Saku Saku Flakerie

With how popular this bakery appears to be, I was surprised to see they have such a tiny, sad storefront tucked away in the corner of the National Building Museum!First thing to note: even though it's in the museum, it's free to enter. This location has a much smaller storefront and menu/selection than the others though which was disappointing! So I was relieved to see they had the matcha kouign amann and black sesame mochi roll (Mar 2023 exclusive) which was what I came for! Servers were also friendly and helpful! There's no seating inside, so use a table right outside (in the museum's courtyard).Onto the food: Matcha kouign amann had a great matcha flavor and texture! But I think it would have benefited from being more bitter because it was quite sweet for a matcha pastry. The black sesame mochi roll had a great texture! But it was also very sweet which threw me off because it normally should have a nuttier taste. Overall, glad I got to try Saku Saku but the pastries were too sweet for me (and I have a sweet tooth...).

Saku Saku Flakerie opening inside the National Building Museum is a win for all. It's very small and ambiance is not in the forefront at all, but they do sell their famous Japanese-inspired pastries. Sadly, they don't have an espresso machine, but they do sell drip coffee. I ordered the Souffle Cheese Cake and it was perfect. It wasn't too sweet and the texture was impressive.

This outpost of Saku Saku, better known for its Connecticut Ave location, is tucked inside the National Building Museum, to the left of the atrium when you enter. The bakery is open to the public, even if you don't buy a ticket for the museum. And while it's small, it's marvelous to be able to get these first-class baked goods without trekking out to Cleveland Park. Besides the pastries, they've got a small fridge with bottled drinks and some pretty tasty looking egg salad sandwiches. They've also got a set up that looks like it's for you to doctor your coffee (sugar, stir sticks) but I forgot to ask if they actually serve drinks too. On this visit I got a couple of cookies and a day old kouign amann, which they sell for 40% off. Everything was beautiful and delicious -- my co workers and I especially enjoyed the marble tahini cookie, which looks like it might be swirled with black sesame too. The stuff isn't cheap but it felt worth it easily. I'm looking forward to coming back and trying more!

Found this Japanese French inspired flakery on IG and worth the trip to this tiny shop. Delicious food. The counter service was helpful and friendly. This was not the shop in the museum.

This was really hard to find. They are popping up at Al Volo with confusing signs. They share a beautiful back patio with Captain Cookie which makes this a gorgeous place for an afternoon pastry and drink, but really figuring out how to find them and then find the seating area was odd. They need more signs. Service was ok - having such a small storefront means you can only receive so much help and there's nowhere to wait for your order. Now for the food. I had a black sesame hojicha matcha, which was delicious and paired it with a kouign-amann which was buttery, flakey, with a thin layer of sugar. I would come back for the drinks and pastry for sure but would love them to find a better location. Next time I'll try the location in Tentleytown.