Ellie’s Bakery Review – Providence, RI

Right now, as this post goes out to all of you, I’m in Paris, France for the second time. I’m showing my girlfriend the wonderful tourist sites, eating as much delicious food as I can handle, and trying to do a few things I didn’t get to experience the first time around. I thought this post would coincide really well with my travels since the principle concept behind Ellie’s Bakery boldly printed on their wall is:

“Our intimate bakery is inspired by the Parisian way of life: A place where everyone does their own thing – for the love of it – While cherishing simple pleasures.”

A Parisian-inspired bakery by the owners of one of the best restaurants in Providence, Gracie’s, is a welcome addition to the city of Providence. So, without further ado, while I’m eating delicious pastries in Paris and showing my girlfriend around, you can read about the bakery my girlfriend showed me where you can get delicious pastries in Providence.

Ellie’s Bakery
61 Washington Street
Providence 02903
(401) 228-8118

Service and Atmosphere
Ellie’s Bakery is a small space with a lot of character. When you enter, the first thing you see facing you is a case full of pastries. Upon my visit, a case full of macarons and puff pastries stared back at my hungry face. The pastry counter continues to wrap around the order area in the L-shape of the interior. There isn’t much seating room, so you either have to take your food to go or wait until a satisfied customer gets up to leave from the counter that wraps around the outer edge of the bakery.

The service at Ellie’s is friendly and laid back. They checked in to see if we were ready to order and when we weren’t they left us alone until we were. They answered all of our questions and prepared the food quickly. One employee even made sure to give us a helpful tip to eat the macarons we ordered last so that they could warm up a bit after coming out of the refrigerated case. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Food
As I mentioned, the second I saw the macarons, I knew they would be mine. We ordered one lavender-honey macaron along with a rhubarb-hibiscus. When the macarons are made fresh and the flavors change frequently, they can run out of some of them pretty quickly. After this visit I had the opportunity to try other flavors as well such as chocolate and vanilla. All of them were fantastic, but my unequivocal favorite right now is the simple vanilla macaron. A simple flavor for a simple man, I guess. What else can I say?

The macarons are just as they should be at Ellie’s. A gratifying crackle as you break through the thin outer shell and a sweet flavor explosion as you bite into the soft, thicker center. These are among the best I’ve ever had and I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a sweet treat that isn’t heavy at all.

Despite my overwhelming desire to order the macarons, I also had to order a cream puff. This puff in particular was covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate and topped with a few sprinkles of chunky salt. Personally, I’m a little over the salted chocolate and salted caramel craze that has taken over desserts lately, but this slight amount of salt wasn’t overpowering at all. The pastry itself was airy while the cream was rich, but the whole thing overall felt light. Really, really good.

Lastly, I ordered an iced Americano to wash it all down. Quite frankly, this is the best cup of iced coffee I’ve had that I haven’t made myself. It was strong like an espresso-based Americano should be, but it didn’t require milk. I was kind of blown away by how good it was and I can’t wait to get another when I find myself in the area.

Overall Impression
This is exactly the kind of nice little bakery that I would expect from the owners of Gracie’s. It’s quality food made fresh without pretentiousness. If you’re looking for a great coffee and a delicious pastry then stop in to Ellie’s if you’re in the area.