Rise Bakery — Restaurant in Washington

I’m putting this at the top of my review because I would like to mention that the employees here are actually very kind! I come here all the time when I’m in DC. I’ve traveled to GF bakeries in MA, GA, CA, VA, and here in DC and this is the best gluten free bakery out of all of them. I could care less about the price because it’s the experience! Where else can you get a gf key lime pie with snickerdoodle crust and whipped cream? RE: I’m changing my review to 5 stars!!! After returning to this bakery a year later I was pleased to discover how much they turned around and started making to-die-for treats!!!!!! These are better than any gluten free bakery Product I’ve tried in California!! When I was visiting DC recently I found myself at this Bakery every day for breakfast, I loved this place so much I even packed two key lime pies in a Tupperware in my suitcase so I could bring one back to my mom!! She loved every bite and it really was a memorable experience. This company truly takes their customers words as food for thought. I can taste the hard work and dedication this company strives for. I also want to mention that the customer service has tremendously improved, their employees are so friendly, one of the big reasons I return is how welcoming and attentive they are. I’m kind of addicted to this place.

••• (Old Review) Okay so I was really excited to try this place but I can't help but feel unwelcomed by customer service. I've gone here twice, and coming from California, I can give their croissants and breads an amazing gluten free stamp but their pastries definitely taste gluten free and chalky, mastering GF means more than getting it to stick. With all being said, I am reluctant to go back. 1 star for the croissants. Another for the brioche. But -3 stars for customer service and flavor. This place would be amazing if the employees were more welcoming of all...

Disclaimer: I am not gluten free. After seeing good reviews, and to satisfy my curiosity, i decided to give it a try. I got the apple fritter, cherry almond bearclaw, and plain croissant.

The dough on the apple fritter had a pretty crumbly texture. Not bad. Shortbread-like. However, there was a sadly small amount of filling.

The bearclaw had a better filling-to-dough ratio, but it was unpleasantly spongy. I prefer a bearclaw that is flaky and slightly crisp.

The croissant seemed under baked, and had a distinctly off flavor to it. It was better than a grocery store croissant, but neither the flavor nor texture were anything to write home about.

In hindsight, I should have tried a sweet bread. I’ve had really delicious GF banana bread. When we asked the person working behind the counter for recommendations, however, she named just about everything in the pastry case besides the sweet breads.

I want to like this place. I appreciate that they cater to folks with dietary restrictions, and - in GF baked goods-lovers - a crowd who has exceedingly limited options to satisfy that craving. But as someone who doesn’t have those restrictions, this place doesn’t seem to offer much for me in the way of baked goods. My advice to them would be to cut down the menu of baked goods, to focus more on sweet breads, and to have 2-3 hits to suggest when someone asks for a...

The highlights: eclairs: not too sweet and very tasty with a nice filling and covered in dark chocolate. Would get these again. buttermilk biscuits: very crumbly and fall apart but very tasty cinnamon raisin bread: a little too sweet for my liking but tastes great and can't even tell it's gluten free chocolate croissants: I'm personally a fan but my husband didn't like them. It's a very dense dough with a bit of an aftertaste. They're quite heavy and very filling, but I still think they make for a nice treat. lemon tart: couldn't even tell it's GF. Tart and refreshing

The misses: chocolate babka: Babkas are known for their chocolaty, gooey goodness. While the bread is fine, they's BARELY any chocolate...this would have a lot of potential if they could add more...otherwise just feels like you're eating dry GF brioche or challah style bread

Another miss is the accuracy of orders. Last time, I placed the order because I needed GF bagels and added a couple other things. The bagels were missing from my order and instead of the carrot cupcake I was given cookies & cream. Hoping this was an off day.

Overall, there's a lot of necessity for GF goods in the area and I'm glad to have Rise. The pastries and breads can be a hit or miss but recommend checking them out as it's all based on...