Palace Coffee | Bakery — Restaurant in Eugene

DONUT MUFFIN. It’s an artisan experience. Don’t end your gastro tour of Eugene without trying this baby. A+

Sensitively glazed with icing that you can hardly believe is just perfectly creamed butter, cinnamon and sugar. Thought it would be more fried-feeling, but it’s actually very high-end crumb cakey while still packed with “donut” flavor. A masterclass in creative fusion.

That said, there are other awesome things about this place.

I started on the bakery counter side, asking detailed questions about the flours used in their St. Patty’s soda bread. Their counter staffer did not rest til she got an answer for me. Then one of their bakers came out and let me know they have a fantastic gluten-free carrot-ginger quick bread that she was just wrapping up. It became evident so quickly that employees take great pride in what they do here.

At the coffee counter, I admired the “donut muffins” (super cute!) and one of their leads surprised me by cutting a sample. It was heaven. And their space is cute, too. With all the good vibes I said heck, I’m gonna give these guys some love.

And they turned the candid crew shot I asked for into a group photo that says a thousand words. If you want to support a place that promotes love for the community and pride in service….can you do much better?

I don’t think so. New favorite.

Fun Facts: Eugene institution Full City Coffee Roasters (I heard about this place as a Portland-native, before I ever came to Eugene) operated next door from 1990 to 2021. Palace Bakery owner Lisa Truelove bought Full City and renamed it Palace, tearing down the wall in-between and keeping up the high standards. She and her husband Jerry (they are pictured wearing green and yellow Oregon Ducks gear) go down to El Salvador to buy beans directly from farmers. And the roast is...

“The Palace Still Stands”

The thing about leaving Eugene for five years is that you start building ghost towns in your head. You hope the places you loved especially the ones that kept you caffeinated, sane, semi-human are still there when you stumble back through town. You want them frozen in amber for your own selfish nostalgia.

So when I rolled back into Eugene and found the dreaded parking meters busted right in front of Palace Coffee and Bakery, it felt like the old java joint was winking at me, saying, Welcome home, old fool. Your coffee’s waiting.

Inside, nothing had spoiled. The coffee was still great not burnt, not pretentious, just right. The pastries were delicious without being the kind of sugar bomb designed to put you in the hospital by Tuesday. Each visit while in town, I saw a different lineup of baristas behind the counter, all sharp, all friendly, all clearly in on the joke that is Pearl Street. We even laughed about the trek upstairs to the bathroom with the magic key fob, like some absurd rite of passage. I initially grabbed the gallon bucket on the left instead of the actual one on the right.

The Palace hit every note I needed on this trip and not just caffeine, but proof that time doesn’t always ruin the good things. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the places you loved are still alive, still serving, still themselves. And in this world, right now, that’s a small...

I tried Palace Bakery, next to Full City Coffee. When I've had their bakery items in the past they were dry but decent. They sported quite a line but I figured hey- bakery, sandwich- WIN!!

It sucked SO bad.

They didn't have a sandwich menu, just some pre-made selections. The price tag was hiding but I didn't figure it could be more than a couple of bucks. I chose a roast beef sandwich, for which I was charged five bucks, and took it back to the office.

The bread was the consistency of Wonderbread, soggy, and BLOODY. What the hell? This is not what I was expecting from a bakery sammich! The meat itself (I thought maybe I could pick it apart) was medium-rare, which is fine, but slimy. I checked the date. The sandwich had 2 days left before it "expired." How many days had it been sitting in that case?

The measure of a restaurant is the food it enthusiastically serves its patrons. Whether I am ever to return or recommend its food depends on each and every bit I PURCHASE every time I visit. Based on that sammich alone, whether they were having an "off" day or not, I am EXTREMELY...