Bakery Nouveau

Bakery Nouveau is another local bakery that specializes in French pastries and baked goods.  Located in the West Seattle neighborhood, Nouveau offers many of the same items as Honoré Artisan Bakery.  Much of what I could find online about Nouveau compares it to other french bakeries in Seattle, such as Honoré and Café Besalu.  So, of course, I used that as an excuse to venture out to West Seattle to do my own comparison :p

With it's warm colors, wood paneling and mood lighting, Nouveau seems to be a great, cozy spot to enjoy a cup of coffee and a sweet treat.  However, after waiting in line for a few minutes, I began to realize that things weren't what they seemed.  It was actually a bit chaotic...almost like a beehive.  Behind the counter are employees scrambling back and forth, filling orders.  Meanwhile, the customers are trying to keep up with the employees as they yell out more items to add to their order.   This store might be a bit too busy for its own good.  Either that, or they could use some restructuring of the way customers are assisted and how they line up.  They're also hindered in that they only have one espresso machine.  So, many customers are subjected to two waits-- one for the pastries, and the other, for their caffeine fix.  These long waits led to people pooling around the espresso machine and grabbing other people's drinks in error.

Personally, I had a couple of things go wrong.  First, we were charged for an extra item.  This was immediately corrected after we brought it to their attention.  Plus, we ordered quite a few items, so it greatly increased the chance that we would not be rung up correctly.  The second mishap was on our drink order.  We ordered an iced Chai and a drip coffee.  The Chai was ready shortly after we paid for our items.  The drip coffee, on the other hand, never made its way out.  Apparently, they ran out of drip, but we were not informed until we approached them about our missing drink.  As a substitute, they made us an Americano.

Overall, the drinks were average and the pastries tended to be on the sweeter side.  I think I'll have to give them another try on a less busy day.  I'll most likely get their baked breads, which I have now learned are what they are better known for.  For now, the upper hand goes to Honoré and Besalu.

Macarons (from top to bottom): Passion Fruit, Blood Orange, Salted Caramel

Twice-baked Hazelnut Croissant

Cherry and Pistachio Cake