Bountiful Bread

I don’t know if I like this place or not. I come here for lunch but I’ve learned you HAVE to order ahead and pick it up if you want to be in and out in a decent amount of time. You definitely cannot go in, order and eat on a lunch break.
The food is good but honestly not anything special. It is good quality, which is why the prices are higher. I usually get the panzanella or I make my own salad. The main reason I’ve mostly stopped going here is because whenever I make my own salad I feel like they skimp on the more expensive things. I’ll get avocado, mozzarella and tomatoes and have two or three tomatoes, a bit of avocado and a bit of cheese. There are better places in town to get the same salad, for the same price, with more on it.
On the other hand their salads on the menu are loaded. If I liked any of the options on the menu I would order those and probably frequent this place more often.
This place is solid but I can’t say I love it.

Lunch with the kids here. Tomato pesto Soup was really delicious. Tuscan chicken was good. But Veggie Muffaletta sandwich was very average. It was too crowded so is the wait for ordering, picking and seating.
People who are making sandwiches, salads etc. should I call them Chefs, right there in front of you, need to cheer up and show sine passion and care for customers!

Good sandwiches but expensive place. For what i pay there, i would expect them to bring me my food at my table.

VERY DISAPPOINTING. A LETDOWN.
This place used to serve PANINI sandwiches which were LARGE, with HIGH QUALITY bread, and fine ingredients. They still have «Panini» all over the menu, but on two recent visits, all we got is modest-​sized sandwiches on ORDINARY SUPERMARKET BREAD. Bah. The ingredients are still good, but the «panini» promise, splashed all over the place, is PHONEY.

After being introduced to this adorable place by my friends mother I’ve been in love. Before and after the remodeling it still has an amazing atmosphere. The staff alone makes you feel welcomed every time you walk in, always with an actual genuine smile. By far my favorite stop to pick up a salad in the capital district and check my emails. Very reasonable prices for the food you receive. Definitely getting a healthy meal here that makes you motivated for the day ahead. Stop here for a quick lunch after shopping from the mall or plaza.

gluten free honey almond cake — nuff said. **mic drop**
and the salads are pretty yummy!

First visit here. I’m not from the area and I was looking for a place I could meet a friend and sit outside with my dog. While nothing special, they do have outdoor seating, although while we were sitting there for 2 hours, many tables of people came and went and no server ever came outside to bus or wipe the tables — so that is pretty gross and irresponsible.
When I went inside to get a snack, there was one lady in front of me who ordered a whole cake. For some reason, ALL the servers behind the counter had to help with the cake, and so there was no one available to help any of the other customers.
I was shocked to see that if you order coffee it comes out of a thermos. All these delicious looking pastries and thermos coffee? Really??? I ordered tea. I also ordered a piece of flourless lemon cake from the gluten free section. It was actually very good. I should have asked for the ingredient list, but I think any question would have exploded my servers head. Where do they find these people?

Although my blueberry muffin was good, the iced coffee is watered down too much. The employee was nice enough to top it off but that didn’t help too much. This was my first visit here. Not sure if I’ll be coming back for coffee. Their baked good do look quite nice.

So many of the reviews of this place compare it with Panera… so I will too. It’s very much like a Panera but better in many respects: It’s not a chain. Everything is made here fresh. The tables are not as close together as at Panera. (At least during the day) it’s brighter.
Having been there but once — we’re not from the area — I can base my evaluation of the food only on the sandwiches my wife and I had. She had and liked the BLTA and I had the roast turkey sandwich, both toasted. I liked mine, too. We each ate half and took the rest away. We may go back tomorrow at least to try the coffee. If we do, I’ll add to the review.

There is something about the setup of this place that gives me heart palpitations — and not in a good way. As one of my coworkers says, waiting for your order is like hanging out in a mosh pit when it is busy at lunch time. I like the soups very much and when I do venture in, I am generally very satisfied with my order. They have redesigned the layout and have separated the bakery goods from the lunch counter which may help with the flow of the place. One seated, i am fine — it is kind of loud therein.

Great food, horrible service. You can’t go wrong with the food here… as long as they get your order right. While I love the salads here, it’s very frustrating how awful the service is. Make sure you double check your meal before picking it up!

Bountiful Bread has a large selection of home made soups, sandwiches, wraps, and bakery goods.
Today I had the Bacon Clam Chowder. This is definitely the best soup I’ve ever tried from this place. It’s a must try. Bountiful Breads home made soups don’t stick around very long. They make new soups and change up the menu frequently so if you want to come in and try the bacon clam chowder I would come in some time soon to give it a taste if I were you. I’ll guarantee you it’s worth it.
If you’re looking for a new bakery and sandwich place to try, come stop by at Bountiful Bread.

Mmmm … Pesto tomato soup. That’s why I come here. I might change the sandwich but it’s that soup that I love that keeps me coming back. The panzanella sandwich is another fav. Get it grilled lightly for some warmth and crispy action. I love their food. Love that it’s a local operation. The atmosphere is fun. Especially the high tops and seats near window or fireplace.

Our salads were drenched in dressing while the tuna lettuce wrap was overwhelmed with cumin spice which was surprising since there was nothing in the menu description to indicate a Tex-​Mex flavor. In fact, I couldn’t eat it. The noise level reminds one of a loud cafeteria periodically punctuated by someone yelling out the names of individual orders. Better value could be found by seeking out the nearest Panera Bread on Wolf Road or the Whole Foods in the Colonie Mall.

I would have given Bountiful 4 stars PRE renovation… but I definitely think it made a dining experience worse rather than better.
The ambiance — as many have mentioned, was much cozier prior to them doing their renovating. In reality, the place should be bigger — but when you’re located in a strip mall you really don’t have much say in that I suppose. Considering how busy they are during the week at lunch hour, more space would be beneficial. I really don’t understand the point of the reno, since it actually seems like there is LESS seating. I’m not a fan of the bright white lights and flooring, and industrial style tables and chairs. They are so close together that your back is literally touching the person behind you, and you’re shoved so far into your table that you really can’t relax while enjoying your meal. The desserts aren’t really displayed in a cohesive manner. If I were someone looking to simply come in and buy dessert, not sit down for lunch, I’d have to be in the midst of everyone eating. The one thing that’s nice about the reno is the fact that there is a counter right by the front door for pickup of online orders (although it seems that no one is ever there when I’m in a hurry).
The food — always fresh and delicious. I can’t compliment their tomato pesto soup enough… and the breadstick that comes with it — YUM! I am sad they did away with my favorite menu item (Milano Chicken sandwich) after the renovation and menu change. The food is always reliable and enjoyable. Although in my opinion, overpriced for what you get. Over $ 10 for a salad in my opinion is a little much, but obviously people are paying it! I’m not crazy about their desserts that I have sampled, but would be willing to try more in the future.
The staff — should definitely be commended on their positive attitudes and friendliness.
Overall, I always enjoy the food I order, but wish I could say the same about my experience dining in house.

Oh dear. What happened here? The last time I reviewed Bountiful Bread the space was at least warm and inviting. They had a fireplace and even if the service was a bit sloppy, and the food was a bit overpriced for what it was, at least I didn’t mind the physical space itself.
Now there are several clashing styles that clutter the visual landscape, and any warmth the interior used to have has been replaced by colored LED lights, blonde hardwood, and metal chairs. The antique bulbs and vintage bric-​à-​brac displayed on the recessed shelves are totally out of place.
There are some very good products for sale along the wall of the entry corridor, and I suppose if someone came here to buy groceries or foods to prepare at home, those would be useful. But I believe this is still supposed to be a soup and sandwich shop with some takeaway breads and pastry, so I found these presence of these products to be a bit perplexing.
The promotion to win a pair of shoes was also a head scratcher.
Equally confusing was why it took so long for our soup and sandwich to arrive. The soup sounded intriguing, «Thai chicken chili.» Technically, chili is just a spicy stew of meat and red chilis, so one could imagine all kinds of clever ways one could make a Thai chicken chili.
Maybe it was my fault for not asking. But it seemed to be just regular old chili made with chicken. Maybe there was a little delicate Thai flavor of lemongrass and galangal or somesuch on the chicken, but it was drowned out by plenty of good old fashioned American chili powder. That said, it wasn’t bad. The flavor profiles just didn’t play well together.
The grilled sandwich was pushing the line past toasted and into the realm of burned.
So, what I’ve learned is that Bountiful Bread has gone through a lot of changes. The food and the service which could have been improved are largely the same. The décor which is much different, was a change for the worse. As a result, I no longer feel that 2* is a harsh review for this local eatery.

When I used to work in Albany, I came to Bountiful Bread almost every working day.
The atmosphere here is casual but nice and you stand on line to order, and find yourself a table. There is quite a variety of salads, sandwiches, and wraps… and also dessert items. The breads can also be purchased in loaves, which is nice.
I loved their portabello mushroom salad. So good. And their Tomato Pesto soup is to die for… yum! The vegetable mufaletta is delicious also.
Staff is friendly, a lot of them have been there for years.
Whenever I’m in town, I try to stop in and grab food from here. Nice place to stop in for a quick lunch while shopping at Stuyvesant Plaza.

They’ve updated the interior and it’s helped the service issue quite a bit. While the signage is ghastly — there are actually two points where you can get service — once you figure out the ‘express’ line is like Panera’s and the ‘order’ line is also like Panera’s you can get in and out far more easily than before. The interior design is now sort of country-​industrial, with edison bulbs and fake exposed beams and fake birchwood plank flooring. It’s nice and the table arrangement is from the window to the back, so you can now burrow out of sight of the world if you’d like.
The food is mostly unchanged near as I can tell and is somewhat hit or miss in the gourmet bread and panini category, but on its best days it is better than standard Panera. I still think Bruegger’s down the «street» is more reliable but if you want moderately unique Bountiful serves the bill quite nicely. I’d probably bump this up to four stars if the bread were a better bargain and more reliably available.

I want to like this place. . I really do. But too many times I have been super let down.
The good: They make pretty good sandwiches if you go during off peak times. I get a roasted turkey on farm bread with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion and Russian dressing grilled. When done right — I do enjoy this.
The very bad:
As for the baked goods. .. it is as if the Pastry chef has no pride. I bought two slices of cake a few months ago. The cake was so badly burnt that it was hard as a brick inside. We could not get our forks through it even. You could scrape the frosting off this cake and bang it on the wall and it will not break. Just THUD THUD THUD. There is absolutely NO WAY the Chef did not know this when he/​she assembled the cake. No way. They knew it. . and they assembled it and sold it anyway. What we did get in our mouths tasted very very burnt.
Then come the French Macarons. Really? Seriously — REALLY? They are a disgrace. Check out the photos of the ones the SOLD ME for $ 2.00. The macarons looked very sorry in the case– but since I love them so much, I wanted them to be good.
I bought an apple. Again, check out my photos. They sold me this sorry busted up macaron for $ 2.00. NO PRIDE at all. How can you even sell that to someone. The photo that I posted was exactly how they sold it to me. .. BUSTED.
Macarons should be chewy inside not wet and raw.
My advice to you Bountiful Bread: Stick to the things you know. 86 the things on the menu that you can’t get right. There is no need to try to do everything for everyone. Focus on the things you do well and streamline your product. And spank the chef who put those garbage macarons in the case.
When you were small and on the other side of Stuyvesant Plaza, you had amazing things and quality products. Long ago, you had a egg plant calzone that was amazing. Long ago you were SOMEBODY. Seems you got lost along the way.

They have a setup like Panera Bread. It took a good 10 minutes before we were called up to get our food, started to seem like people after us were getting their orders before us. Drinks in the cooler seemed a lot $ 2.75 (Nantucket) $ 2.99 (Bai)
I got the Milano Chicken, toasted. It was served on Artisan bread (which destroyed the roof of my mouth, mostly because it was toasted.) I wasn’t fond of their pesto mayo at all. The spinach however was amazing, I just wish they put more on it. All in all the sandwich was OKAY. They used fresh mozzarella and crispy prosciutto. I don’t think it was worth $ 9 however, at least it was served with a pickle and chips.
I also took a taste of my boyfriends Tomato soup, very thick and creamy, with good spices.
I’ll probably come back to try something else if the mood strikes me.
p. s. Their cookies are bigger then your face.