The Essential Baking Company

Tiny sandwich for the price. The sandwiches in the display case looked twice the size too. The lady wearing a tan camouflage baseball cap with brown hair at the counter was way too RUDE! I have never been there before, and all I asked for was a lid, but she had a hard time not mumbling that I just wasn’t paying attention under her breath. Definitely not coming here again.

Very knowledgeable about allergies. I was able to eat the crepes and had their huge chef salad with their balsamic dressing.

This review targets the service experience and the goods bought at grocery stores that carry their products more than this particular site, but their WWW points at this address as the home office so here goes.
My favorite EBC product used to be the artisan crackers baked with sea salt, cracked black pepper or rosemary. A few months ago, they disappeared from shelves throughout Seattle. We stopped at their bakery in Madison and the agent at the counter had no knowledge of the crackers or their whereabouts. So I wrote to their home office and didn’t hear back for several weeks. After another attempt to make contact, they wrote back to confirm the discontinuation of that product which was crushing news to my mother and I who love those crackers and can’t find anything to compare. Not even if you pay $ 6 for a bag of artisan crackers from Whidbey Island at Metro Market.
I’ve tried their gluten free seeded rolls and their wheat bread. Both products have a mealy texture, and are heavy, dry and flavorless. Until the return of their glorious crackers, I’ll be a Grand Central or Macrina customer from now on. :(

The lunch sandwiches are pretty tasty for something that is not made on the premises. They are, however, very small for the price, quality ingredients not withstanding. I value that some ingredients are locally produced (and think that the non-​GMO movement is anti-​science), but a small sandwich is a small sandwich.
My biggest problem with them is availability; because they don’t actually make the sandwiches or salads there, they tend to run out of things earlier in the day and have no ability to make more. Their breakfast sandwiches are a bit cheaper and are actually made there, but even then they frequently lack some of the ingredients and don’t have any good substitutes on hand. Example: Last week they were out of all of the sandwiches I like (only had gorgonzola ones left), so I tried to order the arugula tomato and cheese egg sandwich, but they were out of arugula, and the best substitute they could offer was extra tomato. Eating here becomes very frustrating and hit or miss.
I will say that the people at the counter are pretty nice (my first time in I was given a free cookie!) and that the pastries I have tried are also tasty.

This would be a great place in a high-​end residential neighborhood. To have it here in the heart of an industrial center?
People are missing the point here. The food is delicious, organic, non-​GMO. .. the Essential Baking Company really should be in a pantheon of amazing places.
First. Delicious. Everything is really tasty. Yummy. As an additional bonus, it’s real food. And, you know what? It’s pretty darned cheap!
I see the reviews. You’d rather eat at a gas station? There aren’t enough sides to satisfy you? Well, here you are in Seattle’s Industrial Area, and there’s one place to get real food — not corporate processed hormone/​GMO human feed, but real food, and it’s cheap, and it’s delicious…
Here’s the warning. They’re closed weekends, and since they care about the food, they tend to run out of stuff after Friday lunch rush.

Showing some love because it was just what we were looking for. Great food for a quick lunch. Good coffee, panini and fresh crêpe with ham cheese and arugula.

The sandwich I had was fine. But it was just fine. A $ 5 charge for a half sandwich that had more lettuce than meat and came with absolutely nothing else… Well, it’s ridiculous. I bought a half loaf of their Rosemary Bread and it cost half that much. I just can’t believe I walked out with a 4-​inch square sandwich and that was it.
If the sandwich was better I might be more impressed but I’ve had a gas station sandwich that rivaled it.

The lemon bars are great!

The people that work here are extremely nice. The food is always fresh and tasty. My only issue is that I would like some chips or a simple side with my sandwich, is even a pickle too much to ask for? Who just eats a sandwich only for lunch? Can I have an apple, banana, cup o’fruit? Geez… just give me something other than this almost $ 10 tasty sandwich.
But thanks for being overly friendly while serving me my lonely sandy.
~Im still a bit hungry.

This reveiw is just for their espresso and Baquette.
Good espresso maker and good bread.
Very calm atmosphere. Good place to hide out…
Even from yourself;)

This review is for the Café–
I was stoked to see they have a bakery near my work because the bread (Rosemary Diamanté) is some of the best Ive ever had. EVER!
Which is why they get only 2 stars right now for my first visit. I love that they are using organic, high quality, product. The coffee was good, the bread was half off, but my $ 9 sandwich was like eating at a gas station. The Italian is a tasty sandwich. But it would be a really great sandwich if it wasn’t sitting in a cooler all day getting rubbery. Honestly not as good as Subway. Until you make your sandwiches fresh, to order, Ill eat at Alki across the street. And Alki is not that great.

This is one of the few great in-​and-​out fresh lunch locations relatively close (13 minute drive) to my workplace which serves food with organic ingredients. There is one cheeseless panini and it’s delicious; just be sure to order a side dish if you aren’t a light eater.
Bonus: get 50% off your bread purchase when you also buy lunch (to-​go or dine-​in!).
Bonus: get $ 1 off when purchase both soup and sandwich.
Pro: the location specific menu is posted on their website.
Pro: you can call in your to-​go order so it’s ready when you arrive.
Yum: the «Magic Bar» was super yummy!
FYI: their salads are only available full size, not as a side salad.
In question: Parking was a challenge the second time I went. Both lots on either side of the building were full… this dining location is definitely a factory first; the café seems like an after thought (although a very good after thought!). Readers might keep in mind that this is a Café and not a Restaurant.

I stopped in once to pick up some bread on the way home. It was toward the end of the day so there wasn’t a lot of offerings. The nicest looking loaf was a lone Rosemary Diamanté so I grabbed that and some coconut macaroons.
Back home, I sliced into the rosemary loaf and served it with dinner. I noticed my friends were scraping the salt crystals from the top. It was TOO damned salty: (
I gave them a third star for those macaroons. They were the dessert that night and everyone loved them. Other than that, there’s better versions of this bread at other local bakeries.

I’d lump this one in the same status as Alki Bakery; they try, but it’s just not quite there. I’d agree that the value is pretty bad. An artichoke panini, NW Pacific salad, croissant and a glass of water for $ 15. Really? I could get the exact same at Two Tartes down the street for $ 10. I’ll come back maybe to try a crêpe, but otherwise, I’d stay away. They’re trying to charge Alaska-​inflation prices right here in the lower 48.

This place caught my eye one day and later stopped in for lunch. I had much higher hopes for this place than I actually discovered. The sandwich I ordered was not bad but other than a pickle there were no sides that you could even order. The bakery counter and seating left a lot to be desired as well as the menu.
I had the ruben snadwich and it was okay, but I ended up still leaving hungry and the price was a little high for that.

There are a lot of good places in Georgetown. This isn’t one of them. I think the other two locations of this chain were better.
The two times I have gone, I have gotten a salad, which had wilted and some rotten greens which I ended up tossing (no pun intended?) and a sandwich with bread that was a bit dry.
This is one of the best bakeries in the city and they serve sandwiches with dry bread? This was a shame, because I was excited when they first open.
Best part of this place is the local area discount. They give a discount if you work in the area, so be sure to ask for it.

Ingredients are top notch here, but the value is p-​o-​o-​r. Eight bucks for a sandwich with about $ 1 worth of filling? No thanks.

Oh, boy. I would be happier if I could enjoy this place, but sadly, I really don’t. The major problem is that you’re paying a lot and not getting much in return. Nearly $ 9.00 for a humdrum Reuben sandwich and no side, not even a few measly chips? There are so many more, far superior options in the vicinity: The Pig Iron, Slim’s Last Chance, Hudson all quickly come to mind. For that kind of money you could something really good. On the plus side, the coffee’s really good and there’s the aroma of freshly baked bread.

Georgetown isn’t a place where I wander frequently, but every time I do it seems that there are neat little places popping up. The Georgetown outpost of the Essential Baking Company is another one of those.
TEBC is set in a non-​descript building that looks like it once housed an office. However, the insides have been remodeled and, although a small space, is inviting with bright light from the storefront windows. There’s a small counter across from the doorway with a glass counter hosting a variety of baked goods, pizza, crepes, soups and sandwiches.
Since I’d beaten my friend here, it left me a few extra minutes to consider the dining options. Although initially I was thinking of a sandwich, I quickly became mesmerized by their salads. This is a rare occasion for a hearty carnivore such as myself. So a caesar salad and vanilla latte were ordered.
I like the small touches here. When I’d ordered the salad for in-​store dining, they opened up the package (it is displayed in a plastic container similar to what you’d see in a QFC) and placed it on a separate plate with dressing and croutons. The vanilla latte was excellent. Most of the places in Seattle make at least respectable vanilla lattes, but it’s still a little startling when you get a really good one. This was one of those.
Aside from a few tables inside, there’s also a small patio in the front where you can gaze at the traffic on 1^st Avenue S. A few trees provide some shade, but it’s open enough that you can get some sun here.
The server was very friendly and asked if I was from the Georgetown neighborhood, mentioning that there was a discount for people working in the area. I considered my answer for a moment. As I am a terrible liar, I smiled and said «No, but I’ll be back here often.»

Am I really the first person to review this??? I first read about the newest location in Georgetown a few weeks ago, and noticed the location when eating across the street. A few days later, I was there with a coworker and we got a stellar 5% discount for working in the area.
Super friendly service (I thought better than what we always get in the Wallingford location) and obviously popular as the pastry case was looking sparse in the early afternoon.
Wasn’t disappointed on coffee or treats (got 3 different kinds of cookies) — yay for another location in a convenient location for work and on the way to the airport when taking 99!