Rose Ave Bakery — Restaurant in Washington

With its delicious and picture-perfect pastries, fun infusion of Asian flavors into classic European-style desserts, and top-tier service, I can definitely see why Rose Ave Bakery has become a neighborhood favorite. Ever since it attained social media fame a few years ago, Rose Ave has been on my list of places to try, so I was beyond ecstatic when I finally got a chance to drop by with a few friends on a Saturday morning. We arrived right after they opened their doors at 9 AM, and thank goodness we decided to go early! There was already a massive line and plenty of pre-orders; if there's something that you really want to try out, I would definitely recommend calling ahead because everything here is in high demand.

I'm also really grateful that I came with a large group, since that meant we could all share and each sample multiple things ^.^. We tested out all of their donuts, including the seasonal pumpkin pie one. They were all a touch overly sweet for my preference, but the flavors were otherwise all delightful. The donuts were perfectly pillowy and light, and they had a light dusting of granulated sugar on the outside. Rose Ave also definitely didn't skimp on the filling -- each donut was pretty hefty and filled to the brim with cream / jelly. My favorite was the black sesame, which was delightfully nutty and rich, and the sesame helped to cut through the sweetness a bit.

Although each of their donuts were tasty, Rose Ave Bakery really shined in the "flakey" section of their menu. I'm obsessed with their spiced apple kouign amann and honey jool kouign amann, both of which just perfectly captured the flavors of fall. The filling was rich and decadent, but the outer croissant was amazingly flaky and just disintegrated the second it touched my tongue. I was also super excited to try out their injeolmi Korean pear bun, since it combined two of my favorite flavors. It didn't quite live up to my excitement, since I didn't find either the roasted soybean or pear flavors particularly prominent, but the pastry was flaky and wonderfully pillowy and soft.

All in all, Rose Ave Bakery definitely lives up to the hype. It promises delicious pastries with unique combinations of classic Asian flavors, and it 100% delivers. I would recommend pre-ordering or calling ahead if there's anything you really want to try, as well as checking out their Instagram and website ahead of time to check for specials or whether your favorite items are even available for walk-in orders. I did find everything a bit too overwhelmingly rich / heavy and sweet for me, but Rose Ave Bakery is definitely winning in the creativity department. Their constantly rotating menu is always enough to entice me to want...

This is a great little bakery/café. Indoor seating area with outlets for people to work (though it might get somewhat busy), beautiful floral decor, and of course great selection of pastries, blending French and Asian style flavors. I can also confirm, for any trans and non-binary friends, there is a single all-gender bathroom 🏳️‍⚧️

My favorite pastries always have an Ube flavoring to it, so I'd recommend the Ube (pronounced OO-beh: it's purple yam) cream-filled sugar donut (pictured), as well as Ube cake (not pictured). I'd also say to get a jar of the ube butter at least once to bring home and have with warm bread! 🤤

The espresso drinks are also great. I'm admittedly a coffee snob and picky about "great cappucino"--indeed not many cafés in DC get my recommendation for "great" cappuccinos--but Rose Ave makes it among my shortlist of good caps ☕️

I have yet to try their other pastries because I'm a creature of habit and love me my ube donut + cappucino combo. However, I will say that I come back every now and then so I hope that's enough to suggest that Rose Ave is a great café. It's definitely on the trendier side, if you prefer quieter cafés, but it is good and I have gone there to work before and was still able to concentrate, so it's certainly doable for the laptop nomads. 💻

Give this place a try. It's gotten a lot of buzz online and for good reason, I think. Plus, it's a couple blocks or so away from the Zoo entrance, so if you're visiting to look at some animals and are in search of a good café, this is a great option. If you prefer to just have a pastry, a coffee, and a workspace, this is a good place for that, too...with friendly staff to boot.

Rose Ave Bakery gets a recommendation from me @ 5/5 stars 💫 for atmosphere, coffee, pastries, and a trans-friendly restroom, which I think should be more...

We are obsessed with Rose Ave bakery! They are one of the few bakeries that are nut-free in the area. My son was able to have his first specialty donuts just like everyone else! Though the prices are a bit high, they are definitely worth it! We even bought a whole box of them to bring to our performance practice so others can try them as well. And every single person who tried it said the donuts were delicious!

Our youngest loves the pandan cream filled donut while our oldest loves their mango kouign amman, matcha chocolate chip cookie, and passion fruit donut. I love their sesame (not so sweet) mainly but will finish the others in a heart beat.

Their cakes are also delicious and nut free! Other cakes tend to be on the dry or overtly sweet side, but Rose Ave's fresh berries cake was so moist with just the right amount of sweetness, and just divine!

At our last visit, we ended up trying their gochugaro cornbread and korean corn cheese tart, as well as the coconut mochi balls (for a dear friend who needed a gf option). All were dee-licious as well!

We hope to be back to try their BTS donut, and get a few favorited for the kiddos again. Thankfully, they are in DC which is close to us here in MD but not super close that we would be visiting every single day - because we can and will. So yes, we are obsessed (just a little bit, or maybe a lot) with this bakery.

The servers/staff are also super nice and friendly, exuding positive energy even after a crazy, busy day!

Thank you for being a bakery that my son can comfortably visit and enjoy baked delicacies from! We have shared your establishment to families and friends who may have similar concerns. We hope to visit you all again soon, maybe...