Our favorite coffee shop! Consistently excellent service with a smile and a friendly greeting. Asst. Mgr., Dylan, is extremely efficient and makes sure things are running smoothly all around. Great crew of employees. Coffee is excellent and so quick to get it to you. Sandwiches are great and happy they have some vegetarian/vegan items also. Hopefully, they will offer some vegan bakery items. Plenty of seating and a nice atmosphere for hanging out and in warmer weather; nice they offer tables WITH umbrellas. read more

Stopped by for lunch because of the yelp reviews. Ordered a turkey sandwich with coffee. Delicious and simple. So good! Yummy pastries as well! read more

Done coming here. I was just charged $5 for a 16oz drop coffee. I told the clerk that it seemed really high and he said 'hmm'. I said yeah, like more expensive than Starbucks by at least a buck 50, to which he replied 'weird'. Very strange and I will never go back. read more

I would have given them zero stars, but that was not an option here. Went to Grand Central Bakery in Burien today for an iced coffee at about 3pm. They had a sandwich board up stating that on a certain date they woud be giving 5% to a farm in Olympia, but it said BLM at the top. So I asked what the sign meant, and the employees verbally attacked me for questioning what the message meant; how it was meant. Almost immediately after, they told me to leave the store and that I was being rude (for trying to understand a message that THEY had put up in their store). If that wasn't enough, as I was on my way out of the store, the female (I assume was female) who said she was manager, came out from the back and literally pushed me out the door as I was on my way out anyhow. She identified herself as manager and said "I'm the manager and you have to leave now" as she physically pushed me out the door. WTF? I'm a 63 y/o woman who was asking a valid question for understanding, and was rudely shut down and shoved. Please don't patronize Grand Central Bakery unless you are a marxist leftie. These people are out of touch with humanity and will attack you if you even question their political signage for understanding. I retorted "you do not have permission to touch me and if you do it again, I WILL file assault charges." Unfortunately, in this day and age, assault charges rarely lead to jail time and criminals are regularly released anyhow. So sad that one can no longer ask questions without being attacked. As I type this, my neck is hurting. I hope that shove given was not the cause, but if pain persists, I WILL go to the doctor tomorrow and open a case with Grand Central. read more

Oh man, I'm so glad to have GCB in downtown Burien. I visited this weekend just a couple days after their grand opening and everything was excellent, as I expected. They serve Caffe Vita coffee (my favorite coffee roaster in Seattle) and my iced americano was the perfect afternoon pick up and a great cap to the Turkey and Chutney sandwich I ordered. I'm beginning to salivate just typing about it. I read an article about Obama visiting GCBs Pioneer Square location last week when he was in town and it's what he ordered so I figured I had to give it a try. I'm also a sucker for any turkey sandwich with some cranberry on it and GCBs chutney has the right amount of sweet and spice. This will probably be my go to when I come here, although their seasonal sandwiches often successfully tempt me. The new space is very nice, clean, and comfy; and staff was super friendly. I'll be back, often. read more

Can be pricey but it is the only place where I can find fresh baked breads and tasty pastries without making a trip for a bakery. Try latte dunkers and quiche. read more

Grand Central Bakery - Spinach quiche and a cup of latte - Bakeries Near Me - Burien, Washington

I would love to be able to eat here since I loved the food, but this is my 3rd visit in a row where they are unable to complete my order. We are out of tuna, we are out of cheddar or the grill isn't working. For a $9 sandwich it needs to be far better. I Manage a food business so I get it, but either up your order so customers can actually count on getting their food item every once in a while if they fall in love with something. Mind blowing to me how much business this place must lose. read more

I've eaten here three times when I've been in the area for business trips. Each time, I had a great experience. It is a bit loud so don't plan to hang around and get loads of work done in their free Wi-Fi, but the food is great and the service is prompt and friendly. read more

I really enjoyed this place but I do have a couple things to say. I loved there sandwiches! I always try to go before 11 because the breakfast ones are the best. But I wish you had the breakfast ones all day. Also it is very pricey! I spent $80.00 just for 5 sandwiches, 2 coffees, and a orange juice which I think is crazy!! Going by myself I love it but it's not priced correct for a family environment. read more

I've only had the pastries and bread & have always left extremely satisfied!! The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are thick & moist & the brownies are thick & fudgy!! This is a cheaper option than other bakeries in which some charge almost $4 for one cookie. I don't live close by but I gladly make the drive :-) read more

This is easily one of the nicest places to sit, either in doors or out, with friends, coffee, work or something to read on Burien's main drag. It's light and airy, the staff are kind and professional and the Burien location has done a decent job of upholding the standard of quality that metro area residents have come to expect from this company. However, I had a n uncharacteristically unpleasant experience today. I normally buy bread here but today decided to order a sandwich and linger. My choice was a Rueben with either pastrami or corned beef. I'm not a person who argues passionately on either side of this debate and I never remember which I like more. The problem with the sandwich today was that the center of it was cold. This is a hot sandwich whose classic strength is all about the unhealthy nostalgia of my youth and a melty melange of flavor. Unfortunately, the taste party in my mouth was rudely disrupted by cabbage and cheese that had refused to relent and meld. It was like eating a calzone with frozen bits in the middle instead of melted cheese. I nearly spit out my mouthful and managed to keep it down merely because of the genteel company nearby and my desire to not bring down their afternoon experience. I'm a very regular consumer of GCB who was today very much disappointed. The place was not busy, in fact it was not even close to half full. I fully acknowledge that my experience may well be the exception to the rule, but it's going to be a while before I choose to sit and eat here again. You made me sad today, GCB Burien. What gives? read more

Saw this place as i driving through Burien, and decided to stop in for lunch. I'm new to the area, so I didn't realize it a long-standing chain. I tried the Beecher's baguette, which was a vegetarian cheese sandwich. The real star of the sandwich was the pickled onions, though the cheese was good, and the sesame seed baguette was also good. I guess its a toss-up for which flavor was the best. I also tried a cherry tart, which I ate the next day, and it was delicious! read more

Grand Central Bakery - Beecher's sandwich - Bakeries Near Me - Burien, Washington

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I came in for fun on a rainy afternoon for some freshly baked break. I ended up buying a Como loaf and having them slice it for me. It is possibly the most beautiful loaf of bread I have ever seen. It goes perfectly toasted with some fresh honeycomb on top. The bread itself is crusty and crunchy on the outside, and then soft and moist on the inside. The air pockets inside the bread are all different sizes, ranging from tiny up to about an inch across. This bread is the type you see in gourmet magazines as grilled cheese sandwiches, paninis, and croutons. Will be back for more! read more

So I'm walking through Burien after dropping the dog off at the salon, and suddenly I smell the aroma of fresh baked bread and roasting garlic. Like a siren calling to me I entered. It's clean, smells great, and the case was full of deliciousness. The service was friendly, patient, and efficient. I ordered the Mediterranean Melt ($8.05), and an ice tea (price not posted). After a 10% tip (it's counter service) my total was $12.85. The sandwich was good on flavor but seriously lacking between the slices of bread. It was about as thick as a homemade grill cheese. Me thinks more would be nice for the price. Overall: fresh and tasty, but pricey. read more

This place is great! Friendly staff and great locally made or locally sourced ingredients. Stuff here is delicious. A lot of other folks seem to complain about the long waits sometimes..... Funny, I didn't notice any 'Golden Arches' outside. Come here for an amazing *leisurely* breakfast or lunch indeed!!!! read more

Best bread! Can I just say COMO! Also fantastic quiche and great sandwiches. They are always friendly and make the best Bourbon pecan pie at Thanksgiving. read more

Ok, I'm biased because I got free bread. They closed early today (5pm instead of 6pm) for a staff meeting, doors locked, so when I dropped by at 530pm, they had a rack of free bread outside for free! AMAZING. I took a batard of whole wheat home, very high quality (and I have a bit of a background in artisan baking). Not sure if it's worth what they normally charge, but far better than anything you'd find at a more commercial bakery or grocery store.They also had really fantastic small chewy sesame twists- they are now one of my favorite bread products- I must find out what these things are! Thanks guys for the free bread! read more

I'm writing this as I wait for my salad. People behind me being served first, mistakes being made left and right - orders bungled and employees chit chatting as if this is a party - not a job. Always mediocre and today I'm motivated to give them the 2 stars they deserve. read more

Two and half stars Since this opened up, I've been there three times. Twice for lunch and once for breakfast. The Turkey Deluxe was pretty good. Of course, I had it in the "sack" lunch which consists of a whole sandwich, small bag of chips, and one of their delicious cookies. No drink. Cost $11. Next time was the tuna salad. Again, sack lunch, whole sandwich. No drink. Cost almost $10. A very nice sandwich presentation but surprisingly small portion (considering how cheap albacore tuna can be especially when mixed as a salad.) Why so small on the tuna salad sammie? There was a bit of a wait for the first sandwich go-around. Given it was the first day, it was understandable. Although, I did question why there were so many servers AKA "runners" and what seemed like one person helming the sandwich making station. Second sandwich go-around (almost a week later), I thought "a good place to have a lunch meeting." I invited a client to try this place out and convinced her it was worth it to drive from Bellevue. I figure after about a week the hubbub would die down. It did. Not a long wait in line, order taken, bam! Sit down. My client ordered the Turkey and Chutney first then I ordered next. We waited a decent amount of time and I ended up receiving my order first. Probably because my tuna salad could be scooped out of a bin and plopped on some bread. Ten minutes later, my client received her sandwich. Ten minutes on top of the time since we had ordered maybe 10-15 minutes before. Unacceptable. This morning, a bacon egg bolo sandwich. Its raining and a somewhat slow morning. GCB is not busy because I was greeted at the door by two order clerks with one on register (assumed the other was in-training.) Not knowing who was taking my order, I asked the taller of the two if the "easy egg" could be scrambled instead. I finally get the shorter girl to give me a definitive "yes, we can". (I'm used to having somebody at least say "Hi I'm ____ and this is ____. She is in-training. If you don't mind, please bear with us while we are working with ____. Now what can I get ya?") Because its rainy and this GCB serves Caffe Vita, in addition to my sandwich, I order a 16-oz Breve latte'. Cost altogether, $12.16. For a breakfast sandwich and 16-oz breve?? There is something wrong with that picture (or just me) when I've had two "sack" lunches that consisted of whole sandwiches, chips, pickle spears, and big cookies. When you eat-in, you receive a red "A" card with a number, find a table, and they (being several "runners") bring your sandwich. I guess that doesn't include your coffee because I had the barista yelling for a "Breve latte" for the past 5 minutes. I didn't know that was mine. "Is this mine?" "It sure looks like it" she says. WTF?? Where'd that come from? I guess my lazy a$$ should get the coffee and then sit back down when they yell for "runners!" I gave the place two and half stars because the food is pretty decent. The cookies are delish! And it's new. But the prices and service (or inefficient use of) are a little steep for this economy if not this out-of-the-limelight place called Burien. Rethink it or button it up. Hey Paison! makes good sandwiches just across the street. Burien Press serves Caffe Vita just down the street. The Danish bakery isn't too far down the street as well. Sorry GCB but I think we're out. read more

Coffee was good. Had a tuna melt and it was only ok, pretty skimpy on the tuna and barely had cheese. I thought it was way overpriced, 2 coffees and 2 tuna melts were $32 before tip.. no chips or cookies. what! You can get a full breakfast/lunch at other cafes for that price. Atmosphere is good but for the price I'd rather go somewhere else. read more

This is a great off the beaten path bakery, sandwich, coffee shop! The blue ribbon sandwich is the best! That's what I get when I am in the area and I am hungry. The coffee and sweet bakery is good too but literally the blue ribbon sandwich is the bestest. read more

I love Grand Central Bakery and I try to get in there at least every month. Their bread is the best. There's a large variety of loaves in different shapes and sizes and if you tell them what you're cooking for dinner they will suggest an accompaniment. I am making French onion soup tomorrow and I will be asking them which bread would be best sliced on top of the soup to be put under a broiler with cheese Grand Central's pie crusts are also high quality so I am back to baking pies pretty frequently. When I make a cream pie I get their single crust and when I make a fruit pie I get their double crust. They're both around $9-$10 but the single crust comes in a pie plate you can use making it easier to give away the pie Grand Central makes good sandwiches and serves salads and soups if you want to go there for breakfast or lunch. They make great espresso to go along. If you choose to eat there you can sit inside in a cafe setting or outside where they have picnic tables with large umbrellas The best part about Grand Central is the people who work there. They are all friendly and knowledgeable. Laura in particular always remembers my name and asks me about what I've been baking lately. It's really nice feeling appreciated as a customer. I plan to keep going back to Grand Central as long as they keep their friendly staff and keep putting out high quality baked goods. So far they've shown no sign of stopping read more

I'm only a fan of their Piccolo Como bread. I live a few blocks from this place and likely would have never stopped in. Appears to be over priced for just basic sandwiches. What caught my eye was they have Como bread. Como is the bread of my favorite restaurant...an Italian place that's been a fixture in the are since 1957...so when I saw online that Grand Central carried it... I knew some day I'd have to stop in. So I stopped in today and picked up myself a loaf of Piccolo Como (small loaf). Fantastic stuff. This isn't what I'd make sandwiches with...but for a butter & snackin' bread Como can't be beat. I'll be stopping in on occasion for more....and maybe an Iced Cinnamon Brioche. read more

Great place. The food is really good, the prices are reasonable and the staff has always been friendly. At 5pm they drop the prices of the bread, which makes it a real bargain. read more

Never in my life have I waited this long for a simple Americano! Are you kidding me almost 10 mins! Ridiculous...staff needs to step it up!

I like the food here but more importantly I had an amazing experience of friendliness and patience from the staff, particularly Yoav, who rang me up. I was ordering for a small group of colleagues back at work with special orders. Yoav and the staff were patient and accommodating, despite the waiting and changes that I needed to make to the order. I'm so grateful for their patience and kindness!!! read more

I was looking forward to a nice lunch and was thrilled to see Hazelnut chicken pesto salad on the menu! I had a 1/2 hazelnut and 2 tiny bites of chicken with mayonnaise (yuk) and potatoes. My husband was also disappointed with his turkey sandwich and clam chowder. We stood in line for 10 minutes and waited 15 for a disappointing meal. It was loud and unpleasant atmosphere. Then we bussed our own table. What was the20% tip for? The roll was delicious.And it was over $25. Wish we had just gone to Subway. read more

Everything here is so legit. The chai is off the CHAIn. lol The roastbeef sandwich on onion roll is so good you will get divorced just to marry this bad boy. So good. The soups are hit and miss sometimes they will make you taste colors and other times you can say its "aight". Take home a roll or a loaf or a round, keep the memory alive. They have High chairs so you can bring the offspring. Packed on the weekends so good luck finding a table. read more

The atmosphere is really nice and the food tastes fresh. I find the sandwiches a bit dry and lacking flavor though.

To be fair I only had time to order a drip coffee, but everything else looked and smelled good. I was there for an interview (not with that company) and stood in line for 5+ minutes waiting behind people ordering/choosing loaves of bread - each one had to be cut - at noon on a Monday. I think they could benefit from a bread/take home line and just a coffee/for there line. read more

Nice place to have breakfast. Mostly pleasant staff. Can get my breakfast items quickly and take a seat at a quiet table to read my paper. The breads are awesome. Slection is great. Be sure to take home a loaf of bread when you leave. Ironically, a loaf of bread may cost less than one pastry. read more

I really want to love this place. It's the only bakery in my neighborhood so we end up eating here a lot. But I just can't love it, I sort of hate it. It's too expensive for the quality, consistency and service. I usually end up leaving frustrated and swearing to not go back for a long time. 1) I don't even know how many times we've been in on a weekend in the morning for a breakfast sandwich to find out they are out of eggs, or sausage, or bacon, biscuits...whoever does the planning doesn't do it well. If you are out of anything by 9am you suck at your job. Last weekend, we went in early for a bite and the girl who was doing the baking had forgotten to even put the biscuits in. DUH! 2) The staff is either great or awful. Some of the people don't seem to care that you are standing there waiting to talk to someone. 3) They are PAINFULLY SLOW at making food. If they are going to offer fresh food, then by good create a food assembly line that can meet the demand! The last time I got sandwiches to go, we waited for 25 minutes. No one called our name. I finally went up and asked. Our bag was sitting there so she handed it to me. But it was missing the pickles, chips and one of the cookies. We went back and got them and they still gave us the wrong cookie and one bag of chips was wrong. Get it together people! They have a couple hot Panini presses/grills, but on the weekends it just can't meet the demand. I don't see why they can't add another. I see people get pissed all the time with how long it takes. 4) Poor bread options for fresh sandwiches. If you don't want an overly chewy bolo roll, you are out of luck. Everything else is sliced bread that tasted like it came from Fred Meyer, not a bakery. They don't really give you very much meat and sometimes the bacon is cooked wrong so it's hard to bite through and you end up tearing your sandwich apart when you try to pull your mouth away and all the bacon and the toppings slide out with it. 5) EXPENSIVE! Come on!! By the time we add up the cost, it's cheaper to go to a sit down restaurant and have a real meal. You'll end up paying $14+tip for a sandwich on ordinary bread, chips, cookie and coffee. Or $10+tip for a breakfast sandwich and coffee. I'd rather have a real meal with better food. I ordered a salad once, $8+tip, I was excited until it arrives. It was the size of the palm of my hand with just a few pieces on the lettuce. Now granted, the salad was amazing, but it should have been twice the size! I didn't even start to get full. 6) When it's busy, it's crazy loud - no sound dampening in the space. 7) They offer coffee refills but unless there is no one in line, it's pointless to try to get it. Some barista's welcome you coming to the pickup area with your cup and they'll give you a smile and coffee. The rest give you a look (if they even acknowledge you) of pure hatred and make you wait behind the long slow line with all the new ordered for a refill of drip coffee that takes all of 5 seconds to get. If their cups were slightly bigger it might not matter, but they are the smallest possible so OF COURSE you want more coffee if you are eating in! So why do I go? Occasionally the sandwich is amazing. Maybe 1 out of 10 times. It's the only thing like it in my hood and I try to support local businesses, and they have 2 high chairs for my kids. When they have Irish soda bread (which used to be all the time, now it's only around St. Paddy's) it is amazing. You can also hang out and enjoy the big windows and watch downtown Burien. I love the space Grand Central is in, really cool. And the people from Burien that come here are generally really cool and friendly. Huh, maybe Grand Central should hire some of them and fire the punks that are more interested in gabbing with each other than working. If you want just a cup of coffee and space to socialize, this is perfect. Just skip the food. If anyone on the staff actually reads this - comment to me!!! I would gladly come in and give you very useful feedback on ways you can actually serve your community better! This place could be great if you would just take care of a few things. I would gladly pay for an overpriced sandwich if I can get coffee refills without feeling like a leper, ALL the staff is friendly, you actually have enough stock (you are freaking out of breakfast food during breakfast! No, I don't want a lame piece of sourdough bread, I want a darn biscuit!) and you find a way to serve your customers just a little faster with the hot food. I'm not asking for the world, tons of other businesses have this figured out. I really want to love you Grand Central, but you are like an abusive boyfriend. You treat me like crap and I keep dumping you. But then I go back because you are the only boy who says he loves me. read more

I am a resident of Burien so I love to support the local businesses. I am sorry to say this will be the last time I try this bakery. First few times the food and coffee were terrible. Cold coffee at a bakery? Why! The last time I was in a hurry so ordered a ham and cheese sandwich to go. Twenty minutes later they still had not started making my sandwich! Nobody outside was waiting for food so it was not due to a backlog of orders. To make matters worse, the employee who took my order 20 minutes before came out with a bag and said to me "finally I am free" and left. Did he take the time to make himself a sandwich but left me high and dry? That is left up to my assumption as I did not feel it was worth confronting him. I told the new cashier I could not wait and she just looked at me like I was crazy. A woman behind me asked if she could have the sandwich and she looked like she needed it so I hope the cashier gave it to her after all because I certainly paid for it! Never again will I darken the doorstep of this establishment. Bummer! read more

Pastries are great but the coffee was overpriced and terrible. Better off going to Burien Press across the street.

Both times I've been here the staff has been friendly, funny, and made our experience great. And they have challah! In Burien! Big ups for that. We're glad that GCB is here and we hope it stays. read more

In the mornings their pastries are passable but honestly, nothing remarkable. Cheese danish are hard to fail at and, while not a total loss, the stuff was over-proofed and baked too hot. Danish should not be chewy. The coffee was not Dennies bad but also not as good as the stuff that's free at Les Schwab. I'm hoping to be impressed by the breads but why wander into a place in the AM if they can't deliver an ordinary coffee? Still, the place is clean and warm and has nice big windows. Burien is my new home town and I'm going to give it another shot. read more

Over Priced. My husband and I have been here two times and both times the bread was extremely hard, almost impossible to bite through. I ordered the grinder and asked for extra salami making a half a sandwich $6.50 and it was maybe 4 inches at the most. I was shocked. It also didn't have the extra salami. My husband soup was suppose to be the sausage chowder and it was flavorless and watered down. He originally wanted breakfast but it was 11:10 which is 10 minutes past there cut off but the cook asked in front of us if he could put the breakfast stuff away and we said we wanted breakfast and she said "too late". It was still out, why wouldn't they just do it. read more

This place was amazing to start. Now it is just awful. Having worked many service jobs,service is not something I'm quick to complain about, but it is truly horrible here. Also, the food is really expensive, but not of consistently decent quality. Most of the employees are very pleasant but a couple are somewhat unpleasant. The real problem is getting your simple order correct and ready before you die. I have literally been the only person in there, and with two people on the register and two people at the barista station, it took fifteen minutes to make make a latte. The coffee drinks are only drinkable half the time. I don't understand what they could be doing to it to make it taste so off. Sometimes the baked goods are burnt. I really want to like this place because it has a nice atmosphere and the potential to be amazing, but it's just too consistently too much of a disappointment. read more

We love this place! The food is great quality, atmosphere welcoming and clean. A nice refresher from the other dilapidated places in Burien. We buy their multigrain bread and campangolo bread, but enjoy all the breads and treats. For lunch, their more "artsy" choices are usually better. They have a Grinder sandwich that is awesome. Only downside, the portions are a bit small. Would be nice if they were a bit more generous with bread sides to help you feel full. We have occasionally gone back and bought another entree to top off the meal. read more

We waited so anxiously for this and what a disappointment. When we entered 4 employees, in sets of two, were busy chatting as the line grew. One was kind enough to shout in a loud voice that she would be there to help in a minute! Because there was a long line and the server still had not come to help, we quickly ordered a small cup of soup and a tuna sandwich. The bill was over $12.00! NO cookie, no drink, a sandwich and small soup! They were good but those are not good prices. The bread that I expected from a bakery is far from the focus. It is over in the far right corner behind the long line. A very big disappointment. Will not be back. read more