Smithfield Gourmet Bakery and Cafe

My friend and I went there for lunch one day — the food was great, the service — not so thrilling.
We really wanted to sit outside with our kids (the patio furniture was set up) — an older waitress refused to let us sit outside because she felt that it was too cold for the kids. Personally, I don’t appreciate having decisions made for me about my child. It was beautiful and sunny outside and we had our children dressed appropriately. It’s frustrating to have someone tell you how to parent or tell you what’s not good for your child. (We even told her that our kids were fine and would behave better outside and she still wouldn’t seat us outside. Disappointing.
On the food side, I had the Korean BBQ wrap and it was incredible! I didn’t care for he chicken salad wrap that my friend had (we split both of our dishes with each other). Their balsamic vinaigrette for the side salad was amazing!

The food was prepared but not enough staff to get in to the table before the food was cold. Had to send the biscuit and gravy back to get reheated. With that being said the service was terrible. No stars for this place.

One of my favorite places for lunch, certain times could be congested around the register to check out. But, it’s a price to pay for all the delicious items. The chef is amazing, food presentation is beautiful. Prices are on point. Defiantly pick up fresh baked bread or a dessert.

Food is awesome. Service not so much. We waited in the front with a dozen others to be seated. The staff was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It’s a Saturday morning and the farmers market is running. You’d think they’d be prepared for an influx of people to show up when you’re one of 2 breakfast joints around. The staff didn’t even acknowledge any of us to say we’ll be right there or sorry for the delay. A bunch of people waited for a while and then left. I stayed just because the kids were begging for the French toast. We were seated after 20 minutes but our food took forever. The only reason I’ll go back is because the food was so good. Just hope next time they’re prepared.

This review is going to be short, sweet and to the point. I have visited the bakery twice, but haven’t tried the café yet. For that reason, I will only be commenting on the bakery.
Smithfield Gourmet Bakery and Café (SGBC) is located on historical Main Street. The interior is cramped and the set-​up is odd due to the older building. When you walk inside, you have to move around the hostess podium to get to the bakery, and there are tables of customers right next to the cash register. When it’s busy, it can be difficult to stand around.
Most of the items they sell at the bakery are muffins (HUGE muffins), cinnamon buns, scones, cookies and bread. The muffins are delicious and a good value at $ 3.85 for the size. The bread is just okay. As a friend commented on, their bread looks like it comes from a bread machine.
The service here is also «just okay.» When I was waited on the other day, it felt like I was a bit of a bother. I was trying to tell her what I wanted and another staff person started to talk to her. They weren’t rude but definitely not friendly.
Personally, I would skip SGBC. 2.5 stars

Very comfortable atmosphere
with a nice selection of lunch and dinner as well as tasty baked goods staff is friendly and take the time to explain each item on the menu
they also have interesting artwork on the wall done by local artists that are for sale

I love this place! It’s the only restaurant I eat at when in Smithfield. Easter Sunday we got up early and headed over for what I had hoped to be brunch of prime rib and ham but despite their FB stating it would be available all day it was not. We got there at 9:44 but lunch didn’t start til 11. Despite having to settle for the regular menu we were still pleased with our choices. I had the French toast casserole, hash brown casserole and sausage patties. Everything was smack your mama yummy!!! We usually buy pastries on our way out but our breakfast alone was $ 35 smackers before tip (I know! It was just 2 of us!!) so we skipped pastries. Which, I DO NOT recommend. Lol. I’ll forgive them because I do love them and despite the 2 hour commute we left satiated. Plus, I was able to find a few geocaches on the way home so all was not lost!

Good coffee, friendly service, delicious breakfast! It’s a bit out of the way for me, but I’ll definitely be back to sample the dessert selections.

I’m so sad to report that the Americano coffee I ordered came out of a button espresso machine and tasted like 20 different chemicals. I’m not super picky when it comes to coffee but I couldn’t finish my drink. Bum D.
Based on the other reviews it looks like their food could be tasty so maybe next time I’ll skip the coffee and go for the grub?

This unassuming and adorable little place is literally located on main street USA, in the quaint and picturesque downtown Smithfield. It is next to a lot of shops and a tree and bench lined path with a colorfully artistic pig statue that my son thought was tops. There is ample street parking and indoor and outdoor seating available. The sign said coffee beanery but that side of the place was closed for the day, unfortunately. We’ll have to check out their espresso next time. What this little restaurant may lack in what I would normally qualify as savory excellence, it really makes up for with its creativity, customer service, and Christ on a bike… the sweets. My family went in on a very slow Saturday evening and the staff was entirely accommodating. My toddler daughter was in a mood and we were, luckily, the only guests so we made ourselves at home, tucked away in a corner by the giant face-​sized muffins, cookies, & sweets displays. Diana was our server and she was genuine and precious. She catered to the children, getting them paper and crayons, chatting them up, etc… They were so smitten by meal end, I think they wanted her to come home with us. Back to the food, I had a salad and a shrimp app. The goat cheese salad was good, crisp, & fresh… the usual… you know, a salad. The large shrimp were fried and on some bacon gouda grits. The shrimp was really good, although it would have been much much better if not fried, perhaps jerked, blackened, or in a white wine sauce but that is just personal preference. The grits were borderline dreadful though. buuuut, as someone born and raised in Dixie, I have very high expectations of my ground up corn y’all. Those poor grits were disappointing. They were really more bacon infused rather than full of or even partially inclusive of bacon pieces. weird. I am not a huge bacon eater but I am a huge bacon fan… and if I order something that denotes bacon in any way, I wanna see the bacon. I wanna eat that damn bacon. Also, as a cheese connoisseur, no gouda came through to me. The presentation of everything was nothing fancy or artistic but it didn’t matter because this place wasn’t aspiring to be pretentious, which I liked. it was just real. For dessert, we ordered a piece of the chocolate cake and a piece of the turtle cheesecake. Both were well balanced and on point. lately, we rarely eat sweets but we are happy that we splurged for these. so yeah, I liked this restaurant, despite the obvious grits let down. I think it has so much potential for excellence. we’ll be back to try the sandwiches and other goodies.

Cute little bakery and restaurant on Main St in Smithfield, VA. Perfect while strolling around town. Lots of inside seating. While the side patio in the lane is picture perfect and pleasant even in the heat, too many flies start buzzing around if you pick an outdoor seating.
Good turkey and avocado sandwich on focaccia bread. Crusts are cut off and bread is coated with butter and toasted. Had to eat with fork and knife, definitely filling and tasty. Tried a sample of the key lime pound cake (very rich and heavy, bit more than I could do with lunch). Coffee is self serve in the large urns, baked goods on display in an old fashioned case, bread on the wall shelves.
Overall, cute little stopping place with prompt service.

Food can be pretty good, but I don’t think they really care to have your business. They often close before their posted closing time and they may tell you they close at 5 pm, but when you try to order something, they say well the KITCHEN closes at 4:30 pm. And they can’t possibly make a wrap for you at 4:32 pm… :(Hmph. I’m happy to go to the Taste of Smithfield across the street instead.

Who would’ve expected such a varied and interesting menu at such a cute little bakery in Smithfield? It always takes me at least 10 minutes to read through the menu and make a decision here — and it’s never an easy decision. There are always multiple items I want!
I will say that the first time I had breakfast here, we got the biscuits and gravy. We figured that would be a perfect choice for a small restaurant in a Southern town, but we actually really didn’t care for it. I’m all for putting your own spin on things, but I think they must have accidentally added whatever garlic and herbs they put in there multiple times.
Regardless, I’ve had many sandwiches there that are absolutely delicious. Wonderful homemade chips.
And you guys. The desserts!!! They have muffins that are as big as a boxing glove (go for the Boston cream or the cream cheese — YUM). Their cakes are almost a foot tall! They are confectionary architectural miracles!
You’d be hard pressed not to find something you like here. Highly recommended.

I don’t eat anything with legs, so this wasn’t the perfect place for me to partake in a preset Thanksgiving dinner. I didn’t want to cause trouble, but I can’t handle the sight of meat on my plate. The chef was so accommodating and came to our table to ask me what he could do. He prepared a beautiful salad for me and the mashed potatoes and yams were so delicious. The chocolate fudge cake was decadent and rich.
Service was outstanding. This is a great place to dine in Smithfield.

Not a very good Mocha. Seemed like everyone was enjoying their meal and they used fair trade coffees. Would not get coffee here again but will see if I can try the breakfast. Very nice quaint town.

Horrible coffee. We got a Café Mocha and an Americano, both were undrinkable. The mocha tasted like sugar water with no espresso at all. Barista was rude as well.

We had a splendid assortment of apps this evening. We ordered 4 different apps which was way more than we needed. Squash cannoli, pork dimsum, pork Danish and crab Mac & cheese were served 2 at a time. The best in our opinion was the Dimsum which consisted of spare ribs, pork Rangoon and pork Shu Mai (a dumpling sort). This could be a meal indeed. A lovely bottle of Brown Zin was mostly consumed (and remainder taken home) for a mere $ 58.
Presentation was excellent. Service was fine though I did open the wine myself and placed it in the nearby dessert cooler (it was a bit on the warm side). Overall a good experience of local fare.

Food is off the hook great! Wonderful Focaccia, sandwiches, muffins, breakfast — can’t wait to go back.

If you decide to dine here, forget about your diet! The food is simply divine and such a treat!
My husband and I were visiting town from DC and decided to have brunch here. I ordered the «Quattro,» which is four slices of bacon and four types of cheeses melted on your choice of bread (my choice was the honey almond bread, which is baked right on-​site!). Mmmmmm…
It’s been about a week since that meal and I can still taste it. So sinful, yet so delicious!
Very cute diner where both tourists and locals come for a meal. Check it out!

What a nice little Bakery and Café. We stopped here for lunch and I ordered the Grilled Vegetable Foccacia Sandwich, it was terrific. We were really distracted by all of the desserts in the glass cooler! Very good cheesecake, good portions. Will definitely go back, not what I expected in such a small downtown.