The Pretzel Place — Restaurant in Bellevue

As a local, sometimes it is hard for us to remember the fantastic gems on this side of the river. We are rarely in the Bellevue area but were visiting another business with my family. I am glad we did since my husband, and I found a hidden gem - The Pretzel Place. Not far from Ms. Teapot, this little restaurant has some of the best soft pretzels. While it is a very small restaurant, it has a mom-and-pop, relaxing culture that I would have expected more when I lived in the New Jersey area - very down-to-Earth and focused on the food.

While we didn't eat at the restaurant, my family purchased pretzels to bring back home. During the short time inside, the staff was very friendly, and the owner was joking around with staff and patrons. This is the sort of place that truly makes you feel relaxed and at home. Prices were also reasonable. While they were busy, the restaurant was super clean.

Now, to the good part - the pretzels. My husband and I had three pretzels to try - butter salt, cinnamon sugar, and jalapeno cheddar. As you can see from the pictures, everything was wrapped well, especially the jalapeno pretzel. I didn't expect the pretzels to be still soft three hours later (we got distracted playing Pokemon Go). Actually, the jalapeno pretzel was still warm with how it was wrapped, something none of us expected. It had the most wonderful kick and flavor, potentially the best jalapeno pretzel I have ever tried. A win-win there!

Both the butter salt and cinnamon sugar were also soft and quite delicious. We all loved the pretzels, even if they were a different texture than my family expected. Just be warned that non-locals who aren't used to our Germanic culture in the area, they are NOT American pretzels - they are far better. I wished we got the beer cheese once we got into them, but since I thought we would be eating them in the car, that was a no-go.

That said, if you are in the Bellevue area, check out The Pretzel Place. If you are a local like us, make sure to support one of our local businesses! After a quick check, it looks like they are on Doordash. If not, they are...

Love the food here. If I could ever get it

The good: This is a small time store that basically sells pretzels (cinnamon sugar or regular) and pretzels sandwiches.

Both are reasonably priced ($2.50/pretzel) and figure around $8 for a sandwich. Amazingly delicious. I'd eat one everyday...if I could. Which leads me to ...

The bad: This place is open 6 days/week (closed Sunday) and only open 4 hours each day (yes, that's right) from 11-3pm. As if those hours aren't bad enough, they often decide to close early if business isn't where they'd like it to be. I went today at 2 and they were closed. How many pretzels can you sell in three hours?

I am not sure what kind of overhead it is for two employees and an oven, but the 4 hours/day and even worse random closings sadly make this establishment frustrating at best. Yes the pretzels are good, but they're not good if you can't eat them. Availability is a big key for many business. Sadly, this business doesn't seem to care.

3/5 stars and that's only because the pretzels are so good. Would be 5/5 if they were accessible.

The original pretzel is their best item, but don't get the cheese. It's better without it, and the cheese is like cheap gas station nacho cheese. Not the cheddar type you'd expect from a boutique...

Fun experience turned bad.

I was really excited to stumble upon this place with my 4 kiddos. We are in town for my husband's work conference. My husband also makes pretzels and I was excited to bring him back tomorrow to check it out. The man who makes the pretzels was very friendly and we chatted for a minute about what kinds of pretzels he makes. However, I felt incredibly shamed by the woman working (maybe the friendly man's wife?) One of my kids was using the bathroom and the rest of us were waiting at a table. My 2 and 5 year old each took a napkin to pretend to play with. One was covering her stuffed animal with it and one used it to wipe his face. The 2 year old grabbed one more napkin and then I told him no more. The woman came over, grabbed the napkins and said "these cost money".

I won't be bringing my hubby...