Grand Central Bakery - Cedar Mill Cafe — Restaurant in Beaverton

Is this just a bread place? Because it doesn’t feel like a breakfast place nor a brunch place even though the atmosphere and tables says it might be, and it isn’t a coffee place because the wait is too long. Yes the pastries are good but only if you like them more on the dry side. Read on if you want to know more. I drove past this place many times before I decide to go in… after waiting in line. That’s right, this place always has a line of people waiting outside; which only adds to the allure of the place. I arrived to the line 5 mins past 8am and I was already late! Waited (with my 4yo son) for a while before actually getting through the doors only to find another line inside. Once up front I ordered a breakfast sandwich, a tart pastry and a blueberry muffin. Many people were there for tons of bread. Our breakfast sandwich took an eternity to come out which only added to an already long wait. But this isn’t the reason for the minus 1 star. The reason is in part that I couldn’t decide what this place was. I couldn’t consider it a coffee place because nobody who just wants a coffee or espresso drink would seriously wait that long for it. It also doesn’t seem to be a breakfast or brunch place because the breakfast/brunch menu is limited. And although it is in fact a bakery, I gotta be honest, the baked goods I got did not live up to the hype of the long line outside. I’m not sure what the hype is all about. Don’t get me wrong, the pastry and the muffin were tasty, but they were both dry; fresh, I think, but dry. I guess this might be their baking style, but I think a bakery could have a more varied style of baked goods if it’s mainly just a bakery. I guess the bread must be good though, hence why only minus 1 star. But once again, what else can one really wait such a long time for at this place? My suggestion for management is, if you want more revenue from coffee, make a separate line for those who are not there for 4 loafs of bread and 20 pastries to take home? And about breakfast/brunch, if you want more revenue from this, maybe put together a better process to get food out quicker and a better more diverse menu? That said, I might go back when I want a nice loaf of bread; not for coffee though, and maybe not for breakfast. The workers were definitely nice, kind...

In the curious realm of Grand Central Bakery, a place where the aroma of freshly baked rustic bread infiltrates your senses like an otherworldly elixir, a curious balance emerges, a paradoxical dance of flavors and finances. The rustic bread, my friends, is nothing short of a revelation, a symphony of grains that erupts in your mouth, transporting you to the untamed fields where the wheat once swayed.

But, hold onto your sanity, for the pastry kingdom reveals a different tale. The moment your eyes lock onto those sumptuous pastries, a sinister whisper of dread creeps up your spine, for it is here that the cosmic scale tips off-kilter. The pastries, alas, are a cruel jest played upon the naive epicurean traveler. Each flaky delight comes adorned with a price tag that could fund a small revolution in a faraway land.

Is this a twisted jest, a cosmic comedy meant to befuddle the senses? Or perhaps, a calculated game of cat and mouse, where the bread beckons you in, lulling you into a sense of comfort, only to slap you with the reality of fiscal folly as you reach for that seductive almond croissant?

In this psychedelic tapestry of gastronomy, Grand Central Bakery is a place where rustic bread is the humble hero, the common man's salvation, a delicacy of divine proportions at an astoundingly reasonable cost. But beware, ye wanderer, of the treacherous path into the land of pastries, where wallet and dreams are shattered in one fell swoop. Approach with caution, for here lies a dichotomy that could very well launch you on a Gonzo odyssey of culinary...

TLDR: will not be back to this chain, don't want to waste my money or calorie count; left probably $10 worth of baked goods behind as not worth eating

My items: Croissant had poor layering, lacked butter (overall on the dry side, and very dry bottom layer). It was underbaked so not particularly crispy since didn't get that final chemical reaction. Abandoned after trying the top curl, one end, the bottom, and some of the interior. Blueberry muffin was bland and tasteless; I think the underlying dough may have been a scone dough from the density and texture. Was heavy and dense but unrewarding. Abandoned it after a couple of bites. Fontina pullapart had no fontina flavor, at least the bread part was ok with black pepper and pizza bread texture. Only item I actually finished eating.

My wife's items: Cinnamon roll was not as dry as so many nowadays, but still not moist. No butter flavor and only the faintest whiff of cinnamon taste, even at the center (and should be througout where the roll layers sandwich it). Icing was actually decent, tasted like it was actually made with milk or cream and not just sugar water, but it needed it desperately since the roll was so flavorless. Ham and cheese twice baked croissant sandwich suffered from the same poor croisant but at least the filling was good (mostly due to the mustard used).

Staff wasted carryout containers on this, even though we told them it was "for here".

Left 90% of the muffin and croissant behind, not worth the calories. Will not waste my...