Twisted Croissant & Patisserie — Restaurant in Portland

I’m very particular about my baked goods, especially croissants (ok, I’m a croissant snob). I’ve spent enough time in France and in high-quality bakeries elsewhere to recognize that most croissants sold in the United States are terrible.

This place is a welcome exception. The quality of their products is outstanding. I visited their Sellwood location with my husband on Sunday morning, and we ordered four items: a “big breakfast croissant”, a chocolate croissant, a vanilla kouign-amman, and a raspberry-rose cruffin. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful and the store had a really nice ambiance. I understand that it sometimes gets crowded, but we didn’t have that problem this visit.

The breakfast croissant was square-ish and oversized, topped with bacon and filled with scrambled eggs, heated before serving; it was crunchy, flaky, and delicious.

I expected the chocolate croissant to be a version of the French pain au chocolat (aka chocolatine), but it was unique… a traditional croissant shape with stripes of chocolate on the outside and wonderful bittersweet chocolate on the inside.

A kouign-amman is a slightly obscure pastry that originated in Brittany, made with laminated dough and lots of butter and sugar… imagine a cross between a croissant and a sticky bun. They’re usually quite small, but this one was sizable and vanilla flavored. Not traditional, but amazing nonetheless.

Finally, the cruffin (a hybrid between a muffin and a croissant) contained a raspberry filling with a hint of rose water, and was topped with a dollop of fresh whipped cream and whole raspberries. It was fantastic.

The common element in all of these items was a croissant-style laminated dough, and they got it absolutely right… buttery, delicate, and crispy, almost shattering when you bite into it. The shop makes other pastries, many of which are not croissant-related, but I didn’t have an opportunity to try anything else. I’ll fix that next time I’m back, which I guarantee...

The thing about serving a $10 pastry is that it needs to be perfect. The price demands it by stating simply "we are good enough to charge this price." So when the staff offers to heat up your pastry, the temperature is just as important of the flavor of the item.

So when the item is then "heated up" and served to you, but you take a bite and it's got a warm exterior, but ultimately cold middle, the whole experience is thrown off massively.

If you do go here to buy a pastry - DO NOT GET IT HEATED.

In this economy, I can only afford to go somewhere like Twisted Croissant once a month at best, so when the experience is ruined by serving someone a pastry with the temperature variations of a microwaved hot pocket, it makes it much tougher to bite the proverbial bullet.

All of the above was seasoned by the fact that terrible country music was blasting from the speakers, making sure we knew the barista loves/fears God. Not a fun experience to hear a butchered David Bowie song covered in the stylings of pop-country at ANY point, let alone after you just paid $18 for a single coffee, single pastry, and tip.

While I think the food is delicious when done right, I don't think I'll be frequenting Twisted Croissant again. And I'm not blaming them directly for the price, as I fully understand how suppliers have ballooned prices to the point where local businesses NEED to charge this much. All that being said, I'm too poor to afford something so expensive, and sure as hell won't get another when perfection is not attainable.

This is the problem with charging such a high price.

UPDATE: was contacted by the owner, told I would get a full refund, to which less than 50% of my bill was refunded. nice try. the...

I found this place during a Westmoreland urban walk......and what a great find!!!!! Located along Bybee Blvd. ,close the intersection of Milwaukie Ave. ,this location was conveniently situated about halfway into my neighborhood ramble. The great heady smell of " butta" is the first smell that greets you as you enter Twisted. A positive indicator if you're looking for croissants 😀. The pastry selections were plentiful, and all looked delicious . Limiting decisions obviously would be difficult . I selected a marcona almond croissant and an apple cranberry 😋 croissant , although my eyes wanted 1 of EVERYTHING. Both were buttery 🧈 and flavorful. Different. Not ordinary and loaded with filling. Coffee and tea were decent, but the pastry was definitely the highlight here. Handicap ♿️ very doable. Service efficient and friendly. It's not inexpensive but definitely value for money spent. Atmosphere is functionally stark and minimalist Highly recommended 👌. I'll be back to expand my croissant grazing here...