Hummingbird Bakery

I come here more for the coffee than anything else. The cupcakes are too sweet for me and with too much frosting. (Best cupcakes, though the selection isn’t as impressive, is at Parker & Otis.) Haven’t had sandwiches/​breakfast here, but the pastries are just fine. The staff are friendly, and the place is always clean, but it’s just never been enough to make me become a regular — even though it’s within walking distance!

This business closed on Feb. 13, 2016.

Cake was mediocre, but that was definitely the best part. Latte was really watered down despite supposedly having an extra shot. The barista said the machine broken. Also, the wifi wasn’t working. The place is just horribly managed. Last time they were out of cups.

Cute ambience. Very bright, warm, and cozy. Although, the unnecessary abundance of chairs creates this feeling of crowdedness. I tried the gluten-​free banana pear muffin, which was delicious. Very fresh and not too sweet. The bottom of the muffin was stuck to the paper, which was a bit inconvenient, but not a huge problem. Also had an iced almond milk latte, which was pretty good (a bit creamy for my tastes). Good view and decent food.

I had the grilled brie, pear, and bacon sandwich with a beet salad on the side. It was freaking delicious. That with the outdoor seating (GREAT people watching) I will be back to this little gem of a café.
Tip: The parking sitch is a bit confusing. We just parked at the dollar store across the street and walked over.

Great little sandwiches and salads for brunch. My girlfriend and I split a pimento grilled cheese sandwich with roasted peppers and onions and a blackened chicken latin wrap. Sides were cucumber salad and roasted sweet potatoes. All of it was great. Would go again.

I have come here quite a few times both on my own and with my fiancé and the service has always been top notch! The latte I order is always consistent and prepared perfectly every time. I usually come for breakfast in which I recommend the breakfast burrito they are amazing! As for lunch on the few occasions I have ordered it I always go for the blackened chicken wrap and chili which always prepared with care and tastes amazing ! I highly recommend checking this place out!

Went here for breakfast one time while I was driving through Durham, and everything is really just plain great. No problems at all, though the place was a little low on food at the time, it seemed. Still a great restaurant though, as I was able to get a nice taco and a biscuit for the road. BTW the bacon here was especially good and lean, so I’d definitely recommend it.

I am so bummed at how much this place has gone downhill in the past year. It used to be a place I ate at nearly every day for lunch. Now, I rarely venture in because the quality of the service and food have both suffered.
Today I ordered shrimp tacos, cucumber salad, and a glass of wine. Neither of the two (very nice) women behind the counter knew how to open the bottle, or knew anything about what was inside. When it looked like one might hurt herself with the corkscrew, I asked her to stop and got water instead. (Probably for the better. ;-)
The shrimp tacos were delicious as always — my mainstay for over a year of lunches at Hummingbird — but the cucumber salad was drowning in a pool of watery yogurt with huge chunks of raw onion.
This was just the latest in a string of bad experiences at Hummingbird over the last year. It’s sad. I know Amy Tornquist is capable of greatness, but this place just doesn’t live up to the name.

I went to Hummingbird Bakery on June 15, 2015 at around 11:30am. It was the worst experience I’ve had at dining establishment in a VERY long time – five years at least. Having been a waitress, I like to give all service staff the benefit of the doubt, but she was something else. While the gentleman in the back seemed polite and competent, she was the polar opposite. Bless her heart, she wasn’t just rude, she was absolutely clueless. It took her forever just to hand my order to the cook in the back – she took two other customers before she could be bothered. Then when she handed in my order, she forgot to tell the cook that it was to-​go, so they came out on plates. That took another ten minutes to resolve. In all, it took about half-​an-​hour to get two sandwiches and a salad. I don’t think the cook was at all to blame. The incompetence was all on the side of the cashier. She took forever just to take out a cookie and a brownie and then put them in the weirdest, most unnecessary packaging.
When my food was finally ready, none of it was labeled, so I didn’t know which sandwich was which, and the salad was in two different boxes. When I asked the cashier why the boxes weren’t labeled, she replied curtly, «They’re black.» And yes, half the boxes were black (there were five unlabeled white containers too).
Also, their credit card swiper was broken, so she had to punch everything in, and after that, there was no printer for a receipt. She said it wouldn’t even work if I typed my email into the box that said «email receipt» and then gave me a slip of paper, saying, «Write your email here, and I can send you a PDF of your receipt.» Also, after purchasing more than $ 40 of food, it came out in two bags and then there were several other items that wouldn’t fit in either bag. I asked for another bag, and the cashier said «We’re out of bags,» smiling from ear to ear, super smug… and honestly, I highly doubt they were in fact out of bags. She just couldn’t be bothered. Again, bless her heart, but she needs to consider another line of work.
Now to the food: My sandwich was on bread that was beyond stale. I would not have fed that bread to a duck, let alone another human. My husband got a salad, and apart from it being in two separate boxes, he liked it and even said they were generous with the goat cheese. The rest of the food was decent.
I will never go back to this establishment, though I doubt I’ll even be able to. With service like that, they won’t be around for long.

Came in here for a quick lunch and coffee.
Food was five stars for quality — and from the people behind Watts Grocery, I’d expect no less. I got the pimiento cheese sandwich… yum, yum, yum. Some of the best pimiento cheese I’ve had. But, docked for points because the sandwich was tiny! The bread was like mini bread :/​
I got it with cauliflower soup which was also spot on.
Coffee was just… okay.
Service was also just… okay (and I’m being generous here).
I really liked the ambiance and the location, and it’s nice to have an outdoor seating option. However, I wish they would invest in umbrellas! It was scorching out there.
I’ll be back to try more food items and to definitely try the cupcakes… they looked like a piece of heaven.

3.5 stars… Cute little café next to east campus. I finally tried it after walking by so many times. My husband and I stopped for lunch after walking around east campus. He got a biscuit with sausage and cheese and I got the 3 plate salad with sweet potatoes, cucumber salad, and chicken salad. My husband said the biscuit was good but he’s had better. My chicken salad and sweet potatoes were really good but the cucumber salad was just ok. Should have tried the pimento cheese instead. I thought $ 10 was expensive for my 3 salads but they gave big portions. It was also my only option since I have to eat gluten free and I didn’t want to venture with anything else. The girl behind the counter assured me the salads were all gf. I couldn’t eat any of the baked goods but they looked delicious!
It’s small inside but we sat at the counter overlooking east campus which was pretty. There’s also some outdoor seating. Stop by if you want to grab something quick!

The biscuits have declined considerably in quality since the restaurant’s inception and are small, dry, and crumbly. If you’re on the lookout for a tasty breakfast biscuit, go elsewhere.

The service was great and I had a wonderful cup of coffee. I enjoyed the environment, it seemed like a welcoming family restaurant.

No. No. No.
This store is rated low for the following reasons.
First of all, the bakery is not fresh. I had once slice of raspberry cake and the icing was falling from the cake itself. This is absolutely due to a long time of frozen in fridge. I gave another chance and ordered a lemon tart. Another X — aka even worse. The tart is not fresh and some watery stuff was coming off from the tart. I threw it away. I think the only fresh bakery in the store were the cupcakes because I actually saw the owner was making it in the morning.
Oh, guess what! The cake and disgusting tart costs me 11 bucks. I’d rather spend 20 in Loaf than waste 11 bucks here.

Service was sloooow and disorganized. Cinnamon roll was stale. Carrot cake cupcake was meh. Didn’t even want to order coffee thinking it would take half and hour. Very disappointing for what we were hoping would be an early Saturday morning treat.

I came to Hummingbird Bakery off of Broad Street in Durham recently in a quest for a good Southern biscuit. I have to say I was slightly disappointed. This bakery is a very small place with an equally small breakfast menu. I ordered the biscuit with sausage and egg along with coffee. The biscuit alone is $ 5 so I was expecting it to be pretty big, but it wasn’t. Also the biscuit crumbled in my hands. The sausage was good, but very spicy and I thought the egg tasted too salty. I will stick to Rise or Sunrise in Chapel Hill for my Southern biscuit fix.
Service was fine and coffee was very good. They have a limited bakery selection, but the cupcakes looked worth trying.

Cute place. Luckily hit it during off hours, so it wasn’t super crowded. Small space, but decent sandwiches. Save room for dessert. Luckily they have the mini ones that make the guilt a little less. Who can say no to a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting?
Shrimp BLT was fairly tasty. And cheesy grilled sandwiches were good on a cool outdoor day. Open seating on the patio/​deck.
Friendly service.

I was in town for ADF and found Hummingbird based on Unilocal reviews. When I told our group where we were going, multiple people waiting in line with us at the ADF store raved about the place. Online AND in-​person kudos? I knew we were in for a treat!
And treat it was. I ordered the tomato sandwich and added roast chicken (for no extra charge! What??!) and it was fabulous. My mom couldn’t stop raving about the ham and sweet potato soup. Smoky and flavorful without being too salty. Overall, everyone in our group was pleased with their order. Good coffee, friendly service and beautiful baked goods (which I had the willpower to resist… somehow). I just wish they’d open a sister café in Denver :) If you’re in Durham looking for a charming and affordable lunch or snack, don’t miss this place!

My partner and I lunched at the Refectory Café a day or two ago and ran into an old friend from junior high and high school. During the conversation, he glowingly reviewed Hummingbird Bakery… so we decided to give it a try for breakfast this morning.
We ordered the breakfast burritos, a biscuit with butter and jelly, and a cupcake.
The burritos were tasty. Neither of us could decide if we really liked them or not, but that was largely due to a unique flavor I couldn’t put my finger on. I could see why some would love them, but being a huge Mex food fan, I was perplexed. After talking to the person at the counter, I think it was their goat cheese sauce with lemon and parsley – or it could have been the herbs in the sausage. Either way, definitely worth a try. The eggs were cooked nicely, and the tortilla was perfect. Plus it was a decent size.
The biscuit was light and fluffy, apparently made with butter. It had the creamy taste that biscuits get from butter — instead of lard or Crisco. It was served with soft butter and what appeared to be a spiced pear preserves. As others have mentioned, the biscuits here are somewhat smaller than those at Sunrise and Rise (and even McD’s, Bo’s, and Hardee’s).
The cupcake was very good, though it was supposed to be a tiramisu cupcake – and I tasted little to make me think it was one… perhaps the counter staff misunderstood my request.
They have some really great-​looking chocolate meringue pies, but they were out. I really want to try those.
Like most other local good places, it’s a little pricier than everyday, but definitely good. Now I want to try it for lunch… and for that pie.
My only real complaint is with the seating. The chairs are metal with arms, and they are really uncomfortable for someone of any girth.