Caffe Senso Unico – Downtown
Description on Caffe Senso Unico website: They ain’t got one.
Neighborhood:Downtown
Address:622 Olive Way, Seattle, WA 98101
Music playing:Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall by Ella Fitzgerald
What we ate/drank:Americano & Apple Struddel
Comments: I’ve been going to Caffe Senso Unico(which means, “One Way” in Italian) for at least 8 years since one of my former co-workers loved the place. They just recently moved right next door from their old location.
The funny thing is with the opportunity to change some things around when moving to a new location, the setup is exactly the same unlike the major changes that Revolutions Coffee made from their old location to their new location.
If you hadn’t been to Caffe Senso Unico in a while you’d think it’s the same place, just remodeled to a more modern style. Both the old and new location have a glass display of sandwiches and pastries as soon as you walk in, counter for ordering, prepping drinks and pick up on the right side and seats/tables on the patio, in the front window, along the side and in the back.
Both places also showcase art that changes every so often. One of the few differences is the walls are now grey, where before the front section was green and the back section was a bright red. It actually does make a big difference in the mood of the place.
Anybody who has been here, will no doubt know who Mario is. He’s the owner(from Italy) of Caffe Senso Unico and no one person in any of the coffee places in Seattle imparts his personality on a cafe like he does. He’s pretty charismatic and runs a pretty efficient line.
If you stay here for your drink, you’ll notice he’ll greet the regulars and make small talk while they wait for their drinks. You get the feeling he knows what he’s doing and knows how to run a business. I think he’s a pretty detail-oriented guy. I remember seeing him training a new employee on how to fold the aprons in a particular way.
Similar to places like, Elm Coffee Roasters, which doesn’t have a lot of electrical outlets for laptop camping, Caffe Senso Unico, has very few if any outlets and no Wifi. I believe the goal for both these places is to encourage chatting over coffee versus 30 silent individuals on their laptops. I can respect that.
I had the apple struddel and an Americano when I went this particular time. They also have quiche, pastries(from Macrina I believe) and sandwiches. The coffee is from Caffe Umbria. During peak hours, there’s a line out the door, but off peak it’s not difficult to find a place to sit.
One thing that sets Caffe Senso Unico apart from the rest is their high quality chairs, their tiled tables and handmade mugs(see pic below) and dishes.
These are not your mish mosh of hard wooden chairs and tables that you see in a lot of cafes. The seats are either leather or upholstered wood chairs. The other thing that’s different is that they accept Euros and they have a little dish near the register where they put your change or credit card on after you’ve paid.
People say it’s a little slice of Europe in Seattle, but honestly with the exception of the tabletops, mugs and owner, the atmosphere is like your normal café.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Use of hand made mugs and dishes. It’s a nice touch.
Atmosphere:3.75
Service:4.5
Food Options:4.75
Overall:4.25
EavedroppingConvo: This one is a doozy, folks. Guy was talking on the phone. He looked like a young college student, wearing baggy jeans, a hoodie and a backpack.
Guy-I think we’re fine because there’s no paper trail, but I think we need to let her down easy, because she can still screw us.
Quiet
Guy-No, treat it just like Angela. Tell her we’ll accept her demands on the (….serverance?-couldn’t hear)
Quiet
Guy-Yeah, we can give her a good reference, but just not to our friends.
I thought he was talking about getting rid of a real estate agent at first, but I think they were firing a co-worker.
Name: La Marzocco Cafe
Description on the La Marzocco Cafe website: A cafe that serves as a stage for specialty coffee. Featuring monthly, rotating coffees and coffee service, designed and curated by leading coffee voices from around the world.
Neighborhood: Queen Anne-Seattle Center
Address: 472 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Music playing: Whatever is playing on KEXP
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso
Comments: La Marzocco was founded in 1927 and is best known as the premier manufacturer of espresso machines. You go into any coffee shop and chances are you’ll see a La Marzocco espresso machine. The company is so respected amongst baristas, that once La Marzocco decided to open their first ever cafe in Seattle, they got applications from all over the world.
La Marzocco Cafe is a relatively new space(4/16) and located in the Seattle Center. You may say to yourself, that only tourists go to the Seattle Center to see the Space Needle, EMP or Chihuly Garden, but there’s gotta be times where you are there some time throughout the year. What about visiting during Bumbershoot, events at Key Arena, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Bite of Seattle, International Brewery Festival, Folklife Festival or having a bite out in lower Queen Anne?
The place is huge with tons of seating, which makes it perfect for big groups. It’s like a big airy mess hall. They have cool displays of various La Marzocco espresso machines over time, a record store onsite and the coffee and menu are ever-changing. Why? This is the concept of the cafe-“Each month, a new, renowned coffee roaster or coffee brand from across the US or elsewhere in the world will take over our cafe space, implement a new menu, train our staff on their coffees and drink preparation, and curate a new experience for guests. Join us for something refreshing and new during each visit.”
This concept of a revolving door of roasters is what makes this cafe different. You’ll get to try different roasters each month, so every monthly visit will be a new experience. Caffe Umbria had a turn in the cafe last year and Kuma Coffee will being taking over some time in the future.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Favorite Thing: I like the concept of having a different roaster from all parts of the world showcase their coffee.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.75
Eavesdropping Convos: None. Too difficult to hear
L(Male-30) was from Spain. Catalan to be exact. He rented a car and went Couchsurfing from Seattle to Portland to Eugene to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon for about 4 weeks and was now back in Seattle. He’s a girls basketball coach in Spain. He’s a huge NBA fan and was able to buy 5 jerseys because he won $800 playing roulette in Las Vegas. He also wanted to see the basketball court at UW, so he walked to Hec Ed Pavillion. I warned him he wouldn’t just be able to walk in, but he somehow finagled his way in and was thrilled to see a college basketball arena.
L’s Questions/Observations about the US:
- He thought Americans were overly friendly. He told me a story to demonstrate this opinion. He went to Portland but couldn’t find a place to stay. He met some random guy on the street who tried to help him find a place to stay by calling friends and hostels. He couldn’t find anybody to host L, so he invited L to stay with his family for the night. His family enjoyed L’s stay so much, they let him stay for 5 days.
- Because Spain is a smaller country and has better public transportation, he was not used to driving for so long. He said he probably drove more miles in his 4 weeks in the US than the last 10 years in Spain. His record in the US was driving 11 hours in one day.
L’s Questions/Observations about Seattle:
- Pike Place Market is “insanely crowded” and stayed for less than 30 minutes. This was July in the heat of tourist season.
- Loved the atmosphere of the Seattle Center. It was during the Bite of Seattle, so it was full of people, nice weather, beer gardens. He had alligator on a stick.
- I took him to the 5 Point Café and he said this is exactly what he pictured an American bar looking like. “Just like the movies!”
- He met some of my friends and we met some random people at Bite of Seattle that we hung out with. He was surprised how normal it seemed that so many different ethnicities could be friends. It’s not common where he’s from.
My observations of L/learnings from L:
- He is from the Catalan region of Spain and he feels the majority of Catalans want to break off from Spain and be on their own. Said that Catalans make up 35% of the people in Spain.
- He made Paella, his countries most popular dish for me. It took him at least 2.5 hours to make it and he was very concerned I wouldn’t like it. I told him I’ve had Paella before and he said, “but not from a Catalan”. It was good and worth the wait
- He looked like Freddie Prinze Jr.
- He really liked watching Friends. In Spain it’s the law that all episodes are dubbed in Spanish, so he got a kick out of hearing the real voices of the actual actors. He said it was really strange for him.
- Since he went to visit UW, I had to explain to him what, “throw your dubs up” meant.
Related Articles:
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- See what a 34 year old from Thailand thought
- See what a 25 year old from Finland thought
Elm Coffee Roasters-Pioneer Square
Description on Elm Coffee Roaster’s website: All of our coffees are roasted on site, right in the back of our Pioneer Square café. Amid jute bags of green coffee from the best small-lot farms in the world, you’ll find us roasting, cupping and bagging our favorites of the season.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 240 2nd Ave South, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: Heaven or Hell by Waylon Jennings
What we ate/drank: Double Espresso and apple fritter from Mighty O
Comments: Elm Coffee Roasters is in the same vein as Slate Coffee Roasters and Broadcast Coffee, clean, minimalist and airy. They could have easily added more tables/chairs, but the way it’s configured keeps a nice airy feel. All together the place seats about 25 with bar seatings, a wrap around wood bench with individual tables for two and a couple of tables neat the front of the shop. The location has a kinda fancy kitchen in the country with marble counters and unfinished wood. And like many Pioneer Square businesses utilize the exposed brick walls in this old neighborhood. The walls are blank, the ceilings are white and the vents exposed. The storefront windows face south, but there are also some high windows facing east that let in a lot of light. The roasting equipment/area are located at the back of the location and is visible through a windowed partition.
There are pastries from The London Plane and Mighty-O(they seemed to have cornered the market on supplying local coffee shops). I ordered a doppio espresso and apple fritter. When my drink was ready, they brought it out to me at my table instead of calling it out at the bar, which was nice. I didn’t notice this until after I ordered, but they have some “combos” we’ll get the next time we visit.
- One & One –Macchiato and an espresso – $3
- One of Each-Espresso and brewed coffee – $5
- One of Everything-Macchiato, Espresso and brewed coffee. -For only $5
The barista said the name Elm Coffee Roasters is derived from the owner’s wife’s initials E.L.M. One last thing, if you are planning to plant yourself and work for awhile, don’t. There aren’t many outlets, if any, which I believe was done intentionally to create an atmosphere of relaxing and chatting instead of a room full of silent workers on their computers.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Option of their “combos”-One & One, One of Each and One of Everything.
Atmosphere: 4.0
Service: 5
Food Options: 2.5
Overall: 4.0
Eavedropping Convo: Two guys chatting
Guy 1).… so I was going to offer my services or consulting help, but it sounds like you’ve got everything taken care of.
Guy 2) Yeah, surprisingly things are going rather smoothly. Knock on wood.
G1) Well, don’t hesitate if things change direction. Just reach out.
G2) I appreciate that. You’ve always offered some great guidance. I don’t want to end up like Gary.
G1) Wow, haven’t heard that name in awhile. How is ole Gary? Back on his feet?
G2) I haven’t seen him in awhile, but unfortunately last I heard he was still struggling. Had to downsize and sell his boat.
Cherry Street Public House – Pioneer Square
Description on Cherry Street Public House‘s website: Public House is a new take on what Coffee House has capitalized on, the need for great food and great coffee under one roof. With a more seasonal approach to the food menu, Public House will be serving a rotating menu of fresh and fun ingredients. When it comes to coffee, you can expect champion quality with every cup, including fun signature beverages.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 210 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: Sulk by Trust
What we ate/drank: Guatemala//Ethiopian doppio espresso from Counter Culture Roastes. Bagel sandwich(bacon/egg/cheese)
Comments: Cherry Street Coffee has 11 locations and been in business for 20 years. That’s saying something in Seattle. All 11 locations are near the downtown vicinity, as far north as South Lake Union and as far south as Century Link Field and furthest east being First Hill. This particular spot is their Public House, which is located in the new Weyerhaeuser HQ Building in Pioneer Square and has been open for about a year. A lot of us longtime Seattlites would never have thought a place like this would exist in Occidental Park. I moved here in the mid 90’s and it’s always been a problem area. It’s great to see the transformation of the park the last few years.
The first thing you’ll notice is how big the space is. The space is split out into three areas:
- Area to the left has a long upholstered bench and individual tables and chairs for a coffee shop area.
- The middle section is meant for eating with marble table tops.
- Area way in the back that has a high top bar for laptops.
The owner describes the intended usage for the various areas in Barista Magazine:
“Obviously one of the big things in our industry is we get people who camp out on their laptops all day. And with our space we needed to make sure that people weren’t necessarily doing that in our prime dining area. So we created zones of the cafe. There’s a laptop bar area with plug-ins built into the counter, and then some two-top cafe bar seating. But then we have the dining hall area that gives you a different experience, with nice black chairs and round tables. There are no plug-ins; you really shouldn’t be on your laptop over there. But we didn’t go so far as to put signs anywhere. My goal with this space was for everything to just make sense—for the space to tell the story. And that has worked out well so far.“
The entire front of the cafe has huge windows looking out on Occidental Park that open up and would be great in the summer. The huge windows let in a lot of natural light and make for good people watching in Occidental Park. The space also has warm lighting which makes it good for relaxing in the evenings and a great meet up spot for First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Sq.
On this visit, I had a Guatemala/Ethiopian blend doppio espresso and a bagel sandwich with bacon, egg and cheese. I think the person who took my order was new and needed help from a colleague to make my espresso, but it tasted great and she was very pleasant and apologetic about the wait. I wasn’t in a hurry, but I appreciate it. Since it’s a public house, it’s gotta have alcohol. They’ve got beer on tap, wines and specialty cocktails. The family that owns Cherry St Coffee is originally from Iran, so the menu has heavy Persian influences-Persian stew of either beef/lamb, chicken or vegetarian seem to be the main dishes. For breakfast they have the usual avocado toast, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, scones and a house made quiche. Lunch options include the Persian stew, falafel, gyro, blt, salad and soup.
When I first got there, they were playing some odd synthpop music that didn’t really fit the atmosphere of the space, but that soon changed(see Eavesdropping Convo section below).
Cherry Street Public House closes at 5:00 on weekends and 7:00 on weekdays except on Thursday when they close at 8:30, because they have free live entertainment.
This place will definitely give La Marzocco a run for its money as a great place to meet up if you have a group of people.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Having the option of coffee, booze, food and the ability to people watch in Occidental Park.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Food Options: 4.75
Overall: 5
Eavedropping Convo: Lady talking on phone with the speaker on while eating. This was way across the room and this place is pretty big so you know she was loud and had the speaker on full blast. Annoying.
Lady-I’m having breakfast at a cafe in Seattle right now. My flight leaves in a few hours. It’s super gloomy outside. I guess it really is true what they say about Seattle. How are things going?
Person on phone via speaker-Oh, you know. Puppy is doing fine. She is sooooo cute, but a handful.
There was more smalll talk for about 7 minutes for the entire cafe to hear.
Then………..I’m not sure if the workers turned up the volume on their overhead speakers or if it was a coincidence but Dancing Queen by ABBA started playing at a noticeably higher volume. So much so that she had to put the phone to her ear now. She left about 2 minutes later because she could no longer carry on the conversation. She didn’t even bus her dishes. If the workers increased the volume, Thank You Cherry Street Public House! If it was just a coincidence, Thank You, Universe.
Slate Coffee Roasters
Description on Slate Coffee Roaster’s website: For us, quality is always the result of collaboration. To that end, we pursue relationships with everyone from the producers of our coffee, to our wholesale partners, suppliers, community, and guests.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 602 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: Witch Hunt by Wayne Shorter
What we ate/drank: Deconstructed Espresso(Ethiopia Gotiti)
Comments: Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Just an fyi, you ain’t gonna find no frapuccinos here.
The word that comes to mind when visiting Slate Coffee Roasters is “Passion”. This passion might get in the way of what some people may want out of a coffee shop, such as super fast preparation, cheap drinks or flavored drinks. If any of these things are important to you, better to go somewhere else. But if you want quality coffee prepared by baristas who are passionate about the product and take pride in it and can speak about it in detail, Slate Coffee Roasters is the place for you.
I wouldn’t bring grandma visiting from out of town who normally drinks Folgers and just wants to catch up over coffee. I’d bring my out of town coffee nerd friend, who has heard so much about Seattle coffee culture and says, “Take me to a coffee place that can prove it!”
It’s literally yards right outside the Pioneer Square Link Light Rail Station exit, so if I’m meeting somebody in Pioneer Sq for coffee, I tell them to meet me here. Just as an fyi, if I’m meeting somebody for a beer, I tell them to meet me at Collins Pub right down the street.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but whenever I go it’s super quiet. This particular time, I could hear every conversation each customer was having with the barista, but everybody was strictly business, ordering their coffee. No small talk. I guess the customers match Slate Coffee, minimal, simple and to the point. The space is long and narrow with high ceilings with white walls and concrete floors. I noticed they have a record player with a bunch of albums. While I was there, they were playing jazz. In the front is a raised area with counters and stools in the front and a few individual table. The main part of the space has the counter where you order and where they prep the drinks. There’s a long wooden bench along the wall with individual tables and chairs. They had a few cookies made by Slate and only a few croissants and muffins. There are some signature drinks, but wish they’d provide a brief description handy so you’d know what Linus + Lucy, Royal Treatment and Oh My Gourd were. Their most popular drink is the Deconstructed Espresso, which is what I ordered and costs $7.
On this day this day the three drinks were:
- Ethiopian gotiti espresso
- Non-homogenized Milk(warmed). I think he said from Pure Eire)
- A combo of the two – macchiato or cortado?
When I ordered the barista asked if I had ever done a deconstruction before. I had not. When he brought it over he went into great detail about each profile and what type of flavors to expect. Each was served in a cordial glass. His suggestion was to sip by sip by sip from left to right to get a taste of each individually. Then do whatever I want. I could continue little sips of each or down each completely one at a time. I continued to do little sips and about half way through drank each completely. It was nice to try the components separately before having them together. It would be a great way to introduce the ingredients separately to people who don’t normally drink coffee.
Slate Coffee Roasters falls in the more modern/minimalist coffee shop, which to me means all attention is on the coffee. As mentioned the walls are white, the glasses are clear and simple, the menu is simple(notice in the picture above, no latte/cappuccino), even their no frills logo is very simple. It’s as if they don’t need any distractions and simply let their coffee do the talking. And if this really is their end goal, you know the baristas will be very meticulous when preparing your drink. They have locations in Ballard and University District and are very similar.
One thing very different is that they have different sizes of both 250g and 125g beans of sale. By having smaller size bags, this gives you a chance to try a bunch of different types without breaking the bank or having to endure finishing a big size bag you’re not crazy about. Also, each bag lists the roast date.
I know all roasters and cafés take pride in their quality and process, but I get the feeling the folks at Slate care just a bit more.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The deconstructed espresso experience and barista who made sure I got the most out of it.
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 5
Food Options: 2.5
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: There weren’t really any conversations to overhear as I mentioned above, but the closest was a customer ordering a to-go drink and listening to the jazz playing. When his drink was ready and he collected his drink, he told the barista- My son’s mother is a demon on the sax!
Recommended by: The table next to us at Mojito
Korean Tofu House
Description on Korean Tofu House website: With our unmatched quality, flavor, and value, you’ll understand why we are the oldest Korean Restaurant in UW!
Neighborhood: University District
Address: 4142 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Type: Korean
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Spicy BBQ Pork, Sliced Rice Cake Soup, Beef Tofu Soup. The Banchan(free sides!) were bean sprouts, kim chee, green onion pancakes, fish cakes, sweetened potato and purple rice.
Comments: Although this restaurant was suggested by the table next to us at Mojito, we’ve been here several times before. Truthfully it’s hard to give a proper review of Korean Tofu House, because we get the same damn three dishes over and over again. If you really enjoy the dishes, I guess there ain’t no point in deviating. What normally happens is I’ll have craving for their tofu soup, so when we get there, there’s no point even looking at the menu. They do have an easy one page menu with pictures, which is helpful if you’re having Korean food for the first time. It’s also easy to remember that they’re open 11-9 every day. I love their tofu soup so much that although it’s perfect for the cold winter days, I also get it even if it’s 90 degrees outside. And fo sho I get it with a raw egg, yo! I’ve got a system where I eat all the contents in the soup and with the left over broth I put in the rice from the banchan and eat that. A lot of people complain about their very business-like demeanor(=not overly friendly). For those people who think this, they need to build a bridge and…. Get Over It. As long as the food is yummy, no need to hate, appreciate!
Ratings (Scale 1-5)
Service: 3.5
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 5
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: Most locals know about it
Eavesdropping Convos: This is not a conversation, but more of something we observed.
There were these two gals eating beside us. They were finishing up and just about to leave. If you have any leftovers, you can grab your own plastic to-go containers near the cash register. I casually watched as they pulled EIGHT of these containers. Two were for their leftovers from their entre. This ain’t unusual because the portions are big. The other six containers were used for their remaining banchan. For those of you who don’t know, banchan are free “appetizers” given in Korean restaurants, similar to chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant. Then they requested six more free servings of banchan before they left. As soon as the dishes came to their table, they proceeded to add those six to the to-go containers and Audi 5000’d the hell out of there. I thought to myself, whoa, that’s some serious meal-hacking. Hey I dig it, I used to be starving student, but damn!
Server recommendations to visit in the future: The waitress/cashier suggested Chan as a different kind of Korean food to try.
Related:
Victrola Coffee Roasters
Description on Victrola Coffee Roaster website: In our popular imagination the roaring 20’s represent excess, prohibition, flappers, and speakeasies. The era’s fingerprints mark much of what we do, from our passion for live vintage jazz to our cafes unique architectural charm.
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Address: 310 E. Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
Music playing: Starboy by The Weeknd
What we ate/drank: Americano, Macchiato, Iced latte, Apple Fritter, Maple Syrup Doughnut and Sugar Doughnut from Mighty O,
Comments: The Victrola Coffee Roaster is located in one of the old auto row buildings on Pike, which in the oldin days is where the car dealerships were centralized in Seattle. You can read more about the historic auto row here. The other thing about this particular location is that it’s a few yards away from the Starbucks Reserve, which is always teeming with out of town visitors. I’ll admit the “Willy Wonka” factor is pretty cool and I understand why visitors would want to go there, but I’d suggest you also visit Victrola Coffee Roasters. Or maybe you can just check out Starbucks Reserve, take your pictures and get a coffee here.
In addition to this location, Victrola also has another Capitol Hil location and one in Beacon Hill.
And like Caffe Umbria’s website, Victrola also has some really good educational videos on how to brew using Chemex, French Press, Conventional Drip, Pour-Over and even creating Latte Art. They also have videos on the difference between single-origin and blends, where coffee comes from and a video on how to convince habitual coffee drinkers to up their coffee game. That’s hardcore.
Their pastries are from Mighty-O Donuts and their sandwiches are from Bread & Bone.
The café is bright, especially in the morning with the huge south facing windows. There’s lots of space including a huge community table in the middle w/ten seats. There are more seats and tables along the exposed brick walls and front window with wood furniture throughout-tables, chairs, counter. The graffiti art on the walls give the space a nice splash of color. This location has a nice relaxing feel to it. One of those places you’d like to do a cross word puzzle on a lazy Sunday morning.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The huge south facing windows which brighten the entire café.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4.5
Food Options: 4.5
Overall: 4.75
Eavesdropping Convos: Two guys leaving….
G1-See you later.
G2-Yeah, see you at JJ’s.
G1-What’s going on at JJ’s?
G2-C’mon, March Madness, dude. Didn’t he tell you?
G1-Nah.
G2-Well………just come by, man.
Pegasus Coffee Bar
Description on Pegasus Coffee website: Pegasus Coffee began roasting arabica coffee beans for Bainbridge Island coffee lovers in 1979. From the beginning, we have focused on using the highest quality coffee beans from each growing region of the world and carefully roasting our coffee one batch at a time.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Address: 1218 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Double Espresso from Pegasus Roaster
Comments: I wanted to get a quick coffee before going to work and just relax. I intended to go to Caffe Migliore, but as I walked up to the door I saw somebody that I knew in there. I really wanted to just relax and I knew if I walked in, I’d have to talk and hang out. I’m anti-social that way prior to getting my coffee. I looked on Google Maps for nearby suggestions and I saw Pegasus Coffee was around the corner. I had always known about it because my bus passes by it everyday on my way to work. Off I went.
Pegasus Coffee Bar is located in the Seattle Tower which at one point was the tallest building in Seattle. The builders decided to make it one floor taller than the more famous Smith Tower, whose bar I mentioned briefly in our Best Seattle Bars For Each Stage of Dating post. The interesting thing is the Smith Tower from top to bottom is actually taller, but the Seattle Tower was built at a higher elevation so looking at the downtown skyline it’s taller. Both buildings are now considered small fries among the newer downtown buildings.
I had no idea the space was this small. There are literally two single seats that look out on 3rd Ave. And they are not together, so if you stay here you’re sitting solo. 3rd Ave in downtown is a main bus lane in the morning, so they probably get a lot of traffic from people getting off the bus before going to their jobs. It’s also right across the street from the University Street Link Light Rail station. For these two reasons, I’d say 98% of the people who come here, get their coffee to go.
They have another location a few blocks away that’s also on 3rd Ave. Although, that location looks like something out of a strip mall. I know it’s not their fault since they probably took over the spot from another business or the building architects just built it that way, but if you have a choice between the two, come to one located in the Seattle Tower. It’s a really charming small shop that according to the baristas used to be a cigar shop. Once they said that you can almost see the cigar shop qualities-the high ceilings, darker lighting and off course the dark mahogany wood. I really don’t think much has been done to this spot since the building opened, so it has a feeling of preserved history. I
I ordered a doppio espresso. $2! You are reading that right, only 2 bucks! I ordered it to drink there and the barista said, “Oh, thank you for drinking it here. It’s always nice to drink espresso out of a proper cup”. Like I said, I don’t think too many people stay there to drink due to its size. There were a small case for pastries and a separate one for bagels. The choices aren’t many. There was a cooler for cold drinks and also multiple canisters of tea. Their roaster is out on Bainbridge Island.
The place is so small you can’t help but make small talk with the two baristas if you decide to stay there to drink. The two gals there were really friendly and you could tell they enjoyed working together and had a passion for café culture. We talked about plans for the weekend and I asked when they weren’t at Pegasus Coffee working, what coffee places do they frequent(See below).
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The charming historic look of this small place and the two friendly gals working there.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Food Options: 2.5
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: Since I was the only one there, there was no eavesdropping conversations to overhear, so I just spoke to the baristas there.
Me-When you’re not drinking coffee here, where do you like to go?
Barista 1(B1)- I really like La Marzocco.
Barista 2(B2)- Oh yeah, La Marzocco. Their history, the café’s ambiance and the fact that there are only 3 La Marzocco cafes in the world…..
B1- I really like Zeitgeist. I’m one of those people you can spend hours on my laptop so I like that place.
B2- yeah, she lives in Pioneer Square so it’s close by.
B1- I like C&P Coffee
Me-C&P? Never heard of it. Where is it?
B1-It’s in West Seattle. It’s like in somebody’s house and it’s been around forever.
Me-I don’t get out to West Seattle much, but I’ll have to check it out.
B1-I like Caffe Vita and Victrola, but I’ve only been to the one on 15th, not the main one.
Couple new places to look into. I’ve passed by Zeitgeist, but have never been. And I’d never heard of C&P Coffee, but in researching the place, it seems like a much beloved place. Just earlier this month they were in danger of losing the place, but the community was able to raise $77,240 on GoFundMe to save the place! We’ll for sure have to see for ourselves.
Recommended by: A guy sitting next to us at Varsity Inn
Name: Mojito
Description on their website: Serving the best Latin American & Cuban food in the Seattle area.
Neighborhood: Maple Leaf
Address: 7545 Lake City Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115
Type: Latin American/Cuban
Packed?: We went for an early Sunday dinner around 4:00 and every seat was taken.
Music playing: Upbeat Latin American music
What we ate/drank: Pabellon–Seasoned shredded beef, red peppers, onions, and spices, slowly cooked and served with black beans, white rice and maduros, Vaca Frita- Shredded beef marinated in lime juice and sauted with onions, garlic and sweet peppers. Served with congr and maduros. Passion Fruit Shake,Two beers- Modelo Especials
Comments: Mojito is a small triangle shaped restaurant that’s pretty difficult to find. If you’re driving South on Lake City Way it will eventually fork to enter I5 or split off to what will become Roosevelt Ave. Mojito is located as Lake City Way turns into Roosevelt Ave. It’s a one way street. There’s no parking lot, so you’ll have to park on the street. We had no issues.
With the space relatively small and the place full, the atmosphere is very lively and loud. If you’re looking for a place to have a quiet conversation, this isn’t it. Mojito is very bright due to windows being on all sides of the restaurant as well as the vibrant colors with yellow walls, green trim and blue ceilings including clouds. There’s also a small patio out front that’s used in warmer weather.
Vaca Frita(Fried Cow) is a traditional Cuban dish with shredded beef marinated with onions and garlic. It has a citrus tang to it and comes with beans and rice. Pabellon is the Venezuelan National Dish. It’s a shredded beef dish with a tomato based sauce with beans and rice. It also comes with cooked plantain. Both dishes were so good we’ll order both again the next time we come back. There definitely other dishes that sound really good. The Parrilla Mojito is their most popular dish, which is a marinated steak dish. Their rice is also really good all on its own. We were told it’s made with onion, garlic and cilantro. The best way to go is to order a bunch of dishes and eat family style, so you can try a little of each dish.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Service: 5
Food/Drinks: 5
Bang for the Buck: 4
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Rating: Locals “in the know” know about it
Eavesdropping Convos: It was too lively to overhear any conversations.
Server recommendations to visit in the future: Server was busy, but the table next to us asked if it was our first time here. We told them if wasn’t, but it was their first time. They mentioned their routine was normally to go to Korean Tofu House, but it was packed, so they came here. So we will go there next.