Corner Bakery Cafe, Oklahoma City OK

Why choose between breakfast and lunch when you can get both at Corner Bakery Cafe! With locations in 26 states, there’s sure to be one near you. 

Two years ago, I drove to Dallas with my parents for the Cotton Bowl. Our first stop was NorthPark Mall for a little shopping and then lunch at Corner Bakery Cafe. At that time there were no locations in Oklahoma, as is unfortunately the case with many great restaurants. I loved the food, and tweeted that it would be great to have a location in either OKC or Tulsa. They responded that an Oklahoma location was in the works! About 6 months later, Corner Bakery Cafe opened in north Oklahoma City, near Quail Springs Mall.

Corner Bakery Cafe began as a bakery on a corner in downtown Chicago. Over time, and in response to customer requests, the menu expanded to include sandwiches, soups and salads. They began to franchise in 2006, and now have locations in 27 states. The food is prepared to order, the staff welcomes special requests, and the baked goods are fresh-baked daily. The restaurant is open 7am-9pm Monday-Saturday, and 8am-8pm Sunday. Corner Bakery Cafe is a fast-casual concept; you order at the counter and a staff member brings your food to you.

The OKC Corner Bakery Cafe building is large, spacious, and very open. Three sides are windows, letting in tons of natural light. The seating is a combination of tables and booths. In the center of the building is a line to the order counter. And because they are smart, you wait in line past all of these goodies

They definitely tempt you with the fresh-baked goods, but I kept it moving. I do like that they also offer whole fruit in that same area. As if that’s not enough to reel you in, there is also a display case full of baked goods at the order counter

I had picked up a hand-held menu when I first entered and spent a good 5 minutes trying to decide what to get before I even walked to the order counter. I don’t do well with big menus, so when I saw how many options there are, it was a little overwhelming. For breakfast, you can choose from morning favorites, breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal and yogurt. For lunch & dinner, you can choose from salads, soups, signature sandwiches, grilled flats, panini/hot sandwiches, handcrafted pastas and Corner Combinations. You can switch out the bread on any sandwich for no additional cost, which I do like.

The Corner Bakery Cafe menu also hangs above the order counter, and when I looked it up was all breakfast items. I had eaten breakfast earlier that morning, so I wanted lunch. I asked Stephanie, the cashier, and she said that breakfast and lunch are both available all day. And then I saw that the menu boards rotate; one side has breakfast, the other side has lunch/dinner. Now that’s a very convenient concept.

One of the first things I noticed is each menu item also includes the calorie count. I like that restaurants are starting to do that, so at least you are aware. And then it’s your choice if you want the high-calorie or low-calorie option. I don’t judge…believe me, I tend towards the comfort food A LOT. I saw a Facebook meme the other day, sarcastically complaining about that policy. Someone responded, complaining that Cheesecake Factory does it: “They should NOT do this when you are dining out once in a while”. Okay, that’s the most ridiculous logic ever. Nobody is forcing you to eat there, or to pick the highest calorie items on the menu.

I finally narrowed my choices down to a Corner Combination so that I could try a couple of different items. All entrees come with a dill pickle and a bag of chips or carrots. After some help from Stephanie, I finally decided on the D.C. Chicken Salad, on harvest toast rather than rye, a cup of chicken noodle soup, and the chips.

All-natural chicken, green apples, currants, red onions, celery, mayo and toasted almonds with lettuce and tomatoes on Steakhouse Rye

The soup wasn’t as hot as I would like, but it is delicious. I am very impressed by all of the vegetables, and the large chunks of chicken. The D.C. chicken salad is outstanding. The green apples are nice and tart, and the currants lend a wonderful sweetness. They use just enough mayo to pull the salad together, while still remaining light. I really like that the vegetables and chicken are all about the same size, so you can really taste each flavor with every bite. The thick-cut chips add a wonderful crunch and salty bite to the meal.

When I placed my order, I asked for water to drink. Stephanie recommended their Hibiscus lemonade, and suggested that I mix it with sprite.

What a fabulous recommendation! The lemonade by itself is very strong; the sprite tones it down and adds fizz. I am a huge fan.

As I ate, the manager came over to check on me, as I saw him doing with everyone else in the restaurant. Stephanie also came over, bearing a gift!

This is their homemade cinnamon cream cake, a complimentary treat since it was my first visit. She said she warmed it up a little for me as well. How very thoughtful. I took a bite before realizing I hadn’t taken the picture yet. The cake is rich but not heavy, and extremely flavorful. I only ate the one bite at the restaurant, and took the rest home with me. I warmed it up the next day, and it was still amazing. The crumb topping reminds me of the Entenmann’s coffee cake that my mom ate a lot when I was a kid.

I will definitely continue to eat at Corner Bakery Cafe. I would love to claim that my tweet to them after my visit in 2014 spurred the restaurant in OKC, but that wouldn’t be true. A Stillwater location would be a hit; I’ll have to let them know that.

For reviews of more restaurants in Oklahoma City, click on the photos below!

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar

Packard’s New American Kitchen

Mama Roja