Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe

To start, I an a huge fan of Boudins. The Stockton one is clean, efficient with excellent food and service. The Walnut Creek is the exact opposite. First, this location needs a thorough cleaning. Food scraps on the floor and food stains on the tables is unpleasant. Food delivery was very poor. I asked for silverware for my salad, server never shows up again. Then we had to deal with constant crashing noise of the plates being slammed into containers by the table clearing crew. As a final touch of poor taste, one of the servers started cursing a few feet away from us. I will continue to look for Boudins for lunch, but not this location.

This is my go to place for lunch!
I am always impressed with the service I receive when I eat here. Rustic tomorrow soup is my favorite.
Oh and the staff is very friendly and honest about what they love on the menu.

Okay, I love sourdough. I mean, I REALLY love sourdough. After having lived on the East Coast for the last fourteen years, I really missed the taste of California sourdough. Boudin has always been one of my favorite places for sourdough. We were recently in Walnut Creek doing some shopping and stopped by Boudin for a bite to eat. My fiancé andI both ordered the soup and salad combo (him: butternut squash soup and spring salad; me: butternut squash soup and goat cheese/​apple salad). We were a little overwhelmed by the amount of food we got. The soup was good and was served in a sourdough bread bowl. The salad was tasty and we were given a pretty decent sized salad. Overall, the soup and salad combo was a really good deal. And, I got plenty of sourdough, which is always good. I prefer the San Francisco Boudin location though.

This Boudins is always sold out of bread bowls by the late afternoon! You’re a bread bakery, shouldn’t you bake more if you see you’re running low?

At last they have started to put their soups in bowls, For some reason it really is more enjoyable to me to have soup in a real bowl rather than in a paper tray that reminds me of cat food containers.
The garlic tomato bisque is still wonderful. I could have it everyday, but they only serve it on Saturdays and it seems that the portions have increased. Although I have not ordered anything else on the menu, I suspect the other food is good because the restaurant is always crowed.
I do have one complaint; the bread that it was served with was not sliced; there was no knife and it was hard to tear it apart. I could not bring myself to gnaw on 6 inch mini french bread loaf in a busy restaurant. or any place else for that matter.

Boudin catered our office lunch, serving up large bowls of caesar and green salad, and two types of sandwiches cut in half, along with a generous bin of warm cookies. The real highlight for me was their caesar salad, their dressing has a really great flavor and creaminess.
I tried both sandwiches, which were very similar — both were sourdough rolls topped with some kind of aioli spread, tomatoes, greens and either grilled tri-​tip or skirt steak (not sure which), or sliced roasted chicken thighs. The steak sandwich was very tasty, and the meat was cooked to a nice pink inside with great seasoning. The chicken sandwich was a disappointment — though the flavor of the chicken meat was nice, it was sliced and assembled with the skin still on — I personally found that very unpleasant and couldn’t finish eating the sandwich. To finish I had an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, and it was warm, gigantic and yummy.
You are very safe with their caesar salad and steak sandwich options, and of course the sandwich rolls were their delectable sourdough. I would like to return to try a proper full-​size sandwich, plus sample some clam chowder.

Came here because we had time to kill in the Oakland area. Was recommended to try this place by a friend, but the gf had already been here previously, but she visited the one at Fisherman’s Wharf in SF.
I ordered the Tomato Soup in the bread bowl and the Turkey Avocado Sandwich. My gf ordered the Clam Chowder in the bread bowl and the Chicken Caesar salad. We both ate some of our orders, then switched, and both agree that it was good. I tend to not eat Clam Chowder because most I’ve tried in the past are a little too creamy and the flavor is a little off putting to me. Some people like, I just tend to shy away from it. But this was good. It was rich, but not overwhelming. The tomato soup was fantastic though. Not too salty, and not bland at all. It went well with the bread bowl. The sandwich and the salad were a good addition to the meals. Both good on their own also.

Date of visit: May 2013
We went here on vacation and loved it. Had an amazing bread bowl but was pleased to know they served other things. I had not been to Boudin before but had heard great things about the clam chowder but my husband is lactose intolerant. He got an italian sandwich and said it was tasty but was still hungry afterwards. We also had pizza for an appetizer (we have 2 kiddos with us) and it was fantabulous.
The seating on the semi-​outdoor patio was comfortable and nice. I loved the ambiance which made the location feel small but not cramped. It was a great pick for an afternoon — when we are in the area we will surely be back!

This was my first time trying this place. I don’t know why I never came across this place back then, I really enjoyed their food.
I liked their service here in Walnut Creek. The lady was nice and suggested what’s popular and so on.
When I received my food, I was quite happy with it because it was a pretty big portion.
Clam chowder was on point and the spring salad was pretty damn good.
And while my friend and I finished eating, we were talking about what kind of dessert we should get after. The guy was apparently «eavesdropping» and asked us if we wanted a cookie. It was nice of him to give us 2 cookies.
I had a good first experience here at Boudin.
I shall come back! After my low carb diet (:

I swear it was heaven, and no, not because I was out enjoying a delicious meal outside without my kids.
I had the most AMAZING grilled cheese on multigrain bread. It had brie and havarti cheese, arugula, and apples. The cheese was super gooey. The bread and apples were crisp.
I tried the tomato bread soup in a bread bowl too. It was bready, but delicious. I love the outdoor seating space and how the food is brought directly to your table.
I wish they could open in Atlanta.

After a recent delicious lunch at the Union Square Boudin’s I was curious to see if the Walnut Creek version could match it. This would be ideal: San Francisco quality sourdough bread here in the far east bay.
I’m happy to say the Walnut Creek Boudin Bakery was more than up to the task! They had my favorite: clam chowder in a bread bowl and it was excellent. My wife had a delicious ham and brie sandwich with cranberry sauce on sourdough which was also amazing.
As a bonus, there is a good deal of inside seating, way more than the Union Square store. It can be a little chilly in the seating area, and they have a number of portable heaters to keep things warm. It’s also a little challenging finding the place as it’s squirreled away in one of the back Broadway Plaza sections. But persevere, it’s worth it.
Boudin’s sourdough can’t be beat — I’m a fan!

What I Ate?
— chili in a bread bowl
— grilled cheese with chicken and bacon
— side salad
Would I Go Again?
I’ve been to Boudin’s numerous times, and I’ve never been disappointed with the chili in a bread bowl. The grilled cheese has been hit or miss, but the chili is always on point. There is nothing fancy about it, but it has a great home-​cooked taste and I always feel leaving satisfied – especially after I finish eating the delicious chili-​soaked sourdough bread!
Please note that the line can get long around lunch time and seating can become limited, so I’ve had the most success coming for a later lunch or dinner or calling ahead and ordering my meal via phone.
I would definitely recommend Boudin’s for a quick meal in downtown Walnut Creek!

Salads, breads, and soups! I can live off Boudin any day. The food is always comforting, and the place is a low key spot for quick bites. I salivate just thinking about the food!
There really isn’t anything to dislike about the place — the seating indoors is a little stuffy, but outdoors is nice — it can get crowded, so seats outdoors can get limited.
Definitely try the chowder in bread bowl if you haven’t already!

Sad to say I will never be eating here again.
Bosses were in town and we went here for a work lunch on Thursday ¹²⁄₁₃ around 1:30 pm. The place was busy and line went quickly. Food came out in great time. But the reason I will never eat here again is not because of the service.
I ordered the Grilled Cheese sandwich and it came with a side salad.
It tasted fine and I ate all of my salad and most of the sandwich.
But by 6pm I felt deathly ill. Massive stomach issues followed by even more massive vomiting! I thought it could be a stomach flu but there was no fever. I had my usual tea and 2 pieces of toast with jam for breakfast. I am sure I got food poisoning from here.
So for a long while I will not be eating here.
But I do fit into my pants a bit better. :/

Butternut squash soup no longer a seasonal dish!
Need I say more?
B-​E-​S-​T soup!

Hidden behind the main street, but a nice place to grab a quick bite while shopping. The special sandwiches are pretty good, the Mediterranean chicken sandwich in particular, which has an olive and red bell pepper tapenade.
Do NOT get the lobster bisque. It was pretty disgusting, tasted like a terrible roux with a little tomato flavoring.

The bread quality is great or so-​so, depending on the day.
Always order the butternut squash soup = 5 stars and the best butternut squash soup I’ve yet to find anywhere. Plus, it’s vegetarian.
Seating = a lackluster 3 stars
Best of Boudin combination is a great deal (half a sandwich + soup or salad)
Ask for a Boudin’s card.
3.5 stars.

Whenever I come home from college, I stop here. I love their chicken salad sandwich, which comes chock full of creamy chicken and even has halved grapes, which is dreamy. The side salad is also delicious, bitter and vinaigrette-​y.
The staff here is always nice, the bread nice and fresh, and the food delicious. Only bad part is the lack of indoor seating, which can be unpleasant in the winter. But I love the chicken salad here. That’s the reason why I’m a regular.
My mom loves the California veggie sandwich, which is also delicious.

Maybe I’m biased because the majority of their menu isn’t very vegetarian-​friendly, but I just can’t get into this place.
The California Veggie sandwich isn’t bad. It comes on a multigrain bread with lettuce, tomato, havarti and pepper-​jack cheese, avocado, onions, and red peppers. I’ve never tasted any of the «sun-​dried tomato spread», as they describe it on the menu.
The mixed green salad can be really hit or miss.
Pizzas are pretty awful. Dry and bland.
Their saving grace is their bread. The sourdough is pretty damn tasty. If the doctor told me I was dying and only had a month to live, I would stuff my face with all the carbs I wanted, and this would be the place to do it.

Yummy sammies… the turkey and Havarti is a family favorite when shopping at Broadway Plaza.
Today I needed a snack, and a pastry from here was calling my name… the adorable staff member let me come in a few minutes early.
Delicious cinnamon roll was quickly purchased… but I only ate half :-)