Nielsen’s Pastries — Restaurant in Seattle

Went specifically looking for this place since my SO remembers the poppy seed danish from half a decade ago and it was one of the best pastry he's ever had so he wanted to share

Food/Taste/Flavor: 5/5 - this pastry shop definitely lives up to his memory and everything we tried was so good!! Poppy Seed Danish (tebirkes) was buttery and flaky with just a hint of sweetness to contrast the savory/nuttiness from the poppy seeds.

Boller with a chocolate topping and some custard inside. It reminds me of a milk bread with the lightly sweet flavor and fluffy texture. The coffee was great with this since the acidity helped cut through some of the sweetness

Frosnapper was interesting to look at and we though it would be a more savory pastry since it had poppy and sesame seeds. It was flaky, buttery, sweet and crispy from the caramelized bottom, savory from the seeds, and we absolutely loved it. The sesame and caramelization reminds us of Asian sesame sweets but it added a great texture to this bread as well

Ambience: 5/5 - cute shop that feels warm and cozy. Someplace we would want to just hang out at. They had a sign outside asking to limit the number of customers in the store for safety

Service: 5/5 - super friendly and held a conversation with us while we were making our decision. Ask if you have any questions or want recommendations!

Value for price: 5/5 - great food and service and very reasonable price. There's definitely a very good reason why they've been around...

Nielsen's is quinitisentially cozy, from atmosphere to offerings to the staff.

Nielsen's has a wide variety of Danish pastries, from the classics to ones you might have only seen in a specialty shop or IKEA. I love the Kringle and the cinnamon Danish. While universally delicious, the pastries are sometimes a little messy in appearance.

You wouldn't think a bakery on the same block as a Taco Bell/KFC combo would be charming. And yet... The building is nestled a few steps down from street level. There are actual recliners (4 or 6) scattered around the cafe amidst soft lighting. The decor is Danish without being kitsch, and the large street level window lets in natural light.

The employees have gone out of their way to be helpful. After catching them in a rare moment where they were out of princess cake, the baker asked if I had 15 minutes and whipped up a fresh cake on the spot. Another employee pointed out a handy spot to lock up my bike (there aren't bike racks directly by the entrance).

One of Nielsen's specialties is princess cake. It's different than other princess cakes I've had. The marzipan is thinner and harder. There is a lot more custard. All in all it's not bad, but it might not be what you're expecting. I've only had two princess cakes in the city, but I prefer Byen Bakery's more...

I’m glad there are still places in Seattle like Nielsen Pastries serving Scandinavian desserts and pastries. I visited on a quiet Saturday afternoon an hour before closing. Most of their cases were empty which makes a lot of sense, however, the person working there was saying that it was really busy earlier that day and there is typically much more left at that time. As an aside, the person helping us was very friendly. While I took what I bought to go, the shop had a lot of tables to sit and eat at which is a definite plus. I ended up buying a Napoleon hat and a kransekage cookie. Both were very good. The Napoleon hat was a ball of marzipan wrapped in pastry dough and dipped partially in chocolate. It wasn’t too sweet due to the pastry dough and the marzipan was tasty. The kransekage was essentially a soft almond cookie with some marzipan in it as well with a drizzle of chocolate. I’m not in Queen Anne very often but I’ll have to visit again next time and hopefully they’ll have...