Paris Bakery & Deli

I’ve had phở many different places in Seattle and other major cities, and sadly I have to say the phở here is mediocre at best. It tasted like the noodles were at least a day old, the chicken was rubbery, and the broth was fairly bland. Rather that the usual garnishes of sprouts and cilantro, I was given a plate of wilted and very sad looking chopped lettuce. The phở also had bell peppers and dried onions on top. I’ve never seen these ingredients in phở before, and while I’m up for trying new things, it didn’t add anything good to the flavor. It was a bizarre and disappointing phở experience overall. It should have been a major red flag that the restaurant was stark and empty the whole time I was there. With two other Vietnamese restaurants within walking distance, there’s no reason to bother with the food here. Two stars because the employees were nice even if their food isn’t.

I’ll put this small bakery/​sandwich shop up against any similar any where. It’s all about the bread and theirs is perfect in the Vietnamese/​French way– very thin and very crispy crust on the baguette and inside never doughy. Basically if it is a legit example of the art of Vietnamese sandwich bread, the business has to make it itself. You just can’t get it from some local bakery. Their baguette is not the right baguette for breakfast where a thicker crust would be right but it sure is The Right One for making sandwiches.
Grilled Chicken with jalapeños is usually my choice.
Perfection

Their mushroom/​tofu Banh Mi is brilliant for its cost-​to-​flavor ratio. The vermicilli, while pulling a slightly lower ratio, is still well above the average. Despite the barren interiors, it’s some reasonable food from nice people, good enough for the price-​unconscious and great for the wallet-​wary.

The Vietnamese-«French» bakery is a pretty common thing in the Bay Area so I thought I knew what I was getting into. What you usually get is a bakery full of beautiful, French-​inspired pastries. I say French-​inspired because when you taste them, they’re never quite French. Like the croissants are never that flaky and the fillings lean more towards stiff whipped cream rather than the egg yolk-​based custards you find at a French place. Anyway, the first thing I notice when I walk in is that the display case is pretty empty. There sat a couple chocolate muffins, some blueberry muffins, and some brownies — all of which look quite unimpressive. They sort of looked like Costco items, but I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and assume that they actually baked them. I admit, I was hoping for a collection of croissants, fruit covered puff pastry, and mousse cake slices so it was very much a downer. Still, I forged forward and ordered a banh mi – the #8 ($ 3.95) with the pork loaf, BBQ pork, and pâté. The meats were sliced pretty thick and I couldn’t find pâté anywhere on the sandwich — which I consider to be the best part! Easily one of the worst banh mi sandwiches I’ve ever had.
Columbia City is growing like a weed and normally I’d say that a place like this badly needs to step up its game, but it’s so flawed that I sort of hope that it just disappears and makes way for something tastier.

This place is great for a quick stop. It is family run, the staff are so nice, and the food is great. They have veitnamese samdwhiches, vermicelli, etc for some of the best prices in the city. Ambiance isn’t the best, but the good food and cheap prices makes it a great quick lunch or snack spot.

The French bread is amazing & the Bahn Mi’s are tasty but def lacking ambiance & a cleaning crew.

Never again will I eat here after what I saw today.
Today I order my usual, Vietnamese sandwich and a order of egg rolls. As I’m paying the cashier mentions the order to one of the workers in kitchen. That worker opens the refrigerator and grabs a baggie of beef for my grilled beef sandwich. In doing so a plastic container of pre-​cooked chicken falls to the floor upside down and the lid comes off. What was the top layer of the chicken pieces touches the floor. The worker is about to slide the lid onto the container until she looks my direction. From there she slides her hand between the floor and some of the meat, then puts the lid on leaving some meat on the floor… the container goes back into the refrigerator. Next violation, she picks up the soiled meat with her hands and throws it away. Did she wash her hands after that?
Bread is good. Yes, like others have said, the muffins look like they are store bought. I wouldn’t buy muffins anyway, just the lunch items like sandwiches.
I’m a little disappointed because I work a couple of blocks away and would come here for lunch.

Fresh rolls are big & filled w/​fresh herbs. Cheap & tasty! Tried the shrimp vermicelli bowl. Lots of shrimp in it.

I wanted to try this bakery because it’s in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, this place was a disappointment. Granted their Banh Mi was just so-​so, it was a little overpriced for the neighboring Vietnamese places nearby. If you charge that much for a Banh Mi then you should have a nicer atmosphere. I didn’t anything else because the overall place seemed depressing.

I’ve read the reviews and talked to neighbors about this place and I want to like it as much as others have. But I can’t get through the door to even try it.
I’m actually writing this review in the hopes that owners will change the things I see so that I can bring myself to walk through the door and try their food.
The issue: The Paris ‘Bakery’ has 2 pastry cases built into the counter and drink fridge against a wall. Whenever I walk by, a couple times per week at least, the drink case and one of the two pastry cases is empty. That looks bad enough.
The third case, and this it what keeps me out, contains a few baguettes, which I’m told are homemade, and a bunch of muffins clearly purchased from Costco (confirmed in other Unilocal reviews). I cannot bring myself to buy food from someplace with the word ‘bakery’ in their name that can’t bake their own muffins.
Baking their own muffins would have a better curb appeal for people like me, and I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one. It would also cost them less then the Costco muffins!
The way I see it, making their own muffins would bring more people through the door and reduce their overhead… what a great combo!
I do feel awkward writing a review of someplace I’ve never eaten, but I feel like my impression of the place, the impression that repeatedly keeps me from even trying their food makes for a very valuable and hopefully important piece of feedback.

We dropped in here on the strength of the sign out front that said Vietnamese sandwiches and we ordered our quick lunch favorite, a couple of banh mi and café sua da. The lady behind the counter asked me again when I asked for the café sua da – with a rising inflection on the da – and then she said, oh, you want a Vietnamese coffee? Yes, please, 2 in fact.
Now I was concerned, don’t they know what they are called?
Apparently not, since the Vietnamese coffees were not made with sweetened condensed milk, or the special coffee blends from Vietnam. Taste was like a mediocre latte, made with some burnt tasting espresso.
Sandwiches were pretty decent, although the meat was supposed to be grilled, and I saw no evidence of that in the chewy, tenderized pieces of thinly sliced chuck steak they were serving. They got the rolls and the veggies right!
There, I said something nice.

Banh mi success!
I moved to Columbia City a few months ago, and noticed this place shortly thereafter. A French bakery? Sweet! Oh wait look at that sign, they have banh mi too, that’s weird. Well, French bread is used for banh mis, so I guess it’s not that weird, right? The place always looks half empty with an empty display case on the right side of the space, so as much as I love banh mi I hadn’t tried it until today. The early close time hasn’t helped, either, as it’s never an option for an after-​work dinner.
But hey, today I’m working from home. It’s not the weekend and I’m not distracted by other activities. It’s Monday and I’m looking for distractions from work. I’m home alone and I can eat what I want. It’s sunny and I want to go outside. I’m starving. Banh mi, yes please!
I placed an order for my favorite style, the grilled pork, as well as some shrimp spring rolls. I sat and waited maybe two minutes before my to-​go order was ready. There’s plenty of seating for a deli, but I chose to take it home and enjoy it on my deck. The interior is definitely no frills, in fact it’s less than that. It’s sparse, especially with the aforementioned empty display case, and counter that runs diagonally and is very long. It’s an odd layout, it seems they don’t have enough stuff to fill it up. But I’m not going to discount points for the interior décor and planning of a Vietnamese deli. I mean, you’ve seen other Vietnamese delis, right? They don’t look any better. It’s just what it is.
I’m forgetting about the most important part of this review, how was the damn food?! Well you know, it was very satisfying! The sandwich was actually larger than most, truly a French baguette, maybe half of a standard size baguette. That’s a big sandwich. I thought the ingredients were perfect — nothing was missing and they weren’t skimpy on the meat, as I feared from another review. They weren’t generous either, but just right. The bread was flaky, not chewy, just about right. Not the best I’ve had, but certainly nothing to complain about. The order of shrimp spring rolls was larger than I expected, a good value with 4 pieces. The shrimp actually tasted more fresh than just about any other I’ve had recently. A nice surprise. I guess the sandwich itself isn’t one of the cheapest banh mis I’ve had, but considering its size I think it was a good value.
My one real complaint about this place is its identity crisis. It seems to be a Vietnamese joint more than anything, yet it’s called Paris Bakery & Deli. I would say it should be called Saigon Deli, but that name’s already taken by a great place in the U District. They do have some bread and pastries, but the core of their business seems to be Vietnamese food, so why the name? I’m sure it’s not helping business, with people expecting a French bakery ending up disappointed, and others not knowing about the Vietnamese food. While waiting for my Banh Mi, I examined the menu more closely and realized they also have vermicelli and phở. Good to know! Not what I expect from Paris Bakery & Deli. I would expect a buttered ham and swiss baguette. Which would be quite enjoyable as well.

I don’t understand this place or the high reviews. The neighborhood tends to be notoriously forgiving to new businesses, but c’mon.
I have a sneaking suspicion nothing is actually baked there. After meaning to check it out for quite a while, I finally went about a month ago. There were bags of bagged baguettes — that is, individually bagged baguettes in paper grocery bags upright on the carts in the back. It was as if they had been purchased elsewhere and brought in.
One case was completely empty, with lights off. The other case just had a sad tray of what appeared to be Costco muffins.
I ordered a Banh Mi. Mostly bread. It was a very disappointing lunch that made me regret not just making something at home.
Oh yeah — that’s another thing. They are one of the few spots on the strip with actual parking. There are always 3 cars there. The same 3 cars. Do any of them move? I don’t know. The owners apparently don’t want customers. From the looks of things, they’re getting their wish.

my husband and I probably eat here once a week now:
— the veggie phở is consistantly delicious.
— the tofu mushroom sandwich is cheap and yummy
— the tofu rolls are huge and have a great texture and flavor
— the loaves of bread are cheap and good for making last minute garlic bread
— just don’t waste your time on the pastries

Some pleasant surprises here. You just have to know what to get.
When I walked in, I was pleased with the cleanliness and openness. They need some art on the wall — it’s rather barren and uninviting… and kind of a pedestrian and boring beige paint job on the walls. The ambiance could use a lot of help. It was so stark. But more importantly, onto the food…
It almost seemed like they were not really open. There was unused, unplugged machinery against the wall. No action happening. There was one half-​filled bakery case (out of 2). The other wasn’t even turned on. What was in the half-​filled case was not at all appealing. Like others have said, it definitely looked like Costco resale items. There were maybe 4 things to choose from? Some big, dried out looking dinner rolls? Some commercially baked-​looking croissants? Meh. I was really disappointed in the selection, so I looked up, to the scribbley white board menu.
I ordered the shrimp toast on a whim, and also a tofu/​mushroom banh mi. They were made fresh — and ready in about 10 minutes.
I was really impressed with the shrimp toast! Each piece of thickly sliced French bread had an enormous prawn on it, dipped in a batter and deep fried to crispy, perfection. It was served with a spicy/​sweet dipping sauce. Crispy, moist, sweet, savory… really good. I will definitely order that again some time.
The banh mi was also excellent. The bread was just what you’d want: Crispy on the outside, and soft, squishy and delicate on the inside. The vegetables were refreshing and the tofu & mushroom combination was perfect. It was seasoned perfectly. Tasty!
So, while I was super impressed with my 2 items, the only reasons I took off a star were based on the entirely-​too-​bland environment — I felt a little like I was in a hospital coffee shop or something. There was no decoration, no music, nothing. It made me want to just hurry up and get out. Restaurants should be a little more inviting. Also, the lack of fresh baked goods for those on the go was kind of off-​putting. How can this be a bakery, and not have a decent variety of actual baked-​on-​premises goods?
Weird. If you are in a hurry and don’t have the 10 – 15 minutes for them to cook you something fresh, then this place is a waste of your time.
Look, «Paris Bakery,» if you’re a bakery, please bake stuff. If you’re going to just want people to order soups and sandwiches off a menu, then you are a restaurant or café, and not a bakery.
When I walk into a bakery, I want to smell it, and I want to see it — the bakers and workers should be working with their goods, and not sitting around after unwrapping a 12-​pack of dinner rolls from a wholesale warehouse.

I have been there 3 times now for the Vietnamese sandwiches. They are very good and fresh but much more expensive and not as good as the Vietnamese bakery at Othello station. They are however open at dinner time, and that is a good convenience.
Not sure if they should call themselves a bakery. It doesn’t seem like there is much baking going on, and it does not smell like a bakery. I have a suspicious feeling that the muffins and croissants have their origins from Costco. I hope I am wrong.
The place definitely needs a better ambience.

Paris Bakery has been an established staple in the South Seattle area. they are a company that specializes in bread and ships them to local Asian grocery stores. I remembered when I was younger, my parents would buy their sweet rolls and french baguette from Viet Wah. So I was super pumped when this bakery/​deli opened.
I came in for the first time yeserday since it’s a short walk from work. The deli is pretty wide spread, lots of empty space with a few tables set up. Overall, the deli was pretty spotless. However, there was this strange smell that lingered in the air which overrided the smell of baked bread.
They had a wide selections from pasteries, to phở, to vermicelli, to vietnamese sandwiches, to american sandwiches and to burgers/​fries.
I will say that the pastery items (ie: muffin, brownies, lemon cake) looks like they were package from Costco. However, I can’t judge on this as I was not tempted to try the pasteries.
I opted for the egg rolls (a little salty) and a grilled pork banh mi. The bread was delicious. Crispy on the outside, and not too much dough on the inside. The grilled pork was tender, but kind of bland. I think my taste buds were overwhelmed by the spring onion oil (that they drizzled on the meat) and from the crushed peanuts. The daikons were chunky. and a tad sweet compared to the usual vinger taste. I don’t know. there was a lot of different flavors and technique in this banh mi compared to the ones in the ID. I’m not sure if I’m completely sold. but I think I will go back to try the other food items.
The prices here is a little more expensive then chinatown or MLK. I think prices range from $ 3 — $ 4.55 for banh mi’s. The café sua da (iced coffee) was a tad expensive too. But I get it. It’s all in the location.
Give this place a try yourself! It’s definitely worth checking out!

I am eating a grilled pork bánh mì with my left hand as I type this with my right. It is superb (excellent flavor, texture, and no gristle), and my son gives the tofu version two thumbs up. They’re about a dollar more than at places like Saigon Deli, but worth it.
The bakery case was pretty bare this evening, and although the brownies looked good, I opted instead to race across Rainier and grab a milkshake from Full Tilt; I was back before the sandwiches were finished. Turned out to be a perfect pairing, though I do intend to give Paris’s bubble teas and smoothies a try on subsequent visits.

I’d like to give this place 5 stars just for the fact that it exists in our neighborhood!
First: the place. It’s LARGE and very clean. The woman who took my order was very friendly. Prices are reasonable.
There were lots of very inexpensively –priced baguettes, boules and desserts like brownies and cakes in the case (didn’t see any croissants?).
I think the name Paris Bakery is a little bit of a misnomer as really the menu is all about Vietnamese food smoothies, and bubble teas. (although they were colonized by the French, no?)
I ordered the vegetarian phở and a tofu bahn mi. It seemed to take a LONG time — about 15 – 20 minutes for those two items (I’m so used to Phở Bac or Saigon Deli’s super quick service)
The phở was DELICIOUS! Clean, spicy flavors. Generous serving of tofu, veggies and noodles. Not a super generous serving of broth (plus it was served in a plastic container that was practically buckling by the time I got home from the heat) but it managed to feed me twice. The bahn mi got a thumbs up from my daughter.
I’ll be going back for sure for the phở and bahn mis, and for trying out some other items on the menu.

When my friend and I saw that the Paris Bakery & Deli had finally (FINALLY!) opened, we decided to have a croissant-​off. We decided to taste-​test croissants from both the Columbia City Bakery (we knew we already loved these) and the Paris Bakery. We were almost giddy with anticipation — who doesn’t love a delicious pastry?
We purchased from CCB first and left with a plain and a chocolate croissant. Then we went to the Paris Bakery expecting to have … options. There were none. Just the plain croissant and very few other pastries to choose from. I even asked if there were other varieties in the back. Nope.
Feeling undeterred, we moved forward with our taste test. After a bite or two of the Paris Bakery & Deli croissant, it was composted. It had a chemical aftertaste and I have a sneaking suspicion that it might have had a previous life as a member of a Costco twelve-​pack.
The CCB croissants were pretty much perfect. No surprise there.
I haven’t yet tried the bánh mì and am hopeful that they will be delicious — but I’m just so disappointed that a restaurant called the Paris Bakery with a picture of a baguette on it’s logo, doesn’t serve any delicious pastry’s or croissants.