Grand Central Bakery - Wallingford cafe

Delicious bread! Would be great to see some vegan pastries or cookies

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This was my first visit to this specific store in Wallingford. It was such a nice place and I love their bread.

Definitely will be going back here for bread!!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

So, the actual food I ordered (grilled cheese) was pretty meh. It was SUPER greasy and the cheese was fully liquid. Not like nice and oozy, but ran out of the sandwich like water so I had to keep it entirely parallel with the table. The pickle tasted nice, though. However, I have to give the place full stars because they have a really full bread selection when I can't find their breads fully stocked anywhere else. I also appreciate that their bread is cheaper at the actual bakery (AS IT SHOULD BE) than at 3rd party resellers.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 4

Loved the Halloween pumpkin specials! I tried the pumpkin spice latte and the pumpkin cream cheese muffin — both were delicious. You can ask for fewer pumps of pumpkin syrup if you prefer it less sweet. The cafe has plenty of indoor seating with nice natural lighting and cozy jazz music, making it a perfect spot for studying or reading.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Just picked up from this place. Sandwich was good. But the salad was a scam. Less than an inch of salad in the 2.5 inch deep box and looks like it has been sitting for three days.

Food: 3

Service: 3

I love this location of Grand Central! They are always clean, full of fresh snd delicious pastries, have great customer service and plenty of comfortable indoor and outdoor seating.

Everything I've ever tried here has been great. The iced brioche cinnamon rolls and pecan sticky buns are always amazing! I highly recommend their bread. My favorite is the sourdough, flavorful and crispy crust. I appreciate that staff will offer to slice loaves of bread for you.

Very good local place to grab a quick sandwich, a cup of coffee (cappuccino, latteor machiato), or something from the bakery. If you're in the area definitely stop by!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Forgettable and overpriced

My absolute favorite pastry spot. I never go out to eat anymore because seattle is just a constant source of disappointment for me. But not here. India is so wonderful and always takes great care of me! The only feedback I have is to please prioritize increasing workers wages, they deserve it and you can do it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really delicious breakfast sandwich with thick cut bacon and large runny eggs! Bonus of a nice patio area to sit

The ham and Swiss baguette I had was very good and I appreciate that they checked first to see if they had more baguette before ringing it up. The drip coffee was good as well. I was able to find a table to do an hour worth of work before the high school kids arrived on their lunch break at around noon.

Delicious cinnamon rolls and other pastries. Also delicious breads.

Favorite cafe to get work done in the neighborhood. Food is okay, but like many places in Seattle, it depends heavily on what you get.

FOOD - 3.75/5
I enjoyed the frittata sandwich ($10, maybe a dollar or two more than I'd like since it wasn't massive). I loved the fluffiness of the brioche bun and there was the perfect amount of mayo on the bread. Frittata was properly seasoned and they even have salad greens in the sandwich.

Chai tea was too sweet. I could drink it, but it wasn't what I was expecting nor was it what I wanted.

The Earl Grey tea they sell here is good. I forget the brand name they use.

Chicken salad sandwich was very skippable. The filling didn't taste like much, the chicken pieces were cut too large, and the bread wasn't toasted. The whole sandwich kept falling apart and tasted very mediocre. Maybe best to stick to the basic breakfast sandwiches.

The kale salad was surprisingly good though - salad pieces are bite sized and tender, and the parm + bright dressing was delicious.

Ingredients and produce for all dishes were very fresh.

Pastries are 3/5 - I've only tried the chocolate chip cookie, orange muffin donut, and coffee cake. The cookie was akin to something from PCC (ok, but not outstanding), and the donut muffin was too sweet and greasy for me. But the coffee cake was delicious and I would recommend it! Pastry portions are all very generous.

VIBES - 5/5
Love the cafe vibes - it's bright, woodsy, and inviting. Window seats all have charging outlets which is great for working, and wifi worked well (though I didn't try video streaming). Noise level was perfect - music and conversations weren't too loud or echoey. It is the perfect ambient volume, and I was able to get a lot of work done. I also love that I don't walk out smelling like food like the majority of cafes / coffee shops.

Seating is spaced well, and it doesn't feel claustrophobic even when it is busy on weekends. A spot or two usually opens up if you wait 5-10 mins, and there's also outdoor seating.

SUMMARY
Of the dishes I've tried so far, the food here is average to good, but the cafe vibes alone bump up my rating. I much prefer this to Chocolati cafe or Starbucks for working. Just wish this spot was open past 4pm on weekdays. I'll have to try their other sandwiches and salads.

Currently, I like this branch of Grand Central best. The staff is friendly and they usually have the things I'm looking for.. As opposed to being sold out early in the day. I particularly like the pecan sticky buns. The coffee is always good and I know my lunch will leave me satisfied... The sandwiches are yummy and filling.
Even though this is in a busy part of Seattle, the parking isn't too hard to find.

Depressed, discourteous staff and unfortunately bland food. I tried giving them multiple tries because I work local, and wanted to support local. Different prices charged to me each time I ordered a drink, no manners displayed whatsoever. None. The tuna sandwich was so bland, I saved it and took it home with me to season properly. It was mayonnaise mush, with a few capers tossed in for $14. Unbelievable for that price ; I might as well have fed it to my cat it was almost inedible.

Very good grilled cheese and sandwiches. I wanted to hate on this place because it's a chain and it doesn't have the same homey vibe as Grateful Bread, which is kind of the most similar business I can think of. But the quality of the food is consistently tasty and it's a convenient location. Pastry case has lots of choices. Portions are decent too. I wish they had more tea options though.