An easy five stars. One of the best butter croissants I've had in the NE! We also enjoyed the chocolate croissants and ham and cheese croissant, though the plain was my personal favorite. Absolutely worth a stop. The hardest part was holding ourselves back from a second round!

The residents of the West End are incredibly lucky to have this place in their neighborhood! I finally got a chance to try it this weekend and was really glad I did. The croissants tasted great with a rich buttery flavor and superb lamination. The ham and cheese croissant was a solid 5 stars, and I'd come back just for that. The almond croissant was surprising. Rather than a traditional twice-baked croissant with frangipane inside, it's a spiral croissant with sugar and sliced almonds baked inside. Almost more like a light almond sticky bun. This one was less successful for me, as I found myself missing the sweetness and richness of a frangipane. I also got an Irish currant scone which was more biscuit-y than scone-y for my taste. I was not interested in this one, but if you like scones like this, it may be more for you. All the baked goods are enormous, so you will be stuffed after one. I've heard the lines here can be quite long, so I purposely tried to get here early. Check their website for their schedule of baked goods, as they only make certain things at certain times. Viennoiserie come out from 9-9:30 which is when I popped over on a Saturday, and there were only two people in line in front of me. The staff were very friendly too. I'll definitely be back.

This area has become an epicenter of excellent bakeries. We stopped by Zu Bakery because of the Yelp reviews. Pleasantly surprised that there were no lines but could see that they were sellling pastries and bread almost straight out of the oven. We ordered the orange brioche- heavenly, the chocolate croissant , massive and the pain au raisin which my husband swore was the best one he has ever eaten. The tiny shop is minimalist but is definitely a working shop where you can see bread being formed into shapes and a series of ovens. Love the ambiance- which is cheerful and welcoming

Another 2024 James Beard winner in Portland- Outstanding Bakery. There was a line out the door when we arrived. It is quite small inside, with no seating. There are some benches outside though. I ordered the ham & cheese croissant. It was good, but not too memorable.

We wanted to check out both the new James Beard award winners while we were in Portland so after making it through the line at Norimoto we headed over to Zu. We got in line at 10:30 on a Saturday morning and made it to the front of the line in under 15 minutes. That was the good news, the bad news was that the only items available for purchase at that time were a brioche roll, a brownie, granola and a few wheat loafs. We purchased a brioche loaf and a bag of granola. Both were quite tasty but I was disappointed that there wasn't more on offer. They said that there would be scones and focaccia available in the next 20-45 minutes so it seems our timing was just bad. Street parking was easy to find and everyone working there was very friendly. Would happily give it another go if I lived in the area.

They just won a James Beard Award and a week later I am in Portland standing in line awaiting to try Zu. (my trip was pre-planned so it just worked.) Stood in line for about 20 minutes. Zu is a very small bakery with no indoor sitting area but has 2 benches outside. So grab and go it is! It was 10 am and when I entered all they had out to sell was brownies, almond croissant and raisin croissants. I felt very let down as I just wanted a croissant. I asked and the young gentleman behind the counter pulled out teh tray and their happened to be two croissants in the back of the baking tray! WIN! I can share- clean facility. The bakers were right there doing their thing. Unphased by customers comign and going. The two young folks behind the counter were super sweet and thankful1 They thanked us for waiting! How stinkin nice! The croissant was flaky, buttery and soft. It was good. It didn't knock my socks off per se but it was good. My husband got an iced coffee- no complaints.

Had to stop by the James Beard award winning Zu Bakery during our trip to Portland and it did not disappoint! From the incredible smells of fresh baked goods wafting towards the line outside to Chef Olins himself overseeing the baking process, it's clear this bakery does a few things and does them incredibly well. I only got a (huge) chocolate croissant, but many other items called my name for next time. The chocolate croissant had a fantastically flaky exteriors with a soft, buttery, layered interior. The chocolate was rich and my only qualm was that I could have used a little more, but I'm just a chocolate lover. Everyone in the bakery was friendly and attentive, and they move the line through quickly. Food: 1. Chocolate croissant (5/5)

Delicious, fresh, efficient ordering system, unbelievable smells, solid value. The croissant with ham and cheese was divine.

If I could give this place 6 stars I would. I lived in Paris for a year, and the croissants we had at Zu were perhaps better than any I had in Paris. Just go here and buy croissants - they are heaven. They have a schedule for what they make at what times, and when it's gone it's gone, so check the schedule. We had one each of an almond and raisin croissant. I was in heaven - these are the flakiest, butteriest pastries I can recall eating. Zu has ruined me from buying croissants anywhere else, but I live in Tucson, what am I to do?! Boohoo.

ZU Bakery is in the west end and has a small selection of laminated pastries and bread for the taking. We tried a chocolate croissant and a regular croissant and they were both delectable! Huge pastries. I wished I would have gotten the almond croissant to try -- it's shaped like the pain au raisin but apparently doesn't use the almond paste gunk that is standard in almond croissants (and I find ick). Owner is lovely and there's no rhyme or reason to the name except he wanted it to be easy to pronounce for kids. Super cute shop!