Scaturo's Baking Co & Cafe — Restaurant in Sturgeon Bay

💔 A warm greeting to management, and Google viewers. All of my reviews on Google are intended to alert the owners of businesses and are written with love and good intent. I pride myself. I’m writing five star reviews. Unfortunately not all establishments deserve five stars. I always try to contact a manager at establishment of business before writing a review. In this case there was not one available -only high school kids. Therefore, we was left with no other choice but to write a review on behalf of our family, with a heavy heart.

Our family has long considered a visit to Scaturos a tradition, drawn in by the quality of the food that we have enjoyed over the years. It is with great disappointment and sadness, therefore, that we must share our recent experience, particularly when hosting visiting family from out of state.

A restaurant, for us, is more than just a place to eat; it's a space for celebration where food and hospitality are expressions of care. Regrettably, our most recent lunch visit lacked both, leaving us with a profound sense of shock and dismay.

*According to Google this restaurant is listed as serving breakfast all day. Once we arrived, we quickly discovered, they do not serve breakfast all day. (Very disappointing to our entire family)

From the moment we arrived, we were met with a complete absence of service. We were directed to seat ourselves and retrieve our own menus, a pattern of neglect that continued throughout the meal. We had to repeatedly get up from our table to acquire basic necessities like napkins, forks, and condiments, all while staff members stood idle at the counter.

The most alarming part of this experience was discovering that an automated 20% gratuity was applied to our bill. (zoinks!) This mandatory charge felt entirely unjustified given that the only service provided was the delivery of our plates.

We purchased an arrangement of bakery before leaving and were again presented with an “on-line” bill which forces you to pay a percentage in a tip. Why would we pay a tip on bakery?

Our question as a group was rather unanimous. We were all wondering if the owners of this restaurant simply do not pay their staff well enough that they need to survive on tipping on every single little thing? All of us used to waitress / serve during college and thought that a tip was something a client gave you if they thought you deserved it not something that would be mandatory even on poor service.

The entitled behavior of the staff was unacceptable, reflecting a clear lack of training and professionalism that stands in stark contrast to the service-oriented business you operate. Also, our food was below standard. (sigh) We hope this review reaches the owner and inspires the necessary changes, as we, like many others, will not be returning in a market with so many...

We sat ourselves down in a small dining area and immediately noticed that both the men’s and women’s bathrooms were right next to the customers’ dining tables. Holy cow, who thought that was a good idea? Can you imagine trying to enjoy breakfast while not only hearing people inside the bathroom but also catching a whiff of it? Not exactly the kind of “homey” atmosphere I was hoping for.

Next issue: customer service—or rather, the complete lack of it. You order by scanning a QR code, then leave a tip if you so chose to before receiving any service whatsoever. Our party of four had to get our own water in flimsy plastic cups that tasted like it came straight from a garden hose or bathroom sink. Nobody at the table drank theirs. Then we watched a staff member refill that same plastic water jug from a plastic bucket you’d normally find at a hardware store. Lovely.

We switched to coffee instead—but that was a mistake. After one sip, we all agreed it was the worst coffee any of us had ever tasted. It either came from the same questionable water source or from coffee machines that have never once been cleaned. So, we all switched to orange juice instead ($3.15).

When the food finally arrived—on paper plates with plastic utensils, it didn’t get any better. Between the pancakes, French toast, skillets, potatoes, and omelets, nothing stood out. Nothing special.

On the way out, none of us dared to use the bathrooms, out of respect for the poor diners sitting right next to them. On a good note, we did stop by the bakery, which was actually decent. But overall? I’d try another location the next...

Amazing vegetarian options. The atmosphere is amazing. All of the staff are very kind and friendly. The baked goods we have yet to try - but the fact that they fresh bake the rolls they make the sandwiches with - it reflects well. Delicious and worth the experience. Good to note: breakfast ends at noon, and lunch starts at 11 (weekdays). No exceptions! We’re going back for breakfast tomorrow for sure! *try their sangrias - tasty!!! Update: baked goods are SO GOOD. When you’re in Door County you have to get cherry pie, and let me tell you - their pie is the BEST PIE I have EVER had. Fresh out of the oven, still hot, let it cool of course. I would never think to call a pie decadent, but man, this pie… amazing. Suggest pairing it with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream. As mentioned before we wanted to go back for breakfast, and am I so glad we did. I had the thick cut French toast topped with cherries (of course), came with a little bit of whipped cream and side of maple syrup, yum. S.O. Got the farmers skillet which he stated was delicious. We shared the cheesy hash browns and they were just like my grandma makes ‘em. With lots of love and lots of cheese. It’s amazing to have a bakery make fresh bread, fresh items daily, and use those items in their menu. We will be back! If you’re in the area and you need a quick snack, a hearty meal or a delicious dessert- I highly recommend...