Local Dough Cafe

We were so happy to have this place back again! It is our favorite breakfast spot! Everything from the décor to the food is spot on! Did I mention their homemade salsa??? Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this joint!!!

Cute cute place. Lacking vegetarian options, but I really enjoyed eating there. The meals had a lot of food and were worth the money and it was great.

So happy I got to visit here again… a 7 month wait is far too long! My coffee was deliciously perfect (blended chocolate espresso) and — no joke — THE BEST chocolate chip cookie with walnuts I have ever had in my life!!! The turkey and cheese croissant was but buttery and crispy on the outside. I truly love this place! Thanks again for your outstanding treats!

They have new hours as of November 1, 2015. Posted on paper note on door. We walked in seeing good lunch reviews. Go in at noon, no one in there. Girl asks if we are looking for menus, then she says «we actually stopped serving food in August, now we just have coffee and bakery items. So this no longer a restaurant. Have a feeling it’s going under.

Hours posted are incorrect! Drive out of my way for a sandwich this morning to find a paper note posted on the door saying they are now closed Monday and Tuesday. Please correct hours!

This little gem of Rockton has quickly become my favorite place for lunch or dinner. I have lived in this area for about 18 months and have tried out most of the places in Rockton and the surrounding areas of Beloit, Roscoe, Machesney Park, etc. I have to say that most of the local places suffer from a feeling of average-​ness, if I may create a word on the fly. There is absolutely nothing WRONG with many of these local joints, but I also rarely leave going «oh yeah, that hit the spot.»
That is not the case with Local Dough. The first thing you’ll notice is the interior decorating. Dark colors, unique artwork on the walls, and classic crooners like Sinatra and Martin make for a beautifully unique feel in this city of dimly lit dive bars.
Then you’ll check out their baked goods and see the amazing goods that Jules (the friendly front of house co-​owner and wife of cook, and decorator, Jeremy) has put together. These are her recipes, and not a one of them are lacking in anything, least of all visual appeal.
It don’t think this is just a bakery. You need to try their lunch offerings, as well. All of it homemade. All of it well-​seasoned. All of it unique.
I could go on and on. I suppose, if there is a complaint to be made, it would be the timeliness of your food. Because it is all made-​to-​order, and it is a small husband/​wife operation, I have observed a longer-​than-​optimal wait for my food, especially if there is a small crowd. The food has never disappointed, though, and isn’t that what is important?
Bring your family, your friends, your knitting group, your Bible study, or just the local gang. This place is ideal for any, or all of them.

We stopped for a mid morning breakfast on our way back home from Galena. We had the raspberry white chocolate muffin which had the perfect crumb topping and light flavor. The standard breakfast was cooked just right and delivered fast and hot. Great décor and very clean. Nice people at a local spot to eat. Recommend highly if looking for breakfast.

Great little café with real personality, excellent food, and attentive staff. I had the breakfast quesadilla (sans bacon) it was flavorful and gooey like a quesadilla should be. When I asked the busboy for some more salsa not only did he not say «I’m not your waiter,» He just got it. Imagine that. After, because I overheard a local advise that the lemon squares were particularly good, I ordered one. It was also good but the portion size was too large for a desert in my opinion.

I want to love this place, it has so much charm and character & I fully support local business! I dined in serval times, each time trying something different. Every time, the food seemed to be lacking quality ingredients and flavor. The burgers, just «ok» but clearly a frozen patty cooked on a skillet top. The muffins, bland, load them up with butter! The cinnamon rolls, way too much dough and not enough cinnamon filling oozing out the sides. My mocha coffee is always tasty, I’ll give them that much! I hope they succeed, but they really need to up the customer service & their quality in food to do so.

Really nice place for downtown rockton. Too bad they aren’t open for dinner. Great little café for breakfast or lunch and in addition to the homemade pastries, they make a great cup of coffee. Wake up and get over there.

Absolutely wonderful chai latte and a very cute atmosphere. I will definitely be returning here in the future.

What a gem!
Something about the atmosphere here reminded me of Edward Hopper’s 1942 «Nighthawks» painting. The Main Street antique shops give Rockton a vintage attraction and this vintage modern café fits in beautifully.
There’s nothing vintage about their menu. I had an Earl Grey latte which I enjoyed very much and was thrilled that they use loose tea. Their coffee is great. My friend had the oatmeal with bananas and helped herself to their oatmeal bar which included coconut, dried fruits and all kinds of fun toppings.
The books and iPads along the window seats was an unusual addition that again enhanced the literary vintage modern vibe.
I enjoyed my guava & cream French toast and look forward to bringing back my family. It’s definitely kid friendly.
Note: their hours have changed. I don’t think they do dinner.

Excellent food, nice service, relaxing atmosphere! Great baked goods, chocolates and the bacon… Yes, the bacon. I will be going back for the French toast and bacon.

Absolutely awesome place! I love coming here to just relax and do some work in a really cool setting. Coffee specials are great, AND they offer excellent food options from their bakery as well, which is not always the case with coffee shops. Highly recommend!!!

Stopped in for a late lunch with a friend.
Maybe I just happened to be here at the wrong time or the cook had a bad day… or maybe I did but, I did walk in with a positive frame of mind hoping for a good experience. Placed our order at the counter near the front door. Seating is open and at your pleasure. Server was friendly.
I had the Basic Burger on a pretzel bun with seasoned bagel chips and iced tea. While the pretzel bun was a nice touch and the plating was a plus, the bottom half of the bun soaked up most of the burger drippings which made it a hard to manage, greasy blob. The size of the bun was more befitting a slider size burger than the burger that was served. Further, the substitution of a tasty Heirloom or Beefsteak tomato slice would have added greatly to the toppings instead of 2 small slices of a flavorless, fleshy tomato resembling the very essence of low end grocery stores, dare I say, «hot house» tomatoes.
The bagel chips, an interesting idea, were toasted with some type of seasoning and an abundance of minced garlic which overpowered the chip so much so that I couldn’t identify the seasoning. I had expected a buttery flavored EVOO with a veggie/​salty infusion lightly drizzled on a toasted/​baked bagel chip and was surprised that I could not taste any of those at all. I bet a nice Simon & Garfunkel (nod to their song) type seasoning with a light sprinkle of onion laced fine grained salt would be good.
Next, I was told the only iced tea offered was an English tea, with cream and sugar available at the self-​service condiment table (for iced tea? Really?). Forgive me, but I can’t remember the last time I had been offered an unremarkable English tea as my only iced tea choice. I guess I’m just not used to English teas being offered as iced tea. Even a plain old Lipton like tea would have been ok. I asked and was told no other iced tea was carried nor, to cut the usual bitterness of English tea, was a requested wedge of lemon available. Hmmm.
My friend had the same burger with cheese and had bacon added, French Fries and a pomegranate flavored hard lemonade. From his viewpoint, everything was good but not notable.
It’s a brand new building on the old Rosati’s Pizza site, the exterior looked modern and cool. Inside the vibe was a techno-​industrial setting with steel tables, chairs and various upscale books, artwork and other stuff. Nice, modern, clean throughout including the restrooms appointed with modern fixtures.
From the huge «fumble» on the Basic Burger, smallish bun, the poor choice of a «hot house» (more flesh and less flavor) like tomato for the burger, disappointing garlicky bagel chips to the inexplicably irritating choice of English tea for their only version of iced tea, made everything else a blah «meh».
I just DID NOT pick up on anything to be construed as a «WOW FACTOR», unique, imaginative, innovative or cutting edge in approach, appearance or vibe that other techno-​industrial restaurants have… such as charging stations, wi-​fi, table-​side flat panel TVs, ear phone plug-​in stations to listen to the TV, music or radio for talk shows, news and sports broadcasts.
I’m probably wrong but, at first I thought, «Everyone from an elitist snob to a Grateful Dead fan to a teenager with his bae would be comfortable here.» Later I thought their vibe (baseball metaphor comin’ atcha) «bunted for a safety squeeze» but, it just «whiffed».
Taking everything into consideration, a disappointing experience for me. This is a new restaurant so, I guess, to be fair, I’ll do an «Arnold» in the future… (give them another try, not to trash the place LOL).

Totally amazing bakery you can tell the pastry chef knows how to do it.
Excellent full all day menu
Very comfortable atmosphere and friendly staff
Ipads for the kids

Between my husband and I we have had a variety of the menu options including burgers, sandwiches, waffles, and baked items. Everything has been great and fresh. Service is good and décor is beautiful. Great addition to the area.

Tried Local Dough for lunch on a Monday. I love the décor and feel of the place! They have an extensive menu of coffees and baked goods that is displayed on signs around the counter. Food wise I noticed mostly sandwiches and quesadillas on the menu but I was in a rush so maybe I just didn’t look close enough.
While there I had their cheeseburger with the bagel chips. The burger was the absolute best I’ve had in Rockton. All the other restaurants in the area has greasy burgers and this one was not! The pretzel bun was also a nice something extra rather than a plain olé bun. The bagel chips where like nothing I’ve ever had before. I don’t know what they do to season them but they are definitely doing something right. I would like to try their fries but I don’t know when that will happen. I first have to get over my fascination with the bagel chips.
I hope this restaurant stays. It is a welcome addition to Rockton

Easily in my top 3 for coffees I’ve tasted in the Rockford area. Tried the biscuits and gravy and the chicken and waffles. Both were creative, presented well, made with fresh ingredients, and absolutely delicious.
The service was amazing from the second we walked through the door all the way until we walked out.
The décor is fun, sophisticated, interactive, and inviting with a modern industrial vibe. Hardwood countertops, stainless steel topped tables and exposed ductwork with a tin-​tiled ceiling. The iPads integrated into the wall adjacent to the countertops, intermixed with books is a really fun touch.
Highly recommended!

I had the Turkey Club Sandwich with no mayo. It comes with turkey, 3 strips of maple bacon, lettuce and tomatoes. You get to choose if it is on sourdough or wheat bread. It also comes with a side of your choice between fries and season bagel chips.
This was the first time I’ve ever heard or eaten bagel chips before and they were seasoned well. They tasted great and I couldn’t get enough!
The sandwich was delicious! Although I didn’t expect mustard to be on the bread. It didn’t say anywhere anything about that. I’m not a fan of mustard and had I know about it, I would have gotten no mustard. No big deal though because the sourdough bread was delicious! They give you three slices of bread so that the meat can be compartmentalized by itself and the toppings in another section.
They serve beer and mimosas!
I highly recommend giving this place a try!
NOTE: They don’t have WiFi available to the public. They do have plugins available along the back wall in case you want to bring your laptop or charge your phone, I believe.
Just had the quesadilla today and it was really good! It comes with salsa and sour cream. It was decent, but could have used a little bit more cheese. Probably healthier it didn’t though haha.
My wife has the basic cheese burger. It looked really good and I love how they grill cook the bun so the bottom has the burn marks!