Boudin SF

Quintessential San Francisco? I don’t think so, but it’s nice to know we have easy access to the classic New England style clam chowder in a bread bowl. I love the location and open space layout. The restaurant is super clean and staff always available and friendly. The outdoor patio has a nice courtyard feel with views of the Whole Foods in the same plaza.
Clam chowder and mixed greens salad is my go-​to (Soup & Salad Combo) — can’t go wrong. For those with kids, they have coloring menu and crayons up front before you line up to place your order. Kraft Mac & Cheese served here — kid friendly!

i love their clam chowder & their Caesar salad! I enjoy their clam chowder because it’s not too salty, watery, or fishy smelling. I love their Caesar salad because they give a hefty amount of dressing! I love dressing and a side of salad :).

My boyfriend and I were in the mood for Clam Chowder so we thought to give this play a try.
We headed straight to the cashier to order our food. Since my boyfriend and I are both pescatarian, we thought to double check and make sure that the clam chowder didn’t have any type of meat in it because a couple of places that we went to that serve clam chowder, such as Sweet Tomatoes, serves little bits of bacon pieces in their chowder. Once we asked the cashier (I believe her name was Evelyn A), she was completely rude and made the both of us feel stupid, smirking saying that the food is what it’s called. Not only that, but the cashier next to her laughed at us for asking such a question. Well I’m sorry for just asking a general question.
Anyway, the guy who delivered our food was extra kind and also brought us some water cups. Not only that, but the clam chowder was delicious!
Minus one star because of the cashiers.

Love this place for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a very large place with plenty of places to eat inside or can take your food outside on the patio. Parking can be a bit messy but it’s worth it. Make sure you join the club — you get free sourdough bread that they make fresh.
Also — we love their holiday bread, they make it into different shapes. Hearts for valentine’s day, a tree for christmas. Too cute!

Food was good. The sever was very helpful when we asked for an extra plate. It would be better if we had a better cashier. I think they need a better customer service since we come here to relax and have our dinner expecting a pleasant dining experience. The clerk’s attitude really bothered me. She acted like we are disturbing her and she was forced to work. Heavy and frowned face, there was no welcome gesture. She might forget we are the customers who was supporting this business and she could get paid from working at a flourished business. May be waiting at customer is not her best choice, I think she should go apply for another job that does not require a cheerful face with great customer service like this job. We want to go here again to enjoy the food but with this kind of customer service at Walmart level, we have to think it over.

Mr. Boudin would not be happy reading this review.
We came on Wednesday evening, December 2^nd at approximately 5 p.m. There was no one in this 120-​person restaurant except two lone diners. I thought that was odd. I saw young employees yelling to each other, goofing off and joking around.
After we sat down and ordered, the cashier standing in front of the cash register was yelling across the restaurant to another employee to clean the tables and chairs, while a customer was standing right in front of her, with a few others in line as well. She also had an attitude problem and did not smile or say thank you once.
I ordered a baguette burger, rare, but was told that I could not have it cooked to order because the burger went through an automatic oven and get cooked the same way each time (well done). I don’t like well-​done burgers. But that’s what I had because I was really hungry. It was supposed to have avocado and cheese on it. There was only a small smear of avocado and a trace of melted cheese.
Then our waitress came to me with the wrong order. With a smile she presented my burger on a baguette and white clam chowder, handing me a white toast sandwich and red creamy soup.
The restaurant phone kept ringing but no one answered it because employees were busy talking to each other right by the phone. The phone stopped ringing.
When our food finally came and we started eating, an employee arrived and plopped down on a step stool on the floor immediately next to a table where a woman was eating, about 6 feet away from our table. She went from table to table scraping across the floor sitting on the step stool, cleaning the guck from under the tables and what not. She had her back to the restaurant (and us) and about 8″ of her bare back was showing above the top of her pants. I don’t know why she had to do this in the only area people were eating and couldn’t wait until we left. Or gone to the other side of the restaurant, where nobody was sitting.
The food was bleh. My companion’s bread was two pieces of plain, dry, undressed, untoasted white bread slapped on top off too much tuna so that the tuna was falling out of the sandwich as he was eating it.
Very unpleasant experience. Was here once before, around the same time about 3 months ago, and it was also empty. The only good part about this restaurant is the bread rolls and loaves you can take home. Don’t bother staying, it’s not the quality place that should be associated with Mr. Anthony Boudin’s name.

I’m only giving 3 stars because I’m adding my previous 5 star experiences to this 2 star.
1^st off
When I ordered the grilled brie sandwich I was told I could not have sourdough (duh we’re at Boudin) it would have to be made in Multi Grain because all sandwiches are pre-​made. I ordered anyway. Sandwich comes with choice of salad or chips. I ordered salad my husband regular grilled cheese and chips.
Ok so order placed, now the 20 minute wait begins. I realize it’s 1:00 and lunch time but wtf, sandwich pre-​made, chips in a bag and lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette how can this take 20 minutes.
Food finally arrived, clam chowder hot brie sandwich was great, but my husband’s grilled cheese had some type of black substance and was cold (yuck) He swears it was a fly, (seen pic and you decide).
On the following fence about returning.

First time coming here, I usually go to the one in sf. I came here around 11am after biking from mission with my boyfriend. The place was moderately busy. We ordered their classic clam chowder combo with half a chicken pesto sandwich. It was one of their lunch specials. Unfortunately, their chowder didn’t come with the sourdough bread bowl. So it cost an extra dollar to come with it. I was not impressed when they delivered our order to the table. The chowder bowl was a lot smaller than usual. Also, there was not a lot of soup, more bread ratio. But the chicken pesto was pretty good. Overall, this is not a bad alternative, if you don’t want to travel far for calm chowder. It’s convenient so I’ll come back for lunch.

Live in the South or East Bay and don’t want to go all the way to SF to get your fresh sourdough bread and clam chowder fix? Go to the Fremont location of Boudin! Good service, same prices as the SF location, and a large seating area will greet you here. Great for groups! Can’t stay to eat? Order take out! They sell freshly baked sourdough bread in addition to the café menu.

Great staff, great location great food.
But the bowls are sooooooo tiny now… Not you too boudin… Not you too… =(

I’m a bit torn on this place. The place is nice and clean. I happen to be a really big fan of sourdough bread, especially since it is quite unique to the SF area landscape/​culture. They market real well cuz you can just see it in their expansion mode.
But my mouth and taste buds see a different perspective. I had several meals here and none have made me rave about my experience. First time was a chowder/​half tuna sandwich combo. Total snoozefest. Sure it was sourdough but the rest of it reminded me of a cafeteria lunch. Just super pedestrian. And why do they have a reputation for chowder. It was no better than most canned versions. Not horrible by any means, but not worthy of a reputation. For chowder hounds in this area, go to Baldies Café on Fridays or Market Broiler any day. Much worthier renditions.
French Dip fell short too. Meat seemed a bit processed. Dip, not bad. Sour baguette was just too hard to eat. Really tough crust, enough to make the jaws tired and enough to cut the roof of one’s mouth. I think sourdough baguettes have that incredibly tight window of it being optimum, and I always fail to hit it.
Sausage/​Egg Sandwich was actually pretty good because the bread this time was cooked in some manner. Buttered and toasted if I remember. There is a shit load of melted cheddar and the whole thing is a monster serving for breakfast. It is 2 – 3 times the size of an Egg McMuffin. Do what you’d like with that info, just throwing it out there.
I also like their little turtle shaped bread that is for sale up front. I’ve never eaten one, but I like to give them as gifts to friends/​family with small children. The reaction when a child sees it, is simply adorbs!

I didn’t know breakfast was served only until 10:30AM but we ordered the bread bowl of clam chowder — it’s a must. We purchased two of the clam chowder bread bowls to eat in and one to take out. The seating area is clean and comfortable. The employees were very pleasant and provided good service.
We only waited 5 minutes to get our food which was great because we were in a hurry. It’s nice to have a place for fresh Clam Chowder in Fremont.

This place was kind of hidden so I almost turned on the wrong plaza. I did not know it was right next to whole food! I got the combo salad and soup here and it was great prices! Under $ 10– what a deal. The workers are nice and the food came in about 8 minutes. The only thing is that you have to stand in line to order which I did not know. Don’t come on weekends the line might be crazy!

Dependable. The French bread loaf with its doughy middle and crisp exterior is worth taking home. And all those burgers and sandwiches come on that quality bread are good, albeit, not great. The sandwiches are all neatly symmetrical, the taste is good but only mainstream good, it’s lean meat as far as I can tell. Like I said, dependable. But I don’t think they can write the ultimate book on Best Burgers, as of yet. Where’s the spice and excitement? #wellfed

First time coming here this week and I am super impressed! It is just like the one in San Francisco! Very warm welcome coming in around 10:40AM with the entire place clean and organized. My family and I didn’t realize that they were only serving breakfast until 11AM and we all wanted to try the bread bowl of clam chowder (of course – it’s a must). Then, one of the workers went in the back and came out saying they are just starting the soups early for us, so sweet of them!
We purchased three of the clam chowder bread bowls for roughly $ 20 something. The seating area in here is huge! Even so, I bet during lunch it gets pretty crowded, being in downtown Fremont and whatnot. The employees were very persistent on coming by and asking us if we need anything (good service).
Finally, after a good 10 minutes, we got our freshly made clam chowder bread bowls, tasting exactly as SFs delicious signature! We all happily enjoyed our crunchy sourdough bread bowls with our creamy soups. Employees kept checking in and having small talk with us, it was quite nice!
I would definitely come here again! You should too!
Pros:
–Friendly and attentive service
–Big seating areas
–Clean restrooms
–Delicious bread bowl clam chowders
–Lots of condiment options on the side (Tabasco, ketchup, oil and vinegar)
–Outdoor seating option
–Whole place was very organized
–Reasonable prices
Cons:
–Can’t think of any at the moment!
I can understand if the thought comes up that – «Hey, the experience was only good because you came there early and before the crowds», but even so they went out of their way to give us good service and props to them!
I only wish I got the names of the workers who helps us out that day! I will probably be coming by this place more! Try it out!

Always love Boudin with their sandwiches and clam chowder! Came here for lunch on a Friday afternoon and it was bustling!
Ordered my usual chicken salad sandwich with a side salad. However, when I recieved it, my salad had so many wilted and mushy pieces of lettuce that I got tired of picking it all out and showed the worker that I wanted to change to chips instead. My friend’s salad was the same way, but the worker there was really nice to offer her chips as well.
Not a fan of places that serve such poor quality and would prefer another Boudin instead.

I was so bummed when they stopped serving their Italian chopped salad. There’s really nothing more satisfying than that delicious salad paired with their sourdough bread. My stomach and I are sobbing together, just thinking about it.
But it’s ok because I have a newfound love thanks to the Brie grilled cheese with green apples and fig jam. I ordered it for the first time last weekend and picked another up yesterday for dinner. I always order it with a cup of the tomato soup to round out the flavors.
This afternoon, I finally tried a pastry– the chocolate croissant. It’s one of the best chocolate croissants I’ve ever had. I’m not a pastry chef or anything, but it was well-​layered and so buttery. I hate when croissants are almost waxy inside.
Anyway, I still want to try a scone and maybe there will be another salad in my future. What a lovely heartbreak to have. It also helps that everyone working here is always so nice. Thank you, Boudin Bakery!

Boudin never disappoints!
I used to only have Boudin in SF when I went shopping with my girlfriends, but now that this one opened in Fremont, I get to go so much more!
Although the price is on the pricier side, the quality/​taste of the food makes it a little more acceptable.
Everything tastes so good! Salads, clam chowder, and their sandwiches! Any of their hot sandwiches will melt deliciously in your mouth, however I found their cold sandwiches to be a bit on the plain side. Salads are fresh, and their flavorful and creamy clam chowder is already made ready to serve. (Note: You can buy canned Boudin clam chowder at the restaurant!)
Dining in is quick and there is plenty of seating. Ordering to-​go/​pick-​up is easy as well.
Service is super friendly from most of the staff! (:

Nice, spacious restaurant that seems to provide the same quality of food as all the Boudin chains– can’t complain too much. I also like that they have an outdoor seating/​patio area (facing Whole foods) so I can bring my dog with me when I come here.
Came here this weekend for breakfast and spent a little over $ 6 for 2 breakfast sandwiches and a coffee. I had a ham, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on sourdough and my husband had the sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Both were delicious and the bread was toasted perfectly to my taste.
I thought it was nice that they sold the claim chowders in cans too. But when I saw that it was $ 5 for a can, I was a tad surprised. Forgot how expensive their clam chowder can be! Glad we have other options on Fremont now.

Hello casual dining! Just because I can’t (or don’t want to) spend a lot of money on dining out doesn’t mean I won’t have a decent dining experience. Boudin might not have crisp white tablecloths, shiny glassware or nattily dressed servers waiting on me hand and foot, but the attention to detail is really something else for a casual restaurant that I imagine competes with places like Panera. I didn’t realize the amount of effort that went into their customer service and overall experience until I completed a guest experience survey that had me analyzing my visits.
I visit this location for weekend breakfast or lunch. It’s often busy, but they’ve got someone working at each register so the line moves quickly. The cashiers offer a smile and make eye contact. They are supposed to offer you an add-​on, such as a cup of tomato soup for $ 2. Finding a clean table for four is a challenge, so we settle for the least dirty table and give it a quick wipe with a paper napkin.
I’ve tried these three scrambles, which are pretty decent and come with a side of potato wedges.
Turkey and Broccoli Scramble
Sausage and Tomato Scramble
Bacon and Peppers Scramble
Ham and Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich
Sourdough French Toast. Comes with fresh berries and real maple syrup (not pancake syrup).
Potato Wedges
Coffee — Peet’s
Boudin is a great addition to Fremont! I pick up a fresh loaf of sourdough bread during my visit. Hard chewy crust, with soft chewy crumb. Yum!