Seattle's Best Bakery

Sign for Cafe Besalu in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle

I got an e-mail from my sister and brother-in-law in Wisconsin advising me that the best bakery in Seattle was Cafe Besalu.  Well, I’d never heard of the place.  How did two Wisconsinites/Wisconsinners know about this Seattle bakery?  While flying home from Texas recently, Dick had read about Cafe Besalu in his in-flight magazine.

I made note of the bakery, and when I was out running errands recently, I decided to check it out.  When I drove by at noon on a Saturday, and saw a line of people out the door, I knew I had found the right place.  I drove around the block to find a parking spot, and then I joined the line.  It took 15 minutes before I departed with my ham-and-Swiss-cheese pastry to go, and the line never got shorter the entire time I was there.

The pastry was delicious and met my (high) expectations.  I don’t know whether Cafe Besalu gets my vote for “best” bakery — Seattle has a lot of good bakeries, and I haven’t sampled all of them yet.  So I’ll reserve my final judgment. 

But I am thankful to my sister and brother-in-law for turning me on to a new eating place.  If you ever come to visit us, Margaret and Dick, I’ll treat you to breakfast at the Cafe Besalu.

The line outside Cafe Besalu

Customers looking at the pastry case, Cafe Besalu

Through the window, Cafe Besalu

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