or French Roll.
Tick Tock Tick Tock... it is now 6:59pm
TGBC to another TGBC: Can you please help those people?
TGBC: Um, we are actually closed. Please come back tomorrow.
Me and CP as we are walking out: Are they crazy?
Hey listen, I worked retail in high school and I always hated when someone would slip in right as we were cleaning up and getting ready to go home after a long shift. I understand all that... and in fact we didn't even know they were closing at 7pm. Well, the guy behind the counter should have told us when we were walking in, that they were closed. BUT, they had us waiting for four minutes and then shamed us as if we were asking for hot meal a minute before 7pm.
Unbelievable. -
Review from Yuko G.
Los Angeles, CA
8/30/2007
I heard great things about this place online and I was determined to try out. So I googled the location, and it showed that there is one in El Segundo!! Great, I work in El Segundo. I can just go there and pick up some bread during my lunch hours!!!
So one day during my lunch hour, I drove to the El Segundo location just to find out that the building doesn't look like a restaurant. "Hmmm, this is weird, but hey, it says "Breadbar" on the sign." So I walked in, thinking that it may be one of those "hidden and secret" location that only cool and foodie enough people would know about. What did I see? I ended up walking right into the middle of the office space, with desks, chairs, phones, etc. This was obviously not a restaurant. People didn't look like waiters and waitresses. I thought about quickly and quietly exiting the building, but the office worker beat me to it and asked if I need any help. I got so embarrassed, probably turned red, and said, "uh... hi, I ummm, I came here to buy bread... but probably, obviously, this is not the right place...?" Ok, I sounded so stupid. I wanted to dash away and hide.
I apologized for my intrusion and said that I'd get going, but people there were so nice about it. I was told that the El Segundo location was only for the office and the bakery in the back, but no restaurant and sales. They bake bread there and deliver it to different locations. They took me to the back where the baking is going on (by the way, it smelled soooooooo good there!!!), and they even packed me a big brown bag full of warm bread that were sitting on the rack as a souvenir!!! I insisted that I pay for them as that was my initial intention (hey, I went there to buy bread, not to intrude the office space and get free bread), but they didn't let me. They just said, "no worries, just tell your friends about our bread."
I mean, seriously, how nice was that? So I went back to my office, told everybody about what had just happened, and shared the souvenir bread with everybody. Mmmm mmm mmmm!!!!! They were all so yummy!!! I LOVED the cheese bread balls and olive bread. Baguettes were so crisp outside and soft inside... I'd pay for however much they are selling them for at the restaurant.
Anyway, so I actually drove up to the restaurant on that weekend and tried out more bread. Well, they were a little pricey and the atmosphere was a little snooty, but that may be because I'm not used to the Beverly Hills upper society. Come on, you go eat breakfast and end up being surrounded by waitresses and customers who're perfectly beautiful and gorgeous... That is just not comfortable and cozy to me. But who cares, right? As long as I can ignore the fact that I might not fit right into the crowd, the rest is all good.
Bread: Simply wonderful. No need for preserve, spread, anything.
Tomato & Mozzarella & Basil omelette: Come on, what better combination could there be?
Rhubarb pie: Not too sweet, not too sour. Just the way it should be.
Too bad the parking and the seating are pain, otherwise I'd be driving up there every weekend! (hence, 4 stars)Listed in: Too Sweet? Too Girlie? No…
-
Review from Rell E.
Los Angeles, CA
4/6/2009
My mommy is such a great sport. Really. Because when the server at Breadbar brought over those three teeny-weeny sliders for $17, she didn't say anything negative. I know she was thinking, just as I was thinking, "What the hell? Those 3 teeny sliders for $17? Oh, and the $7 pomegranate mint- lemonade, which was actually very good, and homeade, but I wasn't expecting to be billed $7. No biggie, just saying.
The sweet potato fries were all that. Cut thin and sprinkled with a little garlic and parsley.
Service took WAY too long. It wasn't THAT crowded, and they had enough staff to work this small venue.
Mommy really was a good sport.
