Old Town Bakery — Restaurant in Ladysmith

A bit of a let-down. We love exploring local and supporting small businesses. We'd heard rave reviews and decided to put Old Town Bakery at the top of our Ladysmith bucket list. We stopped by a week ago after Transfer Beach but the wait was long - out the door and a second line to pick up after ordering. We decided to try the online ordering system at a later date, which we did today. A couple of things to note with online ordering: apparently if they are running low on inventory (buns, for example), the system will just close that ordering section down. The system also timed out after adding items to our cart, so I wasn't able to do a final check for accuracy (we accidentally ordered the cheese scones instead of the blueberry). It would have been nice to have received a detailed order confirmation via text - we could have immediately corrected the order.

As it was, skipping the longer wait was a big bonus. However, when I called in to see about the error in our order, the customer service was only mediocre: she said that in their system the order was correct and gave no offer to exchange products, or to even even troubleshoot/take note of the online issue. The cheese scone we ordered in error was sub-par at best: not enough cheese to warrant the "cheesy" flavor description, not savory enough to enjoy eating on its own merit. We would not order again, nor would we take a chance on the other scones. The cinnamon roll we ordered is NOT a cinnamon bun (think large cinnamon roll muffin), but it was still yummy and well-received by our family. Between the wait time in store, online order mishap, stiff customer service, and the cheesy scone that even our kids didn't finish, we would explore other places before giving Old Town a...

I'm not a bakery expert, so I don't have a lot of experience to draw upon for my review. I do however feel qualified to judge the service and atmosphere of any business.

The Old Town Bakery is located atop a gently descending street, which from the vantage point of my table, allowed for the mountain skyline in the distance to open up. Very nice!

In addition to approximately 16 indoor seats, there is outdoor stone round table seating available. The bakery itself is decorated in a plain and unmemorable way, likely because the baked goods they offer are intended to "take the cake", so to speak. There is an abundance of baked choices here, suitable for parties, gifts, takeout or sit down. Not being from the area, it would take someone in my situation a lifetime to try everything and find my favorite.

I ordered the 16oz London Fog tea with a cream cheese almond bun. Not my usual breakfast fare, in fact, I rarely eat breakfast... but this bakery was recommended to me, so I drove appropriately 30 minutes to try it out.

The service was top notch. Friendly and engaging and helpful, in addition to asking me several times if I was ready to order as the order spot can be congested with no real lineup.

Overall I'm very pleased with the bakery and even as I sat, people rolled in at a steady pace which is proof positive that the Old Town Bakery is...

Fairly Decent High Production bakery. Not a small town feel inside the bakery, its a long line and you get tasty treats in return. The cinnamon buns are very nice.

Not a lot of chit chat, feel good service, hurry up and wait. I prefer the cumberland bakery for quality and home town feel. I have worked in production shops before and its get it out as fast as possible. Keep this in mind if you think your going to go 'chill' and have a coffee and relax. Ther are tables but you won't be relaxing.

Avoid the Mexican Wrap ( All you taste is refried beans) everything else was ok. But thought the Wrap was a rip off. Was going to write the owners a letter, but considering how busy this place is I decided not to, they probably know how minute my complaint would be, but if you have been to Mexico, or California, and like Mexican food avoid this wrap. It was massive but due to the poor taste I went to Tim Hortons after.

Overall its good to check out once in your life time. I mentioned that the charger was not working at the museum, and actually called to tell them, and they said " not our problem'

but it is your problem, why? because 5-10% of cars on Vancouver island are EV's. that attitude makes me think that they can due without that...