Manresa Bread — Restaurant in Palo Alto

This review is primarily for their babka. It is not your typical chocolate babka. It reminds me of if I took my lean sourdough (i usually use Chad Robertsons Tartine recipe)and added loads of butter and chocolate and shaped it like a babka. While we don't like the overly sweet sugary commercial babka that is more cakelike, we also don't enjoy savory bread dough with sweet either, which is Manresa's rendition. Ironically, they didn't skimp on the fat content on this rather dry babka, as a bite leaves a waxy coating on your lips. If you warm it up, (trying not to let food go to waste, we stuck some slices in the oven at 350F for 5 min, still hated it) it behaves like a warmed up bad croissant, with oozing puddles of oil, and flaky crust. We have found that their strong suit is their sourdough breads, but their baguettes also taste like I am eating a sourdough boule. Croissants also taste very hearty like a sourdough boule, a texture we don't like in our viennoiserie. Now we find the same thing with their babka. As someone who makes separate doughs for baguette, babka (although I use Maggie Glazer's challah dough to make both challah and babka), etc. we find this disappointing. We have found many bakeries in the peninsula use one type of dough shaped differently, with some flavor add ins, and call it by many names that it is not. If you want to give Manresa's chocolate babka a try, do check your bag, as we found the sharp cardboard teeth had torn holes in the plastic. There is a dessicant dricard on the underside of the loaf. The first third of our loaf sliced clean, but then it started to fall apart like a croissant loaf. While more spacious than the Los Altos location, this Palo Alto location also does not have indoor seating. They do seem to have a more extensive food menu which we didn't try, because we are hobbits who like to be warm, and sit comfortably indoors when spending $40+ for breakfast. Outdoor seating is available. Staff is nice, no complaints there. Good to know for those who absolutely want something, there are no guarantees. We emailed regarding the panettone & babka, and were told 'a few' would be in-store daily. We stepped inside the PA store at not quite 8:30 am, and were told no panettone had been sent. But lots of babka was available so we got one. Online it said at Los Altos location babka was not available, but panettone was available. We raced to Los Altos, where same story, zero panettone had been sent to the store. We saw mountains of of babka, though could have been they were all...

I had been looking forward to going here, and came away incredibly unimpressed. It wasn’t upscale at all. Service took an extremely long time due to lots of online orders, they were out of water, and they really nickel and dime you for everything - for example if you order toast, you have to pay extra for jam.

I tried their sausage biscuit and had several issues with it. The biscuit just wasn’t very good and not at all like a traditional southern biscuit - it wasn’t fluffy or light. It was an unnatural square shape and was very butter heavy. The sausage was not very good - it was too thick and was missing the saltiness and fattiness of traditional breakfast sausage and had almost no flavor. I think it would be better with cheese, some greens, egg, and aioli to add some interest.

Allergy labeling was inconsistent - very unclear why half the items had contents listed and half had no annotation. The baked goods I ordered to take home were shoved sideways in a bag together rather than placed carefully in a box like other bakeries do, with no regard for presentation or the pastries not rubbing off on each other.

I had wanted to get a loaf to take home but they had no interesting breakfast breads - I had wanted to find one with nuts and cherries or raisins, but they only had savory breads.

The pastries I brought home were nothing special. The walnut chocolate chip cookie was bready rather than crispy or buttery, the lemon kouign amann got rid of all the best parts of kouign amann (it was like a flat doughy hockey puck without all the fun layers, height, or delicious soft and sweet middle), and the regular kouign amann was pleasant with crispy edges and a sugared top. It was by far the sweetest kouign amann I’ve ever had, and had no filling like some other varieties I’ve tried.

All in all not missing much. Try Mademoiselle...

Wow wow wow!

Rarely in life do you find a business that is as delicious as they are kind! I have visited this bakery twice now and I can't get their kindness, delicious food, or amazing coffee out of my head!

Parking can be a bit tough in this lot but its worth the wait! Upon walking into Manresa Bread your soul will be awakened by the smells of fresh baked breads and desserts. As you get lost in the smell of fresh brewed coffee it's time to order. Manresa Bread has 2 check out counters and no where to sit inside. Sometimes a line can form but it's worth every moment of the wait. The food is nothing short of exquisite. The 4 sandwiches on mouthwatering display also display little signs letting you know what has gluten and what has dairy. The wide variety of sweet and savory pastries is nothing short of droolworthy! Prices are average for the area and (in my opinion) worth every penny! If your lucky the owner will be working the coffee station. If this is the case prepare for the coffee that will make your day!!

Saying that Manresa Bread serves the community is an understatement. The sheer number of people that feel like a special regular here is insane. I have personally seen the owner make people's drink while they are still in line! Knowing that they come in and always order the same thing. That small kindness and attention to detail really sets this place apart in a sea of bakeries.

If you haven't visited Manresa Bread do yourself a favor and...