2 thoughts to “Cafe Besalu”

  1. Oh, come on. Everyone knows this is one of the best few bakeries in Seattle. And James and his staff are wonderful. Like, we need longer lines?

  2. The pastry is authentic and brilliant, but the shop has been ruined by its success.

    The line is out the door by 8am on a weekend and standing in line for a croissant is not what I want in a coffeeshop. It's sad, really. Once in a great while if I have an extra half hour and it's a really nice day I'll wait for a (brilliant) pain au chocolat, but generally no, I head to Java Bean on the next corner. Part of the problem is the atrociously bad layout and customer flow – have they ever been to a successful (meaning high-volume) coffee shop and seen how it's set up? Hint: don't funnel the coffee line into a corner and then have pickups in the same corner, along with the cash register. Also, barristas work on a “line” as in “production line” not line as in “end of the line.” That said, it's pretty clear they're not interested in being a high-volume coffee shop. Which begs the question, wouldn't it be better to just be a bakery? That's what they do soo well.

    Without exaggeration, it's the best croissant I've had in North America (I'm from New York and used to hang out in Montreal). And I almost never go there. Sadly.

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