Wild Wheat Bakery, Cafe & Restaurant

Last week, while a few women and I were waiting for our crêpes at La Crêperie Voilà, we started talking about eateries in Kent. I was particularly interested since I never knew where to go when shopping at 99 Ranch or IKEA. (I know that Kent isn’t that far from Bellevue. But my world is so pathetically confined that I rarely drive that far.) As the Kent resident listed all the choices, one place stood out - Wild Wheat Bakery. I was sold when she mentioned the lamb burger served on a house made roll.

So today, after a few errands and a trip to 99 Ranch, I made a detour to Kent. After a wet July 4th, summer finally came. The sun was shining, everybody was out about. I got to Wild Wheat around 11:45, the place was still mostly empty. I was expecting a tiny little cutesy cafe. But what I saw was a much bigger and very open space. “Restaurant” would be much more fitting than “bakery” or “cafe”. The decor was very casual with mustard yellow walls and maroon ceiling. The art collection was a bit random, some abstract, some landscape posters.

Service was really quick. The rolls came probably within a minute of my sitting down. However, the taste fell short. They were cold and chewy. I don’t think I’m very picky when it comes to bread. All I need is for them to be warm and fluffy. I don’t care for the struggle when pulling off pieces.

The lamb burger came with fries. The fries were perfect, hot and crispy. But the burger didn’t live up that standard. Both the Mediterranean spice and cucumber dill salsa were used so sparsely that I couldn’t really taste any. To me, lamb is one meat that has to be seasoned. Cumin does wonders to lamb. My burger could definitely use some!

This was probably THE fastest sit-down meal I’ve ever had - I left the place by 12:10. As I was leaving, the place was all packed, and more people were still filing in. Wild Wheat is obviously very popular, which is rather puzzling to me. I mean the food isn’t terrible, but it isn’t any good either. And the price! $10+, for any sandwich or burger, is too much for a place like this. Oh well, if I ever pass by downtown Kent, I might give it another try, but it’s not worth a trip by itself.

(If you are curious about the crêpes at La Crêperie Voilà, well, to be honest, I was quite disappointed there too. I ordered a savory one - smoked wild salmon lox with creme fraiche and spinach, and a dessert one of sweet chestnut spread. The salmon one was bland, and insubstantial. The chestnut spread one wasn’t anything special either. I had my first crêpes at Crêpes A Go Go in Berkeley back in college. The savory crêpes are so much bigger, tastier, AND cheaper! And the nutella crêpes! I still miss those days!)

Wild Wheat Bakery, Cafe & Restaurant
202 First Ave S (Gowe Street), Kent, WA 98032
(253) 856-8919

La Crêperie Voilà
707 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 447-2737