Rustic Sourdough Bakery

Full disclaimers here — we don’t have access to sourdough in Flathead MT. Not the real good tasty stuff that’s stacked high and can be found at nearly every corner in Europe.
On Saturday morning bright and early we headed over to the Rustic Sourdough Bakery to see the offerings firsthand. Yep it is the real deal. We did not purchase any on this trip but did speak with several of the locals while we waited for our egg sandwiches to be ready (three Loonies each). Think of the store as a NY bagel shop. Busy and a little tired from all the local foot traffic but never-​the-​less clean despite the hustle. The locals we spoke to that morning had been coming in regularly for nearly 30 years if I recall correctly. Stopping in for loafs of bread, sandwiches, and other goodies.
The store is divided up into two sections. The bakery on the right. Coffee is self serve. The deli is on the left. One patron was very busy filling a large meat and cheese order, a possible party later that day? Anyway we took it as a good sign. Offerings seemed limited but it was clear they kept everything fresh.
Staff was helpful and friendly. We will be going back on our next visit.

Great deli, but I expected more from bakery, could have more options of bread, and fresh. However they made good breads and sweets.

standard supermarket bakery but for downtown hipster crowds.

No fail, I at least. buy the a few loaves of the Swiss Light Rye bread every week; It freezes nicely. My daughter loves the cheese buns. Their pretzel buns are THE best! You can not go wrong at this place. Sometimes, I will try some of their other offerings. The loaf cakes are yummy! The service is excellent, they are very down to earth and friendly. It is worth the trip to downtown. I hope they stay in business forever! In the deli area you can enjoy a custom made Sandwich, soup, or choose from their other offerings.

Very disappointed in their sausage rolls. The pastry was unbaked cardboard instead of the wonderful flaky pastry they used to have and the filling a bland ground meat that bore little resemblance to sausage. I hope this isn’t going to be an ongoing outcome as a result of the change in ownership.

I walked into Rustic on the hunt for a tasty breakfast to go. After a bit of snooping, I realized that this wasn’t the breakfast shop I was looking for at the moment, but the one I needed in my life. Even though they don’t really do pre-​made breakfast items, they were happy to help me out by microwaving an egg and slapping it on something from the bakery topped with something tasty from the deli. While I appreciated the offer, I decided to play by the rules of how this place seemed to be shopped at — by purchasing deli and bakery items and taking them away, putting them together at home and then eating the heck out of them! I bought all the things! Fresh sliced bacon, sausage, a loaf of bread loaded with seeds and grains and a gigantic selection of the best breakfast pastries going. I can’t wait to check Rustic out again. The first time was by accident and it turned out wonderful. I’m excited to see what a good shopping spree with some intention will look like.

After (seemingly) years of people raving about this bakery, I finally made it down to this 17^th Ave location to see what all the fuss was about. Fuss deserved!
Rustic Sourdough Bakery is a combination fresh bulk bread store and deli.
It has everything you’d expect from a local bakery, buns, rolls, knots and loaves of all kinds. You can get a fresh-​baked classic like crunchy wheat or tangy sourdough or something little more trendy in a chewy chibatta or dense pretzel roll.
The deli offers a selection of meats for purchase and a decent made-​to-​order to-​go sandwhich menu as well as daily soups and salads. Over the noon hour, the line at the deli can move slow but go at 11 or 1 and the rush will have significantly subsided.
On the shelves you will find lesser-​known preserves, a wide variety of chocolates, interesting mustards and dressings.
Rustic Sourdough Bakery is part almost-​a-​grocery part almost-​a-​deli and that combination seems to work to bring customers an nice variety of breads with just enough sandwhich thrown in. And while your there, might as well pick up a neat chocolate or new mustard flavour.
T.

Tried this place after passing by a million times. I didn’t realize they have a deli on one side too, so it’s the perfect place for a sandwich. Awesome desserts, friendly staff, smells amazing, and lots of shelves full of condiments and treats.

This is bakery and deli heaven. I try to get here at least once a month, driving an hour, just for their lunch. A fantastic, fresh sandwich with your choice of ingredients on sourdough, baked fresh in their bakery. Their homemade soups are always satisfying and flavorful. Both together are just a tenner and you get one of the best lunches in Calgary.
Imagine you had a fantastic chef for a friend. This is what going to his/​her house for lunch of soup and sandwiches would be like.
Do yourself a favour and go. Just go.

3.5÷5 stars for this bakery for me overall but i rounded up the stars rather than down cuz there are some lovely, lovely, kind, sweet people working here & the fresh deli.
i love the fresh deli. i loved the customized sandwich for $ 8. deeeeeelicious! the meat, the cheese, the bread. perfect. just the way i wanted it with lots of condiment choices (i got the garlic mustard).
from the bakery section, i got the cheese danishes, chocolate croissants, date bars, napolean, bear paws & florentine. they were all pretty good, however, the cheese danish, chocolate croissant & napolean did not even come close to the best ones ive previously tried. dont get me wrong, they were good but nowhere perfect when compared to my favs from toronto.
id definitely come back for the sandwiches. but im still in search of «my favorite» bakery in calgary.

I have been meaning to review Rustic Sourdough for ages because it is just simply fantastic, but for some reason I kept putting it off. I went back this weekend and was hit over the head once more by the quality of the product, the friendly staff and then a stomach ache because I ate all the food too fast.
There are two sides to Rustic, if you enter through the left door you are on the deli side, where you can buy packaged euro goodies like marzipan, various chocolates and apple stroop. Several shelves of various preserves line the centre wall and on your left is the deli counter with a hub of specialty meats and cheese. This is the side you want to visit where they will build you a sandwich layered with love.
I recommend the schnitzel sandwich on white sourdough with everything they offer to go on it (get it grilled!). It has lettuce, cheese and red pepper jelly, with large pieces of schnitzel bursting out the confines of the house made sourdough. Great sandwich, comes with two pickles and carrots and is $ 8 on Saturdays.
Then there is the right side of Rustic where you can say goodbye to a diet in mere seconds as you will be drooling after 5 steps in. Fresh baked breads, buns, pastries, tarts, tortes, cookies, pretzels and pretzel buns. I want to put it all in my mouth.
I always get a mini cranberry, blueberry marzipan tart. Sublime.
There is also a little espresso bar on this side, which I have yet to try as I am always baked good focused.
All their staff are friendly, helpful and won’t judge your exorbitant appetite for delicious breads.
The only flaw is they aren’t open on Sundays, which is probably good news for my waist line.

I found their desserts excellent, however, their service… not so much. I don’t particularly going to establishments where employees roll their eyes at me when I ask to get some desserts. Also, their bread went moldy a day after purchasing it. A few people I know who used to work there informed me that they lie about the freshness of their breads and often freeze them.

I’ve never had a sandwich more scrumptious and delicious than the many, many sandwiches I’ve had here. All their ingredients are super fresh, and sliced before your eyes. The girls that work there are always super friendly.
So if youre walking down 17^th and in the mood for some healthy, fresh eats, pop in here. They have about 3 tiny tables inside if you want to eat there, or you can take it to-​go.

I’ve been enjoying their breads and made from scratch soups for years now (I’m especially a fan of their clam chowder, cream of carrot and italian wedding).
A bavarian based deli and organic bakery, this place at the forefront of Calgary’s foodie specialist scene has been a place to savour, enjoy and celebrate. Excellent made to order sandwiches, with ANY choice of an entire deli counter for meats. The soups rotate so each fresh soup is different for the day. Absolutely savory, and sensuous to the taste.
And I sneak in during the week for the occasionally sensational sugar or shortbread cookie. Shhh…

Are you ready for a sandwich like no other? One with real deli meats, cheeses and fresh veggies… custom made to order and only for $ 7? If so, it’s time you head on over to Rustic. The deli counter is to your left.
I ordered a spicy salami sandwich with gouda cheese on rye. The girl making my sandwich asked me everything I wanted from bread down to the sauce and veggies. She didn’t write a single thing down and when I got my sandwich, it was bang on! Best $ 7 lunch ever.
If you’re extra hungry, you can also add a soup or salad for $ 2… or, if you have an itty bitty appetite, get a half sandwich for $ 5. Either way, you’ll be a happy camper. I know I am.

What do you get when you cross a soft, salty pretzel with a nice crunchy bun? You get Rustics amazing pretzel bun, which in my opinion may be the greatest invention since sliced bread.
Unbleached, untreated whole wheat flour as the main ingredient is a nice bonus as well. I may not ever want a little sandwich on anything else, but this could be a problem because I don’t live here!
And, oh ya, they have lots of other breads and pastries which are good as well, but right now all I can think about is that pretzel bun.

Wow! I just had the best sandwich of my life at Rustic. It was a warm schnitzsel and swiss on sourdough white. I could really taste the quality and I kind of felt guilty for all those trips I made to Subway when I could been supporting this local gem. All I can say is, wow!
Half the establishment is a bakery and the other half specializes in meats, cheeses and other specialty foods. They have a variety of different sandwichs, but usually they have a special of the day, today it was schnitzel. I felt the $ 7.00 for the sandwich was fair. In addition to being delicious it was large and came with a couple of carrots and pickles. I also had the beef vegetable soup for an extra $ 2.00. It was good, but the sandwich is what got my attention.
It’s probably better to take out here. There are about 3 tables in the establishment and they are small. And it’s probably busy during lunch hour.
I may never go to a Subway ever again.

Rice-​a-​Roni may call themselves the «San Francisco Treat», but if you’ve ever been there, you know the real treat to be the sourdough bread. But you don’t have to go all the way tot the Bay area to get delicious preservative-​free, hand-​crafted sourdough bread. All you have to do is get down to the Rustic Bakery on 17^th Ave SW.
Their artisanal sourdough bread is nice and crusty on the outside, and the inside is somehow dense and light all at the same time the way a great sourdough oughtta be.
Besides their myriad choices of artisanal breads, they also offer a wide assortment of cakes, tortes, and pastries.
You always get service with a smile, and if the heavenly aromas happen to get your belly rumbling, not to worry, because Rustic has an adjoining deli serving up hearty homemade soups, salads, and custom sandwiches on their delightful homemade bread.

This is a great, affordable eating bakery/​deli on 17^th Avenue SW. It is really spacious and has two in one choices, there is the bakery on the right hand side and the deli eat in area on the left. The place was filled with locals and there is a nice bright spirit and energy to the digs.
The bakery has a great selection of bread loaves as well as a grand selection of cookie choices in prices that they should be in; under a buck. Expect other temptations, cinnamon rolls, cheesecake etc but the prices again are so affordable, even if you don’t have a sweet tooth you will not leave the bakery without buying something.
Although I haven’t eaten in the deli area I see that you get the choices of sliced meats and cheeses; that paired with fresh bread choices from the bakery it is no wonder this place was packed.
I will come back again to review this location since it is so close to my home.

Allow me to let you in on a secret that hundreds of thousands of Calgarians are already in on.
You ready?
Here goes:
Rustic Sourdough Bakery makes THE best cheese Danish in town. No word of a lie. And you will know that I’m not lying when you see people lined out the door on Saturday mornings.
Be sure to pay this place a visit (or two, or three, or… you get the idea) over the holiday season. They make THE best chewy cinnamon stars I have ever had. Their fruit breads and their gingerbread are just as amazing. Plus don’t even get me started on their Christmas logs, rum tarts and cream filled cakes.
I think I just gained 5 lbs.
Ah well — Don’t think about the consequences… it’s not healthy to ;)