art is in bakery

terrible place. i just recently went there, and it was the firsttimei went there. i walk in not knowing what to expect, and a lady saw me and said hi but that was about it. so after a while i've looking around , i went to the lady and said well i've never been here before what do you do, so after advising me i had to order the food and pay for it first and then grab a seat, i did as she requested and sat down. i ordered the quiche. it didn't very long.....looked ok. started eating it and it was warm on the top and cold at the bottom. i'm not a fan of cold quiche, so i told a staff member who took it. it was like 12 -15 mins and i'm waiting for my food, so i asked another staff member, and then she went and grabbed it.
i went to eat it and it was cold again. the coffee is good, but i'm not paying higher amounts of money ( as this place is overpriced) just for coffee. if your going to charge people more than your average place for breakfast then your service and food must make up for it. nope, not going here again.

when locals speak of art-is-in and its founders, former pastry chef kevin mathieson and his wife stephanie monnin, bread is usually mentioned. in ottawa, the artisan bread served at most restaurants comes from the kitchens of art-is-in. in fact, one of the foods we miss most when we visit toronto or vancouver for any stretch oftimeis art-is-in’s freshly baked bread. yes, toronto and vancouver chefs bake great bread, but it’s not the same as kevin’s.

let me start with: my friend and i then shared a chocolate cronut and it was d e l i c i o u s! i definitely recommend trying it. it might be too big for one person alone but yummy nevertheless.

fast paced, buzzing atmosphere. don't be put off if the line is long or the place looks busy, line moves fast and food is delivered pretty quick as well.

i have been here a few times because of its interesting vibe and unique variety of pastries and food.

thistimei had the tuna melt and a cream soda. tuna melt was delicious, a friend and i shared a sandwich potion size is great for one hungry person (we weren't that hungry). the cream soda was typical, not that exciting.

why 3.5 only? i guess because the place is so busy the cleanliness isn't superb, table was dirty and there was fruit flies at the cafe bar.

art is in is incredible. their breads are the best in ottawa hands down. i recently tried some of their deserts for the firsttimeand i'm just floored. try the espresso brownie, it's a heavy brick of compact, moist, rich chocolate.

came into this place for brunch today. it was the firsttimefor my friends and i and it was somewhat confusing as to what we should do. after the table host saw us somewhat lost, he directed us to get in line and that the restaurant was pretty much counter service.

i got the advocado toast and my friend got the french toast stack. both were very nicely made and was tasty. one annoying thing i found was that the coffee is self serve. however, the station is placed very far from the counter in a rather cramped corner. the restaurant is located in what looks like a warehouse so it is noisy! but service was certainly quick.

tried this place for the firsttimeyesterday . my friend ordered the ham and cheese and a drink. her order came to $18.95! we asked why and were told the juice she picked was 7.95 (outrageous). she did not take the drink.
i ordered the roast beef sandwich that had 7 toppings (carmelized onion, horseradish, tomato, cheese, mustard, pickle and arugula) for $14.00. we waited 22 mins (with no line in front nor behind upon ordering) for our little sandwiches, which mine was missing the horseradish ( part of the reason i ordered it) and the pickles. this place is way overpriced and i will not return for a second visit.

it was my firsttimehere with a friend and we shared the pulled chicken caesar sandwich and the breakfast burger and a side of fries. the sandwich was delicious and the burger was out of this world - so juicy!!! i probably wouldn't get the fries again as they were a bit overcooked and too crunchy. definitely coming back though

truly one of ottawa's gems. we've now been here several times and it never ever disappoints. the best way to describe it would be "that place that you bring your out of town friends/family and you want to impress them with your foodie choice."

everytime we've been the staff has been nothing short of superb, and very attentive. our food has always been very tasty and made with obvious care. thistimearound we have the beef tourtière. our only reservation is that the piece wasn't big enough!

yes, this spot is on the pricier side for a cafe type spot, but it is totally justified. one of our favourite places to eat; love the ambience, the relaxed atmosphere, and open concept feel.

art is in is one of my favourite lunchtime destinations. they've made changes to the interior recently, so there are a lot more places to sit inside, as well as outside. it looks a lot better now, although it's still pretty loud indoors. 

i've never had a meal i didn't like here, although i tend to lean towards the different sandwiches. the thai chicken is stellar. the pastries are marvellous so don't leave without a little somethin' somethin'.

tip: arrive early for lunch and expect it to take a while. i don't mind the wait because it's good food here.

dropping by to pick up a loaf of bread? do it. besttimeto go is late in the afternoon after the lunch crowds have cleared out. sometimes the selection is picked over and depleted, but in my opinion the bread is very much worth going at thistimejust to avoid the rush.

note! the parking situation at the city centre has changed recently. it's free to park here for 90-minutes but you must get a parking chit from the machine and pick the "free" option. they do patrol and ticket, so consider yourself warned.

i wish i could give this place a better rating because the food really is phenomenal, however it is definitely overpriced and the waittimeis ridiculous. don't go here if you don't havetimeto spare. on my last visit i waited 35 mins for 2 sandwiches to-go after waiting 15 minutes in line to order them. definitely not a take out place unless you are just getting baked goods.

allow me to begin with saying, this experienced started sucking before i even set foot inside the place. it started with parking. we parked, but saw meters. so someone went in to ask if parking was free on the weekend or not, and we were told "i don't know." not off to a great start. you should at least know if the parking lot in front of your establishment is paid or not on weekends, but whatever.

so i went over to the meter. discovered i need the license plate number to get a ticket. walk back to the car (it wasn't mine) to get the number. walk back to the meter. put in the info. instead of spitting out a ticket it says "an error has occurred". try again, same thing. i see that there is another meter at the opposite end of the parking lot. go over there. same thing. twice. no information on either as to whether or not weekend are free or not. eventually, i give up and just go inside. 

i am greeted with an incredibly busy establishment. fortunately, my group is already at the front of the line by thetimei am done figuring out the parking. i take a quick look at the menu and decide to get the pancake and a coffee. they ask for their tip up front on the machine, and considering i hadn't actually received any service yet, i see no reason to leave a tip at that stage.we are given a sign to go put on our table, and told to go make our own coffee at the opposite end of the restaurant. we then have to hunt for a table, because the place is packed, and there are at least 5 other groups looking for a table. we are fortunate enough to find a small, wobbly table that will certainly not be big enough for our plates. plus, since the place is so crammed and people are hunting for tables, you get bumped about every 2 minutes.our food comes, and the pancake was very large, and quite good. the fresh fruit was nice, the maple butter was excellent, and the creme fraiche was a very nice though. the coffee was average.overall, the food was quite good, which i liked. however, all the hassle and stress involved prior to receiving our food, was not quite worth it. the overall experience ruined it for me. i won't be back, even though the food is good.

really good food! endless hot-outta-the-oven bread. fresh fruit. colourful macaroons. nice chill vibe. the only thing missing is the service. can i just say how over this "hipster" service trend i am. it's a gorgeous saturday morning, i'm having a birthday brunch with friends from out of town. totally excited to show off my city and all it has to offer. the first thing they experience is bad service. it was pretty evident that no one behind the counter had been employed here for longer than five minutes. it was 10:45 and my friend ordered a side of fries. they were inside waiting for their meals and some of us were outside on the lovely patio holding a table! then this girl came out and proceeded to lecture us about ordering fries before 11 a.m. her exact words were, " well we'll do it thistimebut nexttimeknow that it can never happen." rules are rules. after asking her why they processed the order, her response was "my staff wasn't aware" that we don't do fries before 11 a.m. so in this scenario, you're lecturing a patron of your establishment for something your staff didn't know? hmm, great way to earn loyalty. we then told her that if she let our friend know it wouldn't be a big deal and he'll change his order. she told us that we were welcome to do that ourselves but she had notimeto go looking for someone she doesn't know. it's a shame really...this experience left a sour taste in my mouth and it may be along while before i or any of my friends venture back here despite the great food! but i will go back and hopefully the nexttimei'll have nothing but amazing things to say. i will say that everyone else we encountered was pretty friendly and provided good service. this is just an example of how one person can change your whole experience about something.

art is in, but service is out. the food is great, but the atmosphere is hectic. if you want to sit, chat, and enjoy an unhurried meal, then art is in is not the place for you. andrew and i went for "brunch" on a sunday. originally, we went on saturday, but it was too crazy so we left and went to the ministry of coffee. if you're planning on going during the actual brunchtimeperiod (i.e. 10:00am onward), i wouldn't recommend going on an absolutely empty stomach, especially if you're like me and get "hangry" (hungry + angry at life & angry at lack of sustenance immediately available for your body)...

i don't care who you are speaking to, it must always be polite. i have never been more offended.. i have been going to art is in bakery for quite sometimenow. a new staff member was there to assist me a few weeks ago, and it has taken me this long to figure out how to respond. i will blame it on my age. i am 75. when a young man with a lovely australian accent says to me, "i can't read your mind" and isn't laughing, i take offense. i heard him tell another customer that he is a former lawyer, and now i understand why. perhaps he should be a former employee!

food was great but overpriced. i visited this spot one lunchtimeout of curiosity because of the rave reviews. i had a cheddar scone and the clam chowder, which were absolutely superb, but i felt a bit ashamed at thetimefor spending so much money on simply on soup and scone for take-out. it took an extremely longtimeto get the food as well with both line up and being served (which i find ridiculous... come on, it's soup!). for someone with thetimeand money to spend, i recommend it.