Village Bakery — Restaurant in Davis

Good pizza and baked goods (4/5 green stars) The Village Bakery is one of the first places you’ll see when you get off an Amtrak train, so it’s a very convenient pit-stop before or after a trip. Nice outdoor seating with shade. The man at the counter and the chef/owner were both friendly and helpful. I had a slice of the veggie pizza ($3.50) and a mixed berry scone ($2.50). All the food looked appetizing – they had some good-looking eclairs and cream puffs but I tried to exercise some self-control ;) The selection of veggies on pizza was great: nicely caramelized onions, zucchini, peppers, etc. Not too heavy on sauce or cheese. Most of the cheese was feta, which really worked well with the veggies. The scone was really delicious: crumbly and light, dusted with icing sugar and animated with the flavor of blackberries and blueberries.

I’m giving the Village Bakery 4/5 “green stars” for social and environmental impact, based on these reasons:

• They use local fruit and veggies when possible and everything made in house. • For the pizza, they use olive oil for the crust (unlike some other pizza places). Olive oil is generally a sustainable product. • They source organic tomatoes for the pizza sauce when in season / affordable. • For the bakery side, their dairy comes from Crystal Creamery. From what I’ve read I’d place them somewhere in the middle – not nearly as good as an organic creamery like Strauss, not as bad as Dean Foods (Berkeley Farms). • Not much waste generation – the pizza is served on a paper plate and bakery items in a paper bags. Unbleached, recycled paper would be an improvement. I think the utensils and lids were conventional plastic. • Two out of the three pizzas on sale were vegetarian.

Ever written a green star review? Please contact me if you have done so, or if you’d like...

I used to come frequently, maybe 2-3 times a week for the pizza by the slice (soooo good with ranch). Recently haven't been coming by as much but noticed there were new tables and chairs outside that I sat at maybe once or twice so far while waiting for the train.

Today I was sitting there with food from another location and an older man that I had never interacted with before exited the building, got in his car, and then drove up behind me and told me that the tables and chairs were for Village customers only and that I couldn't sit there unless I went in and purchased something. He seemed very annoyed and a little confrontational, so I just responded with "ok" and he drove off. While I understood his point and left, I think it might be in their best interest to put some signs out? Not to mention that I was the only one sitting at any of the tables-- if it had been busier and customers were looking for seats then I would have understood completely. It was a little frustrating and kind of creepy and the experience turned me off from coming again.

Well, that and some of the...

Ordered 2 pizzas over the phone on Friday night. We had a playdate in our house. Children ate the first pizza. My husband took a piece and said that the crust tasted strange. Later at night, I tested the second pizza, the crust was burnt and it had parchment stuck in the dough. I ended up taking a video the pizza and throwing it away. I was out of town over the weekend and couldn’t return the second pizza. I was thinking that a receipt and video should be enough. I called the village bakery later and talked to the manager. He offered me 10% off the next order for the inconvenience! He said that I had to bring the pizza back for the replacement otherwise they can’t help me. When I was picking up my pizza, they were training a girl there. I don’t know if it’s related or not, but I am super disappointed. I have been ordering pizza at their bakery every other week for many years. I guess, I won’t be...