Albert T.
Yelp
We were in Phinney Ridge getting bread from another bakery down the street when we came across Petit Pierre and decided to make a stop. Unlike the other bakery, there was no line and we were in and out quickly, digging into the pastries soon afterwards.
Almond Croissant ($6.50) - This is a more traditional almond croissant (e.g. not the Bakery Nouveau-type twice baked croissant that patisseries around Seattle love to bake). The croissant is cut in half and slathered with a frangipane that's quite processed. It's very yellow in color with all the almond skins completely removed, and it's smooth, moist, and very sweet. It's almost as if they blended almond meat with a ton of sugar syrup. It's not my favorite frangipane to be honest, but hey, even less good frangipane is still good! Otherwise, the almond croissant is well laminated with a honeycomb structure that's on the airier side. It's not especially buttery, but the interior stands up well to the sweetness of the frangipane. The top is spread with a generous layer of frangipane, baked until golden, sliced almonds, and powdered sugar. (4.5/5)
Pistachio Chocolate Croissant ($6.50) - This pastry is basically a pain au chocolat that has been cut in half and slathered with a pistachio cream. It's topped with a coarser pistachio blend studded with pieces of pistachio, enhancing the sweet nutty flavor. As with the almond frangipane, the pistachio cream is very smooth, almost custardy, but with good pistachio flavor. For some reason, the interior cream creates large air pockets in the croissant - perhaps there's excess moisture? Still, the croissant is plenty tasty, and the addition of two batons of chocolate in the center certainly helps things out even more! (4/5)
Kouign Amann ($6.25) - This pastry is brushed with a salted sugar syrup on the exterior - not quite as much syrup as most other kouign amanns, so there's no extremely sticky caramelized layer on the bottom. A nice sprinkling of pearl sugar on top adds crunch and additional sweetness. The interior is denser and not as layered as the croissants, more resembling a brioche, perhaps. There's layers of sugar syrup baked inside, making the interior actually more sweet than the outside. Even with all the sugar, it's not overwhelmingly sweet and is instead quite well balanced with the salt. This is one of the better kouign amanns I've had. (5/5)
The pastries served at Petit Pierre Bakery are pretty solid. They're well balanced in taste and are very well constructed. I'll be back the next time I'm in Phinney Ridge.
Bathrooms - One unisex room