Brown Bear Baking - Eastsound (WA)

5 /5 Caroline Dowler: Service here is fast and friendly. We purchased 2 gingerbread lattes, smoked salmon quiche, and a croque monsieur. All were fantastic. The interior was decorated warmly for the holiday season. Don’t be turned off by a long line, service is very fast!

5 /5 Kimberly Rawlins: We visited Brown Bear every morning on our recent trip to Orcas. We particularly enjoyed the quiche and croque monsieur paired with a new pastry every morning. The garden is a lovely place to enjoy your breakfast, but we also found ourselves entranced at the small bar inside where you can watch the kitchen staff at work (where are my GBB lovers at?). It was a delight watching the bread being shaped, pastries filled and decorated, and the chaos of the kitchen executed like a dance. Both owners made a point of chatting with us and were extremely kind. We can’t fault such a lovely establishment and hope to return someday!

5 /5 Pooja Chaudhary: TLDR; the best croissant in Washington We came in a quick bite not expecting much but were absolutely blown away by how good the croissants and coffee is here. They’re the Goldilocks of croissants - just flaky enough, just buttery enough, just soft enough. I cannot tell you how hard it is to find one that checks all the boxes. We tried the plain croissant, ham and cheese croissant and the pain au chocolat- all of them were absolutely incredible. We tried the mocha (one iced and one regular) and that was super good too - not over sweet, no hint of bitterness, absolutely smooth and silky. There are lines to order throughout the day but thankfully they do move fairly quickly.

5 /5 wesley peterson: You step inside the rustic and welcoming bakery and you immediately feel warm and cozy. Then you wait in line to order, are immediately given the food items from your order so you can go find an open table to sit and eat… drinks are picked up at the far end of the bar. There is a small number of tables/seats inside… but a decent number of seats outside. Right by the cash register (that you order at) is a display of all the pastries, croissants, quiches, and croque options. The croque options here are unique in that they are open faced on one large slice of bread (rather than in sandwich form) and have roasted asparagus & no bechamel. There were three of us and we ordered the ham & leak quiches for dine in, and a couple pastries to enjoy after the quiche were finished and then also a couple things to go. I was very impressed by everything we got. The ham & leak quiche is rich & full of flavor but also still very light and delicate. The almond fruit crumble is amazing: it’s light, rich, but mildly sweet and the crumble topping is a nice addition of texture and savory sweet. The sides are kind of a cut off and toss though, as they are overcooked. I’d order a center piece on my next visit, rather than a border piece from the tray. The currant scone was also a big hit. The scone is very mildly sweet which is such a nice change from the overly sweet everything in America. There’s a sugar dusting on top which gives the scone a nice crunch and also just the right amount of sweetness to the treat. I would definitely come back to try other items and also to watch the baked goods being prepared and baked, as the kitchen is entirely open and in full view from anywhere inside the establishment. 11/10 recommend.

2 /5 Ana Lopez: Used to be a fan when coming to the island this place was always a must but this time we went we werent impressed anymore. Paid $60 for 6 pastries and 2 coffees which is insane. The lattes we ordered literally tasted like hot milk and the pastries were hard, didnt taste fresh. The were basically full of bread instead of filling. The next day we went to the coffee place inside the orcas market and paid $30 for 8 pastries and a box of freshly brewed coffee and their coffee tastes really good! Their lattes as well.