Kneaders Bakery & Cafe

Food here is pretty good, but the low review is for customer service– cashier was nice and able to get us through quickly, but the manager at this location walked around the restaurant delivering food with the phone on his ear– anytime someone made eye contact he quickly turned away– I felt like I didn’t even exist. Terrible service– expect a long wait.

This is a love hate relationship, the food is great but boy is it inconsistent, and drive through is twice longer than any other similar restaurants. Most of the sandwiches looks like someone just stacked everything only in the middle and sides are empty, worst part is if we ask for removal or adding some ingredients 40% of the time they will forget. One more thing is that they some times give you the ends of the bread and your sandwich can be twice smaller. But these sandwiches are nothing like anything elsewhere, fresh and flavorful. Horrible soup. For desert it’s the place to go, if they can work on consistency and soup from scratch this will be the best café in Idaho.

We have loved kneaders since they came into the valley, but recently we made a large order at the store for a funeral and they asked me to pay over the phone and I did. When I picked it up, it wasn’t ready (it was about half ready) and one of the gentleman helped me out to the car. He asked if I paid, I said yes. He didn’t believe me and I was charged again. 2 weeks pass and I’m balancing my checkbook and I caught it. I called on a Friday and found out that I was charged when I called and at the time I picked it up. They said sometimes the charge appears twice, but is only withdrawn once. I assured them that two amounts were subtracted from my account. They found their mistake, said they would refund it and email me a receipt. The following Monday, I called again to say I didn’t receive a receipt in my email and that I understood sometimes it reflects in the account after a few days. The gal said the morning managers handle that and I needed call back the next day. At this point I was loosing patience. I called the corporate office. They gave me name of the Manager and said he would call me in the morning. I ended up getting an email that evening where he processed the refund on Monday. He didn’t call. I called the corporate office back and told them that he didn’t call me and just emailed me. I feel that he should have called me to apologize and own his part that I had to hold his damn hand in order to get my money back on their mistake.
It was almost $ 100 and for us that’s a lot of money. I’m completely disappointed. I only gave two stars because they have great food, but their customer service is horrible. I felt it wasn’t affecting them and their budget so it was unimportant. We will no longer be doing business with the them over the phone as I feel their policy and procedures are not up to a reasonable standard.

This place may be going out off business once Panera opens across the street. Food was subpar and over priced

After someone brought in Kneaders’ rolls to a work party, I decided I HAD to get some for our Thanksgiving dinner. I even braved bad weather and too many people the day before Thanksgiving to drive out to Kneaders on my lunch break to grab some. I was excited when a coworker told me they also have lunch options, although warned me they tend to be on the slow side.
I arrive around 12:30 and the place was jam-​packed! I thought about heading through the drive-​thru, but decided since it was my first time there, I wanted to head inside and check things out.
I was so glad I did! The inside is so cute and cozy with all of the décor that’s for sale. The line to the counter wasn’t too long, and I was able to check out what they had to offer while I waited. I grabbed a dozen of their soft rolls, ordered a chicken pesto panini and a peanut butter cookie for the road.
The gal that checked me out, as well as the gal filling another order behind her, was very nice and helpful. Not to mention, patient! With how crazy it was, that was a nice quality to see displayed by the staff. While some of them worked hurriedly, none of them looked as though they were frustrated in any way.
My coworker was right about the wait — I stood near the drinking fountains for 10 – 15 minutes waiting for my panini to be made. (At least it was fresh!)
The panini was awesome, and something I wish I could have every day! Packed with flavor and just the right amount of everything. Plus, they served it with a side of kettle chips (not sure if they were house-​made or not) that were tossed with Parmesan cheese. Yummmmm!
The cookie drew me in with presentation — I just couldn’t resist the chopped peanut butter cups on top! The cookie was crunchy on the edges and perfectly soft in the middle. I did not want it to end.
And the rolls, as expected, were delicious. Even for 4 days after thanksgiving.

I come to kneaders often since it’s so close to my home. I tried about everything they have. Had their breakfast items, sandwiches, breads & many kind of desserts. Everything tasted good. The only thing I don’t like is it seems you have to wait for everything whether they are busy or slow. You think they’ll give better service when they are in «off hours» but sadly no. I guess that’s the trade off to have yummy carbs.

Annoyed servers, spotty food = Panera bread will get my business. Reference the dinner roll picture. The other experience I had with them is that I ordered chicken noodle soup for my family. The server was ladling the soup, burnt her hand in the process, dropped the container of soup into the pot of soup, licked her burnt thumb, proceeded to grab the container out of the pot, topping off the container and turned and handed me my order. Didn’t go over so well.

One of the major factors I consider when trying a new restaurant is whether or not I could do a better job preparing the same kind of meal experience at home for a comparable price. Sometimes I absolutely couldn’t because my skill set doesn’t allow it. Sometimes I could, but the ease and reasonable price makes it more convenient than cooking at home.
What really, really bothers me are restaurants that have no appeal on either convenience, quality of product or reasonableness in price. Everything Kneaders sells I could do a much better job for a lot less money. I gave them an honest try but every experience I had there seemed bad.
I wouldn’t mind paying a little more or waiting in line for soup or a sandwich or pastry if they were amazing. Kneaders offers both of the experiences but does not deliver on quality. They’ve soured me from any and all «bakeries» that sell sandwiches too.
I’m sure there are some who delight in the thought of sitting down to a meal provided by Kneaders. I wish them the best. As for me, I’d rather buy a loaf of bread, peanut butter and jelly, and spread both onto the bread, with only my hands in the parking lot of a grocery store than return to Kneaders. I’d rather heat up a can of soup on my car’s engine block. I rather take bites directly from a head of lettuce. I’d rather eat raw cookie dough from the tube.

This is my favorite place for lunch. I love love their soups, and there is usually a nice selection to choose from. It comes with a slice of their «home baked» bread. (I usually get the hazelnut, which is worth a try.) I will often pick up a loaf of wheat bread or banana bread to take home for the family. I’ve never had anything here that wasn’t delicious!

Finally! A soup, salad, and sandwich spot that ALSO HAS THE MOST DELECTABLE TREATS and freshly-​baked breads I’ve ever witnessed and an atmosphere that’s cozy enough for a solo-​study date or an evening out with friends. They’re open early and stay open fairly late! I think I have found my spot! Did I mention they have a drive-​thru and sample plates always out? Win, win, win!
Food: I am so impressed. They boast a menu with many items to choose from and ones that are fully customizable to you. I love how many daily soups they have! I ordered a half southwest BBQ chicken salad, and it was delicious. It had corn, black beans, avocado, tomato, grilled chicken, and even a sweet cilantro dressing. The half order was plenty! I also added a cup of chicken noodle soup, which had big chunks of carrots but was a little bland, but I look forward to trying other soups in the future.
Drinks: self-​serve soda, tea and coffee. They also have espresso drinks, smoothies and frappes.
Atmosphere: I love how it’s a café, eatery, and a little home décor shop! It definitely feels cozy and warm with it’s dim lighting and rich, sweet, fresh bread smells. Some of the tables are a little close together, but if you’re lucky enough to snag a booth you’ll be set. It’s hard to not drool all over the bakery display! I hear they are packed around lunchtime but are not too busy in the evenings – that’s a great time to go!
Service: I was very impressed by the service. I spoke to 2 associates, both who were friendly, answered my questions (I had a lot because I’m picky), and even let me sample some non-​sample items. Very kind service, indeed!
Happy Hour Offerings: n/​a
Healthy Hack: rotating soup specials for the picky/​low-​cal eater. They always have at least one broth-​based soup, which is nice.
Tips: n/​a

The last few times I have been to kneaded the customer service has been terrible. I don’t know where they find their people — but they need to look elsewhere. They’re always forgetting stuff through the drive through and it takes FOREVER. Today was the last straw. I was coming back for the food but this time I ordered a turkey cranberry sunflower salad that was BAD. Check out my photos. Also the soup I ordered was ice cold and I had to heat it up myself when I got home. (I only live 5 minutes away).
When I called the store to complain about the salad I was asked what my name was and they said «ok cool just next time you come in tell us your name and we will give you a free salad.» Wow great. Thanks guys. They didn’t seem too concerned which makes ME concerned that this is normal for them.
Either way I WILL NOT be returning to Kneaders for my «free salad». Yuck.

Oh~! Best lunch + break I’ve ever had during work. It isn’t expensive at all even though I have ordered a tone! I would like come here again and again with my teammate:)

BREAKFAST:
Why aren’t there more of these in Idaho?! I went here over the weekend and had their unlimited cinnamon french toast for about $ 5.96. I am not much of a french toast lover but this was absolutely amazing! The plate came with 2 huge thick pieces of cinnamon french toast and a side of fresh strawberries and whip cream. The syrup was not what you would buy at the store, it tasted really good as well. Although it was unlimited I was completely full from the 2 pieces.
We went there on Easter and they had Easter eggs with pieces of paper inside with a free item. I got a free full size mango smoothie which was very good, my girlfriend got a free cookie.
The atmosphere is very nice in there, much better than I had envisioned, and very homey. Surprisingly it wasn’t very busy.
LUNCH:
So far I have only had their Panini’s, I am not a huge fan of these here as Café Zupas beats them on this, but that is pretty tough to beat.
Overall:
Going to be going here more often. .. maybe every weekend for breakfast? :) I highly recommend that my friends and family visit this place. Maybe with enough demand we can get more of these in Boise :)
Food: ⁵⁄₅ Very flavorful and freshly made
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅ Very homey and comfortable
Staff: ⁵⁄₅ — Friendly and helpful
Value: ⁴⁄₅ — Breakfast and other items are cheap, lunch is a bit pricey
Overall: 4.5÷5
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Spread the word!