The service is uneven, but the cakes and pastries are really good. Breads were a little heavy for our taste, but what a treat to have an entirely gluten free bakery available. Almond cakes and lemon tarts are outstanding.
As a celiac, I appreciate a gluten-free bakery. To be able to get safe, baked goods is so important. However, of the gluten-free bakeries I have been to, Origin isn't at the top of my list.While I love some of their products - baguette sandwiches, eclairs, sweet galette, sugar cookies, carrot cupcakes and fruit pies. I have been disappointed by a number of their products as well - muffins, scones, buttercream icing (it is SOO thick), cinnamon buns and hamburger buns.I will continue to go to origin for special treats, but I do wish some of their recipes could be revamped.
Received some of your baking as a gift in memory of my brother's passing. We want to thank you for the treats. The Apple pie was scrumptious! Best we have ever tasted.Next time we visit Victoria, we will look you up.
In general, there is a dearth of good, safe and well-informed Gluten-free cafes and restaurants on the island. And so, when you find one you go in with high expectations not only in terms of the quality of food but also the service you receive.I am someone who reads a lot of the reviews before visiting a place. And I do not like to give unfair or bad reviews because I believe it hurts the employees more than the owners.So here are the pros and cons of this bakery.Pros:The bakery has a really good spread to choose from. I have not tried everything there but it all looked good. I am eager to try the savoury treats next time I'm there.I have to admit, the eclair - I was not particularly impressed by it but was not too disappointed either. I felt the sponge/bread portion of the eclair could do with some improvement.Cons/Areas of improvement :First and foremost- Customer Service.When one enters a cafe they expect to be greeted with a smile and small talk. Unfortunately, that is not the vibe of this cafe or of the staff, at least when I visited the cafe. Quite possible - they were having a bad day?Next: Policies are meant to help support your business not harm you. And I am sorry, but telling a customer that you can not hold the cake for an hour as they are on their way to pick it up is just disappointing beyond belief. Please take a hard look at your policies and consider revising them. Or at the very least provide the customer with a decent answer so they don't feel like they are not being treated fairly.
It's such a rare treat as a celiac to walk into a shop where everything is edible, where the bread is not wrapped in plastic but out on the shelves ‘just like a real bakery’, and only the extensive selection makes for difficulty choosing. Great service here. I loved the quiche I got for lunch and the breads are hearty, dense, moist and delicious.
I visited for the first time earlier this week. Really good carrot cupcakes, cinnamon buns, and bread. Only issue was staff morale seemed to be very low. There was a general feeling that they're annoyed you're there, so don't ask questions and just pay and get out. I don't like to blame staff as often the issue is that they're underpaid and overworked or it's a toxic work environment. You don't often see these issues at higher paying well functioning stores. I was considering going back to buy more during my visit but didn't for this reason.
Delicious, high quality bread. We love the desserts, and there is usually seating available either in the cafe or on the patio. I love that they source local ingredients whenever possible, too.
Really awesome gluten free treats like cupcakes and mini cheese cakes. Also bread type products too like skinny baguettes and cheese buns.Helpful staff were patient with ingredient questions.
On the Pricy side; but very good GF bread/ baked goods. Cinnamon buns are delish.
Very unreasonable to not warm up the food before offering. The gluten-free bread is dryer in nature anyway, serving it cold makes it harder to eat. This is the only Origin bakery location so far which does not warm the food before serving, so unreasonable!