Grand Central Baking Company

Just the worst all around. I waited, and waited, and waited to be helped. After finally getting my order taken, I waited, and I waited to get my order. I was running late, and didn't think to check my order. After all, after waiting for 40 minutes for a sandwich and a bag of chips, they must have had it all correct. I got back to the office to discover it was a ham sandwich, once hot but now a cool coagulated mess, on burnt bread. And I'm a vegetarian! When I called to complain, I was told that I should have said something earlier and it was too late to do anything now. I'll never return, not even if I could get a refund of the ten bucks I spent on this awful lunch.…

Seattle legend is a lunch standby. When it opened over 20 years ago, Grand Central Bakery was pretty much the only lunch option in Pioneer Square. Some days the lines might make you think that's still the case, but when GCB is on it's well worth the wait for seasonal sandwiches like a BLT with local tomatoes or the classic turkey with havarti and chutney. The high ceilings of the atrium and exposed brick make for a picturesque setting, and on warm days you can take your meal out to the patio for phenomenal people-watching.

Not to be missed are the soups (announced daily through the bakery's Twitter account) and the ludicrously fudgy triple-chocolate cookies. The downside is erratic service - one visit they'll slip an extra cookie into your bag, gratis; another time you'll wait 20 minutes to find they've lost your order. For the most part, the good outweighs the frustrating, though, and GCB remains a reliable lunch spot for the Pioneer Square crowd.…

rude customer service. I've been a customer since 1975, but after the bad experience I had there on December 14, I won't be returning. I was waiting in the very long (at least 10 minute wait) line to order a sandwich. A staff person came by to take orders. When she came to me, I was standing too far away from the menu board to read the menu. She handed me a paper menu and proceeded to take orders from the aproximately eight people behind me. After she finished taking their orders, I asked if she would please take my order, but she refused and walked away. When I arrived at the counter, I asked her again to please take my order, but she told me I would need to order at the cash register because she was done taking orders. Finally, I arrived at the cash register and gave my order to the guy at the cash register. He informed me that I would need to wait another 15 minutes. At this point, I had enough and said "no thanks." As I turned to walk away, the guy said "Thank YOU for your PATIENCE."

I wrote an e-mail to the Grand Central website describing my experience, but have not received any response.…

Great soup and cinnamon rolls. This is one of my favorite places for lunch in the whole city... the soups are always tasty and a meal with a soup, side salad (get the viniagrette) and lots of bread is extremely reasonably-priced. If you're there on a day when there's mushroom soup to be had, you're a lucky individual because it's completely delicious. There's a whole case of baked goods, all tempting, but the cinnamon rolls are some of the best in the city, very bread-based, which I like, and don't have frosting to hide behind, just a tasty sugary glaze. The cookies are always highly touted but I've found them to be a bit dry--I'm the moist cookie type.…