08/29/09

Excellent Food!

by Whitman2002

My family and I love Essential Bakery! The food and beverages are absolutely amazing. You need to try their soup and sandwich combo. You won’t be disappointed. I am always excited by their selection of creative and tasty dishes. The prices are a tad on the expensive side and the portion sizes (especially breakfast) are a little small. However, the taste and quality of the food cannot be rivaled. The menu does change a bit...so don't fall in love with one dish, as they may not have it the next time you go. Over all, I LOVE this place for a hot cup of organic coffee or lunch with girlfriends. Highly recommend!

PS - The barista was a little rude to me once when I asked her to make my latte again...I asked for decaffeinated and got caffeinated coffee which doesn't sit well with my system. Definitely not Starbucks service...but the coffee is better quality.

• Pros: Location, Food, Atmosphere etc.
• Cons: Small Portions, Inconsistent Menu

07/30/07

Wish I could like it...

by young5977

We only live a few blocks away from the EBC. It's so convenient that I wish I could like it. I want to like it. But I don't. The food is okay and the breads are fine (albeit not quite comparable to the Grand Central and Macrina's). But I can't get past the snotty staff. Who hires these people? If they were moderately considerate or pretended quasi-convincingly to give a darn about their customers, I'd visit a lot more often. Surely there are some nice-ish twenty-somethings with the requisite number of body piercings in need of a job....

• Pros: It's close to home and will do in a pinch
• Cons: The bratty staff.

04/12/07

Was better two years ago, before greed replaced commitment to quality...

by calaha

I have a hard time rating Essential Baking Co., because I really would like to have rated it before their overhaul last year. In fact, I would just like it to be like it was two years ago. Either way, I'm not going to give you a better review of the service - this place is an employment haven for rockabilly punks, and punk kids in general. They all seem to love working there, and like each other - quite obviously more than the customers. However, I have never had a really bad experience with them.

My primary beef with Essential is the brainless greed that went into their menu change around a year ago or more. They basically took everything off the menu which was really really good, but probably cost more to make, minimized the portions and raised the prices. Of course, they kept the things that were cheap and tasted terrible -- I do NOT understand how anyone could like their tuna sandwich - I didn't know you could make tuna taste that bad! They even cut some of their most popular signature items, and got enough protest that one or two were readded. But overall, there are only a couple of thing worth eating on their menu now, and since they cut out everything my boyfriend liked, I don't get to go there anymore.

Before then, I would have said it was a near-perfect place. Now it's just average, and certainly not worth the money.

• Pros: Coffee is good, and they are one of the few places that carry rice milk.
• Cons: Limited selection, nearly nothing suitable for kids

04/03/07

Best food in town!

by marare

I was reading a nasty review that someone wrote about the Madison Essential Baking company and I strongly disagree. I go there everyday and get coffee in the morning and lunch in the afternoon. I have never had someone be rude to me and the food is great. I know they just raised the prices but if it's too high, then don't go. I have been to many cafes in Seattle and have spent more then $17.00 for a bowl of soup, sandwich and soda. We do live in Seattle....and it is a bit spendy here! Have you seen the housing market?

This person clearly has issues...are you really upset with The Essential Baking Co. or with yourself? I suggest you breath!!

I love this place and stand by it. They have great people working there and great food! I highly recommend it!

Have a good day everyone!!

• Pros: Cute, good food, good music, happy place to be.

03/27/07

Terrible service. High prices. Mediocre food.

by dain206

The Essential Bakery at Madison wants to be a friendly upscale bakery. It is not a friendly place and for the prices they charge for a sandwich you'd think they would be happy to have the customers. Unfortunately, the "waiting" staff seem to have nothing but contempt for their customers. I paid $17 for a bowl of soup and a sanwich and a can of Orange soda. How can they justify these prices. Even the people who work at Essential couldn't afford to eat there. The food is average, and it is not a bakery the real bakery is in Fremont. Let me get back to the staff, though. After standing at the counter for what seemed like five minutes. I manged to get the girl with the hairy armpits to glance over at me. Then she resumed talking to her friend in the kitchen. She then got around to taking my order. Not even looking at me. Either they hate people in general or they hate their job or both. I am so sick of the service at this place, I won't be eating there again. There are plenty of good sandwich places in Seattle that deserve my money more than Essential. I bet this place spits in the sandwiches or soups of the customers. Awful place.

• Pros: Hmmm....they have napkins?
• Cons: Rude staff, terrible service, high prices, should I go on?

07/21/06

good if it's close

by eatingme

Don't go out of your way to go here. I go just because It's close to my house and I can walk. they do have some good food, but sometimes the counter people are rude. There are plenty of other places to try in seattle. (specialty's)

• Pros: Wi FI
• Cons: rude service

04/23/06

Disappointing

by budgie

Hostile service, day-old croissants, and generally disappointing. Seattle has many fine bakeries to choose from, and I would choose another.

• Cons: service, price, quality

Creative sandwiches, savory soups and handcrafted desserts help this neighborhood favorite achieve the promise of its name.

by Contributor

The Scene
Its aromatic artisanal breads have lined the shelves of high-end local grocers for years, and now Essential has expanded its primary bakery to include a warmly charming cafe and lunch counter. Exposed-brick walls, high beamed ceilings and broad, sunny windows contribute to the casual, airy atmosphere. Sit at the knotty-pine lunch counters or soak up the sun on the front patio.

The Food
The seasonally driven menu focuses on European sandwiches with ingenious twists: Kalamata olive bread is slathered with cool feta-cucumber spread and freshly snipped oregano leaves, while a sophisticated white cheddar and Camembert grilled cheese is dressed up with pan-roasted Granny Smith apples, caramelized onions and crisp watercress. The Spanish-style hearth oven turns out robust slices of pizza bianca, a house specialty occasionally augmented with shards of prosciutto. Pastries and desserts are beautifully executed: Croissants burst with fresh raspberries, pears and apricots; decadent chocolate mousse is sweetly amplified with a buttery layer of creme brulee.