Great Harvest Bakery-Cafe, Marietta, Ga — Restaurant in Georgia

It's been a while since we visited Great Harvest Bakery and Cafe. The last time we stopped in was for lunch several years ago. When we visited that time, it seemed to be just after the peak lunch time as we were the only customers. I can't recall what we had but I can recall that we tried to find a clean table - not one. Everyone was cluttered and had food debris. We never went back. My wife and I and sometimes extended family members all meet for breakfast every Saturday morning. We like to try different places from time to time and so we decided to give Great Harvest another go. My wife loves scrambled eggs and I do also - except I wanted to try the cinnamon roll with an order of scrambled eggs. I had seen on the menu that some of the sandwiches had scrambled eggs in the description. So I talked my wife into going. After all, since we live in the Due West area, it's nice having a local choice . But what we did not realize is that they don't have options for eggs - except on the sandwiches. My wife could not decide on anything else, so she only ordered a piece of toast. She is not a breakfast sandwich sort. And I could not have eggs but I ordered a cinnamon roll anyway. We both had the drip coffee - which was pretty good. Now - don't get me wrong - I am not complaining. They obviously do very well with what they offer and I am sure the various breads are good, at least from what I have read. And they can serve items anyway they choose. It would be like me giving a Sushi restaurant a bad review just because I don't like Sushi. That would be a bit unfair. I guess we have breakfast traditions that are hard to break - is that a pun? And we just need to stick with the 5 or 6 places we are familiar with. Anyway, the cinnamon roll was good as you can tell from the picture. Maybe I'll try one of the breakfast...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but here I am. This place is beautiful and the atmosphere is wonderful. The people are friendly and the service is fast.

Unfortunately, the food is just very sub par. I've been here twice now and both times I was excited and left disappointed. This time I ordered a Rueben sandwich. They put it on rye, not marbled rye. If there was Russian dressing, there wasn't enough. I didn't see or taste it. It tasted fresh, which is good.

I don't recall what I ordered the first time, but I remember I was really disappointed. It was cold and just lackluster. You can't imagine how badly I wanted a good Reuben. My quest continues. I'll find a good deli somewhere. The art of good burgers and sandwiches seems to be lost in the US.

Edit for owners response: no need for you to insult me! I did nothing see the Rueben on your chalk board. I never saw a menu. I simply asked the lady behind the register if they sold them. She said yes. So there was no description. I’m sure people like it, but it’s not a classic Rueben. If you’ve ever had one, it’s not remotely the same as yours. That’s like comparing a Philly cheese steaks from Philly and Atlanta. They aren’t comparable. But, if you’ve never been to Philly people will “receive” it well. Your shop is a bakery, not a deli. I should’ve gone to a deli, but you were closer and have overall good reviews. Sorry that I expect more than the average person, but I’ve eaten all over the world and I know my food better than most. You have aversion of a Rueben, but by no means a classic Rueben.

I’ve also added a pic of one I made at home today. I don’t have the same resources you do at your store, but it was easy to assemble and make a classic Rueben. See...

Normally, we'll try any restaurant twice, but this was an instant "one and done" for us.

For context, this was the experience for $51 - the same price we paid for the same group to eat at a sit-down restaurant down the road:

3 sandwiches, chips, and fountain drink 1 kids grilled cheese

The only choices of bread are literally "white or wheat." All those breads behind the counter for sale (even sourdough, really?) aren't available to eat.

The only choice of chips in the stand were... plain ruffles or plain ruffles.

We were upcharged $0.25 to get the sandwich toasted - instantly felt nickled and dimed on a ham and cheese sandwich that was already $10 (without the chips or drink).

The sandwiches were really sub-par for the price. Thin bread, unseasoned chicken (for the tuscan chicken, there wasn't even salt), and the "toasting" was some burnt grill marks on each side of the bread. The sandwiches didn't even come out warm, much less toasted.

We found a cockroach in the eating area, which we informed them about. That kind of thing happens this time of year, but to see the staff simply stomp and remove the bug without cleaning the floor after, while we were the only people in the restaurant and nobody else was being serviced, was... surprising.

To say you'll have a better experience running down to the Publix deli would be an extreme...