Creekside Bakery & Cafe - American, Novato

1719 Grant Ave, Novato CA 94945
(415) 892-7655
Parking: in shopping center parking lot

Last Visited: June 21, 2010

Food: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$

If it weren't for Martha, I probably wouldn't have even known about Creekside Bakery. You could drive by the shopping center a million times and never even know it's there. Tucked away in the Downtown Novato Shopping Center on Grant and 7th Street, you'll find Creekside Bakery.

Martha likes to come here for quiche. Enter the bakery and it's almost like entering a time warp. You could be in the 1980s with the wood furniture; the decor is very traditional and homey. I could see elderly ladies coming here for an afternoon tea. It seemed that a number of moms brought their kids for lunch during my visit today. I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that the library is just across the street.

The staff is friendly and you get the feeling that Creekside has been around a long long time and hasn't changed much - the pace just feels slower in terms of how things are done here even though the staff isn't slow. The display case doesn't show fondant over cakes - instead it's more traditional items and a few more modern looking pastries.

We came for a leisurely lunch and although the quiche and soup sounded appetizing, I opted for a sandwich today.

- Reuben Sandwich - Served with a choice of green salad or soup, the reuben is served on toasted rye (which they make themselves) and stacked with sliced corned beef. The sauerkraut looked like it was homemade. I prefer my sauerkraut to be very warm and tart; this was room temperature and not particularly sour so it was just okay. The mixed greens salad on the side was somewhat small and dressed in a vinaigrette. Nothing to write home about.

- Croissant - Flaky on the outside and soft on the inside just as it should be.

- Apple Turnover - Good. Meets the standards that you would have for a turnover.

Prices are fairly standard for the pastries compared to other bakeries. The whole bill came out to just under $15 for these three items with the sandwich about $8.

I was also given a graduation cake from here - the cake was done in whipped cream and was a yellow fruit basket cake. The fruit was fresh and the writing done nicely. While it's not a gourmet bakery and I can't say that any certain item is wow, it's a good old-fashioned hometown bakery for your everyday needs.