I originally visited Bakery Nouveau a bit over a year ago on a visit to Seattle. I found it to serve stellar pastries, but the main one I wanted, the Kouign Amann, wasn't in stock. Per the employee, they didn't meet quality standards and couldn't be sold to customers that day.
Since I moved to Seattle, I haven't had a chance to visit again until recently. This was at 11:30 on a Saturday and there was no line at all. Surprising, given that I waited over 30 minutes in line the previous time on a random weekday morning! And this time they had the Kouign Amann! I also went ahead and placed a preorder for Paczki, Bakery Nouveau being one of the few places in Seattle for me to continue the Paczki Day tradition I picked up from Detroit.
Kouign Amann ($6) - Nice flakiness with a good crust on the exterior. There's a good sugar hardened crust, especially on the bottom, but it doesn't make the pastry overly sweet. The interior isn't very sweet and instead is quite buttery and pretty much identical in flavor to a croissant. It certainly tastes good and has good mouthfeel but I think this is most likely just the croissant dough mixed with more sugar. Then again, I'm no expert! (4/5)
Garlic Parmesan Focaccia ($5.50) - Woah, this is a massive piece of bread, being around 8 in diameter by 3 in tall. I haven't seen this size of focaccia around Seattle! Usually bakeries only give out small rectangular slices that cost at least 50% more than what Bakery Nouveau churns out. This really can't be beat for value. But... is this really a focaccia at all? The crust is golden brown throughout, but not dark enough to develop a harder crunchy crust and the exterior is somewhat oily. They are very generous with the parmesan, allowing the top to develop a spectacular caramelized cheese crust. There are soft and creamy whole garlic cloves baked inside. The interior... is not focaccia. It's more similar to a pullman loaf - dense, doughy and chewy with very small air pockets, nothing like the airy crumb of most other focaccia. No wonder it only cost $5.50 for the loaf. Still, I think it's worth it, given that it's plenty tasty. (4/5)
Twice Baked Chocolate Croissant ($6.50) - I normally prefer more traditional almond croissant/pain au chocolat, but when I want a decadent almond or chocolate treat, I go to Bakery Nouveau. This croissant melds the best of both the almond and the chocolate. There's a very generous layer of almond frangipane spread in the center and another layer spread on top. When I say generous I mean it - both layers are like a half inch, 3 or 4 times as much as most bakeries put in their croissants. The amount of frangipage crushes the laminated croissant layers so they are no longer flaky or airy and instead pressed together into sweet bliss, being dipped in simple syrup. Since the croissant is double baked, the exterior exhibits a very well baked crunch, with all the butter in the croissant completely caramelizing and giving a rich flavor. There's some chocolate melted inside the croissant to one side and a bar on top - dark chocolate, sweet, rich, and slightly bitter. (5/5)
Paczki ($5) - I preordered a box of four for Paczki Day this year. Preorders are chefs choice. I was a bit afraid that I would receive a package of the traditional flavors (prune bleh), but I was pleasantly surprised to open the box and find four unique and utterly delicious looking paczki. First - raspberry, filled with a thick raspberry jam studded with seeds, sweet yet tangy, and topped with a raspberry icing, more tart than the interior, made with real fruit instead of flavorings. Second - cut in half with cream, very fluffy and lightly sweetened, piped inside and studded with cut strawberries. The strawberries lend the cream a nice fragrance. Third - cut in half with the same cream as above piped in. And finally - a Boston Cream paczki, cut in half and filled with a dollop of eggy pastry cream in the center and a ring of the lighter cream around it, with a top of slightly sweetened, rich chocolate ganache. All four types are not too sweet and easy to eat. The base dough used is indeed richer than donut dough, making this more similar to an authentic paczki than a jelly donut. I do have to say that typically eating a single paczki from a bakery in Detroit fills me up, but due to the lighter fillings and being less sweet, I could down more than one of these. (5/5)
The paczki are seriously good. Are they the most authentic ones? No, but I prefer the newer interpretations anyways. I still give the nod to New Palace Bakery for my top choice, but Bakery Nouveau would give a lot of bakeries in Detroit a run for their money.
Bakery Nouveau's other products are also very solid, albeit not the most traditional. I would definitely revisit anytime I'm looking for a sweet pastry. read more