The Red Bandana Bakery
$ • Bakery
Reported to be dedicated gluten-free
Most Recent Reviews
They are quite nice and have a large variety and offer birthday cakes, bread, etc, but I’ve disliked most of the items I’ve tried including breads, biscuit, and cake. The breads/biscuits are very dry and the chocolate cake was the worst gf baked good I’ve had, dense, dry and not much chocolate flavor nor sweetness.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Pastries, Bread/Buns, Cakes, Brownies & more
Sandwiches, salads, baked goods cookies, donuts, bread, rolls, cinnamon buns, grilled cheese, blt, cake pops!! (kids didn’t love the pizza) the ancient grain bread is delicious, white bread is eh. This is a very cute place to grab a bite or get takeout baked goods, small cafe.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Sandwiches, Donuts, Grilled Cheese, Pizza & more
Other
- — Lunch
- — Breakfast
- — Good for wheat-free
- — Brunch
Absolutely outstanding! I have Celiac, and I went with my husband and daughter, who have no restrictions. I had a London Fog Latte, Pumpkin Bisque, and a Grilled Cheese on Tomato-Basil Cheese Bread. My husband had the Chai Tea Latte, Pumpkin Bisque, and Avocado BLT on the Tomato-Basil Cheese Bread. My daughter had the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the Avocado BLT on white gf bread. We were all thrilled with the flavors, textures, and quality of the food. The bisque had chunks of onion in it that I was not a fan of, but that’s just my own preference. We all would definitely recommend this place to others and return whenever we are in the Bethesda area.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Bread/Buns, Grilled Cheese, Brownies, Pies & more
From the owner
We are 100% gluten-free and always have been: the kitchen was built from scratch with brand new tools and equipment that never touched gluten in 2017. All of our ingredients and menu items are 100% gf.
The Red Bandana is a happy, healthy little bakery in Bethesda, MD. We like to make people happy with celebratory dessert food but we don’t want to feel guilty about what we’re feeding them so we try to make it as good for their body as it is for their soul. Owner/operator Jaimie Mertz went to culinary school in 2011 with the plan to become a pastry chef, and a year later doctors put her autistic brother Jack on a gluten-free casein-free diet to try to help with some behavioral issues. Jaimie began modifying the recipes and techniques she’d learned in school and on the job, and decided there was a need for a bakery that was totally gluten-free to avoid any cross-contamination, but also specialized in serving other restricted diets so that all kids could feel included and be able to have a safe birthday cake. We opened our doors in November 2017, and Jack sadly passed away at the young age of 18 in May of 2018, having taught us so much and left such a legacy at that very young age.
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More Reviews
Love, love, love their sandwiches and pastries. Dedicated gluten free and wonderfully fresh. You can special order for the holidays.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Pastries, Breakfast Sandwiches, Dessert, Bread/Buns & more
Other
- — Lunch
- — Breakfast
- — Good for wheat-free
- — Healthy options
It's excellent that everything is gluten free
Dedicated GF
I was visiting the area from out of state and i was very excited to find this little gem. They were very friendly and helpful. Everything is exclusively gluten free with the benefit of some items being either dairy free of vegan.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Bagels, Bread/Buns, Cakes, Cake Pops & more
Other
- — Good for dairy-free
Ordered a customized chocolate cake for my birthday and it was not only delicious but also very aesthetically pleasing! I definitely recommend this bakery!!
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Cakes
Everything is gluten free and delicious. They have breads, buns, cookies, donuts, cinnamons, blondies, cupcakes, and more. They also make beautiful customized cakes.
Dedicated GF
I love this place! I recently hosted a baby shower and we got brownies, cake pops, and funfetti cookies from Red Bandana. Everything was delicious and more than a few people couldn’t believe the desserts were GF! Have also had wedding cake from Red Bandana that was incredible. The employees here are always lovely as well.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Brownies, Wedding Cakes
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Bread/Buns
Other
- — Good for dairy-free
Love this place! Great selection of sandwiches for a casual lunch and lots of delicious breads and pastries.
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Lunch
- — Brunch
- — Good for dairy-free
- — Vegan options
We always try out gluten free bakeries when we travel, and I had high hopes for this bakery given the menu variety and the lovely staff. However, several items I bought were totally inedible. The challah had no structure and tasted terrible . We couldn’t slice it - it just crumbled into a dry mess. The raspberry hamentashen were an undercooked buttery, greasy glob - also totally inedible. (The chocolate hamentashen were cooked properly and tasted ok). I am surprised that an established bakery would sell items baked so poorly. I brought them back (which I’ve never done before at a small bakery) and the owner was kind enough to refund our money for those items. We were very disappointed.
Dedicated GF
We had chocolate chip cookies, sprinkle cookies, bagels and cinnamon rolls. The cookies were really good and dairy free as well. The cinnamon rolls and bagel were not the freshest.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Bagels, Cinnamon Rolls
Other
- — Good for dairy-free
Cute gem of a place. They’ve got a huge range of items and I love how safe it is.
Dedicated GF
They could not have been nicer. I tried a bunch of things the cake pops are super delicious and so were the breads! The cheesy bread was 10/10 and I would recommend to people who like savory rolls or biscuits.
Dedicated GF
GF Menu Items
- — Cakes, Cake Pops
My favorite bakery to order celebratory cakes in advance. Very flavorful! And great designs.
Dedicated GF
Very safe. Friendly staff. They had a lot of options to choose from, possibly too many. The quiche and cinnamon roll I got were small portions. It was nice being able to fine safe food out and about but this isn't a place I'd make a special trip for (more than 30 mins from home).
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Lunch
- — Breakfast/Brunch
Fully gluten free and many vegan options. Stopped there for lunch and got a sandwich on their store-made ancient grain bread. Super fresh and great tasting. Ordered at a counter and they bring food to you at your table. Had some usual fare like cupcakes and cookies, but also things like cinnamon rolls (small), cheesy bread rolls, muffins, brownies, cakes, etc. Lots of breakfast sandwich options, too.
Service staff were very nice. Very small with only a couple small tables. Looks like mostly a take-out place. In the city, but we didn't have trouble parking when we went.
Dedicated GF
Tasty treats, a great find while searching for GF/DF options while on vacation!
Dedicated GF
I got my wedding cake and cupcakes here about a year and a half ago, and they were fabulous! Jaimie, the owner, was super nice and accommodating. We reached out about 9 months in advanced - which was a little early :) - but Jamie arranged for us to have a take-home cake tasting. (This was still during the pandemic, so I'm not sure if a take-home tasting is still an option.) My husband and I loved two different flavors: the carrot cake and the raspberry. So we had half of our cupcakes as carrot cake and the other half as raspberry, and our sweetheart cake was carrot cake. Everything was amazing! The raspberry cupcakes, in particular, were a guest-hit. Also, Red Bandana was able to accommodate for a few of my guests who have nut allergies.
I've visited the bakery a few times outside of wedding planning, and I've always enjoyed what I've gotten.
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Good with other allergies
- — Good for kids
- — Takeout
Everything I've had here is really, really good. Staff are really friendly as well. Had the quiche and chocolate chip cookie today and you'd never know it was GF!! The sandwiches are kind of small, but they gave me a lot of salmon on my bagel.
Dedicated GF
The Hamantash raspberry and chocolate are delicious and filling, wonderfully sweet. My cousin wished she had gotten a second banana chocolate chip muffin it was so good! The breakfast sandwich are okay - would definitely recommend sticking to the baked goodies
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Lunch
- — Breakfast/Brunch
- — Good for kids
- — Vegan options
Really wish I could rate higher, but the food just isn’t very good! Definitely safe for celiacs, but the food is hit or miss.
Dedicated GF
I REALLY want to like this place because it's so convenient and has a ton of options. Sadly, it's just not very good. If you really just need something safe to eat in the area, it's very safe. But it's not going to blow your mind. Despite living about 15 minutes away, I have only eaten here twice in the 2 years we've been here and just can't bring myself to go back. I've heard the same from several other Celiacs. Sad because the staff and owners are very kind and clearly dedicated to making safe GF food.
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Good for dairy-free
I’ve ordered here for my son due to his wheat and egg allergies. This place is amazing and will work with you if you have a food allergy
Dedicated GF
Three stars is generous for me. Recently moved to the DMV area and was excited to go somewhere dedicated gf. However, I find all products I’ve tried extremely underwhelmed the three times I’ve tried it. Bread easily falls apart in sandwiches, biscuits rock solid, cupcakes lacking any flavor. I hate leaving these types of reviews because small gf businesses are hard to come by but there are much better options out there, even store bought.
Dedicated GF
Entire place is GF & they have DF options as well. The Cinnamon rolls are amazing!
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Lunch
- — Good with other allergies
- — Healthy options
- — Online ordering
I guess it’s the thought that counts? We had the breakfast sandwiches. Bagels were oily and not so tasty. I looked through their cake decorating book though and it looks like they have some talent. I would try their sweets, but their egg, bacon and cheese bagel sandwich was not so good. They have a lot of options for sweets so if I’m ever in town I might give their cake pops a chance. Small store, definitely more a to-go vibe.
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Good with other allergies
- — Good for dairy-free
- — Good for kids
- — Good for keto
Our girls have celiac, so we are always looking for new places to buy gluten-free baked goods. I want to love this place, but it’s just not good. We’ve tried the challah, which was crumbly and dry. We got jelly donuts for Hanukkah that tasted like greasy stale bread. Maybe the cakes are better, but we probably won’t go back.
Dedicated GF
I ordered a cake for my birthday. The service was great. The decorations were gorgeous. They have so many options like dairy free, vegan, nut free, etc and I didn’t get any type of reaction so that was amazing. Although the cake was a bit dry, the frosting and fillings were delicious.
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Good with other allergies
- — Healthy options
- — Good for dairy-free
- — Good for kids
Great time at the bakery today. Nice to choose from a wide selection. A couple items weren’t particularly flavorful but that’s likely a matter of taste. The grilled cheese and “bagel” sandwiches were very good.
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Lunch
- — Good for kids
- — Takeout
The entire bakery is gluten free. Very good selection and service. Donuts, bread, sandwiches and cookies are all delicious!
Dedicated GF
Other
- — Lunch
- — Good with other allergies
- — Healthy options
- — Breakfast/Brunch
Stopped by for lunch and had a fresh salad, grilled veggies, and hummus. Excellent!
Dedicated GF
I purchased a gluten free cake for my wedding. It was amazing! I highly recommend!! - Shani
Dedicated GF
I have to disagree with other reviewers. Love the baked goods! The staff also are always very friendly and helpful and they’ve done a great job with adjustments/safety during Covid. Also love that it’s dedicated GFree so I can order anything without stress!
Dedicated GF
It's so great to have a dedicated gluten free shop and I feel good supporting them. I just wish the baked goods were a bit tastier (I'm not a fan of their buttercream icing so avoid the cupcakes) and I wish the sandwiches were larger (the bread) and more filling for the price. A couple times the bread I chose for a sandwich was really greasy - probably due to cheese. But, again, nice to have a safe option (I'm celiac).
While I don’t love when gluten free bakeries also cater to other limited diets at the same time (eg vegan), as this bakery sometimes does, the cakes are amazing and beautiful. Well worth the money - the bonfire or make your own was delicious. We also love that they have gluten free cake pops!! Plus very good muffins and other pastries as well.
The people who work here are very, very friendly and the atmosphere is very cute, but the backed goods just didn’t do it for me. I found the cupcakes where just too sweet and the texture of the bread I got was too spunky. The brownies were very good though.
I’m with Sarah. I really want to like this place. The owner is amazing and her story is incredible. But, the baked goods just aren’t very good. We bought a loaf of their white bread. Very dry and crumbly — nearly choked drying to chew/swallow. We had a cupcake that was extremely gummy with a side of freezer-burnt strawberry ice cream. The only edible baked good was a brownie, which was decent, but no better than the boxed brownies. What they DID do well was coffee. Their iced coffee was pretty fantastic. Maybe time for a re-branding around that?
Love the fact that it’s entirely gluten free, however that’s about it. The challah was horrible- as dense as a brick. Threw it out after a bite. The baked goods were fine, but no better than a mix.
I've only been here once, so I don't have a full view of what they offer, but their cheesy bread is amazing! I also had their black bean burger on their garlic herb roll, which I admit wasn't my favorite. Still, I can't wait to go back and try more items.
Hands down the best gluten-free bread and pastry in the DMV. The taste and texture are as good as those with gluten. The quiche crust is flaky and delicious. The tomato-cheesy bread is good room temp but amazing after 15 seconds in the microwave. And The challah bread is so good it will make you wanna holla.
They have amazing advocado toast one of my favorites. Their challah for the jewish holidays is very crumbly and sand like. That’s the only bad item I’ve had. I’ve gotten a gf df strawberry shortcake cake for my daughter and its amazinggg.
I'm very sad to be writing this review because I always want to love totally-GF establishments, but this was a major disappointment. The cupcakes were corn-y and misshapen. The scones were chewy. The campfire brownie was so dry it was inedible. The only thing I had that was really excellent was the cake pop. I wish them the best but I won't be going out of my way to come back.
Started our DC trip in Silver Spring. This bakery has so few options to choose from and what I did try was stale
Adorable little shop in Bethesda with a fairly large selection, both sweet and savory. Somewhat expensive but still worth it for sure! My daughter felt really special coming here!
