Jinju Patisserie — Restaurant in Portland

On North Williams Avenue, the line forms early, pulled by two treasures: the chocolate croissant and the orange morning bun. At JinJu Patisserie (“JinJu” means treasure in Korean) these aren’t just breakfast; they’re a story about Portland, the croissant’s journey, and two women who made this city their home.

The croissant began as Austria’s kipfel before France transformed it into puff-pastry luxury. America cheapened it with mass production, but JinJu restores it to glory. The chocolate croissant is golden, flaky, and generously lined with bittersweet chocolate, celebrated as Portland’s best in 2021. The orange morning bun is croissant dough curled, caramelized with cinnamon sugar, and perfumed with zest – a sticky, citrusy heir to Portland’s bun tradition.

Jin Caldwell and Kyurim “Q” Lee grew up in Seoul, then spent over a decade crafting pastries in Las Vegas at Wynn, Bellagio, and Joël Robuchon. Jin became a celebrated chocolatier; Q perfected lamination. Tired of the Strip, they visited Oregon, fell for Portland – and for each other – and opened JinJu in 2019 on historic Williams Avenue.

Portland embraced them. Their “butter-bomb” croissants and jewel-like bonbons drew raves, and in 2025 they won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Bakery. Two immigrant women in a male-dominated field had claimed the highest prize in American pastry, blending classical French training with playful twists: a Nutella “Q’een-Amann,” a kimchi fried rice croissant, immaculate bonbons. Technique never wavers; imagination keeps Portland coming back.

The shop is modest, more counter than café. If Jin and Q are the wizards in back, Brit and Grace keep the front warm and steady, greeting regulars by name and boxing pastries with care. Drinks are good, but when someone orders a round of cappuccinos, the line slows. Nobody complains, though some may roll their eyes anticipation builds, and the croissants are still warm when you finally reach the counter.

JinJu embodies Portland’s layered identity. The city’s history includes exclusion laws and displaced communities along Williams Avenue, yet its present thrives on diversity. Here, French lamination meets Korean flavors and American entrepreneurial spirit, yielding something wholly Portland.

A great restaurant tells a story on the plate. At JinJu, it’s Seoul childhoods, Vegas kitchens, a leap of faith, and a love story – with each other, and with a city that welcomed them. Follow the line, get the croissant and the bun, and savor a little treasure that tastes like Portland’s past and future folded into...

I really wanted to like Jinju Patisserie, but unfortunately, my experience was ALL HYPE and absolutely no delivery — literally.

My partner and I showed up early in the morning excited to try some of their pastries after hearing great things, only to find an incredibly long line out the door. We waited in line over an hour (during a weekday morning). That might be understandable for a popular spot, but after waiting patiently, I was shocked to find almost everything sold out by the time I got to the counter! There were barely any pastries left (nothing good or worth trying left), and the staff just shrugged it off like it was normal and could care less. No one from their staff posted a sign stating most of their item were sold out and no one came outside to alert the 50+ person long line that it was extremely likely that nothing they wanted to buy/try was available and they wouldn’t be baking anymore. No apology, no explanation — just indifferent staff and empty trays.

Jinju’s had no problem wasting customer’s time and energy and being a major disappointment. A respectful, thoughtful and affable bakery would have notified the crowd but Jinju’s Patisserie is all hype and only cares about profit and awards. If you’re going to operate a bakery and let the line stretch down the block, the bare minimum is actually having pastries available or notifying the crowd. Instead, this place seems more focused on creating a sense of scarcity than actually serving customers. It’s a waste of time and incredibly poorly managed.

If you’re going to promote your bakery as a destination, you need to have enough product to meet demand — or at least set realistic expectations about stock and alert the long waiting line/crowd. It was frustrating to waste time waiting only to leave empty-handed.

Unless they make changes to better manage inventory or crowd control, I won’t be returning and others should support and spend their time and money at the hundreds of other reputable and considerate bakeries in Portland. My partner and I have been to well over 300 bakeries throughout the US and in 50+ countries and the Jinju Patisserie experience was by...

Ecstatic to discover Jinju Patisserie on my short getaway to Portland. It’s hard to know what is good after not visiting for over 2 years. I had to rely on a search for pastries and bakeries. But a banker at Capital One Cafe in Portland mentioned Jinju. It’s outside of downtown in the NE. A short bus ride later, I’m going by a 4 block commercial area in a residential neighborhood (N. Williams). Smack dab in the middle is a very large, modern building which houses Jjnju Patisserie.

When I entered, there was only one customer inside. Early morning on a weekday, this would make sense. The shop is only open Thursdays-Sundays so this was my only shot to check out the baked goods. The pastries, desserts and chocolates looked great. I purchased a chocolate croissant as my “first taste”. Taking it to the picnic tables out front, I took a bite. Flaky, buttery pastry. The croissant is huge. But I found a cavern inside along with a thin layer of chocolate. Most of the croissant layers were on the exterior. The taste was very good. Since this croissant is quite rich, I saved half. Then I dashed back inside and purchased a butter croissant and one of their very pretty mousse-like desserts which was citrus with a bit of passionfruit and buttercream on top. The dessert I enjoyed later in the evening. It was light, smooth and flavorful.

The North Williams location of this shop makes Jinju mostly locals-only. I got to say it was a wonderful find for a pastry lover...