Noisette Pastry Kitchen — Restaurant in Eugene

This is the best cafe/ bakery in the Willamette valley. Everything that they make is absolutely amazing. It is my go-to morning place.

Here's an interesting story though that has nothing to do with their food and happens to be one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me in 44 years. I usually would come to this cafe in a suit with a tie on, because most of the times I would be there I would be on the way to work. This is the Willamette valley Oregon and not everyone wears suits and even when they do wear suits they don't know how to wear them so it's not super common to see a man in one for work. I was never judged though and they were always sweet to me as I was always sweet to them because it's my natural way and nature to be kind and protect people. This is how the owner ( I wish I knew her name but she is a shorter gal with red hair) knew me as a guy who was polite and kind and well dressed. When I'm not at work I look like a crazy biker. tattoos and all, belly tattoo too and I usually wear my biker vest with nothing under it in the summer. One Saturday I went in to get some treats in my biker garb and every single trustafarian transplant Mom from parts unknown was in line. They collectively turn towards me and started giving me dirty looks and we're visibly annoyed with my presence. They could not believe that a dirty biker was close to them or in "their" cafe. The owner was arranging flowers across the room saw this happening and stopped what she was doing to walk over to me in the middle of all those hostile ladies. She asked me how I was doing today, she called me sweetie and then told me how happy she was to see me there. She looked at the other ladies in their face as if to say shame on you you don't even know who this man is. They all went back to minding their own business. They have a sign in there door that says everyone is welcome no matter what and that you're safe there to be who you are. When she put that sign up she meant it and she means everyone. I have never had another adult that was a stranger stand up for me like that. She could see my true heart and new that I was kind and gentle and a protector. I am loyal to them and her forever because of it.

So if you want the best food in town and you care about the ethics and morals at a business this is the place for you. As long as they are open they will have my family's business and she will always have my admiration.

Go there instantly you will not be...

The lady who helped me, grabbed the wrong food item I asked for, charged me for it, which was double the price than the one I wanted. THEN less than 1 minute after I noticed it wasn’t right, she refused to fix the problem or do anything about it! I was completely shocked! The lady said she couldn’t do anything about the payment since the food left the counter…bc I had grabbed the tray she handed me and stepped aside and then noticed it. I really thought it would be no problem… I didn’t realize it at the counter bc there were many other foods around and I just assumed my food wasn’t there yet, so when she handed me a tray I was confused and just stepped aside to figure it out. I don’t return food items much, usually I just roll with what I end up with but this sandwich had ingredients I don’t like (lox) and was $15 vs the $5 item I wanted. I don’t mind following business policies but there’s no sign or warning anywhere about it and if you’re going to be so strict about it you should double check orders before finalizing the payment. Which I was also confused when paying bc the price was a lot more than expected but there was a lot going on, it was busy, I was thinking “maybe I added on more pastries than I thought” and I didn’t know I was looking at my food bc it wasn’t what I ordered! Please repeat orders back to customers!!!!

Also as a service industry worker, even if you can’t solve the problem you can at least make up for it in other ways. If anything she kept making me feel like it was my fault for not speaking up at the counter and I definitely cried after because of how much money I just wasted and could barley afford it, the total with coffee and a pastry and now a sandwich I didn’t ask for. I’ve shared this story with more details to my friends to get an understanding if this seems right or not and if this is a common policy, each time I share this, they are just as shocked as I was...

Noisette sits with poise at the corner of Charnelton and West Broadway in downtown Eugene. Though given the French name for the humble hazelnut, this place may be the empress of bakeries in Eugene.

The pastries they had on a random Thursday afternoon when I walked in: the blackberry nectarine pistachio frangipane. The strawberry lavender Tres Leche cake. The mixed berry tart with fresh cherries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and two kinds of stone fruit. The coconut custard passionfruit curd which is gluten-free presented so elegantly. The yummy carrot cake sandwich. The coconut cream tart. Then you wander over and you see the olive oil white wine cake. For just $4.95. The lavender lemon tea cake. A cherry custard tart, the palmier. The hazelnut cloud cookies the pecan cloud cookie. The chocolate chunk shortbread cookie. The flourless chocolate cake.

And then you see the savory options. The ham Greer on brioche buns with sweet pickles, lettuce, sweet mustard. The caramelized onion sweet red pepper leeks and mozzarella focaccia. The vegetarian savory tart which is leek, kale, artichoke heart, sweet peppers, goat cheese. But my favorite and the one I chose roasted lamb sandwich on sourdough with cucumbers, roasted tomatoes, grilled onions, and harissa aïoli. Next time it will be the mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil on baguettes with pesto. I'm not even gonna talk about the Hand pies. All this coming out of one bakery. The presentation is so beautiful. You almost don't want to eat it.

And somebody here really loves their plants. They open from 8 to 6 Wednesday to Sunday. All bakers have to rise before the crack of dawn so deserve a break and they take their weekends on Monday and Tuesday. If you're not sure what to get talk to Emily she was...