I had lunch in the South End at Flour Bakery yesterday. I’ve heard a lot of hype and this was my first visit, so my expectations were high. The menu includes the expected cafe items: various kinds of pastries, presumably good coffee (didn’t try it), and heartier items, like sandwiches, for good measure. A few complaints upfront:

• There are babies and kids, approximately one per five adults. I can’t hang out in places with a ratio like that.
• The cashier forgot to ring up our soup. Normally, I wouldn’t mind, but when I asked about it while picking up my order, I was told to return to the register to re-order. There wasn’t a line, but I think the appropriate response would’ve been to just give me a free cup of soup, not to inconvenience the customer because someone made a mistake. (And I didn’t end up getting the soup anyway.)
• There were scientology pamphlets (disguised with anti-drug slogans) which makes me question the type of people who patronize the establishment.

Food-wise, I was satisfied but not particularly impressed. I ordered a half-sandwich and a quiche, which made more than sufficient a meal. The roasted chicken and avocado sandwich came with jicama, a crisp vegetable with the texture of a potato and the taste of a spicy apple. It was interesting at best, but not bad. The quiche was much better. Patrick took a granola bar to go (good texture but too sweet) and I grabbed a chocolate mint oreo (completely unmemorable). The most interesting items on display were the homemade pop-tarts, which contain fruit filling between puff pastry — way more sophisticated than the breakfast variety for kids!

Overall, Flour isn’t a place I’m itching to go back to, if only because I can’t deal with the patrons (more the kids than the potential scientologists). But to be fair, I’d probably change my mind if I lived in the South End. Pop-tarts aside, the breakfast selection looks great, and I’m sure the soup I never got would’ve been tasty, judging from Yelp reviews. Then again, the Yelp reviews endorse jicama. So maybe not.

Flour Bakery
595 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 267-4300

Image by Lee Cullivan and used under a Creative Commons license.