ZARY BAKERY — Restaurant in Seattle

We recently moved to the NE Ravenna neighborhood, and one of our favorite things about it is the fact we can walk to Zary Bakery. It’s a gem! It’s filled with scrumptious looking pastries, has good coffee, and the whole atmosphere is really cozy. It closes at 3pm so that’s the only thing stopping us from going more often on workdays, but we get tempted to go whenever possible.

I say delicious “looking” pastries because my husband and I can only have a few of their offerings (he can’t have eggs/dairy; I can’t have gluten), but if we could eat them, we would try them all. Everything looks beautiful. They do have a couple of vegan choices (croissant and scone) and a couple of GF items (typically muffin and coffee cake - they do contain eggs I believe), which are delicious.

The only thing that could be improved is how they often place GF items right next to non-GF items together in the display case, with baked goods touching each other/making it possible to be easily contaminated. That beats the purpose of being GF if you’re a celiac. It would also be awesome if there were GF + vegan (DF/egg-free) options, since people who are GF tend to have multiple food sensitivities.

I hope this place stays around for a long time, because we love it!

[Update re: GF items] Shortly after this review was posted, I saw that the display was re-arranged so the GF items were separated. So I was momentarily excited that they listened — except, in subsequent visits the display arrangement reverted to being all mixed again. The GF muffin is smack in the middle of other non-GF baked goods, touching each other, and GF cookies are among the other cookies as well. I really appreciate the bakery’s efforts to have varied items, but sadly it’s not safe for celiacs.

[EDIT #2] The past couple of times, GF & vegan items have been separated from other items! The barista today also put on a fresh pair of gloves to bag the GF...

I have been a long-time resident of Ravenna and was sad to hear Sod House Bakery's owner sold the place. BUT, when I stopped by Zary Bakery, I was not in the least bit disappointed. In fact, they exceeded my expectation beyond my imagination.

I have traveled all around Europe, lived in France and tried several bakeries here. Aside from Café Besalu in Ballard, which sadly closed, Zary's Bakery is absolutely comparable to the quality of the pastries in France. In particular, I tried their raisin swirl (pain au raisin), and when the bread hit my mouth, I felt like I was transported back to my time in France.

The layers, the laminated dough, the crust were whisper soft, tender, yet crispy and crunchy. There was a tinge of sweetness and was not overly sweet, like some pastries. There is no cream filling, which I prefer. Every time I took a bite, I felt like my seratonin level surged. I felt like for a moment I was in heaven.

When I talked to the staff, who were personable and friendly, they mentioned they kept one of the bakers (no wonder)! When I go back, I will absolutely give their croissants (true test of how legit they are?) their try! I might revisit this review and update it after I try their croissants.

The general vibe feels like more of a café than a coffee shop. There are also more lunch options and more fancy pastry options as well, like a Napolean (mille feuille cream pastry), a mango croissant, etc.

Something tells me they're trying to mimic a version of a French café.

I will absolutely go back, bring my laptop and work there, while relishing the delicious pastries and the vibe. (I have yet to try...

Around 10:30 AM on Saturday, there was about this much bread left (referring to the picture). The line kept getting long, and it looked like some items were going out of stock. I bought three things: the Strawberry Vanilla Twist, the Nutella Cruffin, and the Lavender Blueberry Croissant. The Strawberry Vanilla Twist was so delicious with its really thick and perfectly sweet cream – I can see why it's a popular item. It has a unique look you don't see at other places, and the flavor was a great mix of tartness and sweetness, which is probably why everyone was only buying the strawberry twist. The Nutella Cruffin was sweet and had a nice, moderately crispy pastry that went well with the Nutella. But for the price, it tasted pretty much as expected, so next time I'd like to try a different cruffin. The Lavender Blueberry Croissant was also amazing. The cream was thick and paired really well with the tartness of the blueberries. This place generally does a great job with croissants topped with cream or fruit – kind of like dessert breads. Next time I visit, I plan to try their other varieties. And of course, I'll be back for more of their fruit cream desserts. It was really crowded, and they seemed to have a wide selection of teas and drinks too. I'll definitely be...