Hi-Rise Bread Company

I must say all the bad reviews mention prices and service but few mention food quality as an issue. Organic, natural food is expensive. Obviously most of the complainers must not buy organic food or they would know these sandwiches are cheap for what you are getting. If you want a $6 sandwich go to a processed food place or better yet how about number 5 with wonton. The Hi-Rise consistently produces high quality organic/natural food which not only tastes incredible but is good for you. Cambridge is lucky to have this place and I am glad it is doing well enough to stick around. At least there is one place I can go and know i am getting something with quality ingredients. I for one am happy to pay these bargain prices.\r \r By the way, I have never had a problem with the service. Last time I checked people are generally nice to you when you are nice to them. For those of you who dislike the service perhaps the arrogance is misplaced. Have a look in the mirror.\r \r Keep going Hi-Rise, Cambridge needs you! Pros: All natural quality products Cons: parking, seating limited more

Hi-Rise Bread Co is a great place to grab a sandwich. The Harvard Square location offers outdoor seating. Pros: fresh ingredients, good bread more

Being Swiss, I love crusty artisanal bread that I can eat with my cheese & meats, and this is the place I buy my fresh bread. If you like delicious bread, I highly recommend this place. Their sandwiches are consequently very tasty, if pricey for some people - but you get what you pay for. Don't complain about a $10 (large) sandwich if you're the type of person to drop $4 on a mediocre latte at Starbucks.\r \r About the staff - I'll admit that the first few times I went there I was disappointed the cashiers weren't as warm as I expected. They've gotten much better about this over the years. Even so, in the end, what matters here is the food, which is simply top-notch.\r \r Their simple ""toast and jam"" that was assaulted by some previous customer is home-made and absolutely worth it. The ingredients on their jam reads something like this: ""Fresh figs, fresh strawberries, cane sugar, lemon juice."" I challenge you to find an ingredient list that short in a supermarket! (I think ""Bonne Maman"" makes good jam, but is soundly beaten by HR).\r \r Finally, they have great coffee, and a good (if marked-up) wine selection. I usually let their wine selection guide my bulk purchases at Trader Joe's/etc. Still, I haven't bought one from them I didn't like.\r Pros: Fantastic artisanal bread. Great sandwiches, Jam, and Coffee. Cons: Can be busy at lunch; cashiers may not give you kisses :) more

We went there today thinking it would be fun to have some good salad after a run.\r So - the salad seemed to be cut at least a day or two ago, the service was horrible (they kept on forgetting the things we ordered), but worst of all - even thou that we sat at the place they serve everything in plastic - plastic boxes for the salad and plastic utensils - it seems that these people didn't hear that the environment is fighting for it's life.\r The prices are high enough for them to afford some dishes and a dishwasher. more

The staff is either snobby or unhappy. Plenty of better bakeries with nicer people around.\r Hi-Rise should change it's name to Lo Rise. Any positive reviews you read pertaining to great customer service must be written by the owner himself and/or the staff. I've had enough, they have lost my business.\r \r Recommendation:\r Petsi Pies, Cambridge & Somerville Pros: pastries, bread,rolls Cons: bad attitude more

Hi Rise is the best bakery I have experienced, and they are as friendly as time permits...\r The cutting reviewers are overly solipsistic......, and seem to want to always be greeted with ""hugs and bouquets... \r Too bad... \r \r I would go there daily, if I lived there (Huron/Concord Ave.) year round.\r jack barry, san francisco and cambridge more

Just read the reviews and you get the picture. I've been going here for 8 years just to get a decent sandwich (Dan's Havana Heaven - #23). They also have very interesting and inexpensive wines. But that's where pros end. Now onto the cons:\r \r The answer as to why the servers are so rude is simple. The owner is a real ahole. I've come across this guy several times and he should not be in a service industry. He once asked me to step away from the breads as I was too close and was ""breathing on them"". You can just imagine what I wanted to say back but I got my sandwich and left. \r \r This sums up Cambridge and greater Boston in a nutshell. The area is so densely populated that the owner knows that they can be complete jerks to everyone and they will still be packed every day so why bother being nice? And the girl with the pigtails is still there. She's gotten older and her face is now contorted whereas she used to be cute. Must be due to all the frowing at customers over the last decade. For shame Hi-Rise, you should fire the whole staff and start over. You could be great but for some reason the owner doesn't see it or more likely doesn't care as long as the $$ kjeeps rolling in and you can keep raising prices. I predict the sandwiches will be over $10 in 6 months. Right now they are $9.50, up $2 since 2003. Pros: sandwiches, wine, iced tea Cons: prices, service, pigtail girl...uh, wench more

Count me as one more townie who loves the Hi-Rise. And I know that service can be spotty at times, but I see that as a direct result of the volume of very demanding customers that they cope with because their products are just so fine. The quality and variety of their breads are just amazing. Sandwiches are yummy, creative, oversized (ordering half is fine). Take out dinners are fresh, healthy home cooking. We also enjoy their wine selections, their jams (I go for the Blenheim apricot). Prices run high, and you get what you pay for. They are one of those locally owned joints that make Cambridge a great place to call home. Pros: Highest quality baked goods and other foods, wines. A place with personality. Cons: Yeah, parking is difficult, and service can be tough when its crowded. more

After reading the negative reviews some people have written, I just HAD to say something! I live in the neighborhood (of Hi-Rise on Concord Ave), and go to Hi-Rise two, three times a week. The clientele is generally nice - academics and writers, leftist types, yoginis, lots of families, and a few yuppies. The regulars come in during the week, so that's the nicest time to go. I have also had dealings with EACH member of their staff, and they are all to the one gracious gentle people, very passionate and knowledgeable about the food they serve and extremely polite, even when there is a feeding frenzy, for example, for Sunday brunch. Their quiches are exquisite, also their jam brioches, homemade jams (the ones with plums are to die for), soups (mushroom- YUM!) and cookies. HINT: try their prepared dinners - warm and change every weekday. You can just pick one up for take-out when you are too tired to cook yourself dinner - I can't wait for the lamb and rice one (and I'm a vegetarian!!!) The food is consistently FRESH, which is great; they actually run out of things because they cook them fresh every day; you know you are not getting some pre-processed junk. I love the friendly reviews of wines posted in the store, and they often have good deals on them, too. This is the CLOSEST you can come to a European-style bakery in Cambridge-Boston. Hi-Rise is a neighborhood institution and a very cozy place - the kind of place you go when you're in a bad mood and need some comfort food, or just to hang out in. I wonder if some of the people who have written the negative reviews are just used to assembly-line service, and never-ending supply. Hi-Rise is a real bakery, and the staff are real human beings. Yes the prices are high, but Harvard Square/West Cambridge is a very high-priced area (even Au Bon Pain has become more expensive of late), plus Hi-Rise gives you HUGE portions. Their sandwiches are VERY GENEROUS, and they will do half-sandwiches if you request. Pros: great service, fresh homemade foods, great wine and jam selection, smells good when you walk by! Cons: crowded on weekends more

It's never easy to lambast a place with good food, but I have no choice. I don't know if I can recall a place quite as pretentious and rude as the HiRise. Such a shame. I will give a perfect example. We walk into the Harvard Square location for breakfast in the morning at 9:30am. We order the ""toast basket"", which consists of, um, toast and jam. And we are told ""no, breakfast is not served until 10am"". And with the toaster right behind the counter, in plain view, the counter person simply walked away.\r I understand restaurants must set limits, and that makes sense. But you have got to be kidding. No TOAST at 9:30am? And it is not simply the absurdity of this fact...it is the WAY it was handled. I have been to the HiRise multiple time, always willing to give it ""one last chance"". But I am done. I can find food equally good, almost anywhere in Cambridge, without having to put up with this adolescent nonsense.\r Perhaps the owners should listen to the multitude of reviews here. There is a way to become friendly and accommodating, I just hope it is without becoming obsequious or ingratiating. I don't know where the defect in this place is, but I suspect it is deeply rooted. Pros: Great bread Cons: Dismal and miserable service more

The bread is good and the wine selection is nice. The crowd is definately well- healed and can afford the huge prices for average sandwiches and ok soups. Watch out for the staff, in one second they can turn from coolish and aloof to nasty and unpleasant. Somebody should explain to them why they call it the hospitality business. No parking. Pros: bread and wine Cons: np parking, too cool staff more

This is my favorite neighbourhood bakery (another High-rise in Harvard Square as well), so far and forever. While I've been there so often, I've never had any experience of being treated illy. Super nice service. And the best part is of course, the food -- bakeries, sandwiches, cookies, salads... My only wish is that they could make the price a bit lower... But hahaha, I'll keep on going anyways. =) Pros: Food, Service, Everything Cons: Haven't found yet more

O.k., I may not be from Boston or Cambridge but I do know good bread, wonderful food, and the joy of going to an independently owned neighborhood bakery. Every time I've visited this bakery I've been so blown away by the quality of the product...hands down this bakery does a great job with breads, pastries and food. Customer service is important and while I've never really noticed the staff as rude, they have always been efficient and fast moving. I just don't understand the ""anti independently owned business"" slant that so many reviewers have taken. It's sad that so many folks in Cambridge don't appreciate what they have until it's gone. Part of the charm of this neighborhood is the smell of freshly baked bread every day. This can't be an easy feat. Maybe if Panera or Starbucks or better yet a real estate company moves in, then everyone will have what they want...a totally generic neighborhood with zero ambiance. And once a business like this goes away, do you think another independently owned business will take its place? I seriously doubt it.\r At the end of the day it should be about the quality of the product and these guys are damn good.\r And no, I do not own the place, work there, or have any involvement with the managers and the owners. Pros: Quality of what they make from breads and pastry to awesome sandwiches Cons: None that I've noticed more

interesting to read these reviews. seems reviewers' expectations are for standardized, trained-smile, ""it's-my-pleasure"" customer service--like mcdonalds, starbucks, or whatever generic corporate outpost. and yes, the food is expensive. \r \r some context: cambridge has more million-dollar houses per capita than anywhere else in country. commerical space is also extremely expensive. that's a pain. please don't take the prices personally. it's not arrogance. it's how to make a living as enterprise here. I would rather have a bakery that raises its prices than have it replaced by another real-estate office (which is mostly what's been happening over the last decade or so). so if you don't have much surplus cash (my situation), then buy less; eat more slowly; sip don't slurp. watch the people. breathe. if you don't like it, leave. that's okay. (there's a place called ""sarah's"" across the street (never been there) and quite a few places in the Square. one of my favorites is the other hi-rise; it's on mt. auburn, in the old blacksmith's house (cf. Longfellow's poem); has the best outdoor cafe in cambridge.)\r \r people who go regularly (as many do) know the people who work there. it's mom-and-pop-ish with all the variability that implies. weird to hear such emphasis on ""service."" it's unpredictable. _especially_ if you don't know the people (i.e., even when you do). people can be idiosyncratic and moody. like real life, before corporate rule, timeclocks, and big-brother behavioral conditioning. \r \r (there are not enough ""characters remaining"" in this text box, so I will (sorry) stretch the rule here a bit and continue the ""review"" in next post (see above).) Pros: community Cons: community more

In passing through Boston over the weekend we decided to stop drive through town and find some great Pizza eateries. On my way to Armandos- which by the way has great pizza- I stumbled upon a Bakery which looked absolutely lovely....from the outside. I couldnt resist after I saw a man walk out with what looked to be a long warm baguette. So I decided to stop in and see what was going on. Its pretty easy spot an out of towner who has absolutley no idea where to being. I didnt know WHERE to order or what I was even ordering. LOL With big eyes and a nice smile I looked to the girl behind a counter for some help. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA was that a JOKE! She was the rudest human being I have ever met. NO ONE would help me. I felt like an alien with 10 heads. All I wanted was a stinkin loaf of bread to take home to my mother! Finally I found someone a tad less rude, but definitly still RUDE, to help me. He complained that I was paying for a single loaf with a $50 bill. Sorry, it was all I had....and with those prices I'm sure they had change!!!! I left with my bread and I will never going back. Im now driving back to Philly with my 8 dollar loaf of sourdough. Im tempted to toss it out my window. THIS BREAD BETTER BE GOOD!!!! more

Hi-Rise is cute, the communal tables can be fun (when it's not packed), and the bread is always very good. But the prices are sky-high and the baked goods are inconsistent. Sometimes a brownie is divine, sometimes a cookie is dry and mediocre. A number of really good bakeries have sprung up around Boston lately, and maybe that will encourage Hi-Rise to lower their prices and/or improve their quality. Until they do, I'll be going to Bread & Chocolate, Flour, or Petsi. Pros: Tasty sandwiches Cons: Overpriced, better baked good elsewhere more

Great sandwiches, horrible customer service. I can't get over it -- it is consistently horrible. I swear that I won't go back, then I drive by and think, oh, it can't be THAT bad. And it is, all over again. Skipping right over people in line, talking down to customers, completely forgetting an order after a long wait, telling my three-year-old, egg-allergic son must have his food served on challah, they cannot serve it without the challah. I could go on and on. The saving grace is that the sandwiches are great. I'll probably go back, but only after I recover from my most recent experience. This is the first time I've been compelled to write a review. I did call the manager after today's experience, and she was very nice, so there is that. Pros: Awesome sandwiches Cons: bad service; high prices more

DON""T GIVE MONEY TO THIS PLACE!\r The owner hired his best friend's daughter to work the cash register. The best friend's daughter proceeded to hire and train the RUDEST GROUP OF PEOPLE ever to walk this planet -- The food is good, but that is nothing when faced with such rampant RUDENESS and INEPTITUDE. The LACK OF SERVICE combined with the incredibly HIGH PRICES make this a MUST MISS bakery. \r \r Save your money and go a little way down the street to Formaggio for delicious coffee and FAB baked goods/sandwiches! Pros: Great sandwiches and pastries. Cons: WRETCHED SERVICE! UNCLEAN! WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! more

The worst service ever. We were so insulted by being ignored at the bread counter that we left when one of the little madam waitresses decided to count her tips in front of us rather than wait on us. There were insects all around the baked goods too. A horrible, horrible place more

I've only been a handful of times and yes, the service has been sub-par a few times, but I think it is worth it. The sandwiches are close to 10 bucks each, but they are INSANELY good and pretty good portions. Definitely going off-peak helps, so if you can put up with some potentially bad service and crowds, I totally think it is worth it (oh yeah, parking is not great either, still worth it though!). more