I spent over $180 patronizing this place plus $40 for two tickets to the show. Â The owner rudely shushed me and my friend in a loud bar setting. Â He was extremely rude and condescending and positively ruined my evening with a friend I haven't seen in almost a year. Go to Jazz Alley and have a better time. Do not patronize. Owner Craig Baker is incredibly rude and disrespectful to clients.
Review Source:New menu at Bake's Place which is a downgrade from prior menu - likely to attract weekday workers' penchant for mediocre bar food. Â Bring back Diver Scallops!
Cheese Plate: 9/10 - very good with homemade preserves
Ginger Baker Cocktail: 1/10. Â Horrendous Orange Julius gone bad, way too sweet, funky and unpleasant after note. Â Drank a few sips and gave up. Â Bartender said 40% get returned! Â Seriously! Â Maybe that tells you something. Â Then bartender blamed the recipe - LOL. Â Stay far away
Burger: 3/10 - Ordered medium, came well but told that new meat shows darker than cooked. Â Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. Â Flavor was good just dry and had 50% more bun than necessary. Â That and their fancy bun disintegrated on the burger making it a fork an knife item.
Potato salad: 3/10 - Tasty, at least the part where the cook actually diced the potatoes. Â One lump served with burger. 3/4 of serving was three large chunks of potatoe. Â The 1/4 of reasonable cuts were nicely seasoned.
Wine By Glass Menu: Â Pricey, quick checks on bottles showed prices 4X over BevMo prices. I don't blame them as now that the menu is downgraded they need the revenue increase. Â That being said, for $14 a glass, lets have something decent.
They currently have a great lunch special. Â 6$ for a sandwich and fries plus a beer of your choice. Â
The sandiwch rotates each day, it seems. Â One day it was a great hamburger, the next time a cuban pork sandwich, and the next time a grilled chicken club. Â Each time it was very tasty.
My coworkers and I work at a game studio downtown, and we dress the part. Â The rest of the clientele at Bakes is folks in suits, button down shirts, women in classy businesswear etc. Â We walk in in jeans and t-shirts and beards... Â we obviously don't fit in here... but the staff seems to not mind, although the customers give us strange looks because we're not dressed to the nines. Â It's kindof bullshit but our service doesn't seem to suffer, even though we're going for the great lunch deal.
I can't tell for sure if our not-spruced-up apperance pisses off the staff or not, but regardless, it's too damn good of a lunch deal to pass it up. Â 4 starts for the incredible lunch specials and the beautiful facility. Â I'm not gonna hate on the place because I look like a scumbag.
I opted for a take out lunch today. I ordered their grilled chicken club and, again, was very impressed. What makes this sandwich stand out from any other chicken sandwich is the delicious tomato jam (next time I'll ask for a side), the brioche bun and the apple smoked bacon. I chose potato salad as my side which is made with baby reds, bacon and green onions. Not a big fan of potato salad typically, however, I've ordered this twice in a row now. Get some!
Review Source:All Jazzed Up About Nothing
My recommendations for the restaurant:
1. Find a way to post your night's entertainment outside and let us know it's sold out, before people park and need ticket validation to get out of the garage.
2. Treat everyone who walks through your doors like respected guests, even those without reservations. If you don't want the bother, don't open the patio or bar for service.
3. Give your hostesses a break - they're trying to do too many tasks at once. A manager should be at the front desk coordinating the event. It looks like a mess up there.
I was very disappointed with our experience at Bake's on a Friday evening. As another reviewer noted, there is absolutely no information listed at the restaurant about a cover for the evening's entertainment, that reservations are required, or about the fact that the patio is only open until 8pm.
We arrived at 6:45pm, looking for a quick bite and some ambiance after a long day of work. They hostesses gave us that look that let us know that since we didn't make a reservation for the eve, we'd be treated as second-class guests. And that's exactly what happened.
The informed us that the patio was open, but only until 8pm. Since there was still an hour and 15 minutes left, they should have been happy to seat us, but it was definitely more of a burden to do that. The hostess are responsible for too many tasks - taking reservations, seating people, answering phones, handling the payments of the tickets, etc. We were not a priority for them at that time.
Once outside on their beautiful patio, our waitress took our order for drinks and dinner, but then never brought us place settings - I had to walk inside and take them from open tables. The runner brought our food to the wrong table before I flagged him down.
Other guests on the patio received the same lack of attention and we all had a group laugh about it. NOT the experience you want to share with your fellow diners.
Unless there's a music group I really want to see at Bake's, I won't be returning any time soon.
I was thinking of giving 4 stars because not all the music is good but, I realized that the music shouldn't be a factor to Bake's as I am rating the place, not the talent.
They have various artists that come to visit the East Side and Bake's definitely features a range. I have visited about 5 times now and there is a different atmosphere depending on what day you visit.
During the week nights, Bakes usually features (no cover) local talents. Most of the times, the performers are amazing and sometimes, they are just ok, but I have never seen one that was ever bad. The atmosphere most of the time is consistent during the weekdays, very classy Jazz club like. Good music, (hopefully) good company, good variety of foods/snacks, and of course, alcohol.
I had visited as well as one of my friends on another day, on a weekend. The weekend venues are usually a $25 cover charge because of the bigger names that come to perform. I would highly recommend wanting to really see the show and knowing who is performing that night (easy to navigate to their website and find out) before paying and also traveling to Bake's. I come to know Bake's weekdays. . not the weekends so, I expected the lesser noise, talk-ability, not too crowded, Bake's. I personally don't like Bake's for "hanging out" on the weekends and now know that it is a place for entertainment on the weekends. Now that I know, my expectations are in line with what I want and plan for the days I visit.
One note, the owner is there most of the times that I have visited (I had not noticed all those other times until the last 2 times) and Mr. Bake is a great person, full of energy and extremely friendly. I felt that he really cared about the peopole, his service, and made sure that everyone had a properly good time. Thanks!
Conclusion:
Weekdays are good hangout and great music most of the time.
Weekends should be researched and visited for the entertainment more than hanging out. (Enjoying the company)
Lots of parking within the covered garage (validation available)
Easy to drive to and right off elevator (good signage)
Friendly and attentive service (including owner)
Food variations and drink selection covers many needs (I have taken 7 different people there with different tastes)
p.s.
I need to mention something about Price I think because it seems to be the thing people are talking about here on Yelp about this place. . I think it was moderate. (relative to Bellevue downtown) I think everything should be relative to the area of the venue and not what a person is personally used to; we drink and eat at many various locations in life. If you think Bake's is expensive, try visiting venues at the Bravern and you will come back and say Bake's was fairly priced.
Okay, so the decor and venue are fab - love the wall behind the performers and the cozy atmosphere for relaxation and unwinding - the music itself was great, especially for the 40plus aged crowd who were there. Â However, a few huge negatives - one, the food - some of the worst I have had in Bellevue - bland, out of a package antipasti plate, fishy smelling crabcakes, overly smoky bacon wrapped dates and the ugliest looking pulled pork tacos I have ever seen...too bad to mention! Â Additionally, the singers that night looked like they needed to be thrown in the shower a few times to get rid of the grease build up - it was unappetizing to eat and watch them at the same time....expect a little more class in all aspects for a place in downtown B-View!
Review Source:I was a little hesitant to try this place due to early reviews- I thought there was a cover every night and had heard that their menu was a little overpriced. Â We stopped by for drinks on a Thursday night and the music and energy was great! No cover and great live music. Exactly what we were looking for! We did scan the menu and the prices were a little high, especially for the appetizers- $4 for bread and butter?! Â We really enjoyed our time there though, so we will definitely be back- we might even order off the dinner menu next time.
Apparently they were having a special on draft beers that night, but our bill didn't reflect that. Not a big deal as I think it was only 1-2 dollars off. Â
Bake's is definitely a great addition to the Bellevue scene!
I was excited to see Bake's Place open up in Bellevue, a promising music venue with dinner service! The website was so confusing, I had put off visiting. When attempting to make a dinner reservation, only a 6 PM reservation was available, dinner seating at 6 PM, show begins at 8 PM. I wasn't sure if that meant we had to sit around for two hours, and it didn't sound fun!
A friend finally talked me into going to happy hour and it was okay. They offer one house white wine for $4 and one house red wine for $4. I ordered the sweet potato fries for $6 and they were pretty tasty. I also ordered the $6 mini crab cakes, which were, hmm, not even sure what to say. When they say mini, they mean two teeny tiny, itsy bitsy, doll size crab tastes - not worth ordering again. Did the rest of them get eaten on the way to our table? Did they fall on the floor? Get crab-napped? This mystery will haunt me!
The happy hour menu is pretty limited and based on my experience with the two items I ordered, I would say this venue is more about the music than the food. I would be very hesitant to order dinner if the food I sampled were any indication of the quality to be expected. They do have a burger special on Thursdays, but I am not sure what that means exactly since the web site is free of any useful details.
Once the music begins, conversation at your table is simply unacceptable and you will find out on short order if you dare speak! They wised up and have limited the cover charge to weekends, which is simply automatically added to your bill.
I may visit again for HH with my friends just so they can check out the place or if I am craving a cheap glass of $4 no name wine. Maybe see what the Thursday burger special is, I must know these things! If I am really in the mood for some music, I will be back again, after having dinner at Seastar.
t was okay. Took myself out for a night of watching smooth jazz with a 'live' band.
The place was nice. Â The food appetizers were waaaaay overpriced. Â Seriously $16 for some little bits of cheese and crackers with about 5-6 grapes. Â Shameful
The ambiance was nice and if a date paid for me I would surely go again. Â My glass or shall I say half glass of wine ran me $9. Â Now I don't know the going rate for middle of the road wine but I can buy a whole bottle for that.
It was a packed house and you just know with a $15 cover, they were raking in the $$$.
Well next time a date will have to take me out. I stayed about 1 hour just enough to drink 2 half glasses and my appetizer plate.
The server was awesome though. Â She got a nice tip from me.
Wow! I was blown away by the music and energy at Bake's place. I went on a crowded and busy Saturday night, and ended up dancing my pals with strangers to the high energy salsa/latin music
I would recommend this place if you love live music, but don't want to head into Seattle. FYI, it can get pretty noisey, so conversation is hard to keep.
The wine list seemed decent, my Syrah was tasty. I did not have any food, but the dessert menu was tempting me all night.
FYI there is a $15 cover charge, per person that is added to your bill. It is worth it! Trust me!
I can't wait to go back and dance the evening away again.
Actual rating = 4.5!!
I love this place, and so happy to see something like this open up in Bellevue. Â Top-notch entertainment, no cover through Thursday, and supportive of local community as well. Â This place has the best sound I have heard in one of these places.
Service was good, owners made an appearance and the food was decent. Â I would give the venue a 5, and the food a 3 based on quality and value. Â But I am really there for the venue and not expecting SeaStar quality, so overweighting a bit on that. Â It is a bit pricey on the drinks, etc., but you also have to figure they won't see the turnover other restaurants might, given that people are listening to music...
There is no cover through Thursday.
Went back to Bakes over the Holidays. Â This place just gets better and better. Â Was very glad to see they have continued to improve and they really seem to have figured things out. Food was great, entertainment is fantastic, and the atmoshpere is perfect for a date night, or night out with friends. Â
Tuesday thru Thursday, the live music is free. Â This makes for a great dinning atmoshpere, totally unique for the eastside. Â On the weekends when there is a show, this place really ROCKS. Â Yea there is a cover, but compared to most tickets for entertainment, this is a bargain. Â Where else can you get this type of night out for a $15 dollar ticket fee. Â All and all love the place. Â Go Bellevue. Â
By the way, the shows with a tiicket sale are later now, so does not interupt the dinning seen like it occasionlly did last spring.
Good venue, nice place, good music, and good food. The main thing I would say it would be better is if they lower the music level. I was quite loud the first time there. I would prefer that the music would be lowered but other than that, a really nice place to take someone out for some good food and music.
Review Source:Awesome, I love the Burger and Beer night on thursdays. Also try the Duck Taco's...yeah Duck Taco's they are great. Good Music. No more cover on the weekdays! And I think it might be a bit easier to talk over the band now. This is a really cool spot and very classy, great place to take a date and get some brownie points ;).
Review Source:Dear Laura & Craig,
I had the opportunity to speak briefly with the both of you Friday Nov. 2nd during the Patricia Lee & the Soul mates show.
I just wanted to tell you again how much we enjoyed our evening that night. Â We sat at the bar and had a very nice young man at our service the entire evening. Â He was friendly but professional as he was kept extremely busy by the hustle and bustle of the waiters & waitresses.
It's very apparent how involved the both of you are in this business. Â It shows on the faces of your staff members they are all treated with dignity and respect by the way they care for the customers. Â It's not often you see owners and staff having such a good time at work! It made me want to put on an apron and get busy.
Not having been to Bakes before, yet reading the story online I recognized Laura as she greeted us when we arrived, after the show Craig gave us a short tour of the patio outside. Â I can't wait to come back in the summer and sit outside and listen to music.
The music that evening was fabulous, I'm a bit partial to the drummer in the SOUL MATES, Ernest Pumphrey Jr. Â He is amazing, his talents are unlimited! Â Â
Lastly, as we were leaving, Craig was standing at the bottom of the stairs thanking guests for coming. He gave me a hug! Â Who gets a hug from the owner before they leave! Ha! Unbelievable! Â
What a great night! Â
See You Soon  :-)
This place is WAYYYY to expensive. Its marked up 50% from the norm. Every single person in our party (a group of over 20) had bills over $150! Drinks that normally cost me $5 were $11 and that add's up fast! The service was terrible and the drinks weren't that good. We went to see the band they had playing but with no real dance floor (for a band you want to dance too) bad service, expensive everything and to top it off; every single person in our party was charged on their bill with drinks they didn't buy. Whether it was an error or  them being greedy, it was wrong either way. I will never go back to this place and I suggest you never try to.
Review Source:First time there and I enjoyed myself. Â Band was spot-on with blues and jazz, and no, it wasn't "too loud."
I ordered a nice tuna nicoise salad and it was excellent. Â Better than I expected. Â Good service, too. Â
And you gotta love a place where the owner gets up to introduce the band members by  name, individually.
Hold the phone... there is a $15 cover per person that isn't advertised (at the restaurant - I realize now it's online but when you're walking by and see the venue and decide to stop in it's not announced) or mentioned when you speak to hostess about seating, it just shows up on your bill!!
The venue is so loud that my ears are ringing and probably will be for some time. Â I had no idea I was going to a concert, I thought it was going to be a medium loud to loud-ish event but this was louder than some rock concerts I've been to in Seattle.
It took 20 minutes for one glass of wine and an hour from the time we ordered our dinner to the time it arrived.
The food is okay but over priced. Â I had $10 gnocchi and cheese in a tomato sauce which I felt was a good deal but then I also ordered some $25 "crispy chicken" dish. Â It was a super dry chicken breast about the size of a thy in a bed of rice with what appeared to be Chinese broccoli. Â
I realize this place has good reviews and for some people I'm sure it's an amazing experience but looking at the reviewers most of them have placed under 5 reviews. Â Coincidence? Â
I would never go back and I would go out of my way to suggest other people don't go out of principal. Â The cover charge won't break my budget but don't make it a secret and then expect that I'm going to happily pay it.
Just went to Bake's Place last night for the first time and was completely blown away by the music from Charles Mack and company. The last song Charles said he sings for his mom was soul wrenching. The guitarist Raphael made his guitar cry like no one I've ever seen. There are great musicians and then there we those who Josephine Howell said are truly free to play from their soul. Charles Mack and company did just that and it was amazing to have witnessed their performance.
The venue is extremely intimate placing you at most three tables away from the performers. It is also rather upscale which makes for a perfect place to celebrate those special occasions like our anniversary last night.
The food was good and the pasta in particular was great! However, I wouldn't say this is a foodie's place to hang out but couple the good food with amazing music, Bake's Place rocks!
If you are looking for a place to chat with friends, go someplace else. Because you are so close to the musicians, you can't hear any one other than the person right next to you. Some reviews here think this is a problem which of course it is if you aren't here to listen but to talk.
If you are looking for some awesome music and great food, head over to Bake's Place and get ready to be entertained.
Great music but definitely not what I expected. Â This is more of a concert hall than a dinner/entertainment venue. Â Not recommended for groups looking to visit with each other. You are expected to shut your phone off and not make a sound during the performance. Â If you don't follow the rules you will be shushed or asked to leave. It is unfortunate since I was hoping to finally have a fun place to bring out-of-town guests for dinner and a show in Bellevue.
Review Source:What a great time we have had at Bakes Place. Great food, fun atmoshpere, and surprisinly a great variety of live music venues. Â We have been a couple of times, and have been been very satified with the whole experience. Â For the best Tuesday night out, check out the Charlie Mack Band. Â They are a Blast.
Review Source:Finally! A fabulous jazz venue has opened in Bellevue! My husband and I had been planning to check out Bake's Place since we heard about it and our anniversary was the perfect occasion. The music provided by DoctorFunk was fantastic, sharp and tight. The saxaphones were sharp and sweet, the trumpets tight and the guitars and keyboard reminiscent of the best funk and R&B performers. They even played one of our favorites by Maceo Parker for us as an anniversary treat! Â The acoustics made being seated fairly close up comfortable and not overly loud.
Food was very well prepared and a nice change from the fried and bar fare at many nightspots. The wine list was extensive and tastes of p/glass offerings help you choose just the right one. The host, Craig Baker, worked the room introducing himself to the guests which added the feeling of being "part of the family".
Needless to say, we'll be back and not just on our anniversaries!
What can we say - this place is amazing.  From the lighting and stage to the GRAMMY AWARD WINNING entertainment...this is as good as it gets!  I always dreamed about living in the bygone era of supper clubs and now we have an updated version right here on the East Side (if only Rosemary Clooney would stroll by and sing me a song:).  We started with a signature cocktail (which was lovely) and had the mussel appetizer - a thai coconut style dish - very tasty.  The 2 salads we had  - butter lettuce and jicama/watermelon/pineapple/cucumber were lovely and light.  The portabello mushroom entree was one of the best vegetarian entrees I've had in a while!  I will definitely be ordering it again!  The menu clearly marks all vegetarian and gluten free items - a real bonus.  Dessert was the molten chocolate cake...all I can say is SAVE ROOM!  Let's keep live music alive and well - grab a date and GO!
Thanks to the lovely owners who stop at each table to introduce themselves. Â It is brave people like you that are willing to take the risk to make the world a better place - one live music performance at a time. Â Bravo!
Our food was simply excellent, a good value for the quality, and interesting choices on the menu. Â The sound system and lighting are amazing, live music on the Eastside is SO needed! The wine list was wonderful, it was a great way to celebrate our daughters engagement. Do go on the website and see what type of music is playing six nights a week. Â Free parking and elevator to the restaurant was a great touch, plenty of parking. Will go back on a nice day to sit on the patio to enjoy dinner and live music. Try the Gnocci, it should on every plate!! So nice to be introduced and greeted by the owners, who have done wonders with a much needed cultural addition to Bellevue. Â Yum.
Review Source:You Gotta Check it out!
After many years at their intimate Providence Point location Craig and Laura Baker have moved and opened a stunning new venue in Downtown Bellevue.
Although several times a large as their previous place, there is not a bad seat in the house.
Plus, they now have a huge patio with great sun exposure where they will be serving lunch during nice weather.
Opening weekend was smash featuring Dee Daniels with her unique style and a superb backup quartet.
Bake's features a full menu for dinner - appetizers, salads, main course and dessert; along with a nice wine list featuring many Washington wines.. Â The fact that it was opening weekend showed in the table service, but I expect those will be ironed out quickly. Â Our gnocchi appetizer was superb and our salads (butter lettuce and chop) were fresh and crisp, however they forgot to put any dressing on the chop creating a dry experience. Â The petite filet was perfect size for us ~ 5 ounces and both were prepared to specification.
Parking is free with validation - entrance for the parking is not self-evident being located on the downhill (107th Ave NE) side of the building.
Craig and Laura are wonderful hosts and you will have a great time at their new place no matter who is performing.
Wow... the last review captured this place in a way that I can't, so I will just say that everything that review says is true - this place is amazing. I saw an ad for a show here in the paper today and it reminded me of how magical it is and prompted me to want to review it - and to go back soon.
I admit - when we came here we thought we were lost, but once we got inside, the fact that it's in a retirement community with a gate was irrelevant and became a mere footnote. This family owned and operated establishment is really special. The service, the exceptional food, the talent they bring in and the feeling you get from being here is unsurpassed.
If you like jazz you have NO EXCUSE not to try spending and evening at Bake's Place. You will not be disappointed.
The moto of this place is "Enter a stranger, leave as a friend" could not be farther from the truth. We were attending a birthday party for a family member and the owner was terrible and uptight. We had our kids with us and they were acting wonderfully and wanted to dance to the music until the owner decided that kids should not be able to dance and told them that they had to sit in their chair. He did not even have the courage to talk to us THE PARENTS. The food was average and the wine list was second rate. We will not be returning.
Pros: Wait staff is good
Cons: Owners are terrible and wine list is no better than what could be found at a grocery store
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