Whole Earth Bakery & Kitchen

NOOOOO!!! How sad. this place was truley a gem.

Sadly another review that I should have finished many moons ago. and even more sad is that word has it they have now closed…:(
They’re smiling faces and wonderful earthy treats will be missed.

The Whole Earth Bakery is closing at the end of the month – December 31, 2012. If there’s anything you love from there, get it now! Special-​order a pie or cheesecake to share with your friends; I know I’ll be getting a whole key lime pie – which they stopped making a few years back because it went bad too fast.
Peter blames the high rent, and nothing more, for having to close; they owe a lot of back rent, and the landlord won’t budge on it because he knows it’s a plum spot. There goes the neighborhood.

I’ve gone here several times already despite the garish hippie paint job.
It’s a very small place and there’s often a guy there, who is always on his laptop. He’ll chat up people who come in as a pretext to promote his music to them. I rather dislike this. Do not use a cramped bakery as a platform for self-​promotion.
The other thing that makes me rate this place poorly is that it is overpriced. I like the Latino guy who works there. But the owner is a penny pincher.
What really got me was this last time I ordered a coconut shake. The shake had lots of coconut shell in it. I had to constantly pick them out, though I must have inevitably swallowed many fragments. What nutritional purpose does coconut shell have & how does a human body process it.
In the end it was $ 7.50 for this coconut shell shake with blueberry, $ 6 for a rice pudding which was also small, and $ 1.75 for a tiny cookie I took to go.
Do yourself a favor and save your money.

Friendly staff & they have healthy foods here. Tried some rice pudding with someone I was meeting with (who knew the staff quite well; they even brought us glasses of water after we finished eating). It wasn’t half bad; it had cashew milk that was cool going down my throat.
I’m not vegan or vegetarian myself but as someone who’s not, there are foods here I’d at least try. A little sweaty in there on a hot day but they had a grade A so I have no real complaints.

I’m not vegan, as you could probably tell from my other reviews. Out of curiosity, I stumbled in here, and ordered up a slice of vegan cheesecake. I expected it to be gross, but it was quite nice. Maybe I’ll come back again some time. The owner was a charming older man who claimed to be vegan for almost 30 years.
One thing though, they claim to not use sugar, due to health reasons, but don’t buy into that hype. The substitutes, like agave and maple syrup, while natural, are just as bad as sugar for you. Sorry to burst your bubble. Fructose that’s not chemically bound to fiber is bad for you, and that includes agave and maple based sweeteners.

This place seemed interesting from the outside, so I stopped in just to try something. It is a neat, little place that caters to the vegan crowd. I tried the vegan lasagna here. The portion was small and it tasted bland but I honestly expected it. The use of organic ingredients makes the food expensive, and lack of dairy products like cheese take away from the flavor.
IMO, this place is strictly for the health conscious and vegan crowd.

I saw this place by accident, but it is small so you may have to look carefully. Just a little door leading to a little bakery counter with a few tables. But the vegan selection is better than anywhere else I’ve seen in New York!
There are smoothies and cookies, scones and cinnamon buns (so good!), brownies, cakes, etc. The owner is lovely and very welcoming. No, this is not a bougie place where they will smile at you and pay attention to make sure you buy something. This strikes me as an honest place with an honest owner who believes in his product. Given the low price and convenient location, there isn’t much more I could want
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I’ve been coming to Whole Earth Bakery since they occupied a storefront on Spring Street across from the Salvation Army store, both of which are now long gone.
Whole Earth Bakery’s best offerings are anything moist: pumpkin cake, berry tofu «cheese» cakes, juices, etc. They dry stuff can be overly dry; which is more excusable when it is in their half-​price «yesterday’s batch» tray on the counter.
The pizzas, some turnovers, and sandwiches can be tasty, even if free of every other ingredient that «unhealthy» counterpart baked goods form elsewhere might offer. Over all quality can be unbalanced, but targeting their offerings can be a useful strategy, although time consuming.
Yes, the male owner has difficulty hearing, so talk up; it’s not rude. You don’t have to be shy in New York. ;-) Expect a range of characters both working their and as customers.

The Bad
— Very tiny and cramped area
— No real line type of service… you gotta yell out what you want
— The cheesecakes weren’t that great…
— Need young workers… these people walk and move too slow (no offense)
— Cinnamon bun– too sweet
The Good
— Big desserts for a relatively good price
— Lots of vegan options
— Cookies are good
— Chocolate cake is okay… you can’t really mess up a chocolate cake… i think
The Bottomline– There are better vegan bakeries out there. But if you are around, try their big pizza and maybe a cookie or two =P

yayyy, this was an amazing find. I was just walking around aimless and happen to stumble across this place. It was 9 pm and my sweet tooth was really talking to me. After surveying the case of goodies, I finally decided on the chocolate chip and walnut cookie. $ 3 for a huge cookie of deliciousness. They also had some pizza in the case that looked out of this world and well really fun with all the colors of veggies on it.
Will be back here again very soon to try something else!

One of my favorite gems in the village!
Before moving to New York, I’d look at you as though you had 3 heads if you’d offered me vegan food. Then I fell in love, moved here, and my wife (then girlfriend) told me, «You HAVE to try this place!» and brought me in.
From then on, I was hooked. Seriously. We’d bring bags of goodies home whenever possible. We still do!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to blast you out and tell you you’re a jerkwad-​dingy-​noodle if you don’t go vegan. I’m just saying this place is a breath of fresh air.
The food is fresh, healthy, and delicious.
The owner and employees are sweethearts.
They love what they do and practice what they preach.
It’s just an incredible environment.
What to try? the turnovers (omg. do it.), the lasagna (so fresh, it’s insane), and the blueberry tofu cheesecake.
Don’t listen to the haters.
This treasure is struggling since Sandy ragged all over the city.
Support small businesses.
It’s good karma!

Swung by here on my vegan-​sweets self-​tour of East Village. Carnivorous boyfriend in tow (as my trusty support, and also my spotter when I passed out from cruelty-​free sweets coma) we rushed into this tiny, hole-​in-​the-​wall bakery.
Props for being open late, and offering lots of pretty clean eats. Most of the ingredients are posted in handwriting. Prices are a bit steep for some larger bakery items ($ 4 for a brownie) but I’ve come to expect that for vegan/​healthy baked goods. Portions are pretty big.
I had a hard time deciding but settled on a peanut butter, brown rice, and chocolate square. The brownies, truffles, and cookies also looked good (there are baked and raw options, many also gluten-​free). The scones, muffins, turnovers, tofu-​cheesecakes, etc. also looked appetizing and big. There’s savory food as well– sandwiches, soups, pot pies, etc if you’re not hankering for dessert.
I loved that it tasted clean (aka few ingredients) and I didn’t feel my insulin spike at all. It tasted nutritious but not like a Clif bar, thank God. That said, I really don’t think the taste is for everyone, but it was just right for me (hence the 4 stars, I am particular about my food). I’d definitely come back, and wouldn’t actually feel bad making it a more regular part of my diet rather than a special treat.

This place will bring U back to childhood. You know… that moment when you discovered in first grade that Play-​Doh is bad. Or the time you tasted the cherry scented Chapstick and realized it tasted like soap. Yeeeah… its all coming back. This spot is the reason Twinkies and Ho-Ho’s are still in business. If you really really really have to eat a bad substitution for anything in life… then perhaps the powers that be dont want u to have it.
Instead of eating a brownie or keylime tart that looks and tastes like crap… just sneak away… and eat a real one… its ok… no one will tell, i wont tell… and afterwards if u feel bad for going against your vegan ways and think karma will get u… just drop a dollar in the homeless guys cups in the park. Afterall… isnt that better for karma than preaching and eating nasty flavored food.

I like this place a bunch. The Portabella Wrap was really yummy and had no oil in it!
I also like the baked goods here because they feel healthy. Nothing oily or too sweet.
I would not suggest this place for people looking for ultra-​sweet cavity inducing goodies. You won’t find them here. The desserts are a bit more mild, but they feel whole and good for you.
I plan on returning frequently
:]

* Check out the Ginger snaps — 4 for 1 ginger flavored dark cookies.
* Also try out the all vegan, chocolate tofu cheesecake.

This is a cute, healthy-​desserts bakery. Everything’s vegan and mostly organic. Given that I’m partial to healthier desserts these days (i.e. no white flour, no refined sugar), this place suits me well.
I had a chewy brownie ($ 4), a slice of chocolate peanut butter cheesecake ($ 6), a chocolate walnut cookie ($ 3) and a hemp flax cookie ($ 2).
There’s very little space inside here, so I took my goods to go and ate on a bench in Tompkins Square Park next door.
The brownie was awesome in flavor, if just a tad crumbly. The cookie was also excellent, and not dry or hard at all. The walnut really accented the chocolate chips well. The hemp flax cookie was unusual and while it wasn’t my favorite, I can’t say that I disliked it either. I appreciate that it’s a risky offering and probably an acquired taste. Lastly, the cheesecake had a raw flavor (I think it was a raw dessert, but I’m not sure) and while I wasn’t terribly fond of it, my friends enjoyed it the most (and none of them are vegan).
All told, I would definitely return to Whole Earth Bakery. If they had more seating (why not set up some tables outside with their ample sidewalk space?) and accepted credit cards, I’d be back all the time, just to try something new and unusual.

I like the feel of this place but I can’t say the food is my favorite. I’m glad that they are committed to veganism (they’ve been serving vegan food WAAAY longer than most places), and are making an effort to providing the community with healthy food, but I think a lot of their food is too healthy for my taste. I’ve had their veggie pizza a few times and the roasted vegetables on it are very good, but it’s an all-​vegetable (no vegan cheese) pizza on whole wheat crust, so it just doesn’t hit the spot when I want some greasy goodness.
I feel the same way about their desserts. I think they try too hard to make them healthy (I think they use no refined sugars, flours, etc.) so they come out tasting dry and more like semi-​sweet biscuits instead of cookies or muffins. One of the employees recommended the flax chocolate cookie to me but I didn’t really like it. It tasted like a solid flax bar with a little chocolate in it. It was dry and tasted more like an energy bar than a cookie.
However, I really like the feel of the place (especially since they’ve remodeled the interior and there is more room to stand and sit). The staff is very friendly and there are always loyal regulars inside that are quick to start a conversation with you.

Unfortunate. Very unfortunate. Last time I was here, I didn’t actually try one of their baked goods. But I did try one of their apple and berry pies a couple of weekends ago, and it really just wasn’t very good. The gooey inside of a normal apple pie was missing, and the substitute just did not do the job very well. Maybe it would have been better if it was actually warm, but it was just lukewarm.
I would love to give them a better rating, especially since they do seem like very good people who are trying to cater to the vegan diet, but really, that pie was just bad.

Stuff like their chocolate chip cookie is the reason why people think vegan food sucks.
The thing was gritty and tasteless and just disgusting. Can’t remember the last time I threw out vegan baked goods before coming here a couple of days ago. Part of me feels that I should’ve tried something else before writing a review with low marks, but part of me was like, no, the world needs to know this NOW.