**********12/20-Unfortunately, This Business Has Closed Down**********
Description on Tempesta Coffee website: Truly great coffee meets truly great donuts
Neighborhood: Belltown
Address: 2103 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Glazed Sprinkle Donut and a Torrefazione Italia Americano, Chocolate Doughnut, Vanilla Seahawk Doughnut
Comments: I have a future post coming up that settles the score once and for all who has the best donuts(or doughnuts) in Seattle, Top Pot or Mighty-O. I may have been a little too hasty, because a new challenger appears. Tempesta Coffee may have the best donuts of all.
I happened upon Tempesta Coffee by accident. I had to drop my daughter off at daycare and took the E bus into work, which I don’t normally take. One positive about taking a new bus route is it takes you past places you don’t normally see. On this occasion it took me through a part of Belltown I haven’t been to in a while. I noticed one block prior to my stop, the bus passed a little coffee shop, Tempesta Coffee.
I believe this used to be a one chair barbershop if I remember correctly. I decided to check it out. The place is tiny. It will give Pegasus Coffee Bar a run for its money as the Smallest Coffee Shop in Seattle. There’s no chairs and one cocktail table that might serve two standing people, so it’s definitely a grab and go type of place.
It’s the type of place you’d stop on your way to work or stop in for a short coffee break in the afternoon before heading back to the office. It would be great if they could somehow expand so you could enjoy your coffee and donuts right on the premises or perhaps add a few chairs/tables outside.
I see it’s connected to what appears to be a couple of garages/store units that they could possibly expand into, but it may not be owned by them. I found out that Tempesta Coffee is from the same folks who own Orfeo next door, Steelhead Diner and Blueacre Seafood.
The coffee they used is from Torrefazione Italia. The 12 oz comes with 2 shots and the 16 oz comes with 4 shots for all you caffiene fiends. I’m not aware of too many coffee shops that use this coffee, but whether it’s the beans or the person preparing it, it’s exceptional. I went two days in a row, because I thought the first drink I got was an anomaly, but the next day was just as good. You noticed, I don’t really discuss the quality of coffee in my reviews because I figure all drinks are superb at any Seattle coffee cafe that I would frequent.
I’ve got to say, their Americano is soooo good. I had their Americano in the morning and had one in the afternoon at Espresso Vivace. I don’t know if it was an off day for Vivace and an exceptional day for Tempesta, but it was not even close. It wasn’t a standing 8 count, it wasn’t a TKO, it was a bonafide knockout with Tempesta as the victor. It was that huge of a disparity.
History Lesson: 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 donuts are made there onsite. I believe it might be Orfeo’s kitchen. $2 for small batch donuts? Sign me up. For some reason, I love that the donuts look imperfect. The glaze was uneven and not a perfect circle, but it just confirms that the donuts are small batches and not mass produced. Some of the donuts from other Seattle donut institutions are so perfect looking they’re made for instagram, but perhaps it just confirms that they are made in mass?
These donuts are not too soft and airy like Krispy Kreme, but also not super dense and of course super delish. In addition to the donuts they also have a breakfast sandwich, a ham and cheese sandwich and get this, a mufuletta sandwich! How random. I’ll definitely have to try it. If the donuts are any indication of the quality to expect, I’m super curious. It appears they are creating an online order process on their website, but it’s not functional at the moment.
The service was friendly and knowing it was my first time, she gave a lot of information about the drink, the donuts and the mufuletta. A couple of insider tips, if you are going to come in for a dozen donuts or more, call in and they can prepare it for you. While I was there she was trying to prepare a 3 dozen and a dozen donut order. Because this is small batch, I wonder if there is only a limited amount of donuts available each day? I’ll have to ask next time I’m in. Also for the muffuletta, call in 10-15 minutes prior to pick up and they can make it ahead of time so you don’t have to wait.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The small unassuming Tempesta Coffee makes me feel like I’m in on a Seattle little secret(for now) for great donuts and a rarity in Seattle, mufuletta sandwiches.
Atmosphere: 3.50
Service: 5
Food Options: 5
Overall: 4.50
Eavedropping Convo: None
J(Female-36) was from Korea. She was doing a 6 week travel around North America. San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Niagra Falls, NY, DC, Miami, Cancun,Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Vancouver. She had worked in Australia for 2 years and in Rome and London as a nanny. She currently works for a golf club in Korea and since the club closes for 6 weeks in the winter, she decided to take a trip.
J’s Questions/Observations about the US:
- She said she loves hearty breakfasts so the huge portions and heavy types of food(hash browns, pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, ham) in the US suit her more than Korean breakfasts back home.
- The thing that stood out to her about Seattle versus the other US cities she visited were the amount of parks we have here. It’s also much “calmer”
- Said she was thoroughly confused about US tipping at restaurants-“Why don’t they pay them a proper wage instead?” Good question, J.
J’s Questions/Observations about Seattle:
- She loves coffee, so she was excited to be in Seattle since in Korea Seattle is known as the coffee capital of the world.
- Shockingly, our dog who is very clingy to us, slept with J while she stayed with us. Funny side story: J took tons of pictures(5 memory cards worth) while in Seattle. After she left I told her to send me her pics. Within the hundredas of pictures she took, there were probably 15 selfies of her and our dog, while she only had one picture of us.
- She saw the Seattle Parking Enforcement cart(the one that looks like a golf cart). She asked what it was the person who gives out parking ticket drives. She laughed and started taking pictures. “They make the police ride in that?!”
My observations of J/Learnings from J:
- Gave me the origin of Gangnam style. Gangnam is an area in Korea that is hip/upper class, so the singer is saying, “I’m from Gangnam, check out my style. It’s better than yours.”
- None of her friends want to travel far, so they go to China, Philippines and Thailand. She’s the outlier in her group of friends since she likes to travel to further destinations and often has to go by herself. She did convince one of her friends to travel with her, but since J wanted to cram as many sights as possible into the trip, it was too intense for her friend and so she never traveled with J again.
- She made two or Korea’s most popular dishes for dinner-bimibap and Korean pancakes. She left instructions and list of ingedients on how to make it.
- She said in Korea, people are very vain so it’s very common to have plastic surgery especially for women. She mentioned there’s a lot of peer pressure to get this done to keep up with your friends. She said even if a woman is already married, they will still get pressure from friends to get plastic surgery. And if somebody is not good looking, people will wonder why she is not having surgery. This is a phenomenon that is recent-last 20 years.
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Convoy Coffee – Pioneer Square
Description on Convoy Coffee website: Manually brewing single origin coffees from Washington’s best independent coffee roasters, we’re here to share the bounty of the coffee capital with our community.
Neighborhood: Pioneer Square
Address: 220 2nd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Music playing: Do it Well by DVSN
What we ate/drank: Street Bean Ethiopia-Pour Over
Comments: Convoy Coffee started out as mobile bike coffee cart, which I’d seen regularly at the University Farmer’s Market for the last several years. Back then they were known as Handlebar Coffee. When I first saw they bike coffee cart, I thought it was ingenious idea. They could go to where the crowds are and I’m sure the novelty of ordering coffee from a bike cart helped with their patronage.
I had passed by their current brick and mortar location a few times, but never put two and two together that it was the same as the “coffee bike guys”. I’m pretty certain that this location used to be a gallery, but it’s now home of Impact Hub, a shared workspace. Convoy Coffee is located in the lobby. Due to the triangle shape of the building there are windows surrounding the space which makes it really bright and airy. There are a few tables next to the counter, but there is a ton of space upstairs. I’m not sure if it’s a shared area with Impact Hub or if it actually belongs to Impact Hub, but that’s where I enjoyed my coffee.
Convoy Coffee specializes in brewing Washington independent coffee roasters and on this occasion they were serving the following for pour over:
Street Bean Ethiopia
Helium Ecuador
Dorothea burndi
The barista grinded the beans on the spot and let me smell it and explained the nuances I should taste. He was super friendly and you could tell he was enthusiastic about his craft. I saw that he finished with the pour over and called out the order, but I didn’t hear it. I checked with him to make sure it was mine and he said, “That’s for you sir, thanks for checking with me”. What a nice guy. They had bags of beans for sale from Kuma, Elm, Velton’s and Olympia Coffee. There was a small variety of pastries from Salmonberry Goods. I noticed a record player near the counter like Slate Coffee Roasters has, but it wasn’t being used. With so many choices in the neighborhood, literally blocks away, such as Elm Coffee Roasters, Caffe Umbria, Cherry Street Public House and Zeitgeist Coffee there’s a lot of competition. Even so, this my favorite in Pioneer Square for an early morning coffee, because you’re getting the full effect of the sunrise due to the windows being on all sides.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: How bright the space is due to having windows surrounding on all sides.
Atmosphere: 4.5
Service: 5
Food Options: 3.75
Overall: 4.5
Eavedropping Convo: None
Moore Coffee –Belltown
Description on Moore Coffee website: We may be small but our coffee is big with flavor.
Neighborhood: Belltown
Address: 1930 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
Music playing: Benita Du Luz by Mana
What we ate/drank: Americano. Unfortunately, I was there before they were starting breakfast.
Comments: Moore Coffee is probably best known for their latte art. I’m not normally a latte drinker, so part of Moore Coffee’s appeal is lost on me. The last time I visited there was construction going on outside, but there is a huge patio area right outside the store front that can be utilized once construction on the building is completed.
Moore Coffee is situated between the Moore Theatre and the Moore Hotel. It’s actually connected to the lobby of the hotel. They also have another branch a block away nearer to Pike Place Market. As you enter this particular Moore Coffee, there are two big leather seats near the front door and the counter where you order. There is a separate room that seats about 20 that includes leather couches on opposite ends with single tables and individual chairs as well as window seating looking out on 2nd Ave. This room also contains the kitchen area for waffles and sandwiches(see below)
They use Caffee Darte beans for their coffee and have various food items such as yogurt, hard boiled eggs, oatmeal’s fruits, pastries and tamales! This is the first coffee shop I’ve seen with tamales as an option. They also have various teas available. They also have sweet and savory waffles. I was looking forward to an Apple Cinnamon waffle, but it slipped my mind that they don’t serve waffles until 8:00am and I was there too early. They also serve sandwiches after 10:00am.
Like Cloud City, they have punch cards that are kept on the premises so you don’t have to carry it around. Their system is a vertical card holder on the wall with the cards kept in alphabetical order.
The things I enjoy about Moore Coffee are the quirky little features all around the location-the video fireplace, the little tv with static that says, “pick up here”, the old time telephone hanging on the wall behind the barista, the mix of “fancy” chandeliers and picture frames mixed with simple furniture, the burned food menus, the interesting pulley lamps with Edison bulbs.
I’d say it’s the perfect place to get a coffee before seeing a show at Moore Theatre but they close at 4:30. But if you are a huge fan of latte art or need a quirky place to relax with a coffee, waffle/sandwich, Moore Coffee is a good option in Belltown.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: All the little quirky things listed above.
Atmosphere: 4.5
Service: 4.5
Food Options: 3.75 prior to 8:00, 5.0 after 8:00.
Overall: 4.5
Eavedropping Convo: Couple coming in from the hotel.
Guy-I had no idea Seattle had so many homeless people. I think there’s more here than Vegas.
Gal- I don’t know about that.
Guy-It’s pretty close.
Gal- I don’t get it. I mean I understand that people in Las Vegas might have a gambling problem, then lose all their money and then lose everything and become homeless, but I don’t get it why there are so many here
E(Female-28) was from Salt Lake City, Utah. E was a health coach(nutritionist) taking some courses here in Seattle and needed a place to stay. I ended up meeting her at the ID Link Light Rail station. It was her first time couchsurfing and her mom up until the very instant she got off of the Light Rail, was trying to convince her to get a hotel. We didn’t see much of her during the day while she was at class, but we hung out at night and she was able to do some sightseeing with some of the people she met during her courses.She said she was a democrat, not Mormon and grew up in SLC her entire life, which makes her an anomaly. She knew who Shepard Fairey was when she saw my framed prints, complemented my furniture and brought a 22oz Odin’s Gift Amber Ale. This gained her a lot of points in my book. The only real travel she had ever done was a one month work study in France. Our dog had an accident in the house twice(I believe she was sick) and E cleaned it up without me knowing both times. She was an awesome guest! Once of her hobbies was roller derby.
E’s Questions/Observations about Seattle:
- She was shocked how much our sales tax is. 9.6% sales tax(6.5% for Washington and 2.7% for Seattle). Utah is only 3%.
- She said the roads in Seattle are curvy and in some areas there are no lines on the street, only reflectors.
- She thought the faucet water was some of the best drinking water she ever had.
- She thought Seattle was a very walkable city compared to Salt Lake City.
- She thought the 99 tunnel was really cool
- She thought Seattle drivers were “unusually courteous”
My observations of E/Learnings from E:
- She informed me that Utah has no helmet law, just implemented a seatbelt law and has no cellphone law.
- She’s a voracious reader of books, but she felt guilty about all the trees that died to feed her reading habit.
- I thought this was really interesting. On Monday, a local bar near my house has karaoke. I went there to get a burger and E contacted me. I told her I was at the bar and to come and join me. She did and was so happy that they had karaoke. She told me there are only 2 bars in Salt Lake City that have Karaoke. I found this odd for such a big city. She said the reason is bars don’t offer it because they’ll lose money. Huh? She went on to explain that Mormons love to sing, so they will pack a place that has karaoke. The issue is that Mormons don’t drink, so you’ll have a packed bar that will make no money. She said she has never done karaoke for this reason. I goaded her into singing a song. She asked which one and I said, “Total Eclipse of The Heart” as a joke thinking she was too young to even know the song. She just said, “ok” and put in her request. Since she had never done karaoke before I figured she would just fool around and chalk it up to having a fun experience when it came her time to sing. I was flabbergasted when she went up and belted out the song. She was a really good singer and knew the song without having to look at the words. I asked how she knew it since she’s too young to know it. She said they had the song on Glee. That’s how she knew it.
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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.
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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.