Restaurant: Dahlia Bakery
Cuisine: Desserts/Pastries/Bread/Bakery
Last visited: April 30, 2011
Location: Seattle, WA (Belltown)
Address: 2001 4th Ave
Price Range: $10 0r less
1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!
Food: n/a, didn’t try enough
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: n/a
Additional comments:
- Famous for coconut cream pie
- Specializes in baked goods/desserts
- Local favourite
- Popular to tourists
- Fresh baked daily
- Artisan breads
- Classic & gourmet pastries & cakes
- Hand made ice creams
- Offers breakfast/lunch sandwiches
- No seating
- Take out only
- Mon – Fri: 7:30am – 6pm
- Sat: 9am – 6pm
- Sun: 9am – 4pm
**Recommendations: Tom’s Famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie
Dahlia Bakery is a famous bakery in Seattle that’s popular for locals and tourists. Opened by world renowned chef, Thomas Douglas, Dahlia Bakery is only one of the four restaurants he owns within that block.
It’s a tiny little bakery offering breakfast and lunch, but it’s most known for their artisan breads, pastries, desserts, and cakes which are all made in small batches. Oh! And I can’t forget the reason for coming, it’s definitely for Tom’s Famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie.
Actually the pie wasn’t really the main reason for coming. The visit to Dahlia Bakery was not originally on the itinerary, but it was a convenient detour on the way back to the car. I am so happy to have made the detour!
Although I only tried two things, it’s one of those places where you just know that the potential for everything is probably near perfect. Everything looked amazing and it was like the rustic American country version of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery – see my visit here. Thomas Douglas, Thomas Keller, Thomas Haas… there’s something with the name that’s synonymous with extraordinary desserts… and it shall be the name of my first born child!
Dahlia Bakery serves all American, old fashioned, yet highly presentable baked goods and desserts. It all looked very promising. It’s quaint atmosphere gives the feeling of time and care being put into each baked good. It’s one of those places where I know I’ll have to revisit just to try their gourmet sandwiches made with their freshly house baked bread.
Of course I also wouldn’t leave without trying their Candied Apple Scone, Banana Split Cake or Granny Smith Apple Dumpling too! Dahlia Bakery seems like the definition of good things come in small packages… and to those who wait! And honestly I can barely wait!
On the table:
**Tom’s Famous Triple Coconut Cream Pie – 5/6
- coco pie bite (serves 1) $2.50
- slice of pie $5.95, baby pie (serves 2-4) $19, 9 inch big pie (serves 6-8) 5 dollar plate deposit $35
- I had the coco pie bite, and it was one bite of freaking delicious! I also really love coconut anything in general.
- It was topped with a mound of whipped cream which I found was too much even considering it’s a coconut cream pie.
- I just found the cream a bit overwhelming and I wanted to taste more of the coconut cream pastry.
- It wasn’t too sweet, but it was still quite rich and indulgent.
- It was a thin flaky coconut pie crust, rich creamy coconut custard, lightly sweetened yet thick whipped cream, with crunchy toasted fresh coconut flakes on top.
- It had great texture and crunch, but I still wanted more coconut pastry cream and less whipped cream for more balance in flavour and texture. I could have had more toasted coconut on top too.
- I could definitely taste coconut throughout and there was about a 2:1 ratio of cream to everything else.
- The crust was very tender, yet crunchy, incredibly nutty and made with lots of toasted coconut for a full flavour.
- The whipped cream was very fresh, and although light and airy, it was still quite dense for a whipped cream. I do wish it had some vanilla, almond or coconut flavour, but it was just plain and lacked flavour.
- I would definitely recommend this to any coconut lover.
Fig Bar – 4/6
- $2.50
- For what it was it was probably a 5/6, but my level of enjoyment for it was a 4/6 even though I really love figs. There’s really nothing wrong with this one though.
- It’s a gourmet home made fig bar and the puree is soft and creamy and incredibly moist.
- It’s made from dried figs, but it’s very fresh.
- It’s not a chewy fig bar, but the crust is almost like a dry crumbly buttery shortbread cookie. It’s not overwhelmingly buttery, tender or very sweet though.
- It’s generously filled with creamy melt in your mouth smooth fig puree that’s nicely sweetened and almost like a jam.
- The crust was much denser than the filling and I would have preferred it a bit chewy, but it was still very good.
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I’m TOTALLY digging that box that the pie came in! It’s freaking adorable. I’d actually go just for that box!
Not really a fan of fig bars but it looks pretty good!
I detest bananas but I think that the presentation of the cake is absolutely lovely!
I’m totally coming here when I go to Seattle!
@Lia – I know!! It’s such pretty packaging and probably really expensive! I’m surprised they didn’t charge for it! Perfect gift! Woohoo! I want to come back here for their sandwiches!
I like places like this that try to keep it authentically old fashioned. These dessert look so fresh and lovely! Reminds me of a lovely lovely bakery in a very rural area called Canton de L’est (province of Quebec) where everything is made small batches or upon order.
… OH and boy does that Triple Coconut Cream pie looks decadent!? I mean even the crust has coconut!
Does Tom make a poppyseed cake ? I eat a nice poppyseed cake from the Nickel bakery(Polish). Don’t think I would’ve ordered a fig bar ‘cos they don’t require much skill to make…guess I would’ve chosen something decadent. Any small vol-au-vent shells filled with a pastry creme, cognac, and fresh berries ? A great sacher torte, using 24 egg yolks ? Although those are European…key lime pie, coconut pie and cobblers are American inventions.
OMG you had the coconut pie!! That’s one of my all time favorite desserts. From your critique, I think next time you should have it in his restaurant Dahlia Lounge where they serve it as a slice of pie instead of the tart version; the ratio of the coconut cream to crust to whip cream is perfect, and you get much more toasted coconut flakes on top. REading this makes me want one RIGHT NOW!lol
I have the recipe if you would like:)
lol…. I think you are onto something there with naming your first child Thomas…. it bodes well for always having a delicious cake at every birthday, mother’s day, Easter…….etc……etc…..
Luckily I have my husband (who is not named Thomas) but nevertheless, is a wonderful baker. Particularly with chocolate…. a personal favourite. We also spend a lot of time at Thomas Haas, so we are also lucky enough to be able to indulge a lot in his wonderful sublime creations. This place looks like it might be our mission to explore in the next couple weeks though!
@Sara – I totally agree with you! Bakeries that make things in small batches have a soft spot in my heart… j’adore les boulangerie… ? lol I need to go to Montreal 🙂
@Bow – I LOVE poppyseed cake!! Not sure if he offers it because this is an all American bakery. Bow, for a great poppyseed cake there’s a Polish supermarket/sausage shop on East Hastings! I wrote about it before.. I love it there! Breka also does a yummy poppyseed pastry with LOTS of poppyseed.
@vivian – WHAT?!?! Serious?!?! Yes please recipe!!! Let’s open up a store in Vancouver lol! Thanks for the recommendation it’s really good to know that the slice is better.. next time i’ll do that!
@Jayda Home – WHAT?!?! your hubby is a baker?!?! LUCKY YOU!!!! I’m jealous. I’m going to go with YES put this on your itinerary.. I think you guys will appreciate it if you like Thomas Haas… we have similar tastes 🙂
I know that shop; always bought the sausages…being that you are slightly overwhelmed by the sight and smell of SO much cured meat…never paid attention to the bakery. However, I don’t love dessert like you do; ergo, I don’t searchin’ for cakes, etc.,etc.
o man! i just came back from seattle and totally missed out on dahlia! i was too busy visiting triple D spots and totally forgot about sweets! i did go to top pot doughnuts though and they were pretty good but this place is on the map for my next trip! the cakes look great 🙂
We definitely need something like Bakery Nouveau or Dahlia here in vancouver! As for the recipe, I got it from one of Tom Douglas’s cookbooks and it’s super long. But I was able to find it on Cakespy website so see if you can find it there. If not I can always type it out for you. Enjoy:)
@Bow – but you DO like poppy seed! which means you WILL like this cake! AND you didn’t have to do the searching because I did it for you 🙂 Now go try!! 😀
@Linda – hahah Triple D I’m sure was still good 🙂 Where’d you go? I’ll follow you foodie 😉
@vivian – I KNOW!! Closest thing we have is Thomas Haas and I still have to try Foubourg’s! I can’t wait until Thierry Busset opens his shop! Ganache and Giovanne Cafe is good to though.. but still not like Dahlia or Bakery Nouveau. I will search the recipe, thanks viv!