A new Seattle bakery was just recognized as one of the best in the country. The Pastry Project in Pioneer Square (known and celebrated for its summer soft serve window for several years now) just opened a bakery window last fall. Their bakery offerings have already become a local favorite, and now the 2026 Eater Awards have included The Pastry Project in an all-new award category: Best New Bakeries.
The 2026 Eater Awards is now in its 17th year and just debuted several all-new categories “to better capture the breadth of dining in the U.S.” For the first time, the Eater Awards is recognizing the country’s best new bakeries with a separate list. The motivation came from acknowledging “how much bakeries have stepped up their game.” The list included five new bakeries located in cities across the United States, including The Pastry Project in Seattle.
Here’s an excerpt of what Eater had to say about The Pastry Project:
“Various iterations of the Pastry Project have been around for a few years now, but until recently, the public had to pick up a baking kit or wait until summer for the walk-up window to swing open for its popular soft serve ice cream. That changed when founders Emily Kim and Heather Hodge debuted their bakery window last fall, ensuring access to the Pastry Project’s salted chocolate chip cookies year-round, alongside seasonal rotating treats like maple-sweetened pancake croissant wheels and feather-light peanut butter and jelly cakes with whipped peanut frosting.”
Eater also called out The Pastry Project’s greater mission and service to the community. They offer a free baking and pastry training program designed to help individuals facing barriers to employment. The Pastry Project is currently in the process of choosing their tenth class for the training program.
The Pastry Project announced the news on their social media, writing that they’ve been waiting to share it since the summer:
“We are so proud of our little bakery, and our amazing team!! We’ve worked so hard to bring you thoughtful, nostalgic pastries baked with love that you can count on! And our bakery is just one more way we (and you) can support our mission to make baking and pastry more accessible, and to create economic opportunity in the industry for those who need it most!”
Curious about the Eater team’s methodology for the awards? According to the Eater website, more than 30 Eater staffers and contributors scouted and researched restaurants and bakeries across 44 cities—but only those that opened by August 2025 and before September 2026. They also noted that “chefs and dishes had to drive conversation during that time period” to be considered. To choose the winners, they considered food, service, atmosphere, and “compelling storytelling.” Meals were paid for by Eater.
If you’d like to visit The Pastry Project for yourself, it’s located at 165 South Main St and is open Tuesday through Saturday (closed Sunday and Monday). The hours are 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You can also order a pastry kit for at-home baking or sign up to take a baking class at their Pioneer Square location. No matter how you enjoy their sweet offerings, you can feel good about supporting their mission.
