Le Panier — Restaurant in Seattle

When I got there I was a little dismayed because there was a line wrapping around the corner. While it was moving it certainly wasn't quick, that being said it was absolutely worth the wait. I got a crossaint ( which I ate too fast to realize I didn't take a picture) 3 macrons and a apple pastry. The crossaint was far and away the best crossaint I've ever had. My only experience is from American crossaint but still I have had a fair few of them in my life. It was almost glassy. Every later had the slightest crunch but wasn't overwhelming, the buttery flavor was there but again wasn't overwhelming. All in all the only thing overwhelmed were my expectations. Like I said the line was long so I was becoming irritated. This removed any sort of irritation and replaced it with contentedness. After the crossaint Le panier followed strong with the macrons. While they were not heads and shoulders better than other macrons I've had they were all exceptionally good. I got caramel which had an amazing salty flavor, vanilla which had me reaching back to all the times I've encountered vanilla and loved the flavor and pistachio, which in my opinion didn't taste like pistachio but was lovely nonetheless. I had the apple pastry last. In hindsight that was probably a mistake. I'm sure if I had eaten it first there would have been a creshendo effect, where everything was getting better. But this was the worst of the lot. Not that it was bad but the crispy "glass-like" quality the crossaint had was all but gone and replaced with a slightly soggy bottom. The apple flavor was very nice however.

Overall I loved the pastries here, they were fast(once inside) and all tasted very fresh( minus the apple pastry). I highly reccomend it if you are in...

The young woman that was taking orders at the counter heartily greeted then spent at least three minutes or longer chatting with the two regulars that were standing in line in front of me. In the meantime, I was staring at a couple of flies making their way around the inside of the pastry cases, landing and crawling around various pastries. YUCK!!!

This was early in the morning so I can only imagine how many flies there must be by mid-afternoon.

When I approached the counter that same young woman just stood and stared at me. No greeting like the regulars received, no greeting at all. I initiated it by saying, "Good morning." She still just stared at me, this time squinting like she was struggling internally with whether or not she should show any professionalism whatsoever. I'm guessing this is an attitude reserved for non-regulars.

I broke the spell by informing her that flies were landing on the pastries in the cases. She wrinkled her nose and gave me an annoyed look like how dare I point out that there's a health hazard in their establishment. She responded with a dismissive "I'll let the chefs know" with a tone that let me know she'd do no such thing.

I decided to skip buying food to avoid possibly ingesting house fly fecal matter.

Since I waited in a long line up to this point, I only ordered coffee and got the heck out of there.

This place initially appears charming until you get a closer look and discover that it's filthy and there's no barrier behind the cases protecting the food from flies. They're just landing on anything with a sweet, sticky glaze and...

The fresh bread was good but…NOT WORTH A LONG WAIT.

I get it, this place is poppin! Everyone wants some of their bread, pastries, etc.

My first try the line was about an hour and I decided to enjoy my team exploring and supporting one of the other MANY bakeries. On my way to Beechers (almost no wait to buy cheese) I noticed a short line. I’m put my timer on for 15mins so as to wait no longer and I got very lucky and scored their bread within a short wait.

I also ordered an espresso, might as well test out the quality.

Workers were kind and moved as fast as they good. The bread had a fantastic shape and the kids like; it.

Verdict…good BUT not worth the wait. I enjoy fresh Mexican panederia bread as much with no concerns of waiting or parking for that matter.

Espresso was not good, burnt tasting, sadly.

Overall: go when the line is short. Otherwise enjoy one of the many other options. Avoid espresso.

Hot Tip:

*Beecher has tons of free samples and great cheese.

*Maiz is also a few steps away and makes atole, champurrado, and horchata and horchata lattes that are FANTASTIC.

*Just the Tap is a great escape 7mins away waking and it’s also FAMILY FRIENDLY, self beer pour, pizza slices, pinball machine area, and had a glow in the dark “beer” pong (you use cups and water) room.

🅿️ Be wise and park 7-10mins away walking. Get some exercise and avoid some...