Regent Bakery and Cafe
Exterior of the Capitol Hill location, 2022
Restaurant information
Food typeChinese
Street address15159 Northeast 24th Street
CityRedmond
StateWashington
Postal/ZIP Code98052
CountryUnited States
Coordinates47°37′51″N 122°08′18″W / 47.63093°N 122.1383°W / 47.63093; -122.1383
Other locations
Websiteregentbakeryandcafe.com

Regent Bakery and Cafe is a small chain of Chinese restaurants and bakeries in the Seattle metropolitan area. The family-owned and operated business was established in Redmond in 2000, and later expanded to Seattle's Capitol Hill in 2012 and Bellevue.

Regent initially sold cakes and gained popularity amongst Microsoft employees. The menu was expanded to include Chinese cuisine such as chow fun, fried rice, hot pots, and rice cake. The bakeries stock Chinese buns, pastries, and other baked goods and desserts such as croissants, egg tarts, fruit Danishes, and kouign-amann. Regent has garnered a positive reception, especially for its cakes and pastries. A dessert from the bakery was depicted in the video game Portal as a "reward cake", leading to the internet meme "The cake is a lie".

Description

Regent Bakery and Cafe is a family-owned and operated chain of Chinese restaurants and bakeries in the Seattle metropolitan area. The business initially operated in a strip mall in Redmond; Eater Seattle has called the original cafe a "quaint, unassuming shop" near Washington State Route 520.[1] A second location opened at the intersection of 14th and Pine Street, on Capitol Hill,[2] and a third followed in Bellevue.[3]

The Capitol Hill location occupies the ground floor of a condominium building and has an "upscale" full bar.[4][5] Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Metropolitan described the interior as "bright and rather sterile". There is an "extremely sparkly contemporary" chandelier, banquettes, "marble-like" tabletops, and candles. The bar has two large flat-panel displays,[6] glowing bottles, and an abstract image of a drink that changes colors.[5] The Bellevue shop operates solely as a bakery in the Factoria neighborhood.[3]

Regent's cafes serve Chinese cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner;[4] the menu has included chow fun, hot pots,[2] General Tso's chicken with broccoli, pan-fried dumplings, and pot stickers. Among fried rice varieties is the house special with chicken, barbecued pork, pork sung, and shrimp. The restaurant has also served bok choy, calamari, cooked prawns in a lobster sauce with onions and mushrooms, as well as duck rice cake and mapo tofu.[5]

The bakeries stock a large selection of cakes,[7] as well as Chinese buns and pastries such as barbecued pork buns, croissants, egg tarts,[8] fruit Danishes, and kouign-amann.[2][5] Other baked goods include cocktail buns, ham and cheese buns, and pineapple buns.[9] The green-tea mousse cake has chocolate latticework and high-gloss grapes, kiwi, and strawberries on top.[5] Regent has also sold green-tea cheesecake, oatmeal cookies,[10] bubble tea, and other breads.[6]

History

Regent was established in 2000.[1] The business is operated by the Loh family, including co-owners Betty,[11] Chris,[4] and Teresa Loh.[12][13] It initially focused on cake, later expanding the menu to include Chinese dishes.[5] The Capitol Hill location opened in February 2012, in a space previously occupied by Online Espresso Company.[4][6]

Reception

Various baked goods on display at the Capitol Hill location in 2023

Regent initially gained popularity amongst Microsoft employees.[6] The restaurant is reportedly "such a favorite" of software developers that a Regent dessert is depicted in the video game Portal as a "reward cake", leading to the internet meme "The cake is a lie".[5][14][15] In a positive review for The Stranger, Bethany Jean Clement called Regent "slightly weird and entirely wonderful". She said the food was "fresh-tasting and delicious", and predicted long waits during popular hours.[16] Allecia Vermillion of Seattle Metropolitan said Regent offers an "Asia-meets-France" selection of breads, cakes, and pastries, and compared the business to Fuji Bakery.[6] The Seattle Times said the baked goods "are the real deal".[17] In 2018, Naomi Tomky called Regent's barbecued pork bun "the platonic ideal of a classic" in Seattle Magazine's list of the city's best stuffed buns.[18]

Interior bar at the Capitol Hill location, 2023

In Eater Seattle's 2020 overview of recommended eateries for squid and octopus take-out, Gabe Guarente said the Redmond location "has steadily grown a following over 20 years as a strong dim sum place" and opined, "Though there are many dishes to choose from, the fried salt and pepper calamari may be among the best in the city".[19] In the website's 2021 list of fourteen "delightful" dim sum restaurants in the metropolitan area, Leonardo David Raymundo and Ryan Lee said of the Capitol Hill location: "The ambiance here is a bit snazzier than many of its dim sum counterparts, and the food is on point. Known more for its delicious pastries, Regent's fried salt and pepper calamari and garlic green beans are as good as you'll find in the city."[1] Eater Seattle's Brett Bankson included Regent in a 2022 list of fourteen "outstanding" restaurants in Bellevue's Bellevue-Redmond (or "Bel-Red") neighborhood.[3] Alyssa Therrien included Regent in Daily Hive's 2021 list of Seattle's five best Chinese and Hong Kong bakeries.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Raymundo, Leonardo David (2017-02-10). "14 Delightful Dim Sum Restaurants in the Seattle Area". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  2. 1 2 3 Vermillion, Allecia (2011-07-11). "Redmond's Regent Bakery & Cafe Expanding to Capitol Hill". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  3. 1 2 3 Bankson, Brett (2022-04-25). "14 Outstanding Restaurants In Bellevue's Bel-Red Neighborhood". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2023-04-01. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gujavarty, Shalini (2012-02-08). "Regent Bakery & Cafe Now Open". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Clement, Bethany Jean. "Chinese Food and Cake". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Regent Bakery and Cafe Opens on Capitol Hill". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  7. ↑ Not for Tourists:
  8. ↑ "An Illustrated Guide to Asian Desserts in Seattle". Eater Seattle. 2016-10-25. Archived from the original on 2023-07-09. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  9. 1 2 "7 of Seattle's best Chinese and Hong Kong bakeries | Dished". Daily Hive. Archived from the original on 2023-05-21. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  10. ↑ Fraioli, James (2012-06-05). Seattle Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Emerald City. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7627-8706-7. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  11. ↑ Choe, Jonathan (2021-09-09). "Local businesses concerned with impact of new homeless hotels in Redmond, Bellevue". KOMO-TV. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  12. ↑ "Neighborhood Food News: 94 Stewart to Close, Two New Joints for Broadway". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  13. ↑ "Flavor Bakery & Cafe has plenty to offer". Redmond Reporter. 2008-08-18. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  14. ↑ Marie, Meagan. "Let There Be Cake". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  15. ↑ Davenport, James (October 10, 2017). "'The cake is a lie'—the life and death of Portal's best baked meme". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  16. ↑ Gujavarty, Shalini (2012-03-30). "BJC Reviews Regent Bakery". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  17. ↑ "Baked goods take center stage at Regent Bakery & Café on Capitol Hill". The Seattle Times. 2012-08-03. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  18. ↑ "The Best Stuffed Buns in Seattle". Seattle Magazine. 2022-07-08. Archived from the original on 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  19. ↑ Guarente, Gabe (2020-07-23). "In Honor of the Seattle Kraken, Here's Where to Get Great Squid and Octopus for Takeout". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
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