Gooseberry on the Square

This place is perfect for a quick lunch or breakfast! They have great soups at their lunchtime salad bar, and they also have a diverse (and tasty!) breakfast menu. Oh, and the fries and sandwiches are good, too! I love to stop here to get lunch while I’m at work.

I’m shocked at the bad reviews below. As far as take-​out food around the square, Gooseberry is the best, and is the favorite of our entire company. My favorite is the Fried Perch Sandwich which is killer.

Great place for a quick and delicious breakfast or lunch.
Their salad bar is always fresh and they offer great ingredients. I am a sucker for their toasted sesame dressing and grilled veggies.
Mostly everything that comes out of the kitchen can be made any way you like, which is great for someone like me who is particular about what he eats.
The staff is friendly, though at times it seems like it takes a moment for them to register your presence.
My big wish would be that some of the foods in the salad bar would be made available for customizing their other menu items. A «build your own» omelet or skillet would likely be stellar with some roasted peppers or black olives.
And as a final note, why put the cheese on top of the omelette? Why not in it? Am I the only one that finds that weird?

I keep trying this place because it’s so close to my work and I really want it to be good, but I think I’ll have to just give up. The only things I’ve tried and liked here are the Classic Mediterranean sandwich (which is good but far, far overpriced), pulled pork sandwich (which is far, far too large for a lunch portion), and the pre-​made turkey or ham sandwiches are decent if you’re on the run and can’t get anywhere else.
The breakfast is terrible. The breakfast sandwich consists of an overcooked omelette (about 2−3x the size of the toast of English muffin it comes on), under cooked bacon, and burnt toast thrown on top of it. The egg scrambles they have are okay, just overpriced. And the salmon omelette is disgusting — it tastes like they’ve used unseasoned canned salmon. No thanks. Every pastry I’ve tried from here is burnt or stale as well.
You’d be better off walking a block down to Cranberry Creek for breakfast or lunch during the week and spending a few bucks less for something. After today’s disappointing venture, I think I’m giving up on them entirely.

I’ve had breakfast here a few times. I’ve had the ham and cheese omelet once and the skillet on a couple of occasions. If I were able, I’d probably give them more 2−½ stars because the hash browns (see below) are that good.
I’ll start out with the positive. The hash browns that are part of the skillet are amazing. They do a great job on the them — crunchy outside, softer inside (but not mush) and perfectly flavored.
Now onto the «meh» part of the review. I’ll address the skillet first. Their concept of scrambled eggs is a little weird to me. If you’ve been to Subway, their scrambled eggs are similar to what Subway serves on their breakfast sandwiches. While technically, yes, the eggs are scrambled at some point, this is not what I think of when I think scrambled eggs.
Also, when I think of a skillet, I think of everything kind of mixed together so the flavors get mixed as well. Here, they layer everything. The round hash browns on the bottom, the egg on top of that, and then top it with two slices of bacon and a couple slices of cheese.
I can get over a weird concept. I mean, I am able-​bodied and can easily cut everything up and mix it all together and, voila, scrambled eggs and a true skillet. The «omelet-​style» scrambled eggs have led to the eggs being quite dry, however. Also, due to the layering process, nothing gets blended together in the cooking process so the flavors don’t meld together to form something awesome.
As for the omelet, once again, it was a bit dry. It had a good flavor to it. Once again, they create the egg part of the omelet and then put the remaining ingredients on one side and then fold it over so the ingredients again don’t meld together to make something special for your taste buds.

I basically agree with most of the other reviews here. This place is — at best — a grab and go lunch spot with subpar food. I was excited when they were finally putting a legit restaurant in the bank building — but I’ve been there twice for food since they opened, and it’s just not good.
Had a burger with fries during my first visit. Burger was bland and tasteless while the fries were awfully cold and boring. Second time I hit their salad bar and — while there was a lot of selection — the ingredients didn’t seem very fresh, especially the lettuce. Staff is relatively friendly but some don’t seem to know what is going on. They have some bakery items and some grab-​and-​go stuff, but stay away and hit the food carts (or the plethora of better restaurants on the square) if you want a legitimate meal.

Gooseberry’s prepared tuna and egg-​salad sandwiches in «to go» plastic containers are bad news. Gloppy and too chunky, they taste terrible, especially the tuna salad, which carries a sour note. Hastily prepared. Not enough tuna, too much ghastly mayo. Rip-​off. One time I ordered the salmon and scrambled egg dish which arrived as an unappetizing puddle slopped onto the plate. it was smothered in white sauce, but the hash browns were good. The extensive salad bar is the best thing about this place. The fried cod sandwich with a side is passable. I do not appreciate the loud, piped-​in music.

I’ve been here a few times now, with mixed results.
The Turkey Rueben was only okay. I appreciated the quality of the turkey, but the sandwich didn’t really impress me flavor-​wise. The Mediterranean Turkey Panini wasn’t toasted, and was quite salty. The bread that the Turkey Panini was served on was kind of awful, and the sandwich was a mess. So, I haven’t had much luck with Gooseberry’s sandwiches.
Today, though, I had a great meal. I tried their salad bar, and I was really impressed. I’ve never seen a salad bar with this many options, and there were several soups to choose from. Everything seemed very fresh, and my salad was delicious. The honey mustard dressing was quite gelatinous, but had a nice sweetness. The pasta salad has been routinely bland, and that recipe could really use some sprucing up.
The newly renovated space is somewhat awkward, but overall very nice. There are plenty of windows to let in some sun, and it’s been a pleasant place to sit and eat.
I’ve only been to Gooseberry for late lunches, and it’s been pretty dead in there around 2 pm. Perhaps I’m just missing the lunch crowd?
Prices are pretty reasonable, with sandwiches under $ 10, which includes a side. My salad today was pretty large, and cost under $ 5.
Staff is friendly, and food comes out quickly.
I’ll definitely be back for the salad bar.

I saw a review for Gooseberry in the local paper and figured I’d give it a shot. I mozied over there on a Friday afternoon with a nice walk around the capitol. This place is in the big bank building, so if you go in the «front door» of the bank building you have to go around the corner a little to find this place. Not complaining about the location though!
I made myself a salad from the salad bar, and it was pretty good! They had all kinds of toppings and proteins to add onto it, and the standard spread of dressings. I didn’t notice the soup’s until I had made myself a pretty large salad, but they looked and smelled delicious! When I go back again, I’m definitely going to try them out.
The prices were what you would expect for a downtown lunch spot; the salads are $ 6.99/lb, so for the salad I had and a bottle of water I paid about 8 bucks. I’ll definitely be heading back there as my salad go-​to and to try out their sandwiches (which looked good on the menu).

I realize this is a brand new restaurant so there is plenty of time for improvement.
Let’s start with the physical space. The layout does not enhance your dining experience. The front of the restaurant is wide open and under-​utilized. The seating is in the back and is awkward at best. There are booths that really do not take advantage of all the natural light. The dissonance was enhanced by the fact that there were only 4 of us eating at 8:30 am. Not a good sign for a breakfast restaurant.
I ordered smoked salmon scrambled eggs which were very «loose» and quite fishy. I ordered the rye toast which was super dry and devoid of flavor. The plate looked sad. It cried out for color and appeal. Some fruit or a little salad would have really made a difference.
My dining partner had a poached egg and some yummy looking hash browns. Her plate also needed some adornment. She stated that she would never come back as their are so many other options in the area.
I will come back and give Gooseberry another chance after they have had some time to find their way. I wish them the best.

Goosberry has taken a well-​known but boring space and transformed into a modern, hip place. Menus are available on the big screen tv for your perusal.
I am commenting on the lunch. I went for a turkey reuben. Much to my surprise it was actual shredded roast turkey and not just deli meat. Score! There are a variety of sides you can choose to go with your sandwich, including fries and kettle chips. There was one more but I can’t remember it.
Hubby had a portabella sandwich and fries. He liked it, and said it seemed to have been marinated in a unique sauce before grilling.
There is also an extensive salad bar that seems to be really popular with the lunch crowd.
Service was fairly fast and efficient, considering they just opened.
This is the sister location to Heritage Bakery and Café on my side of town. The owners are locals, send their kids to the school up the street, and are very nice people. So if you are looking to eat locally, this is a place do it.