Bagatelle Bakery

Absolutely love their cakes MY GOD their cakes are good. Not too sweet just the way I like it. Their customer service on the other hand could use some work though.

Best manoushe in Wichita. Clair is always super nice. Their lunch is to die for and their pastries are simply amazing. Highly highly recommended.

Lunchtime at Bagatelle is an experience. Lines form down the cafeteria register and diners navigate tables waiting to be bussed, anxious to find a space on which to eat in the small dining room. For more than 30 years the restaurant has been a part of Wichita’s history, and this is apparent by looking at the age spectrum of those bumping elbows. The story starts — as many of Wichita’s restaurants tend to do — with Antoine Toubia. He opened Bagatelle in 1983, and a few years later invited John Srour, a Lebanese baker, to move to Wichita. Together with Antoine’s brother, Naji, they opened N&J (Naji & John) Bakery in 1989 and supplied Toubia’s many restaurants with pita bread that became too costly to import. Not long after, Naji left to take over Bagatelle.
It should be no surprise that both Bagatelle and N&J (through John’s Pita Bakery, owned by Srour’s sons) are both known for their pitas. Unleavened, chewy, and redolent with the scent of soft wheat, these pitas are the picturesque representation of Middle Eastern flatbread, as good at holding together a warm shawarma as it is sopping up the last bits of hummus. It’s one of the best things Bagatelle has on the menu, especially when it’s served as manoushi: a pita is brushed with olive oil and generously dusted with zaatar, a spice mix of thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. It’s sometimes likened to a Mediterranean pizza, and can also be ordered with cheese or meat. Rolled and served alongside some pickled vegetables, it’s a foolproof way to get a taste of the Levant.
Bagatelle’s lunch is served cafeteria-​style, with a couple of rotating entrees supplementing a small static menu. For the best results, stick to the things that are offered every day, particularly if there’s empanadas available. Not Spanish in the least, these empanadas are a croissant-​like dough that’s filled with an Italian sausage or vegetable mixture. You can’t go wrong with either, and cutting into the buttery flaky crust and finding the warm and well-​seasoned mixtures within are another one of the joys Bagatelle has to offer. Quiches are also available as are a few shawarma options. Served with a side of tabouli or a cup of tomato soup it’s a much better option than the slapdash and unremarkable fish and chicken specials of the day.
They call themselves a bakery and café, not the other way around, so emphasis is on the baking. They offer a variety of breads and you can help yourself to as many samples as you like from the large bin that is stocked with excess inventory. The sourdough might not compare to the lactic tang of something from Crust and Crumb, but it’s a solid performer. They’re equally known for their sweets, and you can find everything from King’s Cake for Mardi Gras to a sticky sweet baklava to a variety of French pastries. You’re unlikely to be disappointed in your selection.
From the bakery case to the light French pop music playing in the dining room to the picture on the wall with the man riding a bike that’s captioned «France,» there’s an element of l’Heagone that persists here and in many other Lebanese restaurants around town (not the least of which is La Galette, which was founded by Tony Abdayem after working at Bagatelle). It stems from World War I, after which France occupied Syria and Lebanon until 1946, introducing a good part of their culture along the way. No coincidence, then, that the dining room of Bagatelle is like that of a European restaurant: relaxed and casual, with plenty of recognizable faces making friendly conversation over reliable food. It’s a legacy that’s increasingly difficult to find in Wichita, but here the city has done right in embracing it.

Simple and well executed food here. Probably my favorite place in Wichita right now. Everything I have had here has been nicely seasoned and well balanced. Lunch is served cafeteria style which isn’t my generally my favorite. However, they braise a nice shank, and bake very tasty bread and pastries.
They also have a couple of nice bonuses. First, the price is unbelievably affordable. Second, they have bread, butter, and jam available in the dining area to go with your meal.
Definitely give this place a shot. The location and building don’t seem like much but I doubt you will be disappointed.

This place has made phenomenal sweets since I could remember. If anyone asked where I’d like my birthday cake from, I’d say Bagatelle. But this new experience has made me second guess their customer service and service overall.
My sweet husband went and got this cake to celebrate my birthday today. He was happy upon arrival of the cake, however that happiness shifted into complete madness when it took over an hour just to get someone to write/​pipe «Happy Bday» on it. Another huge disappointment was how shitty it was written!
I understand this place gets a lot of business so they probably don’t care if one out of five of their customers aren’t happy, but seriously, a helpful advice; if you’re going to sell birthday cakes, at least have someone there who can write/​pipe on the cake properly! SUCH A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT FOR BAGATELLE. You should be ashamed of yourselves!

The food here is unmatched. Prices — spot on. Taste — delicious. Quality — superb. I ordered my wedding cake from Bagatelle a little over 9 years ago and, aside from marrying my best friend, the cake was the highlight of the wedding!
So when I moved away from Wichita, I missed Bagatelle. And when I came back to Wichita, 6 years later, I wondered if it would be just as good.
And it is! It does not disappoint. From their breads to their cakes to their lunch menu, I love it all.
Others have mentioned the brashness of the owner. This is true. I remember being a little stunned when I went to order my cake, but it was so good it just turned out not to matter that much when all was said and done… Still, it can make for a pretty uncomfortable visit.

This place is great. Food tasted fresh and the price was good. Will defiantly be coming back.

Best place to eat in town! They have great food and the best pastries in town. If you want a good quality cake you want to order from this place. They make all different kinds of cake and nobody makes them as good as they do. Their fatoush salad is the best in town here!

Love all the cakes and whatnot, but absolutely DISLIKE the owner. You walk in and she’s completely yelling at you, «what do you want?! How many do you want?!» I don’t know how the workers can handle her.

This was my favorite bakery, not anymore!!! Yes, the owner was very rude. She waited on me a few times. Each & every time, I felt like she was yelling at me. Try asking for some of your cake pieces to be in a different box, she’ll yell. Lol.
But the main reason I don’t like this place anymore is the quality of their cakes. My husband got me a birthday cake last year & the inside was still frozen. I was actually there over the weekend & got some strawberry cake logs & some chocolate hazelnut cake logs. They both were very dry, like crackers. The chocolate hazelnut cake had no hazelnuts.
I won’t be coming back.

Yummy empenadas! I’ve seen on Unilocal that many people have been treated rudely, however, I was not. Maybe the woman they are referring to wasn’t here today. At any rate, you can definitely tell everything is homemade. I will return.

This lady is seriously RUDE. I walked in and was checking out the place for the first time snapping a few shots to write a review of how fabulous it was when the owner/​manager started yelling at another customer. It was wild like something that you would see on TV not at all what I had expected. While the food looked good my mood about this place was forever determined in that moment. I will never support any business that does not treat an elderly person with dignity and respect.

Amazing breads! Tried the ham on Asiago croissant for breakfast and it was excellent.

Disappointing!
I used to like this café sooo much, but once the female owner mistreated and degraded me as a customer, I will never ever go back there!

Finally made it to Bagatelle. Had the Italian sausage empanada, broccoli cheese soup, fresh bread, and a slice of carrot cake. Oh my goodness, so GOOD! And the ladies behind the counter were both very friendly and helpful to me and my friends who were first-​timers to this place. Wish it was closer to where I live, but I definitely want to go back!

It was my first time trying their hot food. The beef stroganoff was excellent. It was rich with a lot of flavor. It really hit the spot, and fulfilled my need for something different for lunch. I could eat it all day. The shrimp gumbo was another story. It underwhelmed me. I was expecting a spicy seafood broth, not the noticeably gelatinous, bland goop I received instead. The baklava and cake logs were excellent as usual.

This place is amazing! Local, homemade, delicious foods! Soups, quiche, pizza, salads and homemade bread that is to good to be true!

We stopped by for lunch today while our car was serviced by Unruh next door.
We had the empanadas, turkey wild rice soup and chocolate hazelnut log. The empanadas was baked to perfection! It has a shiny golden brown buttery and flaky crust with well seasoned and tender filling. The turkey wild rice soup was creamy with big chunk of meat and a well balanced amount of rice and herbs.
Our cashier, I think her name is Hau, is very pleasant and inviting.
Quite to the contrary of other Unilocalers’ thoughts about Claire, the owner, and that how mean she is. I think she is just a no nonsense lady with a rather rugged manner. She absolutely stands behind her products as she is very proud of them.
One time I bought a package of pita bread on Wednesday and it was rather hard to eat because I brought them frozen. I came back the next day and asked her how to make them softer despite of her advice to leave it out a whole day. It happened to be the freshly baked pita day and Claire would just grab a fresh package and gave it to me and said with a gentle smile, «Here, just try this instead». Maybe she figured I’m not Lebanese so it’s better to let me eat fresh pita bread than explaining the entire art behind it.
Her bakery is really an art piece! Thank you Bagatelle bakery, your owner, bakers and staffs!

So fresh and the prices are outstanding! The only thing that disappointed me was all the dirty tables that were waiting to be cleaned so we could sit. I will definitely be going back though!

This has been on my list for so long, and now I’ve finally made it out here. I ordered various pastries (strawberry Chantilly roll, chocolate croissant, and cinnamon roll), a couple loafs of bread (walnut and sourdough), and a cheese pitzah. (Don’t worry, I shared it all with my husband). I am not that impressed with any of the pastries… average at best, even the famous strawberry chantilly. The sourdough was particularly good. It’s not a very strong sourdough, which I like. The walnut bread was not too bad either. The pitzah was cheesy and satisfying. I don’t think you can really go wrong with cheese and carb.
I can’t wait to try their other breads. The lady working there told me that they used only natural ingredients and no preservatives. That’s a plus. Also, they have a rack of day old pastries that are a great deal. I still think that Great Harvest is better quality since they mill their own flour, but for the value and convenience, I will definitely try this place again.