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There are very few problems that can't be soothed by baked goods, which means a good bakery is indispensable these days. From Seattle institutions baking traditional French pastries to modern classics crafting a variety of Asian treats or allergen-free wonders, the shops on this list are a beacon of crispy, flaky, sugary hope. For more ideas, check out our doughnuts-only guide or our list of best bagels.
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Seattle’s Best Bakeries Are a Sweet Bunch Indeed
Where to find the most delectable danishes, cakes, cookies, croissants, breads, and other treats across the city
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Coyle's Bakeshop
Coyle's went from wildly popular pop-up to Greenwood neighborhood favorite in short time. The bakeshop connects owner Rachael Coyle’s solid foundation in French technique with ingredients that are in season in the Pacific Northwest; look for killer cakes, scones, tarts, and croissants, alongside a strong selection of teas prepared beautifully.
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Fresh Flours
Keiji Koh and Etsuku Minematsu are the husband and wife behind Fresh Flours, which made its name by marrying Japanese flavors to Western pastries in Phinney Ridge before expanding to several locations across the city. You’ll find hits like yuzu macarons and croissants filled with adzuki bean paste.
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Cafe Besalu
This Ballard cafe’s plain croissant is the benchmark by which all others are measured. It is exactly as buttery and flakey as it must be, and often draws long lines. For those hoping to avoid the wait, Besalu offers a short window for online preordering.
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Hiroki
Green. Tea. Tiramisu. Yes, that magnificent mash-up exists at Hiroki, Tangletown’s Japanese bakery, which serves as a lovely spot for takeout treats after a Green Lake loop. And there’s plenty more where that came from, including a generous chocolate cake and the occasional blueberry scones.
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Saint Bread
Stained glass-lit Saint Bread is a Portage Bay shrine to carbs. While the bakery offers a selection of toasts and other savory items, the croissants, twists, knots, and buns truly shine, and there’s an excellent egg sandwich on melonpan that’s usually in high demand.
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Byen Bakeri
Seattle is home to a little pocket of Scandinavian shops serving goodies from potato dumplings to lingonberries. Byen Bakeri, in North Queen Anne just across the cut from Fremont, is a key part of this scene, a delightful Norwegian bakery specializing in comfort food from the homeland. It’s a go-to for semlor, veslkringle, and croquembouche, as flavorfully complex as they sound, plus sandwiches on Swedish rye bread and much more.
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Fuji Bakery
A favorite for its fusion of French, American, and Japanese flavors and techniques, Fuji has a shop in the Chinatown-International District as well as this flagship bakery in Interbay. The yeast-raised crunchy cream doughnut is probably the most popular item, for good reason, but you should sample as many savory and sweet options as possible to appreciate the breadth of styles, from beef curry buns to ube custard-filled malasadas.
Hello Robin
Hello Robin would be exceptional even if it only served cookies, the moist and chewy kind you dream about, in flavors like birthday cake and flourless chocolate. But Robin Wehl Martin’s Capitol Hill shop — with another location at U Village — decided to venture even further toward perfection and utilize its signature cookies for ice cream sandwiches with Molly Moon’s in the middle.
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Nuflours
This completely gluten-free sanctuary gives other like-minded cafes all over Seattle a run for their money, and might even convert your staunchly pro-gluten pals with its wonderful cupcakes, muffins, and cinnamon rolls. In fact, Nuflours is great for all dietary restrictions.
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Askatu Bakery
At Belltown’s Askatu Bakery, Estela Martinez creates allergen-free doughs for sourdough breads and pastries with the precision of a scientist, avoiding not just gluten but also dairy, nuts, potatoes, and even xantham and guar gums. Flour blends from the likes of sorghums and teff result in gooey brownies, tender cakes, and baguettes as crunchy on the outside as they should be, plus fun rotating specials like mooncakes and bagels. Askatu sells at various farmers markets and ships some treats nationwide, too.
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Macrina Bakery
Belltown-based Macrina can be found in several cafes, a handful of restaurants, and most grocery stores around town — and no one is complaining about over-saturation. This major player in the Seattle bakery scene gives diners the option of crusty bread and other delightful treats, including quiche and seasonal galette, any night of the week.
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Dahlia Bakery
After a long hiatus during the pandemic, Tom Douglas’s popular Belltown bakery is back in action and now sharing space with the chef’s Serious Pie pizzeria. You’ll find a selection including focaccia-like fossettes and sought-after mochi doughnuts, but the true star remains the famous triple coconut cream pie.
Le Panier
There are plenty of great places to pick up a snack or dessert at Pike Place Market, not least of which is Le Panier, a Seattle institution whose French-influenced pastries — from a kouign amann to a marionberry tart to a shattery baguette — draw locals as assuredly as tourists.
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Batch Baking Company
Batch, one of Capitol Hill’s newer dessert shops, specializes in the combo of childhood nostalgia and adult expertise, turning out spectacular renditions of Oreos, Nutter Butters, Snickerdoodles, and even fortune cookies with personalized fortunes if you preorder. The shop can even ship many of its cookies nationwide.
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Temple Pastries
Known for its thoughtful use of local ingredients, pop-up Temple opened its first fixed location in the Central District, with a selection of savory and sweet baked goods. Cruffins, kouign-amanns, macarons, and schnecken are among the tasty treats, paired with roasts from partner Broadcast Coffee, and you can preorder to try to get ahead of the persistent lines.
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Baked From the Hart
This Mount Baker shop has been operating since 2016, but owner Bill Hart’s baking experience goes back decades, and that dedication shows in his delightful Southern-influenced creations, including bean pies. His chess pies in particular (in flavors such as key lime, coconut, and lemon) are a smash.
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Bakery Nouveau
A bit of a throwback to mid-century European cafes, Bakery Nouveau is a powerhouse pastry shop with multiple locations, offering terrific quiches alongside a lineup of sweet delicacies that includes danishes, rich chocolate cake, and a sensational twice-baked almond croissant.
Columbia City Bakery
A multi-time semifinalist for a James Beard Award, baker Evan Andres does dreamy things with carbs at Columbia City Bakery, a neighborhood gem. Herkimer coffee goes well with all the fantastic croissants, pistachio snails, and scones, and the assortment of outrageously good breads ranges from pretzel buns to the skinny baguette called ficelle.
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The Flora Bakehouse
The sweeter sibling to vegetarian mainstay Cafe Flora, Beacon Hill’s Flora sells a variety of wonderful baked goods and breakfast sandwiches. Among the highlights you might find: twice-baked rose pistachio croissants, unicorn horn meringues, and kimchi blue cheese scones. Take your bag of goodies and a silky cardamom rose latte to the expansive patio.
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Deep Sea Sugar and Salt
Seattle’s favorite airstream cake shop — a staple for years at the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall — moved to a bigger, more-stationary home in 2018. Deep Sea Sugar and Salt now operates out of a historic market space on Carleton Avenue but still slings fan favorites like the Earl Grey-infused London Fog and impossibly decadent chocolate salted caramel, available whole or by the slice.
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Patrick's Cafe & Bakery
This cozy house-turned-cafe in White Center has perfected Hawaiian-influenced treats like pineapple scones and colorful cakes flavored with guava and lilikoi. Patrick’s is also known for its cinnamon rolls — with or without cream cheese frosting — and haupia, topped with a light coconut frosting and crushed macadamia nuts.
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