Bouteloua Bakery

My little boy has multiple food allergies, and he has never tasted a «store bought» cake. Taking a chance, I went to Bouteloua Bakery, spoke to the owner about my son’s allergies and bought a chocolate raspberry cake and a little dark chocolate truffle shaped like a bird from Bouteloua Bakery.
Oh my goodness, where to begin? The cake, with a sweet happy birthday message, and the bird were so darling that I didn’t want to cut into it. But boy, am I glad I did! Both were crazy delicious!
The chocolate cake was incredibly moist and rich, and the dark chocolate truffle was heavenly. My mother-​in-​law, who is not a dessert person, devoured most of the truffle. Most importantly, my little boy thought the cake was wonderful. The happiness and the wonder in his eyes at eating what everyone else was eating was magical. We will be back often!

My review is based primarily on two things:
1) Rosemary foccacia. It is perfect. Light. Fluffy. Perfect olive oil/​rosemary essence. The best bread ever. Seriously.
2) Cake. My husband ordered a chocolate raspberry cheesecake for me. Fuck me. I’m taking about multi-​orgasmic desert here. Each piece left me slumped over my plate, spent, and yet yearning for more.
P. S. Special order cakes require a few days’ advance notice (I think 3 days?), so plan ahead and you will bring the best cake ever to your office party, wedding, birthday celebration… or in my case, it will be a sweet companion for Downton Abby marathon viewing.

We stopped by an hour before closing, there wasn’t a lot of stuff left. This was disappointing as we were from out of town.
I got a few things.
Cinnamon bun was pretty good, not too sweet. Would be nice with vegan cream cheese frosting.
Croissants we didn’t like, way too oily and greasy. Left your hands a mess. Didn’t make us feel well either after eating those for breakfast the next day.
Gluten free chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. I didn’t realize it was gluten free before I got it and then was worried I wouldn’t have liked it as much as the other flavours they had in non GF. I tried it the next day and I was blown away. It didn’t even taste gluten free and it wasn’t dry or crumbly. It was by far the best gluten free cupcake I’ve ever had and one of the best vegan cupcakes I’d ever had as well. I liked that the frosting wasn’t too sweet either. If I lived in Seattle I would definitely get another cupcake or cake for a special occasion.
I’m a vegan chef, but not a baker, so it’s nice to have a treat once in a while for something that I wouldn’t make myself at home.

I have a lot of respect for anyone who attempts vegan baking. In order to provide scrumptious delights that still please the palette you have to go through a lot of trial and error until you find the right combination. And I don’t mean making up for lacking ingredients by just adding more sugar.
I had the pain au chocolat and a focaccia when I visited Bouteloua and both were great! However, my experience here still left me feeling lacking.
For one, I almost missed the place and drove by twice before I realized where it was. Then once you get inside, it is so bare and uninviting. It’s not an unusually small space, but they are really only using about 5 square feet (at most) of the front of house. The pastry case was small and they had a really limited selection. I understand that it can be more time consuming to make a vegan baked good than a regular one. But even if you are making as much product as your staff size will allow, you can still showcase what you do have well so that people will feel like everything they could have wanted was available.
I know a lot of folks who would go out of their way for good vegan food, but even in their busy Ballard location I didn’t see anyone else come in or leave while I was there and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone going in and out of here. Hopefully their Best of Unilocal status will help.

There is definitely no shortage of establishments that curb the sweet tooth cravings… I mean, we’ve got Cupcake Royale, Full Tilt, Yozen, D’Ambrosio Gelato… but nothing for the people who have food allergies/​sensitivities, like myself! For the longest time, I would walk the streets of Ballard yearning for an organic, vegan, gluten-​free bakery!
Then, Bouteloua Bakery opened up, and I could not have been more pleased! Megan does a fabulous job of not only creating beautiful tasty cakes (the windows always have some great cakes on display), but the most flavorful vegan and GF treats! I love that I can go in to get a flaky, buttery croissant, or a chai cupcake, or a lemon poppy muffin, and not feel totally guilty about indulging because everything’s totally allergy-​free for me!
I have special ordered mini cupcakes on numerous occasions… some for me, some for other people, some cupcakes GF with no soy, others with no cane sugar and soy. Megan has always honored my crazy requests without hesitation.
And, I just learned that they use Daiya cheese in their broccoli & cheddar croissants. Having just discovered the awesomeness of Daiya cheese, I am thrilled whenever I learn a place uses it in their items!
The prices are totally reasonable! Bouteloua Bakery is a fabulous addition to the Ballard ‘hood! If you or someone you know needs a tasty treat from a place that caters to those with food allergies/​sensitivities this is definitely a place worth checking out!

Every day I dream of the most delicious pain au chocolat I have ever had, vegan or otherwise. What I would give to have Bouteloua Bakery across the street from me in LA, instead of down the road from my friend in Ballard. I even picked up a few day-​old chocolate chip cookies for my plane ride home, which were equally decadent and to die for, without a hint of day-​old to them. This is the good stuff, my friends.
Totally affordable, lots of gluten-​free options, and best of all, french pastries for those of us who dream of butter croissants, minus the butter.

Can I give you ten stars? It’s my birthday and I just finished the most exquisite carrot cake cupcake that I had to update on it’s virtue alone.
My mouth waters as I type this, remembering the thick, whipped silken «cream cheese» frosting, and the dense, moist, fruit-​filled carrot cake, rich with spices and glistening fruit. It is impossible to detect it’s vegan nature, it’s just a perfectly made cupcake, rich and fattening and fantastic.
Miss Bouteloua, you’ve got it going on!

I got really excited to try this place. The place itself is a little small and it was super empty when I went in. However, the people that worked there were SUPER nice — one of the ladies (maybe the owner) was ever-​so-​sweet. I wanted to pick her up and put her in my pocket.
The cinnamon roll I got was pretty good, not life-​changing but definitely good. :)
I don’t think I’d stop here on a whim if I’m feeling in the mood for a treat, only because they didn’t have much selection and the atmosphere was very odd. But I would definitley order a custom cake from these guys — beautiful work.
Overall, glad this place exists and I’ll probably see them again, but they’re not on the top of my list of favorite vegan places in Seattle.

oh sweet jesus. if I lived in Seattle, I would weigh 500 pounds because of this place!
AMAZING croissant with apple sage field roast– LOVE having savory selections!!! lemon roll was also insanely delish. yummy french press coffee.
hoping to make it back again soon!

I really love this place. Ballard desperately needed a vegan bakery, and I’m pleased that such a good one showed up!
Everything I’ve triend from here has been delicious — cookies, cupcakes, croissants. Note that I haven’t tried anything gluten-​free so I can’t speak to those items. But everything else? YUM!
If only they had longer hours.

pretty organic vegan shop. love all the small details from the honey bear jar to the teacups. You can tell the owner put a lot of love and passion into this place!!!
hope more vegan/​gluten free healthy cafes open up around seattle :)

When in awesome-​treat-​option-​saturated Ballard, I encourage you to bypass the too-​often default Cupcake Royale (no offense; they’re great too) and check out the cupcakes here. They are awesomely delicious. However, their cookies are also a fantastic option and it’s hard not to eat four of them. Or twelve.
But yes, a little expensive (though that does help prevent my consumption of a dozen cookies a visit).

There is a reason why Bouteloua has great reviews – they have earned it!
They have perfected the gluten-​free and vegan cupcake. So good!
Everything I have had from here has been delicious. My daughter had her first cupcake from here for her 1^st birthday and my birthday cake that I had recently was not only pleasing to the eyes but tasted great as well.
The owner is very pleasant and sweet as well as other employees I have encountered.
Only downfall is that they often sell out of gluten-​free baked goods so hit them up earlier in the day.

I have the pickiest family ever.
My mom and her boyfriend are gluten and sugar free. My sister is kosher. My brother-​in-​law doesn’t like butter or eggs.
So, a vegan, gluten-​free cake seemed to be the only acceptable cake for my mom’s birthday.
We ordered a small, gluten-​free chai cake with faux-​buttercream frosting. The cake was ready on time, the service was very friendly, and the cake was simple and beautiful.
Everyone really enjoyed the cake, with only one complaint: it was a bit dry. I think if we order a cake from Bouteloua again, we’ll ask for extra frosting in the layers to help the dryness, but other than that, very delicious and recommended for those with dietary restrictions!

Pretty good!
Tofu and spinach croissant x2
earl grey tea x1
orange juice x1
day old left overs (1 small muffin, 1 small croissant) x2
total: $ 15+
The tofu and spinach croissant were pretty tiny but super delicious! I probably could have eaten at least 3 – 4 of them, and had at least 3 cups of orange juice, which came in a tiny cup.
It was a bit pricey for the amount of food I got, but I think the flavor of everything is worth it. Everything is vegan, and the croissant is seriously like-​the-​real-​thing if you know what I mean. I haven’t had an actual croissant in over 5+ years (no kidding), and it was flakey, and buttery and I had no stomach ache and other unmentionable GI issues! :D
There were cookies on display by the window, but they were not for sale so I was a bit bummed but I guess the secret is to get to the bakery early in the morning before everything sells out by the afternoon.
Yes. They are *that* good!

I live vicariously through people who can eat gluten (primarily my husband) and I was so excited to tell him when this vegan bakery opened. I had gone in with him several times to watch him drool over the various types of filled croissants, the cinnamon rolls and cookies. They usually have one or two things gluten free, but I had only been there early in the day or before I had eaten when I didn’t really feel like a cupcake. However, I saw today on their facebook page (where they tend to list all of their specials each day) that they had gluten free cheesecake. I went in there and they had one more half cheesecake left. I ordered it to take home and it was so perfect and delicious. The filling was fluffy and light, nice flavor, and topped with raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries and mint.
In addition to amazing food, it is just a comfortable place to be. Whoever is working is always so nice, the place is great to sit and stay, and they also have coffee and juices.

I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of Bouteloua. I finally made it down there last weekend and was not at all disappointed.
My fiancé and I split a croissant, a lemon roll, and a cinnamon roll. The croissant was the only vegan substitute I’ve ever had that had both the taste and texture of a non-​vegan croissant. The cinnamon and lemon rolls were soft, chewy, and the perfect size. We were so impressed that we brought home two other cupcakes (vanilla and chai … both delicious) and a small banana loaf.
It is just so nice to have an exclusively vegan bakery in ballard. especially with bummer «we don’t have a vegan machine» (??) cupcake royale right across the street.

I dropped by Bouteloua after hitting up the Ballard Farmer’s Market. The space is still a little sparse, but they’ve only been open two weeks, so give them some time. I also got there pretty late in the day, so there wasn’t a huge selection.
But what I did get was tasty. I tried an almond poppy seed muffin that had a great almond smell and comforting poppy flavor. I also sampled some of their chocolate cake, which was par for the vegan course (i.e. really good, because vegan chocolate cake rocks my socks).
Quick tip: They sell day-​old goods for half-​off. And most of their day-​old goods are still quite good, so it’s a good way to try new things.

UPDATE: Now that the bakery is open I finally had the joy of being able to stop by this afternoon and I was just as delighted today as I was with my sneak preview. The Rosemary Foccacia is soooo yummy but the Lemon Roll was to die for. I refrained from the cupcakes as they looked sp gorgeous I figured I would wait until a special occasion but now I find myself sitting here trying to invent that special occasion.
I would highly, highly recommend them not just for the food but the atmosphere seemed to lend itself to a great place for work coffee meetings and to catch up with friends.
Another Ballard Gem.

I am so beyond thrilled to have Bouteloua in the neighborhood! While I’m no longer vegan– I thoroughly know how good (amazing, incredible) a perfectly made vegan baked good can be. I’d stopped by on their opening day but they were totally sold out, less one loaf of bread by the time I made it in. So this morning I popped in and picked up a gorgeous gluten free (!) vanilla cupcake for brunch (duh). Not only was it moist with a perfect crumb– but it balanced sweet with actual flavor so well. The cake itself was earthy (a good thing) and tender, and the frosting thick without being oily or heavy.
I’m so excited to try more of their gluten free (and non) goodies. Go! Now!