Saku Saku Flakerie has become one of my favorite spots for trying creative pastries! I love that they rotate out weekend and monthly specials with fun, seasonal flavors. So far, I've tried their black sesame mochi roll, their purple sweet potato mochi roll, their blueberry and early grey cruffin, and their cherry blossom an pan. It's worth getting here early in the morning so that you can have their baked goods fresh from the oven. The shop is tiny and staff here aren't always the friendliest, but I'm not too fussy about that; I really just care about the food. Their black sesame roll was easily my favorite - it was soft, tender dough with a lovely nutty flavor from the sesame and a bit of tang in the frosting. I would come back for this 1000 times! The cherry blossom an pan reminded me a lot of the pastries I loved in Japan. I appreciated that they used actual cherry blossom filling and not cherries like so many places - they're very different! I loved the addition of some mochi in the middle to add some chewiness and break it up a bit. I do think that their flavors are a bit too subtle (sometimes verging on bland) and could stand to be punchier. The cruffin was lovely, but I was not getting earl grey or blueberry - it was lovely and smooth but tasted like nothing. However, the quality of the dough is high and I enjoy the textures and variety of their fillings. If they could bring out the flavors a bit more it would be a 5/5, but I appreciate a well-made pastry regardless and will no doubt be back again!
Fiorella H.
My friend and I came over the weekend to get some of the spring season special pastries! (Some to eat there and some others to go!). Since we arrived around 8AM on an unexpected sunny but really cold morning, we decided to just sit down inside the restaurant next door (that's closed this early in the morning) instead of the patio/garden area (definitely when it gets warmer I would love to sit down there). I got their regular drip coffee ($4) and the clerk gladly gave me some almond milk for my drink. I really want to try their specialty iced lattes, but this day wasn't the day As for their pastries! Having their "Japanese Sweet Potato Roll w/ Ube Cream Cheese" (about $5) freshly baked, was amazing and so comforting on a cold morning! The bread was pillowy soft and had a nutty milky taste because of sweet potato, the amount of Ube cream cheese was generous and so rich! Anything Ube is delicious! Their London Fog and Blueberry cruffin ($6) is not only beautiful to look at, but every bite feels decadent and luxurious! The blueberry provides a tang to the creamy filling of the cruffin! Love how they laminated the pastry, and honestly the best way to enjoy it is to tear every layer and dip it on the tea cream! I bought their "Mystery Pastry Bag" for $6, got 2 ham & cheese croissant rolls and a pistachio croissant, husband approved the ham&cheese one! (I don't eat meat, I'm glad to treat him something delish!) great price, but will recommend to get it the bag if you don't have any dietary restriction or allergy, because may contain meat or nuts! I haven't had the Sakura Mochi A Pan, but can't wait to have it for lunch today! I just want to say that it looks so cute and the bread feels soft! (Expected for a sweet bread).
Julia Zigman
Favorite pastries in DC - I love trying the new weekly & monthly specials! Favorite is probably zaatar gruyere, but you truly can’t go wrong with any pick.
Ethan S.
Really unique, delicious pastries and good coffee drinks! Inevitably you will have to try at least one sweet and one savory, highly recommend the cinnamon roll and the savory croissants.
Renee T.
The Japanese milk bread is sold in half loafs and you slice yourself, which is perfect as I wanted thicker slices. I also had the egg salad sandwich. Some of the egg salad sandwiches or sandi's are amazing in Tokyo, so I had to try it here. It was fresh and good..
Schuyler Jones
Pastries are fantastic, very good coffee drinks. Inventive and unique combinations, while it’s relatively expensive, everything is worth the price. It’s a small space so it backs up very quickly if there are more than 2-3 people inside but it’s usually a quick stop.On a nice day, don’t miss the rear patio (accessed via the adjoining empty restaurant)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Trish
The black sesame mochi roll was perfection: swirls of chewy mochi inside a fluffy bun, topped with a slightly tart sesame cream. The bun itself was nice and crusty ?The cafe itself is quite underwhelming, they haven’t redone or really decorated it at all so it’s pretty much the exact interior of the previous tenants ?
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Sesame Roll
Julian B.
Egg sandwich was yummy. Great croissants overall. The sesame drink was amazing and worth going back for.
Ailun H.
A friend picked up a SOUFFLE CHEESE CAKE from Saku Saku Flakerie for dessert. The cheese cake was pretty fluffy & bouncy, yet super creamy at the same time. It is a bit small (maybe 8"?) and more dense than I preferred. But we all enjoyed a small slice of it. Saku Saku's been on my list to try for awhile, and the pastries are still on my list to try.
John Powell
Wow fantastic bakery. Definitely not a skip.Thought the almond croissant was pricey til I took a bite. Wow, transcendental to say the least. Can’t wait to come
Went at 1 PM on a Sunday and many things were sold out. We tried the matcha chocolate chip cookie, the mochi pumpkin roll, and the chai bun. The matcha cookie was almost too sweet, the mochi roll tasted stale/old, and the chai bun didn’t have much flavor. Perhaps it was the time of day, but I would come earlier than later!
Lexi Sun
Love chocolate almond croissant!
T Smith
This is an awesome bakery with a wonderful owner! Everything I've had has been awesome, but the very best things have been the mochi rolls, cookies, and the custard bun. Highly recommend any of their specials! Can't wait to try more of their pastries ?
Graysen V.
I was truthfully so disappointed. I've been wanting to come here for ages, because I had heard great things about their selection of pastries. However, when my friend and I made it, they had only about 4 options left and it wasn't late in the day. I ended up opting for a plain croissant, and got the one in the display case. I hate saying this, but it was one of my least favorite croissants in D.C. It wasn't flaky or buttery, there were no layers, and it tasted very, very stale. My friend got the Kouign-amann and it was also somewhat stale but much more flavorful. I highly recommend that pastry, but I would steer away from the croissant. The service was also very just okay, they seemed pretty tired and my guess is that it was just busy from it being a rainy day. I'm not sure I would go back:(
Background Scenes
Great coffee, hard to find a café with lattes in this area. 4 stars only because while they are not mean/rude, they are not the most friendly and welcoming with their attitude. Also FYI they seem to still be under construction but are operational for take out.
Saku Saku Flakerie has become one of my favorite spots for trying creative pastries! I love that they rotate out weekend and monthly specials with fun, seasonal flavors. So far, I've tried their black sesame mochi roll, their purple sweet potato mochi roll, their blueberry and early grey cruffin, and their cherry blossom an pan. It's worth getting here early in the morning so that you can have their baked goods fresh from the oven. The shop is tiny and staff here aren't always the friendliest, but I'm not too fussy about that; I really just care about the food. Their black sesame roll was easily my favorite - it was soft, tender dough with a lovely nutty flavor from the sesame and a bit of tang in the frosting. I would come back for this 1000 times! The cherry blossom an pan reminded me a lot of the pastries I loved in Japan. I appreciated that they used actual cherry blossom filling and not cherries like so many places - they're very different! I loved the addition of some mochi in the middle to add some chewiness and break it up a bit. I do think that their flavors are a bit too subtle (sometimes verging on bland) and could stand to be punchier. The cruffin was lovely, but I was not getting earl grey or blueberry - it was lovely and smooth but tasted like nothing. However, the quality of the dough is high and I enjoy the textures and variety of their fillings. If they could bring out the flavors a bit more it would be a 5/5, but I appreciate a well-made pastry regardless and will no doubt be back again!
My friend and I came over the weekend to get some of the spring season special pastries! (Some to eat there and some others to go!). Since we arrived around 8AM on an unexpected sunny but really cold morning, we decided to just sit down inside the restaurant next door (that's closed this early in the morning) instead of the patio/garden area (definitely when it gets warmer I would love to sit down there). I got their regular drip coffee ($4) and the clerk gladly gave me some almond milk for my drink. I really want to try their specialty iced lattes, but this day wasn't the day As for their pastries! Having their "Japanese Sweet Potato Roll w/ Ube Cream Cheese" (about $5) freshly baked, was amazing and so comforting on a cold morning! The bread was pillowy soft and had a nutty milky taste because of sweet potato, the amount of Ube cream cheese was generous and so rich! Anything Ube is delicious! Their London Fog and Blueberry cruffin ($6) is not only beautiful to look at, but every bite feels decadent and luxurious! The blueberry provides a tang to the creamy filling of the cruffin! Love how they laminated the pastry, and honestly the best way to enjoy it is to tear every layer and dip it on the tea cream! I bought their "Mystery Pastry Bag" for $6, got 2 ham & cheese croissant rolls and a pistachio croissant, husband approved the ham&cheese one! (I don't eat meat, I'm glad to treat him something delish!) great price, but will recommend to get it the bag if you don't have any dietary restriction or allergy, because may contain meat or nuts! I haven't had the Sakura Mochi A Pan, but can't wait to have it for lunch today! I just want to say that it looks so cute and the bread feels soft! (Expected for a sweet bread).
Favorite pastries in DC - I love trying the new weekly & monthly specials! Favorite is probably zaatar gruyere, but you truly can’t go wrong with any pick.
Really unique, delicious pastries and good coffee drinks! Inevitably you will have to try at least one sweet and one savory, highly recommend the cinnamon roll and the savory croissants.
The Japanese milk bread is sold in half loafs and you slice yourself, which is perfect as I wanted thicker slices. I also had the egg salad sandwich. Some of the egg salad sandwiches or sandi's are amazing in Tokyo, so I had to try it here. It was fresh and good..
Pastries are fantastic, very good coffee drinks. Inventive and unique combinations, while it’s relatively expensive, everything is worth the price. It’s a small space so it backs up very quickly if there are more than 2-3 people inside but it’s usually a quick stop.On a nice day, don’t miss the rear patio (accessed via the adjoining empty restaurant)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The black sesame mochi roll was perfection: swirls of chewy mochi inside a fluffy bun, topped with a slightly tart sesame cream. The bun itself was nice and crusty ?The cafe itself is quite underwhelming, they haven’t redone or really decorated it at all so it’s pretty much the exact interior of the previous tenants ?
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Sesame Roll
Egg sandwich was yummy. Great croissants overall. The sesame drink was amazing and worth going back for.
A friend picked up a SOUFFLE CHEESE CAKE from Saku Saku Flakerie for dessert. The cheese cake was pretty fluffy & bouncy, yet super creamy at the same time. It is a bit small (maybe 8"?) and more dense than I preferred. But we all enjoyed a small slice of it. Saku Saku's been on my list to try for awhile, and the pastries are still on my list to try.
Wow fantastic bakery. Definitely not a skip.Thought the almond croissant was pricey til I took a bite. Wow, transcendental to say the least. Can’t wait to come
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Went at 1 PM on a Sunday and many things were sold out. We tried the matcha chocolate chip cookie, the mochi pumpkin roll, and the chai bun. The matcha cookie was almost too sweet, the mochi roll tasted stale/old, and the chai bun didn’t have much flavor. Perhaps it was the time of day, but I would come earlier than later!
Love chocolate almond croissant!
This is an awesome bakery with a wonderful owner! Everything I've had has been awesome, but the very best things have been the mochi rolls, cookies, and the custard bun. Highly recommend any of their specials! Can't wait to try more of their pastries ?
I was truthfully so disappointed. I've been wanting to come here for ages, because I had heard great things about their selection of pastries. However, when my friend and I made it, they had only about 4 options left and it wasn't late in the day. I ended up opting for a plain croissant, and got the one in the display case. I hate saying this, but it was one of my least favorite croissants in D.C. It wasn't flaky or buttery, there were no layers, and it tasted very, very stale. My friend got the Kouign-amann and it was also somewhat stale but much more flavorful. I highly recommend that pastry, but I would steer away from the croissant. The service was also very just okay, they seemed pretty tired and my guess is that it was just busy from it being a rainy day. I'm not sure I would go back:(
Great coffee, hard to find a café with lattes in this area. 4 stars only because while they are not mean/rude, they are not the most friendly and welcoming with their attitude. Also FYI they seem to still be under construction but are operational for take out.