Sub Rosa Bakery

Beautiful aesthetic and incredible baked items. The chocolate almond croissant stole my heart.

Best croissant on the east coast (and also probably west, I’ve never been to LA so don’t want to speak too soon). Fig & cheese is my favorite. Also, try some of the more unique Turkish options like the delicious pogača! The two sibling owners are gems in Church Hill and the greater Richmond City community. Cold brew iced coffee will give you a needed lift. When the weather is nice, the al fresco option is perfect.

I went Sunday afternoon with some friends after brunch so that being said may be the reason why there wasn’t a huge selection and very few of what was left. I got a morning roll which was essentially a flat cinnamon roll with nuts. My friend asked to get hers warmed up and they obliged. They give you your bakery dish on real plates and drinks in real cups. The cinnamon roll was ok, nothing to run home and tell mama about. They also serve coffee and other beverages. It’s a nice neighborhood place. I will try it again and try some of the other bakery options.
It’s not a huge space but it’s cozy. There weren’t a lot of people in there, it was very easy to grab a table. There was a man in there talking on his phone very loudly and everyone in there could hear his conversation.
The waiter/​waitress at the counter was nice enough. You can grab your own cup of water which is sitting out. So no need to bother the person at the counter for water.

I wish I came here more often. Their coffee is great and their bread is awesome.
For my vegan friends, all the breads are vegan! The pastries obviously aren’t, but I love that their main attraction is totally animal-​product free — definitely the best high-​quality vegan bread, or even just bread period, in the city. They do also offer nondairy milks.
I like coming here to pick up a loaf to have at home. I’m not sure if they have a slicer … but I will ask and update when I find out this weekend. :)
Other than that, I rarely see people hang out here. Maybe it’s the high ceilings, or the pared down atmosphere, but it’s seems more like a grab and go. Sometimes I like to come here to read because it usually is pretty quiet.
Really dat bread doe, it’s like france fancypants level good.

Sub Rosa is one of the places I found while exploring my neighborhood when I first moved into Church Hill. Admittedly, it was fairly intimidating with the small location and extremely long line (the line is always long in the morning and on weekends) so I walked right by the storefront and decided I’d go some other time when I could look at the offerings without the pressure of loyal customers hovering behind me.
For me, the mark of a place I want to frequent is great service and even better coffee. Now, Sub Rosa doesn’t have the best pour over in the world and sometimes someone will be learning how to steam milk when I want a latte (and as a former barista, I have high standards for microfoam) which is not always convenient, but more often than not, my latte is beautiful and bright and the espresso is pulled expertly. Not to mention, the fig and cheese croissant is probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten.
So, if you’re looking for a cozy spot with great food and you happen to wander by Sub Rosa, stop by. It’s worth it.

Gave this place another try. Same good pastry, same slow service, same mediocre coffee. Barista didn’t know difference between latte and cappuccino.

I love this place! My kids live in Richmond and I never visit without stopping by Sub Rosa! The quality of their pastries is amazing! Today we called ahead and ordered an amazing selection for our Easter brunch –blackberry tart, chocolate croissants and my favorite the salami and cheese. The customer service is great too!

The croissants are HANDS DOWN the best I have eaten! Crisp and flaky on the outside, moist and soft on the inside without feeling greasy at all. That’s just the foundation, though. There are so many different types of croissants, and all of them are excellent (classic, chocolate, ham&cheese, and my favorite, fig and cheese). The fig and cheese croissant is by far my favorite mix of sweet and salty/​savory. The cheese has a nice nutty flavor against the sweet tartness of the fig. And the mixture of textures with the crunchy/​flaky croissant crust is AMAZING!
FYI, it gets busy in Saturday mornings, and different batches of pastries come out every half hour or so as needed. So, just because that chocolate croissant isn’t in the display case, doesn’t mean it might not be cooking in the oven. Just ask!

I absolutely loved… loved… This place! An authentic neighborhood bakery. It’s one thing to have the ambience of a neighborhood bakery but it’s another to deliver an awesome product. The croissants are to die for! Try the Chocolate for breakfast and take a ham and cheese one with you for lunch!
Staff was very friendly and helpful. The only one thing that they can improve on was the coffee as it wasn’t bad… just not great. I will be back every time I am in the area! Well done!

FINALLY got to come here when it wasn’t super busy with a line out the door. From the reviews I got a Pain au chocolat and an iced latte. The chocolate and layers of croissant dough were AMAZING! Gorgeous day to sit outside! I love that they have both sweet and savory food selections — there was a salami and cheese pastry that looked really good. Will definitely be coming back!

As soon as you enter you will see a list of available baked goods and then you see the drink menu (coffee or tea).
You can also do a pay it forward (for coffee for someone else) which everyone should do (IMO).
I think I had the savory pie again, which was pretty good. Carbs always makes everyone happy.
Menu is very limited, which is good and bad, whatever they do in that they do it good !
Had an Turkish Tea, a very strong one, after that don’t even think of taking a nap !!

Sub Rosa Bakery is a wood-​fire bakery and stone-​milling operation located in the Church Hill neighborhood. All the baked items that they make come from the wood fired masonry oven, using local ingredients, organic flour & sugar, and housemade wheat/​corn/​rye. How awesome is that?! The menu is limited, offering croissants, pogaca, shortbread cookies, seasonal savory/​fruit tarts, quiche, breakfast items, and an espresso bar. The hubs and I came later in the day, and while I knew that most of the items weren’t going to be available, it was still a little disappointing! It seems as if the staff’s automatic responses were that ‘whatever is in the bakery case is what’s available’ if you ask if a certain item would become available again, even after stating that you would wait. Cat, who was manning the cash register, was the only one who actually went back to ask the ‘bakers’ whether certain items would be ready. Due to my active pressing, I was able to get a Pear with Orange Cream fruit tart (tart, but the ‘orange cream’ was actually orange marmalade; I liked the crispy exterior crust, but probably opt for a savory tart the next time), a Pogaca (a Hungarian/​Turkish/​Albanian D-​shaped bread pasty, filled with salty feta; the bread itself was crumbly and soft, and a great complement to the salty cheese within; I just wished these were warm) from the case, and a mini chocolate almond croissant (a little tough and a little dry, this was filled with a generous amount of chocolates and topped with a nice amount of slivered almonds) from the case. I was told it would be about a 15 – 20 minute wait for the regular croissant, but the ‘bakers’ had inaccurately estimated the time. Instead, I opted for the freshly-​baked Salami & Cheese croissant, which was super MAGICAL. The croissant was super flaky and buttery, and filled generously with sopressata slices and cheese — YUM! I think this is literally one of the best salami & cheese croissants I’ve had, and probably one of my favorites of all time! The place gets super packed, and there’s limited seating as well (counter and some tables and armchairs). I highly recommend in coming early in the morning for more varieties and for more right-​out-​of-​the-​oven goodies. Limited parking off of 25^th.
+Salami & Cheese croissants: D :D :D
+Pogaca (when fresh)
+ask for Cat: D :D :D
+baked goods runs out quick!
+go early!
+limited free street parking off of 25^th

J’adore Sub Rosa! Their baked anything is delicious! The crossaints are flaky, warm and are the best ones I’ve had in my life. Their coffees are strong which isn’t my liking but it’s no big deal. Make sure you come before 1pm because they sell out of pain au chocolat & pain au chocolat et aux amandes (chocolate bread & chocolate bread with almonds)! I seriously can’t believe their baked goods are this amazing. I’ll probably try their queche next time.

I think the only thing that kept this from being a 5 star review was the selection at the end of the day. I ended up getting a cookie and a croissant that I had planned on eating for breakfast the next day, but I didn’t even make it home. Both were so delicious and fresh with a delicious taste different from other bakeries I’m used to.
To be fair, the staff informed me that it’s definitely more of a morning spot so I’m going to try and make it when there’s more of a variety in the case.

My experience can be summarized in three letters: WOW! This is exactly what I imagined a relaxing sunday breakfast/​brunch should be. Small cozy shop at the corner of the street, filled with the scent of coffee and fresh baked goods, with a violinist playing in the background. I’ve only been to Sub Rosa once at my sister’s suggestion, and I loved the chocolate almond croissant and spinach feta tart. The croissants here are humongous… almost twice the size of my face. It is also extremely flakey on the outside, filled with promised gooey chocolate and crispy, toasted almonds. The tart has artichoke (I think) on top, and that’s not my favorite part… but it still tasted yummy! I wanted to try some other flavors of their tarts and quiche, but they were all sold out by the time we go to the store on Sunday around 12.
Definitely, definitely, definitely will be back and try some more of their stuff. And I will go earlier!

My favorite, humble little coffee shop in Richmond so far. The coffee is great, and the pastries are unique and tasty. The ladies behind the counter tells me many of the menu items are of Turkish origin… I’m still working on pronouncing «Pogaca»! ^_​^
My faves are the chocolate croissant and the spinach feta pie (I’m sure there was another name for that, but I can’t remember). It’s always nice and flaky around the crust… mmm. I always request for the pastries to be toasted and it makes it taste so fresh, crispy, crumbly, and perfect with my coffee. Also I like to get a pogaca on the side… bread with cheese and dill, complimenting my spinach really well. I always walk out stuffed and way more full than I had intended to be.
Sometimes I come in on the weekend and they have a violinist playing live music. Love it!

I am totally feelin this place because it’s a cute chill corner café where the sun shines through the big windows in the right spots and of course, they have tasty baked goods.
Don’t write off these baked goods because some might have a bit of a char. This bakery is unique because of its wood fired oven. They try to use grains, fruits, and vegetables grown in Virginia as much as possible.
Since I got 2 different pastries, I said that I’d only take a bite each and save the rest for later… didn’t happen with the Fig and Manchego pastry. I ate the whole thing. I stopped to share a bite but then quickly and politely grabbed it away so I could devour the rest of the buttery, flaky layers filled with sweet, tart fig and nutty cheese. The almond croissant was okay but was too dense for me to enjoy. I wanted to try the Salami and Gruyère but it was sold out.
I’m looking forward to my next visit to Richmond so I can get another Fig and Manchego!

Let’s talk about this.
I only ordered the blueberry croissant and let me tell you… BEST croissant I’ve ever had.
Flaky but not dry
Moist but not oily
Flavorful but not over-​powering
My soul happy. My mouth is watering for more. And my belly… Doing a happy dance.

Love this place! Their selection of pastry and bread is top notch. I’ve been here twice and have gotten various croissant rolls and each time they have been great. The pastries are light, airy, and buttery with a nice oven char on them to create a crisp crust. The two times I’ve been, I did not see an almond croissant offering which I hope they will consider offering more often as it is my ultimate favorite pastry. Two pastries and two coffees will run you about $ 17+ so it’s a bit on the pricey side. I believe they sell their breads priced by the ounce or pound.
They serve Lamp Lighter coffee and their breads are served at local restaurants. We got some slices at Metzger’s that came with their Mette and it was a very flavorful bread. Only problem is that I have to drive there, but maybe this is a good thing since I would end up going all the time otherwise!

A recent downtown exploration landed us at the foot of this hip little bakery by the name of Sub Rosa. Alright, fine, we knew we wanted to check it out, and happened to be in the area, so it wasn’t so much of a random stumbling upon. But I digress.
If anyone reads or follows my reviews, you’ll know I’m not much a baked goods kind of guy (outside of those delicious little bread rings known as donuts), so I more or less just got something from here to say I tried it. And oh my goodness.
–Food: I got a black currant croissant. This fella’ is packed with partially dried black currants, a little bit of pastry cream, and comes on a flaky and buttery swirly croissant. And how delectably flaky it is! I like fruit jam pastries, but even without the jam, this was so delicious with exactly the right amount of flaky to chewy to moist proportions.
I didn’t get to sample my fiancée’s chocolate croissant or her family’s picks of salami and cheese, asparagus and cheese, and various other bready delights, but they all looked really good.
There were also some free samples of bread, which was pretty awesome.
–Cost: I guess if there is a downside to here, it’s how much the pastries cost. Each one, depending on the size and whether they have meat in them or not, will run you somewhere from $ 2 to $ 7. Given how delicious, fresh, and unique their inventory is, it’s a fair price, but if you go for lunch or seeking a meal, expect to buy at least a couple. I think our bill came to about $ 30 or $ 40 for a spread of things. Worth it? Yes.
–Service: As if the food wasn’t already delicious, the staff is great. The Daniel Radcliffe look alike at the counter was super helpful and went into great detail explaining each of the items. (If you’re reading this and find this this comparison offensive, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name, and you sort of remind me of him.) He didn’t pressure us at all and was very friendly and likable. One of the bread makers came through as well to answer a bread question and was also knowledgeable and friendly.
–Atmosphere: You wouldn’t guess it, but the place actually has a very hip and modern vibe. It’s not surprising based on the building, but it’s surprising based on the general run-​down surrounding. Quite honestly, it’s a little bit sketchy walking around the outlying side streets, but the store itself is in great condition and is pretty much exactly what you’d get if you Google «Hip bakery and coffee shop».
–Overall: I was expecting to like it, but ended up loving it. It’s a bit out of the way, but I fully expect to make it here again. I’ve love to try some of the other fruity things there that I didn’t have the chance to try today. If you like bakeries and don’t mind paying $ 5 — $ 15 for a handful of pastries, give it a try! It’s fantastic.