Before we traveled to Seattle, I did some research on good food spots. One of the interesting place I found was this shop, specialized in crumpets. It has a long history and lots of loyal customers since first opened in 1976 in the Pike Place Market. This cozy, lovely shop is family owned and operated, very warm and welcoming.
The inside is narrow and long, not much space that can fill up quickly. When we got there, we were happy we didn’t see any lines since we heard about how popular they are. But then, one we walked towards the “order here” sign at the counter in the back, we realized that the line actually forms from the ordering counter to the back of the shop. There is actually another exit/entrance door in the back, and the line went out the back door!
The line moved steadily, although not very fast. Most of the seats were taken, inside and out, but this is not a take-you-time-and-dine kind of place. So, the turnover was pretty good too. While we were waiting, we got to see some cute artworks on the wall, like a scene from Alice in Wonderland, and a cat holding a tea bag with words that says “The tea is out of the bag”!!!
They serve coffee, espresso, and all sorts of tea, and you get free refills on most of them! They have several kinds of milk there too, including almond milk and rice milk. How cool!
While waiting for our order, I snagged the perfect table near the front entrance. It was right by their kitchen, and with the large window, we had the perfect view of crumpet magic show in action!
They had the crumpet batter in a large container, and the staffs were busy making crumpet, one batch after another. Since they get orders for eat-in and take-out, they gotta keep up with the supply. These staffs never stopped working, pretty impressive…
It was fun to see the fresh crumpets rising on the griddle. After they are done, they get set on a table, then cooled a bit before they get toasted, buttered and topped with whatever the ingredients that was ordered. I saw some people who came in and bought just the crumpets. The staffs tripped off the edges, put them in a bag and gave it to the customer. I guess you can have the freshly baked crumpets at home with your own toppings, which is a great option to have.
They offer sweet and savory toppings, and everything from their kitchen is cooked with organic flour, with ingredients responsibly sourced from the best available vendors. Nice! We ordered one sweet and one savory one to share. Since they are made to order, it took a few minutes for them to come out. Great to be able to have super fresh crumpets!
For the sweet one, we chose Nutella Chocolate Spread & Ricotta Cheese ($4.80). They came pre-cut into half, making it easier to eat and to share. The ricotta and Nutella was super creamy, sitting on top of a fluffy, doughy, dense yet airy crumpet. It was really good!
For savory one, we got Egg & Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese ($4.95). It also came pre-cut in half. For some reason, I was expecting smoked salmon, so when I bit into it, I was surprised how creamy it was! Well, I did order smoked salmon “cream cheese” so that totally made sense… Anyways, the cream cheese was GREAT! It was almost whipped, light and fluffy, with a really good smoked salmon flavor. The egg was cooked just right, not over cooked nor too runny. This one was served hot (more like warm), and we really enjoyed it.
I didn’t really know what to expect before I visited, but they totally lived up to my expectation and more. I thought we would need more than two crumpets to share, since they are not big. But, they are quite filling! We were not stuffed, but comfortably full. A great little breakfast, and the price tag was very affordable too. The quality was high, and super delicious, I would definitely return when and if I ever go back to Seattle!
The Crumpet Shop – 1503 1st Ave Seattle, WA 98101