Regent Bakery and Cafe () is a small chain of

Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora, though other Chinese regional cuisine, regional cuisin ...

s and

bakeries A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

in the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding Satellite city, satellites and suburbs. The United States Census Bureau defines the Seattle–T ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The family-owned and operated business was established in Redmond in 2000, and expanded to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

in 2012 and

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

. Regent initially sold cakes and gained popularity amongst employees of Redmond-based

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

. The menu was expanded to include

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

such as chow fun,

fried rice Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dis ...

, hot pots, and

rice cake A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include ...

. The bakeries stock Chinese buns,

pastries Pastry refers to a variety of doughs (often enriched with fat or eggs), as well as the sweet and savoury baked goods made from them. The dough may be accordingly called pastry dough for clarity. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bak ...

, and other baked goods and desserts such as

croissants A croissant (, ) is a French pastry in a crescent shape made from a laminated yeast dough similar to puff pastry. It is a buttery, flaky, '' viennoiserie'' pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian '' kipferl'', but using the French yeast ...

, egg tarts, fruit Danishes, and

kouign-amann Kouign-amann (; ; ) is a sweet, round Breton laminated dough pastry, originally made with bread dough (nowadays sometimes viennoiserie dough), containing layers of butter and incorporated sugar, similar in fashion to puff pastry albeit with fe ...

. The Capitol Hill location has closed permanently. Regent has garnered a positive reception for its cakes and pastries. A dessert from the bakery was depicted in the video game ''

Portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

'', which was published by Bellevue-based

Valve Corporation Valve Corporation, also known as Valve Software, is an American video game developer, video game publisher, publisher, and digital distribution company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It is the developer of the software distribution pl ...

, as a "reward cake", leading to the internet meme "

The cake is a lie "The cake is a lie" is a catchphrase from the 2007 video game ''Portal (video game), Portal''. Initially left behind as graffiti by Doug Rattmann to warn that GLaDOS, the game's main villain, was deceiving the player, it was intended to be a min ...

Description

Regent Bakery and Cafe is a family-owned and operated chain of

Chinese restaurants A Chinese restaurant is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora, though other Chinese regional cuisine, regional cuisin ...

and

in the

, in the

. The business initially operated in a

strip mall A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...

in Redmond near

Washington State Route 520 State Route 520 (SR 520) is a state highway and freeway in the Seattle metropolitan area, part of the U.S. state of Washington. It runs from Seattle in the west to Redmond in the east. The freeway connects Seattle to the Eastside regi ...

. A second location opened at the intersection of 14th and

Pine Street Pine Street is a major east–west street in Seattle, Washington, United States. It travels parallel to Pike Street between Downtown Seattle and the retail core to Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madrona. Street description Pine S ...

, on

, and a third followed in

. The Capitol Hill location, which has closed permanently, occupied the ground floor of a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

building and had an "upscale" full bar. Allecia Vermillion of ''

Seattle Metropolitan ''Seattle Metropolitan'', or ''Seattle Met'', is a monthly city magazine covering Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the ...

'' described the interior as "bright and rather sterile". There was an "extremely sparkly contemporary" chandelier, banquettes, "marble-like" tabletops, and candles. The bar had two large

flat-panel displays A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipment. Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight, provide better ...

, glowing bottles, and an abstract image of a drink that changed colors. Marti Jonjak of '' The Stranger'' described the restaurant and cocktail lounge as a "sprawling wonderland" lined with windows. The Bellevue shop operates solely as a bakery in the

Factoria Factoria is a mixed-use suburban neighborhood in south Bellevue, Washington and is one of the city's significant commercial districts. Originally timberland from the 1890s to 1920s and later envisioned as an industrial center, Factoria has si ...

neighborhood.

History

Regent was established in 2000. The business is operated by the Loh family, including co-owners Betty, Chris, and Teresa Loh. They initially baked cakes, later expanding the menu to include Chinese dishes. The Capitol Hill location opened in February 2012, in a space previously occupied by Online Espresso Company. It has since closed permanently and was replaced by the Japanese restaurant Raku Shabu Shabu in 2025.

Reception

Eater Seattle ''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by ...

'' has called the original cafe a "quaint, unassuming shop". Regent initially gained popularity amongst employees of

, which is based in Redmond. The restaurant is reportedly "such a favorite" of

software developers A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

in the area that a Regent

Black Forest cake Black Forest gateau, ( , ) or Black Forest cake, is a layer cake made out of cocoa powder, cherries, ''Kirsch'', and whipped cream, with dark chocolate as a decoration. The origins of the cake and its name are disputed. However, the cake's reci ...

is depicted in the video game ''

'' (published by Bellevue-based

) as a "reward cake", leading to the

internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

". 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. 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. ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' said the baked goods "are the real deal". In 2018, Naomi Tomky called Regent's barbecued pork bun "the platonic ideal of a classic" in ''Seattle Magazine'' list of the city's best stuffed buns. In ''Eater Seattle'' 2020 overview of recommended eateries for squid and octopus

take-out A take-out (US, Canada, Philippines) or takeaway (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) is a prepared meal or other food items purchased at a restaurant or fast food outlet with the intent to eat elsewhere. A concept found in many ancient cultures, take ...

, Gabe Guarente said the Redmond location has earned a reputation as a "strong"

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cu ...

eatery and wrote that the fried salt and pepper calamari "may be among the best in the city". In the website's 2021 list of fourteen "delightful" dim sum restaurants in the metropolitan area, Leonardo David Raymundo and Ryan Lee praised the Capitol Hill location for its ambiance and pastries, and called Regent's calamari and garlic green beans "as good as you'll find in the city". ''Eater Seattle'' Brett Bankson included Regent in a 2022 list of fourteen "outstanding" restaurants in the Bellevue-Redmond area.

References

External links

* * {{Restaurants in Seattle 2000 establishments in Washington (state) Bakeries of Washington (state) Bakery cafés Chinese restaurants in Washington (state) Drinking establishments in Washington (state) Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 2000 Restaurants in Capitol Hill, Seattle Restaurants in Redmond, Washington

Description

Menu

History

Reception

See also

References

External links