Mabel Coffee – Ballard

Mabel Coffee – Ballard

Description on  Mabel’s website : The coffee shop is named after founder Brooke McCurdy’s Great Aunt Mabel; a remarkable woman who blazed her own storied trail her whole life.  The tiny coffee shop celebrates Mabel’s spirit of adventure with tasty local fare ready to go for its customers, and delicious coffee drinks for their road less traveled, whether off to work, or a stroll around the surrounding quiet residential streets. 

Address: 7001 24th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117

Music Playing: One Love by Bob Marley on a record player

What we ate/drank: Macchiato

Comments: We’ve passed by Mabel Coffee a few times and always thought it was a small little cafe with only a few seats due to their small store front. Little did we know that it’s actually a very big place and probably one of the better coffee shops for large groups to gather. It probably has a chance of cracking our list of Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Groups.

When entering Mabel Coffee, you’ll notice a travel theme with map covered tables, postcards lining the counter, a community travel journal, the menu appearing on an Interstate symbol and the Mabel Coffee logo that includes a traveling RV.  This area is rather small with seating for maybe 10 people max. They have some pastries from Macrina and Flying Apron and your normal coffee drinks.

The one thing that sets Mabel Coffee apart from the rest of the Seattle coffee shops is that they serve Bulletproof Coffee with Brain Octane and Grass Fed Butter. The only other places I know of that serve Bulletproof is of course Bulletproof Coffee in South Lake Union and the cafes in Whole Food Markets. If you’ve not heard of Bulletproof you can read more about it here. In short, it’s supposed to suppress hunger, provide mental clarity and provide a more steady lasting energy than regular coffee. I first heard about it from Tim Ferriss about 4 years ago and it always intrigued me. I do get a Bulletproof Coffee every once in awhile and there’s some controversy on whether or not it’s just a placebo, but I’ve got to admit, I do feel my mind is more clear whenever I drink it. Mabel Coffee provides another option if I ever want Bulletproof Coffee.

You can add Mabel Coffee to the long list of Seattle coffee shops that spin records on an old fashioned turntable. I know Convoy Coffee, Slate Coffee Roasters, Porchlight Coffee and Analog Coffee have record players and you also have Victrola Coffee Roasters that has the phonograph as its logo.

Once you’ve obtained your drink, you can go through the door way and it opens up into a massive room full of a mish mosh of tables and chairs. The space reminds me of my old class rooms from grammar school.  There’s a small kids area and the biggest community board I’ve ever seen. There’s also another separate room that can be reserved.

Mabel Coffee definitely has a community feel to it – the community travel journal, the large community board, the unpretentious nature of their mish mosh of tables and seatings, the availability to rent a room, doggy treats, dedicated kids area.  It’s definitely been added to our list of coffee places we intend to frequent. 

Ratings(1-5)

Favorite Thing:  They serve Bulletproof Coffee, space is great for large groups and you can rent a small room in the back

Atmosphere: 4.75

Service: 4.75

Food Options: 4.25 

Overall: 4.65

Eavesdropping  Convo: A guy(G1) was showing another guy(G2) the separate room available for reserving in the back.

G1 – This is the room I was telling you about. I think it’s reserved for a church group on Wednesdays, but we can reserve and go over our business plan.

G2 – G2 looks inside.  Oh, wow. This is great. It’s bright and we can have some privacy and good coffee to boot. 

G1- No doubt. I don’t think anybody knows about this place.

G2 – How did you find out about it?

G1 – Remember my buddy, Greg? He said he and his boys used it to play Catan here for a few hours last weekend.

Related:

• Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops 
• Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
• Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service 
• Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
•  See what a 25 year old from Finland thought of Seattle