REVIEW: OWL Bakery on Haywood Road in West Asheville

Dawn Roe at the OWL Bakery, Yo!

OWL BAKERY

Hello Asheville,

Just a real quick heads-up that Dawn and I went to the brand new OWL Bakery (OWL is all caps because it stands for “Old World Levain”) and it was awesome!

This place is a little bit hard to notice, because as Joe always points out, they don’t have a sign yet, but it’s easy to find, because it’s right at the corner where Haywood takes a turn, at “The Haywood Elbow,” as I’ve heard it referred to. The building is a tiny little free standing light-colored house, right next to that big rambling building that’s right on the corner? You know the one I’m talking about, right? The spring water place is right there? And that muffler shop that you can’t tell if they’re open or not? No? Well, here’s a frickin’ Google Map and Street View for you. Yeah, they really do need a sign.

There! That’s it! Right there. That tiny house right in between Mountain Valley Spring Water and that weird rambling rainbow fence building that I wish would turn into something awesome, and I heard rumors that it might be about to.

If you can’t find OWL Bakery using these tools, then you might be SOL, even if/when they do get a sign.

Okay, so anyhoo, once you find it… you might be pleasantly surprised, as I was, to find that it is insanely cute inside, and super well designed interms of decor and seating. The color scheme is mostly black and white, with muted hues here and there, the small white tiles on the floor are referenced with tiny white tiles along portions of the walls. The atmosphere is bright, open, cheerful, clean, and comfortable. And the pastry case had some amazing looking stuff in it! Holy moly, and some of it was super fresh and hot out of the oven. Dawn and I split a savory turnover and a sweet turnover, and both were frickin’ amazing. Made with high quality, local, seasonal ingredients, I could tell they were prepared and cooked with love and a clear dedication to providing good food to people. Dawn and I are planning to go back to OWL again and again, to try everything they offer eventually.

Also of note is the coffee, which is very high end, prepared fresh for me with the pour-over method, and delivered in a cute little cup. It was so good, that I drank it black, which is super-rare for me. I don’t take sugar, but I do usually take cream, unless a hard-core coffee-lover goes on-and-on about he flavor and pedigree of a certain bean, and then I drink it black. Co-owner John was very enthused about the coffee he was offering that day, so I drank it black, and it was the bomb.

Also, I want to specifically mention that the outdoor seating was an instant hit with me, because of the dappled sunlight provided by several young, healthy tees back there. Treeeeeeeees! God, I love trees. Tree me, people. I want TREES! Thank you, OWL Bakery, for providing a place to sit outside, and enjoy the weather, without being brutalized by the sun. I’m creating a whole new Stoobie Award category because of these guys: Best Outdoor Seating. There are several contenders right out of the gate, including OWL Bakery.

: Dapple.

: Dapple dapple.

So, yeah, just a super quick review of OWL Bakery, to let you know that yes, it’s open and yes, it’s awesome! It’s a little tough to spot, but it’s right the fuck there at the Haywood Elbow, so find it, go there, eat there, according to my one experience so far, they have great coffee, great pastries, it’s cute inside, comfortable outside, and that’s my review, and advice about OWL Bakery today.

OWL Bakery is an artisan bakery, coffee shop, and cafe in Asheville. We serve naturally leavened breads, european pastries, espresso, tea, and simple fare.

OWL BAKERY
295 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC
(828) 785-1770
TUESDAY – SUNDAY 8AM to 6PM

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Stu Helm is an artist, writer, and podcaster living in Asheville, NC, and a frequent diner at local restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and the like. His tastes run from hot dogs and mac ‘n’ cheese, to haute cuisine, and his opinions are based on a lifetime of eating out. He began writing about food strictly to amuse his friends on Facebook.