Barb's Bakery & Bistro — Restaurant in Salt Spring Island Electoral Area

I have a soft spot for bakeries, but this place is truly a gem — friendly and fast service, affordable prices, great locally roasted coffee, huge selection of baked goods and sandwiches. They have an especially impressive assortment of sandwiches and croissants. There's a large seating area with a self-serve station with water and utensils (it definitely fills up during lunchtime though). Extra points for the accessible gender-neutral washroom!

The granola bowl ($7.50) was filling and not too sweet, and paired well with the soft cinnamon apple chunks and tangy Greek yogurt. The croissants (~$2) were soft and multilayered, not too crunchy. The smoked salmon croissant had cream cheese inside, which made for an interesting spin on the classic lox and cream cheese bagel. Wish I could've tried their large...

We stopped in my breakfast and were so impressed that we came back the next day for what turned into lunch since we were too late for breakfast. For breakfast the gluten free option on the banana walnut French toast was amazing (the bread was really good quality and held together very well) as was the malaque skillet my husband had, I could smell the fresh garlic from my side of the table every so often. Then on day two the burger and sandwich we had were both equally enjoyable. The prices were reasonable and although we opted to sit down both days their is the option to get items to go. The service was good both days as well if a bit slow on the coffee refills (but they were super busy both times so that could be excused). All in all we...

Service good, delicious lunch, great deck! The waitress, although vegetarian, was able to steer us towards something that appealed to all of our tastes. Both the soups were delicious, but the smoked salmon clam chowder needed clams to justify the name. The grilled pear, bacon, Maple pecan and chevre salad had varied textures and great flavor!! The pulled pork grilled cheese sandwich was good, but would have been better if the coleslaw was not on the inside of the sandwich. The gluten free bread was very good and the chicken, apple and chevre sandwich is highly recommended. We were lucky to have sunny, warm weather and really enjoyed our lunch on the deck. Service was attentive, pleasant...