Bonny Breads — Restaurant in Beverly

I’ve never found the vibe here to be overly warm or friendly. The employees attempt to mask their impatience with customers when they’re just the slightest bit busy, but it’s thinly veiled at best.

After an unpleasant experience my daughter and I had today, I won’t be returning. From the start, the server was visibly annoyed that I wasn’t following her unspoken rules—order fast, know exactly what you want, and don’t ask about anything beyond what’s on display.

Things got worse when, after we sat down to eat, my 9-year-old daughter tried to order a drink in a separate transaction. Despite another patron politely pointing out to a staff member that my daughter was patiently waiting at the register nearest the drinks area to purchase a drink only, the staff announced she needed to go to the back of the baked goods line. When it was finally my daughter’s turn, they looked past her addressing only the adults in line, making her feel unwelcome and insecure when it was her turn to order. Only when I had to declare that my daughter is just simply trying to order a drink did they finally acknowledge her. She was humiliated and cried on the way home.

To top it off, the mushroom tarte I ordered had a soggy bottom, adding a literal bad taste to an already negative experience.

Clarity is kind. If you want customers to follow your expectations, post them and set everyone up for success. With two registers—one by the baked goods and another by the drinks—it’s easy to assume there are two separate queues. If this isn’t the case, signpost that. I suspect your staff can’t hide their frustration because they spend a large chunk of their time managing these awkward interactions.

More importantly, your staff needs to be more patient with customers, especially with children learning important life skills. Though you did teach my daughter a valuable lesson about customer...

We stop for a quick sandwich. They had one available which was a ham and cheese on a 1/2 baguette. We order and pay. We sat at the only table available and it was dirty full of crumbs that looked like more than one customer ate there. Food all under the table. The girl comes over and tells us there are no more baguettes so she can put it on focaccia. Absolutely did not want to eat a french sandwich on focaccia but we already paid so we agreed. She came back w a whole loaf of focaccia that was full of oil that soaked through the paper bag and covered our hands in oil. The green tea i was given had a block of leaves in it that was so overpowering for the size cup and it tasted stale and old. This giant focaccia bread was not even cut so you could eat it. As i was eating a corner tear of it we were told they are now closed. Okkkk so! We keep eating then are told the front door is now locked and when we leave you will have to use the back door. Classless and rude because this behavior made us feel we couldn’t finish our meal. I had not even finished my corner portion of my sandwich to fill full. My daughter felt the same. We felt forced to go so we left without finishing our meal. I will never step foot in that place again. Train your help properly. If you hate your job that much then leave because your behavior...

The food is good, expensive but really good. However, if they plan on keeping tables for customers to enjoy coffee and pastries onsite, they need to change things… There is no table with condiments so you have to ask for EVERYTHING you need to the inexperienced employees behind the counter. Incredibly annoying, especially when they get annoyed by you asking the extra spoon, a lit bit of honey, an extra napkin, etc., etc. Plus, the staff needs training on how to properly fill the loose tea bags! My tea was undrinkable. There was enough loose tea for three cups… soooo strong! Before I left I needed to dump my tea and I had to reach the sink behind the counter, again, because there’s no table with condiments and trash… Lastly, their coffee is bland. Nothing special at all and it doesn’t match the quality of the food offered. Anyway, it’s an easy fix. Hopefully, they’ll pay more attention to these...