Frank Street Bakery

Nothing wrong with this place, great place to grab lunch! My husband and I biked here on a Saturday afternoon and grabbed lunch to take to a nearby park.
We ordered a Cuban and and PMP (pizza sandwich). The Cuban was tasty and nicely pressed. It was larger than I thought it would be. The PMP was pizza on a folded and toasted flatbread. It was a little greasy, but to be expected given the pepperoni.
For an extra $ 3 you could make it a convo with a bag of chips & drink. The chips were a step up from a lays brand and the drinks included San Pelligrinos so I’d say worth it. There were some good looking pastries and soup (too hot for soup).
Inside is small with only a few tables and a few tables outside. I could see this place getting busy on weekdays, so I would stick to a leisurely weekend afternoon!

Cuban sandy is the shizz! It’s cozy (6 tables) but the food is worth it. Perfect lunch spot.

shortly after I left my glowing review they changed ownership — the sandwiches were not very good at all. all the real sliced meat has been replaced with processed deli meat. nothing tasted fresh, just greasy and disappointing. the only reason why this isn’t 1 star is because they have gluten free bread, which is hard to find around here.

That have completely did a 180… use to be my favorite sandwich shop… now the lettuce was wilted, bread stale and overpriced

buyer beware, not the old frank street. Italian sub had wilted lettuce on old ciabatta bread with half the usual meat. Menu and ingredients aren’t the same and its more expensive

Frank Street Bakery is a small establishment with limited inside seating, a very pleasant outside seating area, and an inviting staff. I used to eat at Frank Street on a routine basis. The soups were great and I looked forward to ordering my favorite sandwiches, including seafood sandwich on a croissant. The corn chowder was also quite good. My last three visits, unfortunately, have been progressively more disappointing. The first sign of change was a deterioration in food quality under what seemed to be new management. Next, the restaurant removed items from its menu (for example, the aforementioned seafood sandwich) without any measurable improvement in other aspects. The establishment’s downhill slide was confirmed on my last visit. I ordered a panini, which contained nearly tasteless deli meat, and was greasy besides. I shall not be returning.

Really sad. This was one of our favorite places to go, my daughter and I walked there frequently. They recently remodeled and clearly made cost cutting the priority. They njo longer have freshly made deserts, they are brought in from two companies. Not even a cookie or a brownie. They got rid of milk shakes. And Bacon. yes bacon. We asked «we have not found bacon that meets our standards» Come on. Within a mile there are three stores that sell at least 7 kinds of amazing bacon. My guess is they don’t want the mess. So no sandwich with bacon. My daughter’s what was chicken bacon ranch was instead of what used to be nice chunks of breast meat was sliced deli chicken she said tasteless (she’s 17).
Plus side is the staff is still very nice.
I hope they revisit things, something change to change is not good. They said management changed, not ownership. Hopefully ownership sees the charm is gone and it now feels less special, and for god sake, a sandwich place with no bacon? And make some brownies or cookies, all the deserts in plastic containers with expoiration dates lack charm and frankly at $ 5.99 each just too expensive for this type of place
PS, I have been back twice now, so this is not based on one visit. Very sad

First, let me say straight up that I only went there because I had a Groupon that I’d purchased and wanted to use, so that was the reason for my visit.
When I pulled up, I was pleased to see that they had designated parking spaces. The place looked small but cute, and there were also a few tables outside. But when I went in, it was TINY — maybe 6 little tables surrounded by shelves and the preparation area.
I’d looked at their online menu prior to going there & decided that I’d have the salad bar & soup there & take a sandwich or salad & maybe some goodies home. But once inside, there was no salad bar to be found. I looked on the menu and it wasn’t an option. I also looked for baked goods, but all I saw were a few lonely brownies and pieces of cake in a tiny case.
So, I ordered the Da Bloom panini and a chef salad. By the time my order was ready, I was the only person in the restaurant, yet they still called out my name. I guess they couldn’t be bothered walking the 4 or 5 steps it would’ve been to bring it to me. I ended up eating half of the sandwich in the car because I no longer wanted to be in the cramped little restaurant. The bread was pretty good, but while the sandwich was tasty, it was also salty because of all the processed meat and cheese. And only part of my sandwich was warm; the other part was definitely cold. It also had a lot of sauce on it & it dripped all over the place.
I had the salad when I got home. While it looked nice, it was disappointing. Everything was chopped rather small. All of the meats were of the lunch meat variety — thin, chopped and salty, and the «Swiss» cheese was just as pasteurized processed as the American cheese. I ended up adding some chick peas to the salad & eating around the meat and cheese.
All in all, a rather disappointing experience — especially since other Unilocalers’ reviews were so positive.

Sad sad sad. I’ve been going to Frank’s regularly since it opened. I love the delicious sandwiches, and that it is a small local biz. Lately, the service is so bad, it makes me want to scream. They seen frazzled, unorganized, and uncaring. For example, it took ½ hour to get two sandwiches and smoothie. First, they called my name and gave me the smoothie. Fine, I’ll be patient and wait a little more for the sandwiches. Finally, sick of waiting, I saw the sandwiches just sitting there. They forgot to give them to me!!! How long would those sandwiches have sat there before someone gave them to me? And they were not very apologetic. Sad sad sad. Get your act together, FSB.

Service is good overall. The place inside looks old, outdated and very small and very clean. The high chair was inside the unisex restroom! Not very appealing to let my child sit on it. Sitting outside is nice but nothing special about it. The sandwiches tasted great specially the cheese and basil. We tried also the chicken with artichoke and was also good. Pricy for the small quantity. I had groupon so it was ok, otherwise i wont go to this place.

One of the few purely sandwich places in the birmingham area. We had the matt’s sandwich, the Cuban, a cup of potato ham and chard soup, and a toffee bar. You can get all sandwiches pressed if you would like. The potato soup was great as it was made with less cream than other potato soups that I’ve had. They make it more with puréed potatoes. Both the sandwiches had the required ingredients but was a little lacking in meat. The bread was not overwhelming as in other places, but the sandwich left us craving more meat. The toffee bar, we asked them to heat it. It was tasty with the perfect crunch of occasional toffee. Was quite satisfying. Will be back but may still look around for sandwiches with more meat.

Atlas, I am breaking up with Franks.
After my positive review, I went to Franks a little more than I would like to admit because of it’s close proximity to my work. Then I noticed how TERRIBLE the service has become. Let me give you two examples.
1. I ordered soup and toasted bread. I sat outside after paying and it took them 20 minutes to notice that I was never served at all. So the waiter threw in a free beverage. Okay, I wasn’t that hangry but free stuff is always nice.
2. I finally ordered their famous Cuban and a side smoothie. Unfortunately, on this day. there was a huge order prior to my visit which incomprehensibly took up the entire staff focus within the ENTIRE establishment. Despite the 10 people who sat down after ordering, the staff didn’t even start other orders until the big order was complete. So because of this, I waited 30 minutes out of my 45 minute lunch waiting for them to press my ½ cuban sandwich. When I finished my sandwich, I got my smoothie. Needless to say, I had to finish the smoothie on my walk because my lunch was over. I wasn’t the only disgruntled person. Oh yah, people were upset. That’s all I have to say about the matter.
The food is ok. My cuban looked thrown together. I wasn’t wow-​ed by it. My smoothie was more of a slushy. So until this place gets its act together, I’m not planning to eat here again. You disappoint me once? Shame on you. You disappoint me twice? Shame on me. I don’t want you to disappoint me three times so I’m breaking up my foodie love for you Franks. See you some other time. I’ll be visiting Panera or Cosi until your service gets better.

2 stars for the service. Great food. Second time coming here and both had been rude. Like who tosses a hot coffee? Maybe both times the staff was having a bad day. But if it wasn’t for the groupon, I would not be coming back.

This place has really gone down hill. It’s 1:45 and they’ve already locked the door and turned on the closed signs even though they advertise 3pm closing time. There are people still showing up but being turned away. Staff was surprisingly rude and short today when I ordered. It’ll take sometime before I come back after this experience.

Entering into this cozy deli/​bakery filled my nose with the old familiar scent. Cured meats, shaved pastrami and yeasty breads. A hot rueben was in order and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. A perfect golden char on the bread, kraut that was tangy and tender, corned beef that was shredded to my likings and a portion that fit the bill.

I love the name change, from Frank St Deli to Frank St Bakery. This only entices me more to walk in and eat eat eat.
For a quick snack, try their, Half Cuban. It’s flatter than others I’ve had, meaning their could be more meat. What stands out is the delicious bread, finely shredded pork, and the lightly blended condiments the mayo, mustard, and pickles. Obviously the other ingredients of ham, salami, and swiss cheese don’t go unnoticed, but their more subtle.
For dessert, try their Salted Caramel Pretzel Brownie. Just thinking about it makes me salivate. It’s salty, it’s sweet and satisfies the sweet tooth very nicely. Maybe I shouldn’t have shared it, since it was so good. I’ll get my own next time.
Their variety of sandwiches was very impressive for the size of the place. Don’t judge a book by its cover, right? I look forward to returning to try more of their sandwiches and variety of their deliciously looking baked items.

After following the FSB instagram for a while and drooling over all of the delicious looking baked goods and sandwiches, I finally found myself in the area during their open hours. I got the vegetarian cuban, which was darn good and a vegetable curry lentil soup that was equally good once it cooled down. It was originally served at the approximate temperature of flowing lava. I was surprised to see the baked goods offerings in one small case. They looked so different in person that I opted to skip dessert, so I can’t really speak on them. They do look fantastic in pictures, though that much I can say.

My friend and I were looking for a new place to eat and we thought we would try this place. Bad idea.
First of all, it was nine dollars and some change for half a sandwich, a can of soda and a bag of chips. My sandwich wasn’t seasoned and there were whole basil leaves with the stems still on them. After I seasoned it myself, it wasn’t THAT bad.
My friend ordered a vegetarian sandwich and they forget to tell her they changed the menu so instead they improvised a new sandwich for her. Disgusting. They were apologetic and made her a new one, but I bet if they weren’t talking the whole time they would’ve gotten it right.
What the hell is with the tipping before eating? How is that ok? Even though my bill was higher than I thought it should’ve been, I gave a tip. I’ve worked in the industry, so I know how it is. Tipping before your service is stupid though, I wanted my tip back by the end.
Super disappointed.

Went with the Cuban sandwich. It was great! I really can’t say enough about the toasted/​pressed sub bun it came on. Perfect crunch on the outside to go along with a chewy and soft inside. Flavors of the sandwich were spot on.
Every sandwich I seen the staff carry out from behind the counter looked delicious. Particularly the Reuben.

Finally went here after Seong’s photos lured me in!
Frank Street Bakery (FSB) is more like a sandwich shop with some baked goods and not a full blown bakery like Avalon or Milano bakery in Detroit.
We went at 1:30 pm on Saturday & it was packed with locals. Go in, order & get your # & sit outside (its covered) to people/​car watch. There’s free parking which is an added bonus.
We love ordering sandwiches and thank god DF knows how much of a foodie I am and will oblige by swapping halves. I got the Reuben & he got a Cuban.
REUBEN: love when my bread is grilled right & there’s a slight crunch in every bite. The corned beef was shredded very thin like Boar’s head deli meat. Both DF & I prefer our sandwich meat to have more texture like Sy Ginsberg Corned beef that Al’s Famous deli (aka Breadbasket Deli) uses. The quantity of meat was perfect as was the sauerkraut (not too sour). Legit russian dressing too & not thousand island like other sandwich places. VERDICT: prefer a marriage between Al’s Famous Deli Reuben meat & FSB’s portion size.
CUBAN: first off the bread was spot on! Not French bread & not Italian bread but CUBAN bread (that means made with some fat like lard/​veg shortening)! Since FSB doesn’t bake their breads in house, I’d like to know where this legit bread came from! Either way, it lends to a perfectly pressed Cubano like Habana’s in R.O. (RIP) before it became Monk. DF wasn’t a fan of the meat as it was sorta shredded in texture & not typical roasted pork. Again, deli meats are shaved thin so the ham was missing the saltiness and I didn’t taste any salami that some Cuban sandwiches have. Also there’s shredded lettuce & thin sliced tomatoes in the FSB version so my sandwich leaked from the bottom. Pickles and mustard were typical and lent itself to the Cuban name. VERDICT: Quality bread but skip the lettuce & tomatoes and add salami or thicken the sliced ham to 5 mm vs 1 mm slices.
We also got a pineapple coconut smoothie which was refreshing in the humid rain. I love the flavor of coconut but hate the coconut bits & I was glad there were none to be found.
For quality & size $ 5.99-$ 7ish sandwiches aren’t bad hence the overall ⁴⁄₅ stars. I was bummed they didn’t have anymore Oreo Cream Pie but they did have some cookies, lemon meringue pie & choc covered Oreos that I’ll try next time.
Def a local gem!