Bakery Nouveau

The twice-baked almond croissant sets the standard

The twice-baked almond croissant is what most people come to Bakery Nouveau for: crisp and flaky at the edges, chewy and soft underneath, with restrained almond paste and enough powdered sugar to balance the butter rather than bury it. Warm croissants and careful lamination sit at the centre of the reputation. The chocolate croissant is the other core pastry, buttery with a balanced filling, and the croque monsieur anchors the savoury side. William and Heather Leaman opened the original in West Seattle in 2006, taking over the historic Blake’s Bakery and keeping its neighbourhood role while adding European-inspired breads, pastries, cakes, quiches, sandwiches and chocolates. Capitol Hill followed in 2013 and Burien in 2017.

A competition baker behind a neighbourhood counter

William Leaman came up through Seattle baking, including years at Essential Baking Company, where he also developed the chocolate skills that later shaped Burien. In 2005 he captained Bread Bakers Guild Team USA to gold at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris, a competition built around breads, pastries and artistic showpieces. That background favours craft over rapid growth, and it shows in the ambition of the newest site rather than in the number of them. The Burien flagship runs to 7,500 square feet with a chocolate factory below the café, visible through a glass panel set into the floor. Cocoa beans arrive through farmer relationships in Guatemala and Venezuela, then become chocolate for mousses, croissant fillings, cakes, truffles and bars, at a capacity of around 20 tons a year.

Cases that change with the calendar

Service is counter-led rather than restaurant-style. The cases carry breads, French-style cakes, croissants, danishes, macarons, cookies, scones, quiches, sandwiches, pies and single-slice desserts, with white-and-wood styling that nods to mid-century European cafés. Seasonal work sets the rhythm: hot cross buns, brioche rolls and chocolate eggs at Easter, pączki and king cake for Mardi Gras, stollen, pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate pecan pie around Thanksgiving, Dutch apple and coconut creme among the autumn pies. Beyond the croissants, look for the vanilla eclair, cookies with firm edges and soft centres, and a ham and cheese croissant or rosemary garlic bread when the order turns savoury. Composed cakes run to dark chocolate, strawberry pistachio, Praline Dream with crisp praline and chocolate-hazelnut mousse, and Phoenix, which layers chocolate, pear and caramel mousses over candied pecans, caramel glaze and gold leaf.