Thant A.
Yelp
There are a lot of Asian bakeries in NoVA - Tour Le Jours, Shilla, Paris Baguette, Jireh, etc. What sets Chateau apart? THE FREAKING LIGHTS! Eh, wait, I think the pastries are more important. Well, no, let's get into the décor first. The presentation of this bakery is in a class of its own. As soon as you enter, you forget you're in a random building in front of a Lotte. The tens to hundreds of hanging lights with their unique charm just welcome you in if you're looking up, and if you can tune out the crowd and the line for a brief moment. You could tell the interior designer probably went bananas with the design budget. Check out the back room with the bookshelves! The high ceiling, the lights, the glass cupboards with hardwood doors for the pastries, the different kinds of seating arrangements, and everything else about this place is amazing. Don't forget to check out the upstairs!
Okay, the place itself is quite charming and sets itself apart from other bakeries. How are the pastries themselves? Now, this is hard because the place itself could be playing a psychological trick on me. I feel like Chateau is at least 10% better than any other place. If you asked me which place I wanted to go hang out and have a quick bite and drink, I'd always pick Chateau. If I'm getting a birthday cake, I'm going to Tour le Jours. Otherwise, I'd be here. I also never had any unpleasant experiences with the staff here. Of course, they got to recoup some of those costs of the designs, the place itself, and the high-quality pastries, so the prices here reflect that. That's the only thing preventing me from coming back as often as I'd like. That's not a problem for Chateau though. The place is always crowded and the food is always sold. They have found a good balance.
If you've never been, is Chateau a must-go? 100% YES!