Artisano Bakery Café

Artisano has some wins and some misses. The turkey/​avocado sandwich is terrific — real turkey (not deli meat!) and the sandwich is huge (easily big enough to share). The farfale carbonnara is a very small portion for the price ($ 10.99). It was heated in the oven so I can only guess it was pre-​made at some point and just reheated.
I was there before lunch, one order ahead of mine, and it took 20 minutes to get a sandwich and heat the pasta. Not very convenient.
What was very off-​putting was the demeanour of one of the staff. The person who took my order was very friendly, suggested I could buy some bread (at 50% off since I was buying sandwiches/​pasta which was great), an all around pleasant experience. However when this nice person asked a question of what I assume was the assistant manager, the A/​Manager was snippy, demeaning and just plain rude!
I may go back and hopefully this A/​Mgr is not there.

I like supporting local Canadian chains however this specific location sucks. Every single time I come here the wait time is ridiculous. There was a total of 2 other people here yet it still more then 25 minutes for 1 breakfast sandwitch to be made. You are given a pager but when it reached the 20 minute mark I quietly went to the counter to see what the hold up was. The youngish Asian women behind the counter said «You see the pager you have, when it buzzes then you come and get your food» Ummm yeah DUH Im just here to see what the hold up is I wanted to scream. Her face looked super pissed off and her tone was beyond rude as in how dare you stand there before your pager went off. Had she just said Im sorry for the wait it will be ready soon it wouldnt have even been a issue. PUH LEEASE! Do yourselves a favor and go to the Panara Bread across the street for much much faster, friendlier, efficient service. I will never ever be back.

This is a nice place for coffee and pastry. There is lots of seating and prices are reasonable.
I ordered a cappuccino and chocolate croissant. Others had espresso, cake, biscotti, and tart.
We didn’t order any sandwiches or entrees.
Not a bad hangout with friends for afternoon coffee break.

1^st time trying this place and I loved it! I went with a large group of people and everyone enjoyed their meals.
They give you a beeper/​pager that will buzz when your food is ready — which is cool! The pick 2 deal is reasonable in price and allows you to pick a soup, salad or sandwich. Their butternut squash soup is delicious! Way better than the one I make at home. Their veggie goat cheese panini was yummy too! Delicious and nutritious! Just the way I like it. I cannot wait to go back! Oh and they have free Wifi :)
I just wish they had a location in Ajax.

Never coming back here again because of the food.
Pros: nice atmosphere, well decorated, comfortable seating & free wifi.
Cons: food to price ratio is ridiculous. It was about $ 13 for a Mac and cheese plate, I expected a nice quantity. I got a bowl that you would give to a toddler. I could have gotten a large pizza for the same price? …service was mediocre, order was slightly messed up. They forgot to put
Mushrooms on my Mac and cheese, when I asked for the mushrooms, the kitchen did ask me if I wanted a new plate or put the mushrooms on the current plate (that was nice). I didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes so I got it put on top… it was so damn oily, I couldn’t handle it. The entire plate was covered in oil, I had a few bites and felt sick and threw it out. My girlfriend got a veggie sandwich but that’s another story.
Conclusion: come here for a cookie or tea, make sure you don’t come here for a meal!!!

I seem to be coming here a lot now that I’m hanging out in Mississauga. At first glance, it may seem exactly like a Panera, but for some reason I find it a lot more comfortable and the food tastes better. The staff is super nice and friendly, and the wifi is fantastic. They’ve also got a pretty decent breakfast deal for $ 3 — some fresh toast or bagel and a cup of coffee (unlimited!) so you can sit and enjoy your meal for a loooong time.
The sandwich varieties are all good (I’ve had quite a few already) and their salads are fresh. I’ll for sure keep coming back here for a lunch or breakfast — the crowd seems to be regulars, and the staff is almost like family!

We’ve been coming to this location of Artisano Bakery Café since they opened several years ago.
The restaurant is bright and airy and always clean. The staff are circulating all the time, cleaning tables and removing empty dishes.
This is a restaurant where you order and pay at the counter before you receive your food. They give you a pager so that you can pick your food up at the counter when it’s ready, but most of the time they deliver it right to the table.
There’s a great variety of sandwiches, soups, salads and pizzas. You can also order 2 halves of any of the choices (other than pizza). The prices are reasonable, but I wouldn’t say it’s inexpensive. For a half soup and salad or sandwich for lunch, it’s usually around $ 12 or so. I love that they offer gluten-​free bread, but the extra $ 3 they charge for that option makes a lunch there quite expensive. They have a fairly large beverage menu with cappuccinos, lattes, hot chocolate, coffee, tea and several cold drinks including a pop fountain.
The offerings are bit more ‘gourmet’ than somewhere like Panera. They have delicious salads with fruit, nuts, seeds, etc… Sandwich offerings also include panini. The gluten-​free pizza is very good, with a nice crisp crust.
All in all, this is a good choice for lunch, but not really somewhere I’d visit for dinner.

I visited this place yesterday and was very pleased. Food was good, portion size was decent. Highly recommend the steak sandwich with chimichuri sauce and roasted vegetables, I asked for mine to be toasted. It was nice place to chill with my girl friend and grab a bite to eat. I really liked that they served alcohol. It’s very clean inside, and they give you buzzers to let you know when your order is ready. It has a Tuscan/​Mediterranean feel to the interior.
Definitely coming back to try the lasagna one of these days.

The very definition of «hit or miss».
I’ve been coming to this Artisano location every so often for several years, and the common denominator is that each experience varies wildly in terms of quality and service.
I’ve had incredible sandwiches (the first time I tried a Tuscan Turkey Club), weak salads with no cheese or dressing, amazing bread and lackluster/​bland pasta salad. The last time I went (early January 2015, as of this writing) was another bipolar experience.
Maybe I’m just getting older, but I don’t understand why the menu is so bloated with innumerable sandwich and side dishes. Walking in, I was immediately assaulted by advertisements — did I want a limited-​time turkey/​stuffing sandwich? Would I like a movie ticket to go with my combo? There are pasta dishes now?
Not helping matters was a young woman who asked me what I wanted to order within 10 seconds of walking into the café. I can’t tell if there’s a disconnect between the staff and the patrons or if they just expect that people are able to memorize the myriad selection of entress and sides they have and are able to make snap decisions.
I had the «choose two» combo, and chose the chicken caesar salad and Tuscan Turkey Club sandwich. Another bipolar thing I noticed is that (on this occasion), they give you electronic buzzers to notify you when your food is ready… but they also deliver it to you, defeating the purpose. Why use them, then? (Is it because of customer volume? People taking the wrong order at the counter?) Why not use a stack of laminated papers with numbers on them? Why have that massive stack of buzzers if you’re not going to use them?
The chicken caesar was one of the best salads I’ve had in a long while, packed with cheese and chicken. I can’t say the same for my mother’s salad, which was the exact same order — with half the chicken. On top of that, she had to pay extra for it because she inadvertently ordered it (a half-​size) and a half-​sandwich separately, and the cashier didn’t understand how to key it in as a «choose two», thus costing an additional $ 2.50 for a half-​scoop of chicken. They even argued about it at the counter, but eventually acquiesced and took out the surcharge.
My grandfather had the breakfast special, which (best as I could tell) was on point. Crispy bacon, three extra-​large eggs done ay way you want, the works. It got his seal of approval.
Would I go back? I don’t know. Their confusing and bloated menu (along with their service) leaves a lot to be desired, but the food is generally on point. Just be mindful of that if you go to that location.

This restaurant had poor service at the front counter. My meal came late about 20 min. late. This restaurant is not good if you are going there I advise you to make another lunch choice.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from Artisano but I didn’t really get much. We both ordered the lunch combo and a coffee, which cost $ 29. The half sandwich was about a half cup of chicken salad and all bread! They called this a gourmet sandwich — what a joke. The Kale Super salad was small soggy and tasteless. My salad was just ok.
I would never go back.

One of the inevitably frustrating things about reviewing eateries is that I can’t obviously rate places on the food that I DIDN’T sample. One, I’m not going to ask all of my dining companions for a sample of every single thing that they have in front of them and two, I’m a vegetarian so there’s lots of stuff that I obviously can’t eat (my own choice of course). In some cases this may not affect said review but with Artisano it sure doesn’t do them any favours.
I wasn’t feeling a sandwich or pizza (I had just had both the day before) so I decided to sample their cannelloni (one of my favourites). I don’t have it as often as I’d like and the fact that they advertised all of their gourmet pasta dishes as being «created using fresh, wholesome ingredients» and to please allow 10 – 15 minutes, I was hopeful. Although I’m sure that the ingredients they used were fresh at some point, they sure didn’t taste like it by the time I got to me. It tasted like frozen, microwaved cannelloni, the kind I’d buy at Loblaws. And I would do a better job ensuring that the thing was cooked through… it was a touch watery and still cold in the middle. It was edible and didn’t taste awful so I didn’t send it back although I probably should have. The baguette that came with my pasta was quite good (I’d hope so from a bakery type place) and the side Caesar salad was better than I expected it to be but still not enough to make up for the very disappointing (and rather insubstantial) main.
My sister’s «Kale Supersalad» was really anything but… she thought it tasted a bit funky and although I don’t think that was actually the case (she too didn’t send it back but probably should have) it was pretty lackluster. Might it have been sitting out for a while and getting soggy? A distinct possibility. I know that the coleslaw that my dad got with his sandwich had been because he didn’t even touch it and this is a guy who NEVER leaves food on his plate and I mean never. Both he and mum liked their sandwiches (a turkey avocado and a grilled chicken respectively) but again, I can’t rate based on stuff I didn’t try.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from Artisano but I didn’t really get much. I didn’t complain too much at the time (I always hate to do so at a family dinner, especially if my dad is footing the bill) so I guess I’ll have to vent a bit here instead. The sandwiches looked (and tasted, according to family) good but the cold cannelloni and salads that have obviously been left out aren’t going to win them any points.

I may have just had a bad experience here, but I probably won’t be returning. Some other reviewers have compared it to Panera, and I can see why. They have pasta options that I was curious to try — and maybe I should have. I had the grilled cheese with bacon (can’t recall the name) and it was one of the worst grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve ever had. I think we can all agree it is hard to mess up a grilled cheese. I didn’t know this was possible, but there was way too much bacon. I ended up taking some off and eating it on the side. Plus, it was soft bacon, which is okay but not exactly great for a grilled cheese. The bread wasn’t great, and it wasn’t properly grilled, so the cheese wasn’t properly melted. It was also expensive (similar prices to Panera).
Maybe if I lived much closer I’d give it another try, but unfortunately I made a special trip to try this place and regretted it.

This place is very similar to Panera Bread. I came here and ordered the «choose two» combo. I was pleased w/​the size of the ½ salad it was very generous and had tons of cheese yum. I ordered the avocado and walnut salad which comes with goat cheese on a bed of spinach. It was really good.
The menu has a wide selection of options. I really liked the panini I had (it was a chicken panini).
I would return if I were in this area again. Nice alternative to all the greasy fast food joints and chain restaurants in the area.

I like the good here as well as the coffee. They have a good selection of pizzas, sandwiches and salads. I usually try something different every time and keep going back. Service is good, friendly, and fast.

kind of in the middle of nowhere in the more industrial part of mississauga.
we stopped here because it was late and it was open, plus our friend likes coming here for a quick and easy meal.
this place reminds me of panera bread in the states. we opted for a soup and sandwich which i thought were good. like i said, very panera bread-​ish. the staff was super friendly in accommodating us even though they were closing. fast, easy, and does the job.

Mixed review on this one. Came last summer for breakfast and that was good. Eggs made to order and fresh toast brought to your table. Fast forward to April 2013, weekday night dinner. Salad or soup and sandwich combo. Roast beef was two wafer thin slices of beef on dry mediocre toasted bread. I swear you could see through them if you held it up to the light. If it was a $ 6 meal that would be ok but it was $ 13!!! Soup was good but tepid instead of hot. The Artisano on Islington close to the Queensway is far better.

A good solid 3 stars. Always get the half soup and salad combo for 9.99
Try the cookie called «pudding cake» which is a must-​try
Free wifi is great as well. Used to go here a lot when I was working for my previous company while I was «working from home».

I’ve been to three Artisano bakeries in the past few years. One in Oakville, close to where I used to live, one, one in North York where I used to work and this one on Dundas near my mom.
I have to say this is the best one I’ve been to for the following reasons:
1. The one in Oakville is small and too cramped and gets very loud.
2. The one in North York has very mediocre service and is a bit dirty to me.
Now for the good part, this place is big (used to be Lucy’s Seafood), service is decent and food is piping hot.
Artisano is the basic quick lunch/​breakfast place that is a step above, I’d like to say it’s a Starbucks with real food or Tim Horton’s with much better coffee.
Must try:
–Eggs in my pocket or Scrambled Eggs in my pocket — it is like a breakfast panzerotti and it may seem pricy at $ 7.99, but it comes with a skewer of fruits and enough for two.
Best Deal: Freshly baked muffin (a real one unlike the pre-​made Tim Horton’s or whatever they serve at McDonald’s) with a coffee for 2.59. Best part — free refills!
So-​so deals/​food: Any of the two item combo’s. They are okay, nothing to write home about — so that’s it — done.
Biggest downside — I wish I had one closer to where I live now — Square One area instead of that Panera bread rip-​off.

One of my complaints about the Oakville/​Mississauga border is that there’s no places to get work done.
I want some place relatively quiet (I can put on headphones), not too busy or too many distractions (hate when the guy or gal sitting 2 feet away from you just can’t stay still), open until a half decent time (at least 9 pm), has power plugs, serves coffee and a decent snack.
Starbucks you say? The one @ southdown is too small with people constantly coming and going (and it’s dang cold in the winter there). The one @ South Common suffers similar problems. The one @ Dundas and Erin Mills is way too busy.
Second cup? N/​A
iCoffee (a nice little find I made in Clarkson) — great, but open til 5pm.
Enter Artisano.
1) It’s a bakery/​café, so you get good food (priced around $ 10), half decent coffee ($ 2), and a variety of baked snacks ($ 2 – 5).
2) It’s big, so you can find your own little corner. Also big enough that you’re not distracted by hustle and bustle (population density).
3) It’s quiet, at least, quiet enough when you throw on a pair of headphones.
4) And there are plugs!
5) It’s open til 9 – 9:30pm daily.
So, this makes it the holy pentinity (if that’s a word, spell check tells me it’s not) for a place to get work done! Hazaa!
P. S. The food as actually pretty good. Breads were good, half chicken salad was good, and the half turkey brie panini was also good (Erin, I“d give it another shot — not far off from Panera imho)

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised when a friend took me to Artisano’s on a recent visit to the ‘burbs. While my food experience in Mississauga has previously been limited to Milestones, Moxies, Earl’s, or the like, this place had a little something else to offer.
I could see how someone would easily become overwhelmed at the food selection upon entry as the large menu’s greet you as you enter, but the staff made it easy to determine my final choice: bbq pulled pork sandwich. So good. The pork was moist but not a sloppy messy, and it was topped with a delicious cole slaw — something I’m not normally a fan of. My only criticism would be in the bun — it was a little too thick and dense for my liking. I ended up taking off the top bun and eating it as an open-​faced sandwich. Equally as tasty.
My DC ordered a standard turkey-​pesto sandwich, which was still quite tasty on that fresh bread. We decided to split a butter tart for dessert (which, like the bread, is made fresh daily at another location and shipped in) and I ordered a latte to finish off the meal. Holy S**t, I couldn’t believe how good this latte was! Not only was it served in a fancy glass mug, it had a nice layer of micro foam, and was the perfect temperature.
Honourable Mentions:
— Fresh baked bread used on all of their sandwiches, PLUS fresh loaves also available to take home and enjoy
— friendly staff; prompt service