As Capitol Hill Seattle blog reported yesterday, Wednesday marked the quiet opening of Regent Bakery and Cafe at the corner of 14th and Pine. The location is a second outpost for the Redmond original, which inspires rapt devotion, especially among employees of the ‘Soft.

Regent is mostly known for its bubble tea and sweets, an Asia-meets-France array of pastries, cakes, and breads. It’s not unlike Fuji Bakery in Bellevue and the I.D. (if you’re not familiar with Fuji, you should probably turn off this computer and go there immediately).

The Capitol Hill location does indeed have a mega-lit case of whole cakes and fruit-festooned individual slices. There’s also a wall of baked goods you access cafeteria-style, taking a pair of tongs so you can pile your plastic tray with chocolate buns, olive-studded brioche, and hello hot dogs and pieces of ham, each wrapped in a croissant.

So yes, Regent has baked goods. What I didn’t fully realize before I walked in: Regent is also a full-on Chinese restaurant with a sit-down menu for lunch and dinner. There’s also an entirely separate bar area, its status confirmed by two large flat screens. The space, located on the ground floor of a condo building, is bright and rather sterile, though I’m guessing the lights go down at night.

I’m curious to hear the general consensus on the restaurant food, but the pastries are a nice new addition to a neighborhood already filled with things that taste good. The CHS post has all sorts of pastry photos for your ogling pleasure. And remember, the neighborhood is getting more baked goods in the spring.