Kaladi Brother Coffee – Capitol Hill

Kaladi Brothers Coffee

Description on  Kaladi Brothers Coffee’s website: What began as an espresso cart on Anchorage’s 4th Avenue in the spring of 1986, is now Alaska’s premier coffee roaster. Kaladi Brothers Coffee is made in Alaska, by Alaskans, for Alaskans.

Neighborhood:  Capitol Hill

Address: 511 E Pike St Seattle, WA 98122

Music Playing: I Saw You Close Your Eyes – Local Natives

What we ate/drank: Macchiato and Mighty O Apple Fritter

Comments: First of all, this is our 50th review of a Seattle coffee shop!  That’s a lot of coffee downed and a lot of cafes visited. Like Eastern Cafe, this is a place we always knew about, but never visited until now. Kaladi Brothers Coffee originated in Alaska and had it’s first Seattle branch in this very spot. It eventually moved down the block and just recently moved back to it’s original spot.

Because we never visited the old Kaladi Brothers Coffee location, we can’t really compare the two spaces, but we can say that the new place is massive.  As soon as entering, my first thought was….Whoa, this place is big! Especially for a Capitol Hill spot on Pike St. Seriously, you could probably fit 4 or 5 fellow Cap Hill spots, Ghost Note Coffees or Realfine Coffees in here.

The main floor at street level easily fits 40 and has tall 20 foot+ floor to ceiling windows that make the space really bright. There’s also a rather large sidewalk patio area on Pike St. It’s the first coffee shop I can recall that has outlets in the middle of the floor for those not seated against a wall. Kaladi Brother Coffee would be a great place for groups due to its size and ample seating. It’s also a great place to grab a pre dinner or post dinner coffee(they’re open til 9:00) due to the plethora of hot dinner spots nearby.

There is a loft area that seats about 15 people with mixture of comfy upholstered chairs and wood tables and chairs. This second level reminds me of being in an attic due to the low ceiling height and dim lighting. One nice thing is that there are lots of outlets if you intend to work up there. As mentioned in our Capitol Coffee Works and Eastern Cafe reviews, we’re partial to spots in which we can look down on all the action below.

Besides coffee, which Kaladi Brothers Coffee brews themselves, they have can and draft beers as well as wine. They have a big variety of food options-Mighty O doughnuts as well as pre-packaged sandwiches and burritos. One interesting combo they sell is called a Brew and Brew for $6, which is a very strange combination of a macchiato and a Rainier Beer. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Anyways, the macchiato I had was perfect-smooth.

In some ways it kinda has a lodge feel with all it’s hard wood floors, tables/chairs and shelving. it also has a Zeitgeist Coffee vibe with its display of coffee pots, spaciousness and high ceilings.

One thing I appreciate is that there were 3 people working there at 7:30am. So often you see one person being a one person show-cashier/barista/food prepping/tidying up, which of course slows down the line.With three people working the line runs very efficiently.

Ratings(1-5)

Favorite Thing:  

Atmosphere: 4.50

Service: 4.50

Food Options: 4.75

Overall: 4.55

Eavedropping  Convo:  There was this bearded guy there who seems to make Kaladi Brothers Coffee his everyday hang out. Whenever a regular came in, he’d shout their name to say hi.

Bearded Guy(BG)- So when do you go to court?
Lady Customer(LC)- The day after tomorrow.
BG – Are you nervous?
LC – No.
BG – I think you’ll win. I wouldn’t worry about it. Anyways, I’m going to sit in one of the comfy chairs, so I’ll see you tomorrow and if I don’t see you, good luck.

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