The Ultimate Dessert Guide to Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is home to 500+ small businesses and artisan vendors, serving everything from arts, crafts, clothing, and food. While well-known for its seasonal local produce and flying fish, the Market is also home to a variety of businesses that specialize in sweet treats and desserts designed to satisfy anyone’s desire for a sugar rush. Our tour guides are experts on this matter, having done plenty of “research” on behalf of curious guests looking for their next sweet destination. Read on to learn more about our favorite sweet spots in Pike Place Market. After all, dessert is the most memorable part of a meal, right?
1. Shug’s Soda Fountain
One of the cutest spaces in Pike Place Market, Shug’s Soda Fountain can be found along 1st Ave moments away from your downtown Seattle hotel. Walk-in and find a seat at the counter, and be blown away by the endless options of ice cream, sodas, floats and more. If you are looking for a treat to share, try the S’mores Sundae, perfect for sharing on date night.
2. The Confectional
Owned by college best friends Paul and Destiny, these two both grew up in sugar-less childhoods and now co-own one of the sweetest stops along Pike Place Market. At The Confectional, you’ll find a delightful array of mini-cheesecakes, along with other chocolaty goodies just waiting to be enjoyed. Our favorite is a cup of Colombian sipping chocolate with a dash of cayenne pepper – a favorite on the Chocolate Indulgence Tour.
3. Sweetie’s Candy
Find your way down into the 4th floor of the Pike Place Market, and you just might notice a store called Sweetie’s Candy, a tiny, 135 square foot candy shop that packs a big sugary punch. In what is probably the smallest storefront in the Market, Sweetie’s has been serving visitors and locals alike for over twenty years. Here find your favorite candies in bulk, along with specialty items such as giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Our favorite find is the Chocolate Covered Gummies Bears. Fruity and gummy on the inside and chocolaty and creamy on the outside, it’s a treat most have never had, but so worth finding.
4. Shy Giant Frozen Yogurt
Shy Giant Frozen Yogurt is a hidden gem of a counter located in the Corner Market Building in Pike Place Market. since 1976, the folks here have been serving up a variety of cones, shakes, and smoothies to locals who are in the know. Find a variety of interesting flavors from local ice cream favorites Full Tilt Ice Cream (many flavors are even Vegan-friendly), but we go for one very special item: Frozen Yogurt. Made daily, their fro-yo is tart and refreshing, with seasonal flavors such as strawberry and raspberry in constant rotation.
5. Pike Place Bakery
Located just inside the main walkway entrance underneath the Public Market Center neon sign, Pike Place Bakery is well-known for their Texas-sized donuts, apple fritters, and coffee cake and has been serving the Pike Place Market community for over 30 years. They also sell day-old pastries for $1 if you are looking for a deal.
6. Chukar Cherries
Three words: Chocolate. Covered. Cherries. Need we say more? This awesome high stall under the Pike Place Market main arcade is celebrating 30 years of business and is a favorite stop among those visiting on the morning version of our Signature Food Tour of Pike Place Market. Owner Pam Montgomery figured out in the early 80’s that you could dry cherries naturally, without sulfates or other artificial ingredients, and that those dried cherries tasted even better when dipped in chocolate, and the rest was history. We love the Cherry Bing, a milk chocolate confection with an all-natural Bing Cherry center.
7. Michou Deli
Michou Deli may be more known for its pressed sandwiches and international offerings, but they also have a wide selection of desserts available for those looking to satisfy their sweet cravings. Typical offerings include slices of seasonal fruit pies, cookies, cheesecakes, Italian baked goods, and cereal bars.
8. Le Panier French Bakery
Parle Francais? Don’t worry – you don’t have to speak French to visit this French bakery, but you might be inspired to visit the country after a bite of one of their delicious macarons or pastries. From fruit tarts to almond croissants, and more – it’s really hard to just get one item at Le Panier.
9. Rachel’s Ginger Beer
When it comes to cocktails in Seattle, Rachel’s Ginger Beer has always been a longtime standout among visitors and locals alike. However, many don’t realize that Rachel’s also has three options of soft-serve ice cream available to create ginger beer floats. At the Pike Place Market location, choose your favorite ginger beer flavor and pour it over Snoqualmie Vanilla, Dole Whip Pineapple, or swirl to create a deliciously refreshing treat. For those of us over the age of 21, a shot or two of rum or whiskey added to your float never hurts, either.
10. Cobb’s Popcorn
Another new destination on Western Avenue in Pike Place Market, visitors often come across this tiny popcorn stand while leaving the elevators heading to or from the waterfront via the Market. At Cobb’s Popcorn, you’ll find fresh popcorn made daily, with smells and flavor that indulge the senses and gets you hungry for popcorn, even when you weren’t craving it. Stop by for a free sample, then pick your favorite popcorn flavors for a custom bag made fresh to go.
11. The Barque Brontes Bakery Cafe
A new business to the Pike Place Market neighborhood, The Barque Brontes Bakery Cafe has quickly become a hidden gem to a popular destination for locals needing a coffee break. Here, find one-of-a-kind coffee and pair it with one of their cake pops, triple chocolate cakes, macarons, or other baked items, all made fresh every day on-site in their commercial kitchen.
12. Honest Biscuits
When you see the size of the biscuits from this awesome shop, “honest” is just one of many adjectives that can be used to describe them. Art Stone of Honest Biscuits has perfected the biscuit, using an adaption of his grandma Pearl’s recipe. If you are looking for a sweet treat, pick one of their sweet biscuits (we love the Honey biscuit or one of their seasonal fruit biscuits) and ask for a helping of chocolate gravy to pour all over. The gravy is made using Theo Chocolate, a local producer of some of Seattle’s best chocolate.
13. Daily Dozen Doughnuts
When visiting the Pike Place Market, few businesses are more iconic than Daily Dozen Doughnut Company. Run by sisters Sue and Barb, this cash-only shop slings some of the best mini-doughnuts in the city. Made fresh and served warm to the touch, grab a half-dozen and a cup of coffee for the perfect breakfast in Seattle. Can’t choose between cinnamon-sugar or maple bacon donuts? Ask for a mixed bag to try them all!
14. indi Chocolate
Owned and Operated by Erin Andrews, indi Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory and café which practices direct trade sourcing, meaning Erin herself works directly with the produces of cacao to make real dark chocolate. A one of a kind shop, here you’ll find chocolate-inspired items from single origin chocolate bars, to cacao infused dry rubs and teas. We love the double chocolate brownie on days when we really have a chocolate craving.
15. Piroshky Piroshky
