Panorama Bakery

Admittedly, I’ve never been to France but i imagine, Panorama’s pastry is as tasty. Items tried include their crème brûlée, their choquettes, and Kouign-​amann. All amazing and delicious.

Wonderful pastries, and great selection, too. The crepes are great, and it’s just so enjoyable to come on Sunday and enjoy this great pastry shop among many other fantastic vendors.
Sorry to hear about others’ bad customer service experience, mine was friendly (maybe they had the attitude adjustment they needed :-) ?
And for the comment about the apple pastry having too much apple sauce? That’s the way they are made in France. It’s supposed to come out as you chew in it (yes, it’s a bit messy, but the buttery flavor of the dough is so worth it).

I had high hopes for this bakery when I stumbled upon it in Union Market and saw what I thought looked to be deeply caramelized Kouign Amann – my favorite pastry. I ordered a small apple kouign amann to sample before ordering the large size, pain aux raisin made with croissant dough, a slice of fraiser cake, and two fruit tarts. Large selection, but some of the pastries did not look like they were very fresh, especially the layered mousse cakes. Some of the items looked very attractive. However, these were the worst pastries I’ve tasted in a long time. the kouign amann was bready and dry and did not taste of butter and did not have any caramelization on the bottom, the fruit tarts were dry and very little flavor in the crust or filling besides «sweet/​sugar». Everything was too sweet. In a tart, the flavor and texture of the crust should be able to stand on it’s own and be delicious just by itself. I had three bites of each at home and then threw them into the garbage bin. Save your money. Regarding service, the cashier was pleasant enough and was kind enough take my payment and hold my purchases in the case and on the counter while I finished lunch for pick up later. So disappointed.

I was really excited when Panorama opened, but as some of the other reviews stated — this place needs a serious customer service adjustment. Every time I’ve been here, I’ve always received lackluster service from 2 different employees and one may even be a manager. The last time I visited will unfortunately be my last given the interaction with the potential manager. I walked up to the counter and greeted the employee who was looking down the register tray. He doesn’t respond nor look up to acknowledge me, so I thought maybe he didn’t hear me. I greeted him politely again with a «Hey, how are you?» a bit louder and he still doesn’t look up at me. After about 3 seconds, he looks up and says «What can I get for you?» with an aloof expression. He then took my order and that was that. No «thank you», not a «have a nice day». Nothing. For the Unilocalers who introduce the excuse that this is a French bakery — keep in mind, this employee and others aren’t even French. And the «French attitude» has come a long way the past 5 years. People in France are actually quite friendly if you make an effort and smile.
Onto the food… some desserts are better than others. The Napoleon is spot on and is the dessert that stands out in my mind. The Paris brest is also very tasty. Unfortunately, the desserts don’t outweigh the bad service. From now on, I’m heading to Peregrine in the market for my almond croissants (they’re very good there!)

I got the Santa meringues from Panorama Bakery. They were a big hit with my family and such a fun and festive holiday treat. Also they were under $ 2 each, which I thought was a great value for such a cute dessert.

I frequent Panorama regularly, and have always experienced stellar service and wonderfully delicious pastries, quiche, chocolate mousse, and whatever surprise specials they may have prepared. I do usually shop late afternoons on Sunday when Union Market is slowing down and mellow. Even then, I let anxious customers in a rush order ahead of me, so perhaps timing is a factor. One time I ordered just the Quiche Lorraine to go, and the server made certain I was aware it was on special that day with a salad and drink, and made sure I selected a special drink and salad dressing. Today, I chatted with the pleasant woman on duty to see how far in advance I needed to make a special order to bring a quiche or pecan pie in to work in December. She was most helpful, offered me some written information on a bag, and beamed a smile and good wish for the week! I adore their macaroons — banana, orange, chocolate, and vanilla flavors are all spectacular. Eclairs and fruit tarts are also sublime!

3.5.
Yes, service varies from mediocre to terrible and the main female cashier needs a serious attitude adjustment.
But if we’re talking about food, Panorama has some quality items. the Opera slices are legit as are the chocolate eclairs. Panorama uses proper choux pastry which I appreciate. the cheese danish is huge with lots of filling. i am not a fan of the fruit ones, though. The thing is, Panorama suffers from severe hit or miss syndrome, and if it truly wants to be successful, it should fare down its selection and rid itself of pastries who have sat in the case beyond their shelf life. there is nothing sadder than soggy choux that you KNOW has been sitting there for over a day.
lol @ the commenters complaining about the «two sticks of chocolate in the chocolate croissants.» that is how pain au chocolat is made. and plz stop saying «macaroons» it makes me sad :(
Panorama, this is your neighbor speaking: get your sh*& together and let yourself be great!

I went to Panorama Bakery for the first time today while visiting the Crafty Bastards Art and Craft Fair. There were so many delicious looking treats to choose from but I finally decided on the large salted caramel macaroon. I can’t speak to the service but the macaroon was out of this world. This might have been a 5 star experience but I’ll need to give it a few more visits before I go raise it. The service was fast… but there was no line. I had no issues with the person waiting on me. He wasn’t overly friendly but he wasn’t mean and disrespectful either. It was a basic as a transaction could get.

I am so disappointed with this bakery. The croissant donut had so much grease, you could squeeze it out like a sponge. The most confusing thing was the apple turnover. The filling was actually apple sauce. The bluberry danish was made with a blueberry pie filling. The chocolate croissant had two little strips of chocolate inside as if they jammed two tiny chocolate pieces in a croissant hoping it would melt. It didnt. Never again. The one star should be none, but they force you to put something

Eh… The plain croissants were ok. The chocolate croissant had two thin sticks of chocolate inside (not enough for this chocoholic). The apple turnover was filled with apple sauce (what the what?). The cronut was soo greasy that when I bit into it, I had a literal ring of grease around my mouth. Needless to say, I didn’t eat more. Maybe it was an off day, but with all of the other bakery options in the DC area, I won’t be back.

Panorama Bakery is one of the few breakfast places in Union Market and the only one that has substantial breakfast outside of the bagel shop.
The lorraine quiche is good (It takes about 5 – 7 minutes to heat up). The muffins are big and good. Avoid the crois-​but (a cross between a croissant and a dougnut) — it’s too much dough and not enough flavor.

Here’s the deal — 1 star for customer service — it’s not particularly good or even fair. They are not overly helpful with suggestions or seem to have genuine interest in the customer. If if you can get past that then you will be delighted with the product — 4 or 5 stars depending. I am big fan of the macaroons. The Caramel, Vanilla and Chocolate are all excellent. The strawberry and blueberry are good too if you like those flavors. They are worth every penny of the $ 2. Good size and just de-​lish! Everything we have tried has been very good to great just be prepared for a less than warm welcome.

The single star is not because of the pastries. It’s because of the disrespectful and horrible customer service that I just received at the bakery.
When I walked up I stood waiting for assistance while one girl looked dazed and confused and a male ate and drank. Once he swallowed his food, he asked for my order. Not ideal… but oh well.
When I finally reached the register with my pastry, the young lady basically dismissed me. I had to get her attention and even then she barely spoke. After my purchase she just stared at me. I asked did I need to sign since I used a credit card. «No». She muttered.
So $ 5 for a pastry and not a single smile or thank you. NEVER AGAIN.

Having sampled a few items I can say not everything is amazing, but some of their items are. The caramel macaron being the most delicious I have had maybe anywere. OMG.

I want to like this place but the employee’s pretentious attitudes are a major turn off. On a slow day I politely asked for a macaroon and the employee very rudely said ‘give me a second, alright?!’ I was with a friend and we were both shocked at how rude she was for no reason at all. If they are trying to fulfill rude French sterotypes at this French bakery, they are succeeding.

Ordered a chocolate muffin and madeline from an unhappy staff person. Both baked items were stale and we threw them into the trash after the first few bites.

Panorama Bakery in Union Market is the bomb. They are a great bakery with an awesome assortment of pastries! My favorite is their crème brûlée, and I can’t get enough of it. Make sure to go early, as their items sell out very quickly. Knocking down one star, since they don’t seem to get that they should have more of everything in stock…

Panorama Bakery is the only bakery I know that makes my favorite dessert, a French pastry called «Paris-​Brest» — choux pastry with almonds, filled with praline-​hazelnut pastry cream. This bakery is truly Paris in DC — it doesn’t get any better when it comes to bread and pastry. This is the place I want to head to when I’m feeling homesick :)