85C Bakery Cafe - International District

I like this bakery chain, but lately it's been hit and miss. This one is definitely a miss. Cons: We got two things from here and both were stale (the bacon on “bacon and cheese pastry” was rock hard) The food menu is very limited There was a swarm of about 6 flies inside No seating area, just a few high tables and a window ledge Pros: the restroom is clean

Newly opened Asian bakery in Chinatown, with unique selection of breads, dessert and tea drinks not typically seen in other bakery in Seattle area. Their point reward system is the worst among all restaurants I have tried - you have to tell the cashier to add your purchase into your points, and you forgot to do that then you have to call their customer service number to add the points. This is the most user unfriendly system ever designed.

I love this bakery because the quality and prices are outstanding. The Bellevue location is particularly amazing because it has great selections and speedy service at all times. Presumably, the general manager here is different from the one in Bellevue because operationally, this shop is just not up to par to its sister locations. This location runs out of bread within the first few hours of opening, which should imply that the store should bake more bread. However, that is totally not the case. There is no bread at all by late afternoon. One female employee there said it's because they close at 5PM. I get it. Fresh bread and no waste. However, at least make enough bread for your customers to have options TWO HOURS before you close please. That's just not acceptable to stay open with decent hours, or at least enough time for someone to come after work, but make so little food that it's actually not economical to even keep those store hours unless you provide enough food. I want this location to stay open, but at this rate, I anticipate more bad reviews will come regarding the lack of food/options, and these reviews have already been flooding in. It's a real shame.

1/4/19: Decided to pop in and check this place out! Picked up BBQ sausage, pineapple cake, egg tart, coconut custard roll, red bean bun, and guava cream cheese strudel. Very tasty! Nice to have additional bakery options. They also have milk bread (shokupan) so I'll have to try theirs and see if I like it. It was pretty busy but with 2 registers the line moved at a good pace.

Everything was made fresh in the 45 minutes I spent at this 85c today and absolutely purchased too much today! I wanted to bring some snacks for friends who have never been to 85c, so I limited myself to just a few trays if pastries, I didn't want to attempt to bring any items that would melt within 4 hours. Everything was reasonably price and I barely paid over $50.00 for everything. Hope you enjoy your visit to 85c and eat some delicious bakery items with friends and family!

Would definitely go back!!! What’s great with this place (btw grand opening hasn’t happened yet, it’s Jan 18-20 and comes with amazing promos!), is that it has calorie counts for each of their pastries, desserts and drinks. There’s seating for maybe 10 people (across 2 tables) so it’s definitely not a place to do work, but there is a bathroom here too. Service was speedy even considering the sheer amount of people. The mango thing I’m eating right now came with a cute take out box. Cashier offered a fork too. It’s also less calories than I expected heh... and the leaf is edible too (white chocolate). The bun is a “milk bun”, and has filing. It’s pretty good.

Fortunately did not experience having to wait outside in the cold like others have, visiting the store. There was a line inside, caused by just one cashier ringing up purchases. There was also an additional delay with their terminal not working with credit card payment. All in all, I spent more than 15 minutes waiting in line and less than 2 to pick the items I wanted to buy. The bakery sells colorful, aesthetically pleasing Taiwanese/Asian-flavored pastries. My sister calls them 'granny' pastries because the products are mostly soft and fluffy. The products are also less sweet than what you would usually get from French and American bakeries. As for the complaints about sanitation - self-serve, pick and place on your tray, with thongs provided - I'd say do what I do. Bring your own plastic glove (and/or thongs), or use a tray napkin to pick up the bakery items. Then, before you get to the cashier, bag your own pastries (provided on the table by the cashier's counter). Or, just buy only the bagged pastries. I haven't tried the drinks yet, but the bakery is already a pastry winner for me.

I'm so happy that the 85°C Bakery in Seattle is open again! It’s always a treat to pop in for some fresh pastries and a delicious drink. For those who might be new to 85°C, this location doesn’t have a self-serve option because it’s on the smaller side—kind of like some of the locations in California, so it’s nothing new to me. Even close to closing, they had plenty of options left, which was a nice surprise. I even took a photo of the store fully stocked, with some extra bread behind the counter, at around 4 PM. But honestly, I don't expect much if I’m heading to a bakery right before they close—pastries take time to bake, so if you’re after something quick post-work, maybe hit up McDonald’s instead. I recognized one of the female employees from the Southcenter location, and I felt for her when I saw a customer berating her, demanding freshly baked items so close to closing. Have you never seen the British Bake-Off? These things take time, sweetie. Kudos to the staff for handling it so professionally.