Baker's Crust Artisan Kitchen — Restaurant in Norfolk

Reliable, But Rarely Rises to the Occasion Baker’s Crust Artisan Kitchen in Ghent feels like it should be great. It has all the right ingredients: a prime location, a stylish and comfortable atmosphere, and a sprawling menu that promises something for everyone. And for the most part, it delivers a perfectly adequate meal. But after several visits, the experience consistently lands in the land of "just fine," making it a three-star spot that’s reliable for a group but rarely a destination you’d specifically crave. The ambiance is one of its strongest points. The space is warm, modern, and inviting, equally suited for a casual lunch, a family dinner, or a weeknight glass of wine with friends. The menu's breadth is also impressive. You can get anything from wood-fired pizzas and elaborate salads to hearty sandwiches and full-fledged dinner entrees. The "Orchard's Edge" salad and their artisan grilled cheeses are often highlights, and you can’t go wrong starting with a loaf of their signature bread. It’s a safe bet when you have a picky group to feed. However, the "artisan kitchen" promise seems to get lost in the execution. While the menu reads well, the food itself can be inconsistent. A sandwich that was fantastic one visit might be a bit dry or hastily assembled the next. The Neapolitan-style pizzas, while decent, often lack the flavorful char and perfect texture that would elevate them from good to great. There's a general feeling that in trying to do everything, the kitchen doesn't truly excel at any one thing. Service is typically friendly but can feel stretched and a bit impersonal, especially during the weekend brunch rush. You get the sense of a well-oiled machine designed to handle volume, which sometimes comes at the expense of a memorable dining experience. Ultimately, Baker’s Crust is a perfectly acceptable choice. You’ll leave satisfied, and you won’t have a bad meal. But in a neighborhood with so many culinary gems, it often feels like a missed opportunity for something more special. It’s a jack-of-all-trades, but unfortunately, a...

I had high hopes with all the rave reviews, unfortunately our experience was not so good. It was 7:20, I knew they closed at 8 so I was trying to be courteous and order via phone rather than walk in so I called and the girl that answered left me on hold for 10 minutes when the phone system automatically rang the phone back the same girl picked up and apologized she had forgotten I was on hold. No worries we all get busy. I placed our order for the family to-go special. 2 pizzas and a medium wine country salad. She said in 30 minutes it would be ready. We were already in the area so hung out in parking lot, went in 20 minutes later and it was ready to go. Paid and left, drove back to our hotel, it smelled soooo good the whole ride.

Got to our room and prepared to eat….I opened the boxes and was surprised and sad to see it wasn’t what I ordered!! The restaurant was already closed so we couldn’t call or go back to get it corrected.

There was a pepperoni pizza with clumps of pepperoni thrown all over kinda sloppy.

The second pizza had weird slimy brown things (Later found they were onions).

Our order was a Fennel sausage and sweet onion pizza and a Pepperoni & sausage pizza plus the salad.

Neither pizza had any kind of sausage on it.

I had a bite of the onion pizza and it was OK definitely not the same without the sausage or maybe if it had been just cheese But the onions alone made it weird and the bottom was very black, I LOVE wood fired pizza because of the crust but this was well over cooked. I couldn’t eat it. The pepperoni one was ok, I didn’t try it but my spouse ate it all so I’m assuming it was good. I will say the wine country salad was phenomenal and I ended up having that for dinner.

We may give it another chance in the future. I was just very disappointed in the quality and inaccuracies on the...

A local chain. This is the second visit but different location. They serve breakfast choices until 3pm then a lovely selection of artisanal fresh creations for lunch and dinner.

We stopped after coming back from Minneapolis. For starters we tried the tavern chips. House made Parmesan chips with mozzarella and maple smoked bacon bits baked on top. This was a VERY generous portion of chips.

John very much enjoyed the French onion soup- and here me now- real traditional style baked with guyere cheese and seasoned croutons. Served piping hot as all soup should be served.

I had the chicken and waffle- was not feeling exploratory- this was a traditional Belgium waffle with three tenders buttermilk friend with honey beurre bland and warm maple syrup. The chicken was tender and crisp. I am not a fan of sauce on my fried chicken but it did provide a nice sweetness.

John enjoyed a classic American Dish of Smokey Bacon Burger stack. Two beef Pattie’s, maple cayenne bacon, fried onion rings, Smokey apologies, American cheese, (he held off on the dill kosher pickle chips) served on a brioche roll with fresh cut fries.

Once again perfectly cooked to order and the beef juicy and the onion rings and fries crispy.

For desert- a very tough choice. I ultimately selected the carrot cake (also a generous portion) while John had a chocolate chip cookie with his black coffee.

The presentation was great on all the dishes (my apologies on some pics taken after I started eating lol)

Holden was our server and was very helpful answering questions and helping with menu selections. Service was prompt and so was the refills and busing of the table (very important to...