Sea Wolf Bakers – Best Cinnamon Roll in Seattle

****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****

Sea Wolf Bakers

Recommended by: We have friends whose daughter shares the same daycare as our daughters. They were aware of our love of cinnamon rolls. They had recently visited Sea Wolf Bakers in Fremont and said we were the first people they thought of when they ordered the cinnamon roll. They said we had to try it. So we did.

Description on the Sea Wolf Baker’s website: Sea Wolf is a Seattle bakery opened in 2014 by brothers Jesse and Kit Schumann, two native Washingtonians. Following the practices of craftsmanship and local sourcing, Sea Wolf offers bread and pastry in a space that’s comfortable and welcoming to everyone.

Neighborhood/Type:  Fremont

Address: 3621 Stone Way N Suite D, Seattle, WA 98103

What we ate/drank: Cinnamon Roll  – $7

Comments: Ok, first things first. We already mentioned in our Cinnaholic post that we love cinnamon rolls so much, that during our wedding we did not have a wedding cake, we had a pile of cinnamon rolls from a bakery in Pike Place Market arranged into the shape of a wedding cake. My co-workers had two baby showers for us prior to both of our daughters being born. They main course was cinnamon rolls. Wherever we go, if we see a cinnamon roll on the menu, we will typically order it. There is nothing better than a cinnamon roll and a cup of espresso or coffee.

Sea Wolf Bakers opened their brick and mortar location in August of 2016 by two brothers, who according to their Kickstarter, really toiled into the wee hours to hone their skills and hustled from space to space to get their breads made. They are exceptional in all things a baker makes-breads of all types, baguette, rolls, croissants, muffins, even burger buns.  And of course cinnamon rolls!

Sea Wolf Bakers is so good at their craft that they were a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Outstanding Baker in 2019. Surely, this is all you need to know about their quality.  If you need any more evidence they apparently provide the bread for Renee Erickson’s restaurants, The Whale Wins, located across the street and The Walrus and Carpenter as well as previously reviewed Vif Wine | Coffee and Preserve and Gather.

Their cinnamon roll is a bit on the steep side at $7, but it is huge. Take a look at the picture of the cinnamon roll compared to our daughter’s hand.  The cinnamon roll can be ordered with frosting on the side, but it honestly doesn’t need it. Most cinnamon rolls are soft and dense. The Sea Wolf Baker’s roll has a hard crunchy sugary glazed exterior and a soft doughy middle chalk full of raisins and cinnamon. The inside is almost like a croissant, flaky.

It reminds me of the cinnamon roll they serve at Storyville Coffee Co , which is a tiny little thing that can’t be shared, but it’s delicious and very similar with a crispy outside and soft inside.  The main difference is that Sea Wolf Baker’s cinnamon roll is about 10 times bigger. It easily fed our family of four.

Sea Wolf Baker is located right next to Manolin and  right down the street from a couple of our favorites, Stone Way Cafe and Joule. The bakery has an open layout so you can see them prepping and baking. It really looks like a commercial spot with a few tables for retail. There’s also a lot of outside seating. You can normally spot Sea Wolf Baker by looking for a line of people on weekend mornings.

Wholesale remains their bread and butter for the business, but luckily they’ve made their cinnamon rolls available to the public.

Summary: As we enjoyed the cinnamon roll out on the patio, we started to debate where this fits into the Seattle cinnamon roll landscape. This roll with its crunchy exterior and flaky croissant-like middle with raisins and perfectly gooey cinnamon is so unique compared to the normal icing topped cake-type cinnamon roll. There was a consensus, Sea Wolf Baker’s cinnamon roll is the best in Seattle. If you want to enjoy this treat. Just a warning, they run out quick so get there in the morning.

Ratings:

Atmosphere: 4.25

Service: 4.50

Food/Drinks: 5.00

Bang for the Buck: 4.25

Overall: 4.50

Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.

• • Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
  • Most locals know about it
  • Locals “in the know” know about it
  • Only those who live close by know about it.
  • You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!

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