Mr West Cafe Bar
Description on their web: Easy Drinking. Tasty Fare. Morning, noon, night.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Address: 720 Olive Way, Seattle WA 98101
Music playing: Multi-Love by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso, Apple Fagotinni, Americano
Comments: As we stated in Our Seattle Coffee Shop Thoughts, this is our favorite coffee place in Seattle. As mentioned it’s just a great combination of cozy and modern with tons of seating options, great food choices and great atmosphere. Honestly, when Mr West Cafe Bar first opened, I wasn’t sure it would survive. At the time, my bus stop was across the street, so I could see if it was full or empty inside and most of the time it was empty. It’s in a weird area right on the outskirts of downtown and South Lake Union, but walking distance from Capitol Hill. I’m glad they persevered, because now the place is always packed. The scummy Greyhound station used to be across the street, but now a brand new Hyatt Regency is replacing it, so I’m sure it will be even more crowded. It goes without saying the coffee is superb, but what separates Mr West Café Bar from the rest is their variety of food options and atmosphere. They have your normal sweet pastries, but they also have sandwiches, salads, toasts with cheese, avocado, cured salmon and cheese/meat boards. If you’re not in the mood for coffee, they also serve wine, cocktails and have beers on tap. There are all types of seating-single seats along the front window, booth seating, long tables for groups, bar seating and patio seating. It feels comfortable whether you are working/studying, catching up with friends or having a group outing. The barista and food prep is located in the middle of the cafe and everybody is seated around them. If you are staying for drink and/or food, they will give you a number on a stand, which you place on your table and they’ll bring out your order when it’s ready.
For me personally, what I really like is their music selection. It feels like I’m constantly Shazam’ing the music they play. They’ve turned me on to The Radio Dept, Whitney, Leisure, Tora, Real Estate, Day Wave, Hazel English, The National, Hooded Fang, Harlem, Skaters,
Ratings:
Favorite Thing: Their music choice and atmosphere
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Food Options: 5
Overall: 5
Eavesdropping Convos:
These were two co-workers having a meeting while having some coffee, but I couldn’t tell if it was a boss and subordinate or just two colleagues.
Girl 1: I just wanted to talk to you. It’s really nothing.
Girl 2: Well it’s not nothing, it must be something. I’m a very blunt person so you won’t have to worry about me providing feedback.
1: I get the feeling that you don’t like me and it’s fine if you don’t like me, but I feel it’s getting in the way of working together. I just want to clear the air and find out why.
2: I fully admit I’ve been in a funk lately, but I’m not going to take all the hits. From the very beginning I asked you out to lunch a couple of times and it was never reciprocated. I also asked you to coffee before, I didn’t know if you drink coffee, but again never reciprocated. I’m the type of person where I’m going to try and if I’m ignored, I’m going to stop and not try anymore. Also, you know my cat just died, that was a big deal. I’m still not over it and you’re the only person who didn’t console me. The only person. (long pause)……. As a woman that’s a big deal.
1: I own that, but I feel that you’ve been very cold to me, so it’s hard to talk to you.
2: We haven’t really worked on any projects together, so I don’t hate you. I don’t even know you.
The conversation was getting juicy, but in a way it was uncomfortable and tried to tune them out. They were both rather loud, so it wasn’t like I had to lean my ear in their direction. Girl 2 kept saying over and over again …. I don’t hate you, I don’t even know you.
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***1/19/20- NOTE: This blog post has been updated with more information HERE***
As you know Seattlites have the stereotype of being coffee drinking fools. This is no stereotype, we take our coffee seriously. And if you ask 20 different locals what their favorite coffee place is, you’ll most likely get 20 different answers. According to Bustle, there are close to 1700 coffee shops in Seattle and ranked #1 for coffee fanatics:
We wanted to provide some context on what we value in a coffee shop and our recommendations. The below are not hard and fast rules, but I think it provides a pretty accurate picture of what we enjoy about our favorite coffee shops. First of all, in Seattle when it comes to price and quality of coffee, in our opinion there’s not much differentiation. The quality of coffee in all the places we mention is great. I don’t think a coffee shop could survive in Seattle if it just had average coffee. So how we choose our favorite coffee places is really based on the following in this order:
Atmosphere-There are two types of coffee places in our opinion:
- The cozy coffee shops typically have mismatched comfy chairs and sofas, warm lighting and areas set up for conversation. You normally see friends catching up, people reading books or surfing the net. These places are normally buzzing with chatter. The walls are normally plastered with upcoming event posters, concert posters and community announcements.
Favorites: Café Allegro(University District), 7 Coffee Roasters (Ravenna), Zoka(Tangletown), Cloud City(Maple Leaf)
And
- The modern minimalist coffee shops with huge windows to let in the sunlight and/or bright lights condusive to working/studying. It usually has expensive looking chairs and tables, which aren’t always the most comfortable, and has tons of electrical outlets for laptops. It’s normally very quiet and might have a few works of abstract art on the walls . Their main clientele are students and people working remotely.
Favorites: Broadcast Coffee(Roosevelt), Milstead & Co.(Fremont), Slate(Pioneer Square)
Customer Service-If you go there often enough they remember your name and drink. They’re cheerful and attempt to make genuine small talk. And say things like, “Thanks for coming in” as you leave. One of the stereotypes of a barista from popular coffee shops is that they are coffee snobs, snooty, work at their own pace and look down their nose at drinkers who order complicated concoctions. If we come across this breed of barista, of course their shop is disqualified from our list of coffee shops we frequent.
Food options-We like places with a variety of food options. Most places will have pastries, but I really appreciate it if they have something savory too.
Speed-We understand that good coffee takes time and not about just pressing a button(sorry Starbucks), but be cognizant when there is a line out the door and maybe just pretend to show a sense of urgency.
Coffee Shop Superlatives:
Favorite Coffee Shop(Overall): Mr West Café Bar. It’s a mix of cozy and modern. They have great food options, both sweet-doughnuts, cookies, pastries and savory-avacado toast and sandwiches. They have this Apple Fagotinni that is Uh May Zing. The layout of the furniture is set up for both private working/studying along their front window, meetings for groups with some bench seatings, seating at the bar to watch the baristas and food prep and secluded areas to catch up with friends. They have music playing in which I’m always pulling Shazam out to see what obscure band it is. They also serve both beer and wine if it’s too late in the evening for coffee.
Favorite Cozy Coffee Shop: Cloud City Coffee(Maple Leaf) – When I think of a neighborhood coffee shop, this is what I picture. Their motto is “Community and Café” and it’s very much a gathering place for Maple Leaf. Expansive breakfast/lunch menu. I love their cinnamon rolls. A warning, this place is always packed. There are multiple tables that seat six, but you’ll most likely be sharing. They have a small outdoor seating area and when weather permits they have garage style doors that are opened facing south and east. There’s a small couched area with toys and books for kids and they also have a pay-on-your-honor section for coffee refills and day old pastries.
Favorite Modern Coffee Shop: Broadcast Coffee(Roosevelt) – If I want to get work done or need a place to read while enjoying quality coffee, this is my place. It has a business-like vibe. It has ample seating, tons of outlets and bright due to their huge windows. They take pride in their coffee. I once had a barista here remake my espresso 3 times because somebody left the door open as they were leaving and she felt it affected the taste of the espresso. I probably couldn’t tell but I appreciate her commitment to her craft. They even have a Coffee Roasting 101 class where they teach you how to roast coffee at home.
Favorite Coffee Drink: 1) Brazillian Latte at Kitanda Expresso(Green Lake). I’m normally a dopio espresso lover and not a real big fan of sweets in general, but for some reason I really love the Brazilian Latte. It’s a regular latte with sweet condensed milk and a cinnamon stick. It kind of reminds me of the traditional Vietnamese iced coffees that use the phin, but a hot stronger espresso version.
2) This is a bit of a cheat, because this coffee is not from a coffee shop but from Cafe Turko in Fremont. It’s their Turkish Coffee. Turkish coffee is unfiltered and has the coffee grounds freely floating around in the coffee. You’re supposed to periodically swirl your coffee so the grounds don’t settle at the bottom of the cup. Regardless, you’ll still have a layer of coffee grounds that look like mud when you finish. Because the it’s so finely ground, it’s hard to replicate at home. Check out the cool coffee presentation!
Coffee Shops that Impresses Our Out of Towners: Storyville Coffee Co in Pike Place Market and Café Allegro in the University District. Both these places would never be found if we hadn’t taken our visitors since they are both “hidden”. I think it makes our visitors feel they’re in on a little local secret. 7 Roasters also falls into this category because although it’s not hidden, it has a very local feel to it. Like a general store that you’d find in a small town in the middle of a neighborhood.
Note: I think the new La Marzocco Café and Showroom located in the Seattle Center will become a favorite of out of towners. It’s located in very touristed area, it’s huge with lots of seating, has really cool displays of all the La Marzoccos for coffee nerds, has a record shop and attached to a radio station, our beloved KEXP, a non-profit radio station kept alive by donors and supporters.
Our favorite coffee shops by neighborhood:
Downtown-Mr West Café Bar, Anchorhead Coffee Co, Pegasus Coffee, Caffe Senso Unico, Café Magliore, Cafe Hitchcock
Pike Place-Storyville Coffee Co
Ballard-Anchored Ship Coffee, Bauhaus, Mabel Coffee, Venture Coffee, Caffe Umbria
Belltown-Tempesta Coffee.
Capitol Hill-Victrola Coffee, Ghost Note Coffee, Analog Coffee, Capitol Coffee Works, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Realfine Coffee
Eastlake-Voxx (linked review is for downtown location)
Fremont-Milstead & Co., Light House Roasters
Georgetown –Brother Joe
Green Lake-Kitanda Espresso, Revolutions Coffee
Greenwood-Preserve and Gather
International District – Eastern Cafe
Maple Leaf-Cloud City Coffee
Pioneer Square-Convoy Coffee, Cherry Street Public House, Caffé Vita, Slate Coffee Roasters, Elm Coffee Roasters, Zeitgeist Coffee , Caffe Umbria
Queen Anne- La Marzocco Café & Showroom, El Diablo Coffee
Ravenna- Seven Coffee Roasters
Roosevelt-Broadcast Coffee
South Lake Union-Espresso Vivace , Evoke Coffee, Cascade Coffee Works
Tangletown-Zoka
University-Café Allegro(Seattle’s oldest coffee shop), Herkimer Coffee
Wallingford-Fuel
Westlake-Caffe Umbria
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We’ve got a love-hate relationship with Starbucks and especially their current CEO, Howard Schultz. Living in the heart of coffee central, Seattle, we have a multitude of choices(Herkimer, Caffé Vita, Caffé Ladro, Broadcast Coffee) to grab a cup of joe. I think most locals prefer to go to small independent coffee shops. Here’s a full list of Seattle coffee shops.
When you’re in a hurry, Starbucks is probably the defacto coffee stop since it’s practically on every street corner, it’s fast and consistent. In my office building downtown, we have a Starbucks in our lobby as well as a store literally one block away in any four directions from our building.
I typically go to Starbucks if I’m short on time and absolutely need a coffee.
The things I love about Starbucks:
- Fast-Back in 2007-2009 when the economy was not doing well, they always seemed to be shorthanded. Today the line moves fast and they seem to have the system down,
- Consistent-I feel I can count on the coffee to be better than average, the line to move fast, and the store to be clean and relaxing. I have noticed that the further you move away from Starbucks HQ in Seattle, the quality seems to slowly go down. For example stores in WA, OR, CA, UT seem the best, then Midwest and TX are slightly lower, but when you get to FL, GA, MA there is a noticeable difference in cleanliness and customer service.
- I’m SBUX shareholder(cha ching!) and use their quarterly dividend to pay for whatever I spend at coffee shops around Seattle throughout the year. Their stock and quarterly dividend has consistently risen over the years.
- Clover-In my opinion one of the most ingenious moves by Starbucks was to buy the Coffee Equipment Company that owned and manufactured the Clover machine back in 2008. I love indulging in a small batch coffee made on the Clover machine. So, so good.
- Innovation– From being one of the first companies to utilize an app for payment, their partnership with Spotify and their rewards to order/pick up feature via the app, I have a real appreciation for companies that can think outside the box and be a frontrunner in trying new things. I also love the fact that they’re willing to tweak things if it’s not working out like changing their rewards plan from a purchase based reward to a money-spent based reward. It pissed off a lot of people, but it rewarded the right people, those spending the most. As an infrequent visitor, this definitely hurt, but as a shareholder, I like it. Their acquisition of Teavana and La Boulange were gutsy moves and have been met with good and bad results. I think their expansion of Reserve Roastery format is another genius move.
- The CEO-It could be coincidence but when Howard Schultz was CEO in his first go around, Starbucks was running on all cylinders. When he left there was a noticeable deterioration in quality and atmosphere in the stores. When he came back on board, the company is now back to running on all cylinders.
The things I hate about Starbucks:
- When we want to enjoy a really good cup of joe and not in a hurry I prefer a barista operated machine. Maybe it’s in my head that it tastes better, but there is a level of skill in grinding of beans, hand tamping the espresso, watching extraction time vs simply pushing a button and seeing espresso come out.
- Lack of reasonable priced food options– I think their food quality is good, but the bang for the buck just isn’t there.
- Pike Place Roast– It’s vile. You have other options in the morning , but in the afternoon and evening it’s the only coffee they brew. Yeah, yeah I know they will do a pour over on request.
- Unless you get an Americano, you only get one shot instead of two shots of espresso in a 12 oz cup.
- Homeless in the bathroom-Downtown Seattle always seems to have homeless folks hogging the bathroom. I go into the store with the mindset that the bathroom will always be occupied and not count on using it.
- The CEO- Sonics are in Oklahoma City! I put this squarely on Howard. Local government officials wouldn’t spend 220 million dollars to refurbish Key Arena, which had just gone through a remodel 11 years earlier. Yeah, I think there are better things to spend tax payer money on. So what does he do? He sells the Sonics to folks from OKC, who of course move the team to, wait for it now, OKC!! Truthfully, I’m not really a Sonics fan, but I think it’s fucked up that he sold the team full well knowing they would leave Seattle and crush the hearts of die hard fans, who’d been following the team since 1967. If he couldn’t afford to pony up the 220 million himself he should have never have bought the team in the first place. He bought the team in 2001 and sold it in 2006. I’m a huge sports fan and I saw some great players at the Key Arena-Jordan, Payton, Kemp, Bryant, Duncan, Shaq, Durant, Barkley, Malone, Stockton, Hardway, Dumars, Mullin, Ewing. It’s a crying shame that kids growing up in Seattle will not get to see NBA games in their own backyard.
One last note on Starbucks: In my previous job, I was responsible for hiring entry level employees in an office setting. One of the main things that gave candidates an advantage over others is if they worked at Starbucks. I knew that anybody who worked at a store for an extended period of time would have customer service skills, could multitask, prioritize in fast paced environment and deal with high maintenance personalities, which seems to be a common trait amongst Starbucks customers.