The Bread Peddler

Yes they’re very hip + French—in food and in ‘tude. Deal with it silently as a true Olympian would or stand there and insist on having your way but don’t blame them if you let them get away with bad service. Simple + wholesome folksy food, gorgeously presented. The pastry case will make you break all of the promises you have made to yourself. Try the croque madame. You could make it at home, but you woke up early and wanted to get out and about on a sunny morning, enjoy the finer things in life like coffee and people watching. No wifi here, by design. Bring a crossword puzzle or a book. Oddly I do not recommend their bread. They overbake it and when questioned they insist that is the French way as though that’s the truth which it’s not. Which ironically makes them very French ;) Sidewalk seating in the summer, overflow bar seating in the building atrium.

I love this place! The quality of food & beverages is always stellar. Best coffee & hot chocolate in downtown Olympia. Breakfast sandwiches & quiche sell out quick so get here before 11am! They have a good variety of artisan bread and pastries…. All delicious! The baristas here are sweet and helpful and best of all….. professional.

My fiancé had been looking forward to trying The Bread Peddler for weeks and we had the absolute worst experience this afternoon. We ordered a coffee and a chai, two pastries, a classic breakfast and a croque madame. Total was $50 plus tip. My chai came out lukewarm and was not a chai. Just barely warm cinnamon milk. I got rid of it. We sat ourselves and got condiments for the breakfasts that would come out. 30 minutes later, all the tables around us have received their meals and ours was nowhere in sight. When we asked the staff at the counter about our food, they said they forgot about us. No one was in the kitchen. The pastries we tried were delicious but the overall experience was terrible. Tables sat un-bussed for 30 minutes while staff members sat down with patrons to socialize. We only received a partial refund. We really hope that management addresses the service and quality issues with their staff.

The display cabinet with all of it's scrumptious looking baked items was very enticing. I ordered a croissant and a cookie. Both items were fine, but nothing to write home about. I have had some pretty perfect croissants while traveling in France. To be honest, I prefer the croissants from Costco to this one. The outer layer seemed to have been coated in an egg wash that made that outer layer too hard rather than being flaky and delicate. The cookie had a subtle underlying flavor that I can best describe as an anise taste. I would maybe go back and give them a second chance but would be hesitant to recommend the bread peddler to others.