Caffe Ladro – Union Street
Description on the Caffe Ladro website: CHOOSE WHOLE BEAN COFFEE YOU LOVE- Your personal preferences will determine the type of roast you choose. Many coffees provide tasting notes on their labels. Tasting notes are quick guides to the aromas and flavors you will find while brewing and sipping those coffees. These descriptors are for flavors that naturally occur in coffee a result of the region in which the beans grew, the weather their harvest year, and the way the farm and miller processed the beans after harvest.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Address: 108 Union St, Seattle, WA 98101
Music playing: Helicopter by Bloc Party
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
What we ate/drank: Truthfully much like the Caffe Ladro on 1800 9th, there’s not much to report here. It’s a smaller cafe.
Comments: This review ain’t much, but I had a doozy of a eavesdropping conversation(see below).
This location has three natural wood tables all against the left wall with an upholstery bench running the length of the space . Each of these tables seats four. Then there’s one “living room” space with four chairs and a coffee table. The only other seating area are two stools at a high counter in the front of the space facing out on to Union St.
They have pastries that Caffe Ladro bakes themselves. This is a good place to come to if you are visiting Pike Place Market or the SAM(Seattle Art Museum). Due to it’s small size, I’d recommend coming here for a solo pre-work coffee or maybe a solo after lunch coffee or if you’re meeting up with a friend, but it’s not configured for a bigger group setting.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Favorite Thing: This would be my number one choice for coffee if near the SAM(Seattle Art Museum) or Pike Place Market
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 5.0
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.0
Eavesdropping Convo: Since the review wasn’t much, I do have a doozy of a eavesdropping convo. This was definitely a recruiter for administrative roles. He was interviewing a candidate(lady in her 40s) for potential positions.
Recruiter(RR): Decaf right?
Recruitee(RE): Yes
RR: Bringing a to go cup without a sleeve for RE. I didn’t see any of those sleeve things.
RE: I don’t think they have them. I looked. I wonder if it’s due to the environment?
RR: Yeah, I don’t know why. How are you? So we talked briefly over the phone and I mentioned there are plenty of positions. We currently have 5 opening for Amazon, 4 for Microsoft and one at Starbucks.
RE: I’m really shocked that Amazon has that many openings.
RR: They are hiring like crazy. We placed 7 last week and I think 4 the previous week.
RE: I don’t know if Amazon is the right fit for me. 15 years ago I did a stint there at the front desk, so I know the environment. I want to protect myself, you know. I don’t want to be in the hot seat. I want a job that is low stress with a good life balance. Otherwise, you just think about work while you’re at home and you can’t relax. I don’t want that.
RR: No, I hear you. But at any job there’s a level of accountability and with the wage range you’re looking at there’s going to be some level of expectations and deadlines. There are lower accountability jobs that are purely admin with little to no knowledge of excel, but those are below your price range. So you did work there before?
RE: Yes, it was 15 years ago. What would I do? I just don’t want to put myself in a position where I’m busy and frazzled all day long.
RR: Like I said on the phone I’m the main recruiter for Amazon, but they don’t really provide details, but it’s $20/hr. Amazon is very secretive. There are some hospital admin positions, but those are on the east side and I know you wanted to be in Seattle.
RE: Do people stay?
RR: It’s hit or miss. Some, it’s not a right fit. Others, get hired or stay long term.
My Commentary: It seems like with the unemployment rate being at record lows, companies are really competing to find positions lately. It gives people who are available and looking for work getting to have their pick of the litter, so to speak. When somebody says they want a high paying job without the stress, you know the area is doing well. You can also see it in the restaurants and bars. People have money to spend right now, which is a far cry from 2008-2010 when it was a ghost town.
Related:
- Caffe Ladro- The Jetsons Coffee Place
- Caffe Ladro(1800 9th Building)-Mystery Solved!
- Caffe Vita – Where I Made a Fool of Myself
Fuel Coffee
Breaking News-5/21/20: Ada’s Technical Books Cafe has acquired the three Fuel Coffee branches including the one reviewed below. You can read about the details here.
Description on Fuel Coffee’s website : We are committed to perfectly caffeinating each customer with the highest quality coffee and to redefine the standards of customer service in a unique, friendly, and comfortable atmosphere.
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Address: 1705 N 45th St 98103
Music playing: Boys Don’t Cry by The Cure
What we ate/drank: Doppio espresso, mocha, macchiato.
Comments: People often call coffee fuel for the body, especially for us non-morning folks. So I guess it’s an appropriate name for this local vintage road trip-themed coffee shop with locations in Wallingford, Montlake and Capitol Hill. This location on the main street of N 45th Ave is right in the middle of the Wallingford neighborhood. 
We had birthing classes a few years ago in Wallingford, so this was our go-to coffee place during this time. Because these classes were in the morning, we normally had no problems finding parking right on N. 45th Ave, but these do have a small parking lot in the back.
When entering you’ll notice about 5 high counter stools facing out to the main street. There are also a few tables/chairs in the front area, which is where all the sunlight is. You’ll notice the first of their vintage décor, an old fashioned gas pump, which is right next the refrigerator of cold drinks. In the middle is the barista station/cashier with pastries and a few savory foods, such as quiche. The pasties are locally sourced from Standard Bakery, Macrina and La Toscanella. There are times when there is one person manning both the cash register and making the drinks, which could make for a longer wait. When there are two people working, it goes much more quickly.
The vintage road trip-theme continues with a shelf displaying old tire rims, travel books, old Rand McNally road maps vintage coffee cans, soda bottles, spark plug boxes and drinking water. The largest part of the location is in the back, which has a combination of regular tables, coffee tables and high counters with stools. This area can easily seat 20+ people. Although we really dig the painted brick wall with the giant coffee mug and the vintage signage for pies, this area is really dark and has no windows. There are some smaller lamps that provide a bit of light and probably not a big deal during the dark winter months, but not ideal in the sunny summer days. Speaking of signage, we do dig their store front signage, a bright orange circle with “Fuel” and a circular neon arrow pointing to the store.
Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of coffee options in Wallingford with the exception of Starbucks and a few smaller cafes, but Fuel Coffee, in our opinion, is really the only true option in Wallingford when it comes to really good coffee. According to their website they source their coffee from Caffe Vita.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Vintage props and signage, which give it a lot of character
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 4.5
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.25
Eavedropping Convo: None
Related:
Bauhaus Coffee – Ballard
Description on the Bauhaus Coffee website: Bauhaus coffees are all a Delicate Full City Roast, where the beans roast past the first crack, but stop just prior of reaching the second crack at 440-445 degrees Fahrenheit. We believe in getting the most coffee flavor out of the coffee bean.
Bauhaus coffee is strong, flavorful, bold, rich, and smooth. Our motto is that “Bauhaus coffee tastes like coffee.” Bauhaus Coffee will never be sour, bitter, or bland. Bauhaus Coffee will always taste flavorful and rich and will not lose its flavor in milk.
Our Bauhaus blends were created to have a deep and rich flavor that is smooth to the pallet. No matter how you take your coffee: latte, mocha, espresso, Americano, or drip coffee, a cup of Bauhaus Strong Coffee will always be satisfying and flavorful while packing a caffeinated punch.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Address: 2001 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107
Music playing: Love on the Line by Her’s
What we ate/drank: Macchiato, Peanut Butter Mocha
Comments: Here’s the history of Bauhaus Coffee:
10/13-After 20 years at the corner of Melrose and Pine across the street from Pine Box and Melrose Market, Bauhaus is forced to leave due to their building being bought and new construction about to be built. The intent was to move back to the location once the new construction was complete. That never happened and now Rapha Seattle, the cycling clothing/café is located at Bauhaus’ old spot.
10/13- Bauhaus Ballard opens it’s doors
2/14 -Bauhaus moves to their new “temporary” Capitol Hill location down two blocks from the original location on Pine Street.
7/14- Bauhaus Greenlake opens, but closing hours are soon changed from midnight to 11:00pm to 9:00pm. Not a good sign. Hot food is served when the café first open, but that stops. Also, not a good sign.
12/15- The Greenlake, Capitol Hill and Ballard locations all close very suddenly to the shock of all locals.
- The Capitol Hill location is now Sugar Hill, the bar and Guitar’s Khao Mun Gai, the restaurant.
- The Greenlake location is now the office of Home Care Assistance.
- The Ballard location is now………
……..Bauhaus Strong Coffee Ballard. In 4/16, this location was bought by new ownership and changed their name slightly adding in the “Strong Coffee”. Otherwise the aesthetics of the location are exactly the same as before.
This is the coffee shop we’ve nicknamed the “library coffee shop”. You’ll notice it’s a rather large coffee shop with big seating areas on either side of the POS counter. The left side has about 15 stools that run along a high counter with banker lights looking out on 20th Ave. It also has individual tables towards the back and bookcases of encyclopedias and art books.
On the right side is a bigger seating area with individual tables and seats that are next to the store front window looking out on NW Market Street. As you head towards the back there are wooden booths that seat about 3 parties of two and also elevated section with more shelves of encyclopedias and individual tables and seats. This section is partitioned by a book shelf and a j shaped counter that can be used on both sides. There’s also a few outdoor seats.
Bauhaus has a studious library feel with the shelves of books. You start to feel guilty about talking too loud and part of me was waiting for a librarian to come over and “shoosh” us. There are also little touches of vintage items of yesteryear such as slide projectors, globes, typewriters and old TVs. Also there’s a orange imac which is considered vintage in technology years.
There’s also a massive photo of Walter Gropus, father of the Bauhaus movement. It’s on the corner of NW Market Street and 20th Ave so there’s lots of light with floor to ceiling windows.
We came in the afternoon, so there was only a limited number of pastries. There was just one dish of a various cookies, a muffin and a cinnamon roll. Although when we got there the food options were limited, they are connected to the Hog Island Hoagie towards the back of the left, so you can grab a sandwich if you’d like. Besides coffee they have tea, canned/bottled of yerba matte, sodas and kombicha. Their calling card is strong coffee. I don’t know if it’s stronger than the coffee at other places, but it’s definitely flavorful.
Open til 9:00!
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Favorite Thing: The library feel and the various vintage items.
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.50
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.50
Eavesdropping Convo: I’m pretty sure these were two sisters.
Sister 1(S1) – Lowers voice. I was talking to mom the other night and I was telling her about trying to get boba tea in the International District.
Sister 2(S2) – Yeah?
S1 – Continues in lowered voice – The boba tea is so good but nobody speak English, so I have a hard time ordering.
S2 – Laughs. You’re talking about on Jackson St, right?
S1- Yeah, luckily one block down there’s a more “familiar” place, but their boba isn’t as good.
Related:
Porchlight Coffee & Records
Description on Porchlight Coffee & Records website : Recently, Food & Wine Magazine listed us as one of their favorite cafes in Seattle, going on to deem us the least snobby on the list! We pride ourselves on offering a pleasant and genuine space to enjoy good music and good coffee.
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Address: 1517 14th Ave, Seattle WA 98122
Music playing: Shake by Sam Cooke
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments: Porchlight Coffee & Records has been around since 2009. The first time I went there they were located around the corner right on Pike, but are now located on 14th between Pike and Pine on the east end of Capitol Hill.
The space really reminds me of Revolutions Coffee in terms of how big the space is, the configuration, the white walls, how it’s bright in the front, but kinda dark towards the back. And both use beans roasted by Herkimer. One difference is that Porchlight does have rotating art that is lowbrow in nature, which I like. I have to give props to Porchlight for turning me on to an artist named, Adrian Tomine and I ended up ordering a print called, “1965”. They also have a Porchblog on their website that reports about new music, events, new art.
Porchlight also doubles as a record store, although I didn’t see a record player. Seems to be a common theme of records and coffee in Seattle. I know Convoy Coffee, Slate Coffee Roasters and Analog Coffee have record players and you also have Victrola Coffee Roasters that has the phonograph as its logo.
There are a few tables right outside the store front, there’s a brown leather couch with a couple of tree stump tables. The rest are 6 pedestal tables that each have two white wooden chairs. The record section is located in the back. And as mentioned earlier while it is quite bright in the front, towards the back it gets darker. I noticed they also have beers and a limited pastries section.
Ratings(1-5)Favorite Thing: Their Porchblog that reports about new music, events, new art
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 4.50
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.00
Eavedropping Convo: None. But did you know that Porchlight Coffee & Records is actually featured in an Uber video
Related:
Third Culture Coffee
Description on Third Culture Coffee website : It is our attempt to transcend borders, bring together the tradition and history of cultures with the allure and mystique of coffee, tea and wine.
Neighborhood: Bellevue (Gasp!)
Address:80 102nd Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Music playing: Quiet by EXES
What we ate/drank: Atalia – A set of espresso, americano and macchiato. Vanilla cronut
Comments: We don’t go to the “Eastside” very often. For you out-of-towners, Seattle is on west side of Lake Washington. The east side of Lake Washington includes Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Sammamish. There’s a saying here locally that you live in Seattle when you’re young and move to the Eastside when you start a family. It’s much more suburban, has quality schools and is much safer. It’s newer, cleaner, brand name hungrier than Seattle. In reality, Bellevue is less than 10 miles away, but the Eastside seems so far in proximity(and lifestyle) when we have everything we need here in old, grimey Seattle. I even disqualified any ramen places on the Eastside for being too far to travel to in our Battle of Seattle Ramen post. Anyways, we’re taking our chances and choosing to raise our two daughters here in Seattle.
Anyways, that’s a primer for our review of Third Culture Coffee in Bellevue. It’s probably been a good 4 years since we’ve been to Bellevue, but we had a visitor staying at Hyatt House that we met up with for brunch. We had some time to kill prior to our breakfast, so we went to Bellevue Downtown Park. This is a beautiful park and if you want to see the difference between Eastside and Seattle, take a look at the playground at Bellevue Downtown Park. Our jaws dropped when seeing the various play areas and fun things for kids to do, especially the water area. And here we thought that the wading pool at Greenlake where they put two inches of stagnant water in a sloped concrete area was Da Bomb! Anyways, back on topic. We noticed Third Culture Coffee across the street so popped in.
In Bellevue the buildings are newer, so there’s not the space restrictions that you might have in some of the Seattle areas like Pioneer Square, downtown or Capitol Hill. Third Culture Coffee can seat at least 40+. Plenty of counter seating, lots of individual tables for four, a few tables for two, a community table for at least 8, sidewalk seating and a seating area with leather chairs and a coffee table. There are a couple features that indicates how big this place is-a dedicated kids area and a huge swing. Can you imagine a swing being in Victrola Coffee Roasters, Caffe Ladro or Herkimer Coffee? It would take up the entire cafe. Huge windows make it bright and tall ceilings make it feel expansive. We were able to find street parking near by, but they do offer parking validation in the building parking for 1 hour before 4:00pm and 2 hours after 4:00pm.
They also serve wine, beers, ports, sherry and cocktails and have occasional events in the evening such as live music, wine tasting and wine/chocolate pairings. They also have a big tea selection. Food selections when we went were pastries, desserts and toasts including the Seattle millennial staple, avocado toast.
We ended up getting the Alitalia, which is very similar to Elm Coffee Roaster’s One of Everything. The Alitalia is a an espresso, americano and a macchiato. We also got a vanilla cronut, which is like a churo donut with vanilla filing. I know they source from Macrina Bakery, but I don’t think it was from there. The cronut was damn good with coffee.
The concept I found most intriguing that I’ve not seen anywhere else is the coffee preparation from various different cultures. There’s an Indian Filter Coffee and a Tumeric Latte(Haldi Doodh), Vietnamese prepared via phin, a Spanish Bombon, a Japanese iced pour over and a New Orleans Iced Coffee that include chicory. They even have a kids drink called the Babychino. I like trying various types of coffee drinks from around world, so it’s nice to be able to try them in one spot. Normally if you want a Vietnamese style coffee drink, you have to go to a Vietnamese restaurant. If you want a Turkish coffee, you have to go to a Turkish restaurant. There’s the other side of the coin though that if you’re a jack of all trades, you’re a master of none. So will the drinks really be a true representation of each culture if each process has to be mastered by each worker? I admire the attempt though and would love if a Seattle café would try this concept. Cheers.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The different cultural variations of coffee preparations
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.65
Eavedropping Convo: No convos to report, but I noticed something peculiar. When we were at the park and decided to look for a coffee place in the near vicinity, I looked on yelp. Third Culture Coffee came up and I decided to read a couple of the reviews before going there. I noticed a couple of comments that I was surprised about. They were complaining about having to bus their own dishes/cups. This is standard practice for coffee places in Seattle. You order, get your drink/food, when done you bus your dishes/cups to a bin. This is supposed to keep costs down because it’s one less task that a worker has to do and so less workers need to be hired. Is this not a thing in Bellevue? Bussing your own dishes/cups?
Related:
Caffe Umbria – Pioneer Square
Description on the Caffe Umbria website: Caffè Umbria’s flagship retail store is centrally located in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square. Occupying the very site first established by the Bizzarri family roastery in 1986, the café offers an authentic Italian bar experience complete with expertly pulled espresso drinks, pastries, panini, gelato and fine Italian beer and wine.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 320 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Macchiato, Fruit Tart
Comments: Short story before the review. We just came back from Portland and did a lot of walking in the University District/South Downtown area of Portland and I just could not find a cafe to my liking. I must have gone to 5 different places and passed for various reasons-too small, not an inviting/comfortable atmosphere, not an impressive menu. I was definitely trying to find a uniquely Portland cafe to visit, but the majority of them only serve Stumptown beans, which I felt I could get anywhere. I wanted to find something I could not find back home in Seattle. Note: I did find one place called, Kiosko, that I wholeheartedly endorse. Anyways, back to the story. I was walking around with my daughter and was getting a little frustrated. I was close to just settling for whatever cafe we stumbled upon next, when lo and behold, a Caffe Umbria! This one was on Madison Ave. Of course it’s not a uniquely Portland cafe that I wanted, but I knew I’d get a great tasting drink, a nice ambience and a familiarity I needed at this point.
On to the review….
As mentioned in my Tempesta Coffee (RIP) the family that founded Caffe Umbria have a interesting coffee history in Seattle:
For those of you new to Seattle, Torrefazione Italia used to have cafés in Fremont and Pioneer Square. The founders then formed a relationship with Seattle’s Best Coffee where they shared a roastery. Then Starbucks bought both, Torrefazione Italia and Seattle’s Best Coffee. Although Starbucks decided to continue selling the coffee under the Torrefazione Italia brand, they closed the Seattle cafes along with the other Torrefazione Italia 15 cafes around the US and Canada. One good thing that came out of the demise of the cafes is that the family that previously owned Torrefazione Italia before being bought by Starbucks, went on to create another roaster and multiple cafes, which became Caffe Umbria. One final bit of trivia, the first Caffe Umbria location is the one in Pioneer Square. It was also the first location of the first Torrefazione Italia cafe.
The cafe really does have a European feel to it, not so much due to the interior, but more the location. It’s located on the Occidental pedestrian only area that’s a wide brick walk way lined with two rows of trees in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. It’s very different from their Westlake location, which is to be expected due to the neighborhood and size of the location.
The actual space is split into two spaces or three if you count the patio in the front. The interior is split between the ordering area where they make the drinks and prepare the food. The other portion is the seating area. The two spaces are divided by the de facto required detail of all Pioneer Square cafes, an exposed brink wall.
The seating area has a long upholstered bench, front window counter looking out on Occidental and at least 8 individual tables. The space can seat at least 50 people. The area is dark with the exception of front area near the windows, but there is lots of warm lighting. Dark wood chairs and dark blue walls add to the romantic dark feel. For this reason, we enjoy this atmosphere more in the dark winter days when we don’t mind being cozy and indoors than the few sunny summer days we have here in Seattle. The decor is highlighted by a big coffee roaster. Perugia is the capital city of the Umbria region in Italy and its symbol is the griffin which explains the big griffin displayed on the wall. Also displayed on the walls are Italian decorative platters. The magazine stand is also a nice touch.
The other part of the space where the ordering and drink making take place has a few standing tables and a counter near the barista where you can also stand and drink your coffee. The cordoned off patio area seats about 15 people.
In addition to pastries, there are also breakfast sandwiches. There’s also a gelato cart that i hadn’t noticed before though it’s hard to miss since it’s right next to the main entrance. They have a limited wine and beers selection, although the limited beer selection includes some of my favorites from Georgetown Brewing- Rogers’ Pilsner, Bodhizafa IPA, and Lucillle IPA.
One thing to point out is that on Fridays, if you buy a 12 oz bag of beans, you get a free drink.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Favorite Thing: Caffe Umbria’s education section on their website teaches you the proper way to brew your coffee using a Aeropress, French Press, Moka Pot, Chemex and Hario V60. I definitely used it to fine tune my brewing using my Bialetti
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5
Food Options: 4.50
Overall: 4.65
Eavesdropping Convo: A guy and a gal appeared to be catching up after not seeing each other for a while. If I had to guess they either went to high school or college together. The guy was telling her that he was now an entrepreneur and created a business. I couldn’t really hear the details, but I could hear the gal very excitedly say the following intermittently throughout their conversation…..
Stop it! That’s amazing!
That’s definitely a dynamic market. Oh I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but go on!
Stop it! That is so cool!
Wow! That’s awesome! I’m so proud of you! So many people have ideas, but they die because the reality is that it’s a steep climb and people don’t put it into action
Love it!
If it’s not scary, it’s not worth doing , right?!
She sounded so excited for him and it sounded really genuine. I thought to myself, we all need more people in our lives like this gal-cheerleaders. She may not wholeheartedly agree with everything he’s doing, but she knows it takes a lot of effort and courage to start a business and is going to cheer him on. That’s what real friends do, cheer you on regardless of the circumstances
Zoka Coffee Roasters – Tangletown
Description on Zoka Coffee Roaster’s website : The flagship store that started it all. Situated snuggly in the beautiful Tangletown neighborhood of Green Lake, Zoka One is a community favorite. Host to a multitude of groups, early morning adventurers, students, and coffee enthusiasts this location has become an invaluable resource to the area. With an offering of hand brewed single origin coffees, freshly baked pastries, and unlimited wifi, its easy to see why this shop is seldom empty.
Neighborhood: Green Lake/Tangletown
Address: 2200 N 56th St, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso
Comments: Zoka Coffee Roasters has been around as long as I can remember in Tangletown. I believe the first time going there was in the late 90’s. It’s the first coffee place I can remember that had the reputation of having zombie college students taking up every table for hours on end. This is before laptops and wifi became prevalent. Students would come with their backpacks and books and sprawl out until every spot was taken. I remember it being like a library. It was so quiet and you always had to take your drink to go even if you intended to stay unless you were lucky enough to grab a spot when one of the zombies decided to leave.
It also had the reputation of having the stereotypical snooty Seattle barista. The theory was that because Zoka Coffee Roasters was always crowded with people, the workers could be as pleasant or unpleasant as they wanted because their customer service didn’t matter if it was good or bad. They would still get enough business to pack the place regardless. I personally never experienced any bad service, but it was definitely the reputation.
There’s a lot more competition these days, but even today, you can understand why people pack this place. The space is huge by Seattle café standards. They have beautiful exposed wooden beams, wood walls and shelves throughout with multiple tables and chairs. The location is on a corner so it has huge windows facing south and west, which lets in a lot of light. Towards the back is a separated area that’s more conducive for groups or private chats.
Because it’s off a main thoroughfare, it’s easy to find parking in the neighborhood. Like Seven Coffee Roasters Market & Cafe, Lighthouse Roasters and Analog Coffee, Zoka Coffee Roasters is not on a main street. It’s right in the middle of the Tangletown neighborhood, but it’s not really a secret because it’s been around so long everybody knows about it. The coffee is A+ , but food options are limited to pastries and breakfast sandwiches.
Their website doesn’t give a whole lot of information about the company, but it does have video instructions(albeit in cartoon form) on using a French Press, Aeropress, Pour Over, Chemex, but the rest are links to buy beans, gear or subscription. Besides this location, they have one near University Village, another in South Lake Union and one in Kirkland. I’ve been to the University Village location and it’s very similar in vibe and decor to this location.
Our observation is that it’s not as crowded as it used to be and it’s not as difficult to find a spot to sit anymore, which is great. If we had to guess, it’s probably due to the presence of a lot more coffee shops in Seattle now for people to study/work at.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Spacious, but cozy atmosphere
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.35
Eavedropping Convo: This was a rather brazen customer to have this conversation with the barista and he was pretty loud.
Customer(C)-I’m so glad your here. The person who was working the mornings the last few weeks was not very good. I haven’t been here for three weeks. I think he was over pouring because the drink was not very good
Barista(B)-Really?
C-I think a lot of people complained because my co-workers said the same thing. Something was just off with the viscosity. I don’t know.
B-hmmmm..
C-Do you guys have a regular schedule so I know when you’re working?
B-Normally I have my schedule two weeks out only.
C-Yeah, I just don’t want to come here when that guy is working here.
Cascade Coffee Works
Description on Cascade Coffee Works website : From the get-go, we wanted Cascade Coffee Works to feel like an oasis in an otherwise bustling and demanding area. Our signature Slow Bar is still in the picture as well, giving our customers the option to try some of our premiere single origin coffees on paired manual brewing methods.
Neighborhood: South Lake Union
Address: 1130 Thomas Street, Seattle, WA 98109
Music playing: Couldn’t hear due to the morning crowded trying to get their caffiene
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments: We’ve not spent a lot of time here, because it’s out of the way for us and whenever we’ve come, it’s been in the mid morning or early afternoon and by that time it’s normally packed. On this particular day, I went earlier in the morning and able to relax a bit. Maybe it’s unfair to compare this brand new location(opened in 11/17) to the older sister branch Seattle Coffee Works in downtown, but it’s as different as night and day. Cascade Coffee Works is located in the Troy Laundry Building which was built in 1927 and established as a Seattle Landmark in 1996. It’s now been converted into Amazon office space.
The similarity to Seattle Coffee Works is the limited food offerings and a slow bar that had a syphon, Chemex, Hario, Kalita Wave and an Aeropress. The differences are everything else. The space is industrial, bright and modern, it has a garage style door that can be opened for nice weather, white walls, and in the front, counter seating near the slow bar and comfy living room area with 3 leather love seats and a coffee table, In the back there are two hanging swinging chairs. In the middle there’s a community table for 8 and various separate tables for two. There’s also a few chairs/tables outside on the sidewalk and a few tables that you can use in the lobby of the building. There are plants throughout, along the back wall, hanging from high walls, in pots on the shelves.
Being in South Lake Union and in an Amazon building, as you would expect there are a ton of folks with blue badges getting their caffeine fix here. Like Seattle Coffee Works there’s a no tipping policy, although it’s made up with higher than normal prices, which I’m fine with. Unlike Seattle Coffee Works, Cascade Coffee Works is more my style. It’s bright and modern, but comfortable and has enough touches that make it different from other spots. There’s also cold brews and beer on tap.
And again, I want to point you in the direction of their website, which I explained in more detail on our Seattle Coffee Works post. It’s a great resource for where their beans are sourced and the huge effort they take in making costs transparent to the customer and fair to the farmers. If I worked or lived in the area, I’d definitely frequent this location more. Also, if I’m meeting a friend who works at Amazon, I’ll surely suggest Cascade Coffee Works. Let’s face it, we all know at least one person who works at Amazon.
Ratings(1-5)Favorite Thing: Bright and airy with both modern and cozy touches.
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.50
Eavedropping Convo: Gal and a guy catching up over coffee. I don’t think they worked at Amazon based on the way they were dressed, but I think they had a meeting with Amazon. I think they were killing time before their meeting.
Guy: He’s promised me this bonus and keeps comin’ up with excuses not to fuckin’ give it to me.
Gal: How about going to James?
Guy: I feel like a little bitch, if I go over his head for help. Thinking of just telling him, “Look, if you don’t give me the bonus by the end of next month, I’ll expect I’m not getting it and act accordingly”
Gal: Then what?
Guy: It’s not like I can really quit. I have to stay til next March to get my stock options. Then I’m fuckin done.
Capitol Coffee Works
Description on Capitol Coffee Works website : Capitol Coffee Works takes coffee in a new direction, delving into facets of coffee we’ve always dreamed of offering. It was conceived as a studio for Specialty Coffee, with a bright, clean, plant-filled interior that beckons to those interested in exploring lighter-roasted, fruity coffees. The space feels like an art gallery with coffee at center stage. A sleek ModBar undercounter espresso machine invites authentic interaction between baristas and customers. Our expert team provides start-to-finish table service on cozy lounge seating, elevating coffee drinking into a refined experience. They serve super-premium quality coffees – some of the best coffees in the world – made in the most exacting brewing devices available.
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Address: 907 E. Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
Music playing: This Land is Your Land by Chicano Batman
What we ate/drank: Macchiato, Mt Bakon breakfast taco from Sunrise Tacos
Comments:
Capitol Coffee Works is the 3rd iteration of Seattle Coffee Works. The 2nd being Ballard Coffee Works and the 4th being Cascade Coffee Works. This location has more similarities to the Cascade Coffee Works than Seattle Coffee Works. Although all the branches have a no tipping policy and a slow bar, the Capitol Coffee Works is similar to Cascade Coffee Works in the modern look and brightness due to large front windows. A unique feature of Cascade Coffee Works is the 2nd floor area that allows you to see over the front portion of the café and the barista. It makes you feel like a cat observing everything from the highest point. They also have table service, which I don’t believe the other locations provide.
The location is located in Capitol Hill at the centrally located Pike & Broadway. You can’t be more centrally located in Capitol Hill than here. Although the store front faces north it still provides a ton of light. There are a few tables and chairs outside. The front portion on the inside has a long wood bench along the front window with 4 small tables. Above the barista station is a giant photograph of a bee and directly across on the other wall is another giant photograph of a coffee bean. Right in front of the barista is are a few more small tables and towards the back is a large table that seats about 6 and a few more smaller tables with leather stools. The back wall is painted with a mountain landscape. It reminds me of a painting you might see in a 70’s arcade. There’s also a seat that’s suspended from the ceiling.
Near the spiral staircase that leads to the upstairs portion is a leather sofa with a small table. On the second floor are just a few tables and chairs, but the partition is made of glass which allows a lot of light up there. Although I love being perched up there on the 2nd floor to watch the customers coming in and the baristas making the drinks, while I was up there it did get a little hot.
I really enjoyed Capital Coffee Works. I like the aesthetics here more than Seattle Coffee Works. and it’s more relaxing than the hustle and bustle of Cascade Coffee Works.
And again, I want to point you in the direction of their website, which I explained in more detail on our Seattle Coffee Works post. It’s a great resource for where their beans are sourced and the huge effort they take in making costs transparent to the customer and fair to the farmers.
Ratings(1-5)Favorite Thing: The second floor area with glass partitions that give an unobstructed view of the first floor.
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 5.00
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.65
Eavedropping Convo: Guy having an informal coffee with a gal before her first day on the job.
Guy-They probably won’t expect lot out of you on your first day. It’s basically getting to know you, meeting everybody, getting logins set up, badges, etc
Gal-Have you been with the company long?
Guy-Yeah, I’ve been here a little over a year. <<That’s long? For all intents and purposes Gary is your boss, but if you are uncomfortable or think this is not what I signed up for, having personal issues with colleagues, then you come to me. Since you’re a contractor you’ll be here only until the project ends, but you can contact me at any time if there’s an issue. Sometimes, it’s not a good fit for all personalities.
Gal- For sure, it’s like dating. You need to be compatible with the company and the people you work with. The last job I was at, I knew with the first few days. This is not gonna work out.
Cafe Allegro – Seattle’s Oldest “Secret” Cafe
Description on Cafe Allegro’s website : Established in Seattle’s University District in 1975, Cafe Allegro is home to Seattle’s oldest espresso bar and one of the country’s finest Seattle-style coffee roasters. Our beans are imported from family farms around the world and roasted in small batches onsite at our cafe. Whether you’re a one cup a day drinker or a true Seattlite, we guarantee you’ll enjoy every sip.
Neighborhood: University District
Address: 4214 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Music playing:
What we ate/drank: Cortado, Macchiato, Lemonade
Comments: Café Allegro has a strange dichotomy in that it’s Seattle’s oldest coffee shop in the Coffee Capital of the World, but it’s also “hidden” in an alley which makes it difficult for those “not-in-the-know” to find it. With Café Allegro being the oldest coffee shop in Seattle, you’d think it would be a really popular place among visitors, but from our perspective it’s only popular among UW students. When asking locals about their favorite coffee shops, we rarely here Café Allegro mentioned. I think it’s due to a few reasons. Number one, it’s hidden in an alley right off The Ave(University Ave) between NE 42nd and NE 43rd Ave, so it’s hard to find. Number two, it’s in the University District, which is popular among U-Dub students, but not the rest of the Seattle general population. Number three, people who know about Café Allegro and have gotten a cup to go, don’t know it has tons of space, so they dismiss it as too crowded/too small. I, myself, didn’t know how big it was when I first came here. I thought Café Allegro was comprised of just the area in which you order, which fits maybe 25 people and always packed. Some infrequent visitors, may know that there’s an adjacent seating area through a narrow walk way near the barista counter that has some individual tables, booth seating and additional counter seating. But unless you are a frequent visitor, you may not know there is also an upstairs room with seating for at least an additional 30 people and a patio that has 3 benches and a few individual seating. The upstairs portion is relatively new(from 2015?) and not accessible from the café. You have to go outside and then enter a separate door for the upstairs portion. So there are “hidden” rooms/patio within this “hidden” café. This floor also houses their roaster. In totality, if I had to guess, Cafe Allegro could seat at least 80 people conservatively.
Café Allegro was established in 1975 and is located within a building built in 1909. Previous iterations of the space were a bank and funeral home/mortuary. I love that there really is no signage except for a beaten down hanging sign in which you can barely make out “Café Allegro est. 1975”. When you first enter Café Allegro you get a sense it’s part of the community because of their huge ever changing wall of Seattle event posters. Exposed brick walls and worn wood counters give you a sense of its history. They also have a wall of framed foreign currencies that always seems to catch the eye of new visitors I bring here. The aforementioned additional rooms are very nondescript, but the tables with burlap coffee sacks under glass as table tops is a nice touch.
As mentioned in our Best Seattle Bars To Impress Out of Towners, Our Seattle Coffee Shop Thoughts and Seven Coffee Roasters posts, Seattle visitors love these little hidden gems. Places they would never find without the help of a local. The latest visitors we took here were a family from Sweden. They were visiting mutual friends in Kent, WA and wanted to meet up. We suggested meeting at the University Farmers Market on a Saturday and after strolling the market, they mentioned they would love a cup of coffee. I suggested Café Allegro. Even my friend from Kent, WA who graduated from UW had never been to Café Allegro. As we walked down the alley, I started getting strange looks, but as soon as they entered, they said, “How cool!” and got out their phones and started taking pictures. Of course, the main café seating area was packed, but I mentioned the upstairs and lo and behold, we went up there and had the whole floor to ourselves. We had a group of 7 adults and one 2 year old who did not want to sit still, so this was a perfect area for us. The Swedish visitors said, “We feel like this is a very local place. We would have never have found it. That’s the advantage of having a local show you around”. They had also read about Molly Moon Ice Cream on the airplane magazine and wanted to go, but we told them we’d take them to another less known, less crowded place in walking distance from Cafe Allegro. We took them to Sweet Alchemy Ice Creamery less than a block away and they loved it. We told them to go to Molly Moon also, because it’s good, but asked them for their opinion after they tried both and take into consideration the wait time and hype and tell us which is better. Of course, Sweet Alchemy.
Café Allegro actually has it’s own Wikipedia page which tells more about its history and its founder who was instrumental in a fledgling company, called Starbucks.
The food options are mainly pastries, which were from Marsee Bakery. They also have teas and cold drinks. The signage also says they have beer and wine, but didn’t see any displayed and why would you have beer and wine at the oldest coffee shop in Seattle anyways? You come for coffee. From their website you can buy individual bags of beans and bean subscriptions.
Warning: The beans sold by Café Allegro are not the same beans you see in Whole Foods, which are their in house brand, Allegro Coffee. It can be quite confusing.
Ratings(1-5)Favorite Thing: The “secret” aspect of Seattle’s oldest coffee shop.
Atmosphere: 5 + 1(extra for ample seating and ambiance)
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 4.00
Overall: 4.75
Eavedropping Convo: None, except for the comments from our Swedish guests we took here. In place of Eavesdropping Convo, I’ll place this video about Cafe Allegro.