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****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Street Bean Coffee Roasters – Belltown
According to their website, Street Bean Coffee Roasters has partnerships with many of the local coffee spots. Among them, La Marzocco Café & Showroom, Caffé Vita, Herkimer Coffee, Counter Culture Coffee, Storyville Coffee Co, Anchorhead Coffee Co and Seattle Coffee Works. The partnership includes hosting coffee or job education field trips to supplement apprentice training , working alongside Street Bean to provide job readiness skills for apprentices, working with Street Bean to find job opportunities for graduating apprentices, commiting to hiring a certain number of apprentices on a yearly basis and donating educational materials and or resources to help run our apprentice program. It’s great of these local companies to support the community like this.
While I admire the principle behind the cafe, Street Bean Coffee Roasters is in a location out of the way and unfortunately the ambiance and quality is not quite the draw to make the trip out there on a regular basis.
****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
Vif Wine | Coffee
Description on Vif Wine|Coffee’s website: Vif Wine|Coffee offers a new approach to how wine and coffee are presented and sold in Seattle. Our focus — offering products that are alive, real and natural — sets us apart from all other wine merchants and cafes.
Neighborhood: Fremont
Address: 4401 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
Music Playing: Islands On The Coast by Band of Horses
What we ate/drank: Cortado, Apple Croissant
Comments: Many years ago I used to live in this neighborhood. If I remember correctly, this used to be a teriyaki joint and then became a burger joint. The folks at Vif have definitely done a good job of turning the space from a nondescript grab and go teriyaki/burger spot to an inviting space where you can enjoy a coffee or a wine since they opened in 2013. The plain exterior of the building left by the previous businesses belie the relaxing interior.
There is a wall of windows on three sides of the building, which makes it bright and includes a U-shaped bench with plenty of electrical outlets. Beware: No laptops allowed on the weekends during brunch hours – 8am-3pm. Vif also has a good sized patio area and one of the rarest of conveniences, an adjoining free parking lot. A good amount of the space displays their natural wine selection.
Vif offers a nice place to have a coffee/dessert after eating a heavy meal at Uneeda Burger, Paseo or Fremont Bowl, which are right down the street. They’ve also got some competition with Lighthouse Coffee Roasters and Caffe Vita nearby. What Vif has going for it though, is the in house made pastries as well as a few lighter dishes, such as salads, breakfast sandwiches and avocado tartine.
According to this Stranger article ( https://www.thestranger.com/food-and-drink/feature/2015/10/28/23071788/some-of-the-tastiest-food-can-be-found-at-a-wine-shop-in-fremont) :
The inspiration for Vif came while the two were traveling in France. Feldman(owner) says Vif is modeled after a type of business that’s common there but rare in the United States. “It’s called cave à manger—basically a wine shop where you can get a bite to eat.
Mead and Feldman avoided calling their business a cave à manger because, says Feldman, “no one knows what that means and it sounds a little elitist when you use words that no one understands.”
This concept might be common in France, but it’s definitely rare in Seattle. And the wine that Vif specializes in is natural wine, which is made with as little human intervention as possible. No color additives, added yeasts or chemicals.
There appears to be a second location in the works in Beacon Hill.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: The unexpected transformation from teriyaki/burger joint to a relaxing café.
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 4.25
Food Options: 4.50
Overall: 4.40
Eavedropping Convo:
Related:
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
- Best Seattle Coffee Shops For Each Stage of Dating
- Our New Seattle Coffee Shop Discoveries in 2019
- Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
It’s been about two years since we published our original “Seattle Coffee Shop Thoughts” post. Things change a lot in two years. New coffee shops open, we revisit shops and gain new perspectives, our own tastes change, so we’d thought we’d update this post.
One thing has not changed. Per our earlier post, according to Bustle, Seattle was ranked #1 for The Best City for Coffee Fanatics. And just earlier this year Wallet Hub ranked Seattle the #1 Coffee City in America.
So we can once again confirm that Seattlites having the stereotype of being coffee drinking fools is no stereotype, we take our coffee seriously. We can also confirm as before, if you ask 20 different locals what their favorite coffee place is, you’ll most likely get 20 different answers.
When it comes to price there’s not much differentiation between cafes. We would also say that the places we’ve decided to review all have quality coffee. Although we did visit some cafes where the coffee was subpar(and we choose not to review for that reason), we don’t think a coffee shop can survive for very long in Seattle with the abundance of quality choices.
In our previous post we pointed out there were two types of coffee shops, the cozy and the modern minimalist, but we’ve refined it to 3 types of coffee shops:
1. The Neighborhood /Community Coffee Shop – We’re not saying the quality of the coffee is not a priority in these shops, but there really is an effort to make you feel comfortable(warm lighting and colors, comfy seating) and creating an environment that makes you want to stay awhile and come back. There’s a steady stream of regulars and interacting/small talk with the baristas who know your name and drink before you even walk in the door is common. Locals meet up here to talk and catch up, read a paper or book or just relax.
Examples: Analog Coffee, Lighthouse Roasters, Seven Coffee Roasters , El Diablo Coffee(RIP), Preserve and Gather, Cloud City Coffee, Café Allegro, Zeitgeist Coffee, Anchored Ship Coffee, Bauhaus, Venture Coffee, Mabel Coffee, Eastern Cafe, Fuel, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Realfine Coffee, Armistice Coffee – Roosevelt, Santo Coffee, Ada’s Technical Books Cafe, Vif Wine | Coffee
Our Favorite: Analog Coffee
2.The Coffee-Centric Shops – It’s all about the coffee first and foremost. Sparse walls, minimal and simple décor and knowledegable baristas are the norm. The baristas want to engage with the customer about the beans and it’s origin. They’ve got options-Chemex, Moka Pot, French Press, Aeropress, Hario V60, Pour Over. They’ll have their own theories on perfect espresso extraction. This is a craft, a way of life and they are serious. You’ll be assured of a very nuanced espresso tasting.
Examples: Slate Coffee Roasters, Elm Coffee Roasters , Broadcast Coffee, Milstead & Co., Ghost Note Coffee
Our Favorite: Broadcast Coffee,
3. The Seattle-Based Roasters – They all have multiple locations around Seattle and no matter what neighborhood you’re in, you’re likely to find one of their branches. When searching for coffee, there’s a sense of relief when spotting one of these roasters due to our familiarity with them. We know we’re getting fresh batch beans and it’s nice to support our local roasters.
Examples: Espresso Vivace , Caffé Vita, Caffe Ladro, Caffe Umbria, Herkimer Coffee, Storyville Coffee Co , Victrola Coffee Roasters, Coffee Works(Seattle Coffee Works, Capitol Coffee Works, Cascade Coffee Works, Ballard Coffee Works), Zoka Coffee Roasters , Cherry Street Coffee.
Our Favorite: Caffe Ladro
The Outliers – They don’t fit in any of the categories, but are still quality coffee shops. Most are not in neighborhood areas and located in places like downtown/Belltown/Pioneer Square.
Examples: Mr West Café Bar, Pegasus Coffee, Caffe Senso Unico, Tempesta Coffee (RIP),Street Bean Coffee Roasters – Belltown, Evoke Coffee, La Marzocco Café & Showroom, Convoy Coffee.
Our Favorite: Mr West Café Bar
Our favorite coffee shops by neighborhood:
Ballard-Anchored Ship Coffee, Bauhaus, Venture Coffee, Mabel Coffee
Belltown-Tempesta Coffee.
Capitol Hill-Victrola Coffee, Ghost Note Coffee, Analog Coffee, Capitol Coffee Works, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Realfine Coffee, Ada’s Technical Books Cafe
Downtown-Mr West Café Bar, Anchorhead Coffee Co, Pegasus Coffee, Caffe Senso Unico, Café Magliore, Cafe Hitchcock, Victrola Coffee Roasters – Downtown , Seattle Coffee Works **New Location**
Pike Place-Storyville Coffee Co
Eastlake- Armistice Coffee
Fremont-Milstead & Co., Lighthouse 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, Armistice Coffee – Roosevelt, Santo Coffee, Caffe Ladro – Roosevelt
South Lake Union-Espresso Vivace , Evoke Coffee, Cascade Coffee Works
Tangletown-Zoka Coffee Roasters
University-Café Allegro(Seattle’s oldest coffee shop), Herkimer Coffee
Wallingford-Fuel
Westlake-Caffe Umbria
Related:
- Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
- Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
- Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
- Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
- Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
- Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
Skillet Diner
Recommended by: The last time we met up for brunch with some local friends at Portage Bay Cafe, they mentioned Skillet Diner as having the same type of vibe and also having great brunches.
Description on the Skillet Diner’s website: The award-winning Skillet Diner opened in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in 2011. We’re a neighborhood joint doing our best to make the place feel relaxed, service attentive and easy, and the food approachable yet focused. We use fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and continually redefine the meaning of comfort.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 1400 E Union St #4150, Seattle, WA 98122
What we ate/drank: Breakfast Burrito -fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla. Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash-brisket, roasted potatoes and carrots, onions, fennel, two eggs*. Kids pancakes and fruit.
Comments: Skillet Diner has been around since 2011 and before that it was food truck, an Airstream Trailer called, Skillet Street Food since 2007. It’s located in Capitol Hill, so parking can be a bitch, but we luckily found street parking across the street. Tall ceilings make the space seem spacious and the open kitchen gives the space energy. Like a traditional diner, there’s lots of counter seating, but also a lot of booths.
I can see why our friends we met at Portage Bay recommended Skillet Diner. Their interiors are very similar-the lighting, the casual family atmosphere, the décor. There’s a random piece of art hanging on the back wall with John F Kennedy looking out the back of a bus. I was curious, so I asked our server about it, but he didn’t know anything about it.
Your utensils and napkin are placed in mason jars, which are then used as your water glass. You’re also provided a dedicated water bottle, so you don’t have to wait for your server to refill your water. Caffé Vita is served here, so a win there.
My wife got the breakfast burrito, which includes fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla. We liked the inclusion of the fried chicken. For normal breakfast burritos you normally get bacon, sausage or sometimes shredded beef. Having fried chicken was a nice change. The hand-cut fries were too over-seasoned and almost impossible to eat because it was too spicy.
fried chicken, three eggs scrambled, cheddar, hand-cut fries, pico de gallo, flour tortilla
I got the Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash, which includes brisket, roasted potatoes and carrots, onions, fennel, two over easy eggs. The pieces of vegetable and meat were a bit large, but tasty. Now, Seattle brunch spots have a strong “hash” game in this town. Portage Bay Cafe‘s Farmer’s Hash, Toulouse Petit‘s Cured Pork Cheeks Confit Hash, Porkchop & Co.‘s Kimchi & Steak Hash and Roxy’s Diner‘s Pastrami Hash all come to mind. If I’m garding on the curve I would put Skillet Diner’s Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash in the middle of the pack. The Seattle hash game is fierce. It’s sorta like being in the SEC in college football.
Our daughter got the pancakes and fresh fruit from the kids menu, so happy camper in the house!
We’ve also had the fried chicken and waffles which is also quite good.
Service gave us recommendations, came around frequently for coffee refills and chased after us out the door when we forgot our to go box of leftovers.
They also have locations in South Lake Union, the Seattle Center and Seatac Airport. Surprisingly, they closed their Ballard location after the building they were in flooded. Skillet Diner is a bit out of the way for us at the border of Capitol Hill and the Central District, but it’s a good brunch alternative if we are in the area. It’s also nice to know you have a good local option in touristy Seattle Center and Seatac airport.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.00
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers customer recommendations to visit in the future: We mentioned to the customer next to us that we were at Skillet early in the morning, because our daughters woke up early. They mentioned that Lost Lake Cafe down the road is actually open 24 hours so if they wake up really early, this could be an option.
Related Articles:
Sazon Kitchen
Recommended by: Back in the spring, a friend of ours mentioned a new Mexican restaurant that opened on 15th Ave NW that served breakfast everyday. He couldn’t recall the name of the place, but on the way to one of our Watson’s Counter visits, we saw Sazon Kitchen and tried it out a couple times.
Description on the Sazon’s Yelp section written by the owner: Clean, newly renovated and open kitchen concept makes Sazon Kitchen a great breakfast and brunch option. Specialty dishes like Machaca de Res, eggs-clusive items and the grain casserole are just an example of our northern Mexico Cuisine delights.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 7301 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117
What we ate/drank: Rox’s Signature Eggs – Motul style eggs, fried tortilla, beans, ham, criolla sauce, queso fresco, chicharron, cilantro, avocado, fried sweet banana, picked red onion. Machaca De Res- Shredded Beef, Chimi Potatos, Chiloquil, Two Eggs, Tortilla. Grain Casserole – Mix of grains in criolla sauce, braised tri-tip and eggs. Toppings include chicharron, cilantro and pickled red onions + greens and bread.
Comments: As mentioned above we heard Sazon Kitchen a new Mexican restaurant opened and served breakfast daily opening at 7:00am. As you know from our Varsity Inn and Senor Moose reviews, Mexican + Breakfast = instant visit.
Here’s a history of Sazon Kitchen per the owner from their Yelp page, “ Sazon started as pop up food vendor at a number of events like bumbershoot, bite of seattle, hempfest and others… Last year we invested in a food trailer but for health laws trucks need to be parked at a commissary kitchen overnight and driving and pulling a 20′ trailer back and forth was too tiring and time consuming. Luckily after looking for a place to make our truck stationary we end up finding a good place to open our dream breakfast place where we can also have our lunch and dinner taqueria.”
As mentioned, Sazon Kitchen is open everyday(except Wed) at 7am. Each time we’ve been we’ve been able to get a seat very easily. There are tons of outdoor seating, but we chose to eat inside. It’s very bright due to having windows on all three sides. You pay at the cashier, they give you a number, you choose a seat and they’ll bring it out to you. As soon as we sat they brought over some glasses and provide an individual glass bottle of water for the table, which is a nice touch.
They have an open kitchen and on multiple occasions we were entertained with the chopping while prepping the dishes being in sync with the beat of the music being played. Over the kitchen you’ll see a collection of French presses. We’ve not ordered a French press opting for either drip or cortados during our visits. The coffee being served is from Caffe Vita.
The owner mentions specialty dishes, Machaca de Res, eggs-clusive items(Rox’s Signature Eggs) and the grain casserole, so those are the three dishes we’ve had so far.
Lot going on on the plate. garnish of onion, avocado, radish. Makes for good presentation but ingredients involved from the main portion of the dish to the garnishes. You can see all the ingredients involved in the description under each photo of the dish.
We enjoyed all the dishes we’ve had so far. All are really flavorful and due to the number of ingredients/garnishes, you can practically experiment with different combinations of spoonfuls of flavors. Almost on every dish, I wished there were a little more pickled onion or avocado or banana or chicharron. We would say the Machaca De Res was the simplest and most familiar of the dishes with the least amount of ingredients. The machaca was moist and tender and with the beans, potatoes, eggs and tortillas make a great breakfast option.
Rox’s Signature Eggs is a dish you won’t find anywhere else. It’s served Motul style which means the tortilla is on the bottom and the egg is on top. In between was the ham.
The best of the bunch is another dish you won’t find anywhere else. It’s the Grain Casserole. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but this is the dish I’d order again on return visits. It was braised trip tip and some peppers and onions over a bed of various grains- I think lentils, beans, long rice and regular rice? I’m not sure, truthfully, but with the sauce and generous topping of protein and veggies, it was so delicious. The one minor thing, I’d prefer is tortillas instead of bread accompanying this dish. Perhaps the abundance of grains wouldn’t be a good match with tortillas? At $18, I was a bit hesitant since it’s bit on the high side, but after tasting it, I’d get it again.
We’ll definitely keep Sazon Kitchen on our list of breakfast/brunch options that’s served all week. Although Senor Moose has a relaxed atmosphere, Sazon Kitchen is even more informal and a good option for us to take the entire family due to the large outdoor area. We’re also looking forward to return during lunch or dinner hours since we’ve only come during the mornings.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
The Seattle Coffee Shop Awards – Part 6
As you know Seattleites 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.
These are our choices for Best Seattle Coffee Shop Awards. With two young’uns, we’ve had to trade in our frequency of night life in Seattle bars and pubs to morning life in a lot of Seattle coffee cafes.
In doing so, we’ve gotten to revisit a lot of coffee shops we hadn’t been to in a while and also got a chance to visit a lot of new places that had always been on our radar but never been able to go to. We Seattleites are so lucky to have so many varieties of roasters and cafes in such a condensed area.
You’ll notice in our Coffee Shop blog posts we rarely mention how good the coffee is in each place, because we feel like it’s a given we’re going to get exceptional coffee. If we happen upon a coffee shop in which the coffee is not good, we will not review it. This might be the reason you may not see a particular coffee shop on our blog.
See our other installments of Seattle Coffee Shop Awards:
Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
Best Seattle Coffee Shop With Most Character
Summary: People call me a Looker. I don’t mean that as in, “wow, that guy’s a looker!” but more like “wow, that guy likes to look at things a lot.” I love coffee shops that stand out from the rest with their quirky or original decor. You step in and think, “Wow, this place is one of a kind!”
There’s no place like Ada’s Technical Book Cafe. It’s part coffee shop, part restaurant, part retailer, part working space and community space. You can enjoy your coffee while sitting at their various display tables which could literally double as museum pieces. You can browse the extensive STEM focused books, puzzles and models. It’s also got a warm inviting vibe. All the Caffe Vitas in Seattle have different atmospheres.
Our favorite is the Caffe Vita in Pioneer Square. This location has a lot of cool things to look at-the coffee grinder in the front window, their huge siphon, and even the floor tiles(see below), which are definitely original to the building. The architecture has an industrial look with huge steel supports, a huge metal staircase and bar stools made from camshafts.
Zeitgeist Coffee also located in Pioneer Square, has so many interesting features to look at as you enjoy your drink-the art deco clock above the cashier/barista, the old fan hanging from the wall, the vintage percolator signage right behind the cashier, the massive hanging lights, the old school newspaper/magazine stand, the ornate steel partition above the magazine stand(remnants of a bank teller?),the dictionary displayed above a map drawer that contain all sorts of little goodies, the small little counter in the middle of the space that has a banker’s lamp on it. It’s so out of place, but it’s not. Even the toaster near the coffee station is an older mode.
Seven Coffee Roasters is literally a general store with local snacks, local wines and beers and happens to be a roaster. It’s got a mellow neighborhood vibe in the middle of Ravenna. It’s got outside seating in front, a separate patio and seating inside. Enjoy your coffee while perusing all the local wares or sit outside and enjoy the tree lined street of Ravenna.
Bauhaus Strong Coffee You can read about the tumultuous history of Bauhaus in the our review. The “library coffee shop” has unique features such as vintage pieces from yesteryear such as encyclopedias, slide projectors, globes, typewriters and old TVs. Also there’s a orange imac which is considered vintage in technology years.
Best Coffee Shop Overall
We’re not going to go into detail on each of these coffee shops. You can read our glowing reviews of each of them in the links. But you will notice that many of them were mentioned multiple times in our award lists.
We can tell you a few things they have in common are these characteristics:
- When we go here, we feel like we can relax, decompress and talk for long periods. And we want to stay there for long periods.
- Good food options
- We enjoy the atmosphere, decor and the little original details of each place.
- Mr West Café Bar
- Cherry Street Public House
- Preserve & Gather
- Café Allegro
- Ada’s Technical Book Cafe
- Seven Coffee Roasters
- Lighthouse Roasters
- La Marzocco Cafe
- Anchorhead Coffee Co,
- Zeitgeist Coffee
We’ll continue to scour Seattle for coffee shops and we’ve already visited a few new ones that will definitely make this list in the future.
See our other installments of Seattle Coffee Shop Awards:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
The Seattle Coffee Shop Awards – Part 5
As you know Seattleites 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. These are our choices for Best Seattle Coffee Shop Awards. With two young’uns, we’ve had to trade in our frequency of night life in Seattle bars and pubs to morning life in a lot of Seattle coffee cafes. In doing so, we’ve gotten to revisit a lot of coffee shops we hadn’t been to in a while and also got a chance to visit a lot of new places that had always been on our radar but never been able to go to. We Seattleites are so lucky to have so many varieties of roasters and cafes in such a condensed area.
You’ll notice in our Coffee Shop blog posts we rarely mention how good the coffee is in each place, because we feel like it’s a given we’re going to get exceptional coffee. If we happen upon a coffee shop in which the coffee is not good, we will not review it. This might be the reason you may not see a particular coffee shop on our blog.
See our other installments of Seattle Coffee Shop Awards:
Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
Best Seattle Coffee Shop For Food Options
This speaks for itself. These are the best coffee shops with regard to food options. Menu links are attached for each place. All places have a good variety of not only your normal cafe pastries, but also savory hearty dishes which provides more options to people especially if the people in your group want different choices.
- Cherry Street Public House (menu)
- Zeitgeist Coffee (menu)
- Cloud City Coffee (menu)
- Cafe Hitchcock (menu)
- Fonte Coffee Roasters Cafe (menu)
- Mr West Café Bar (menu)
- Anchorhead Coffee Co (menu)
Best Seattle Coffee Shop With Friendliest Service
I find the stereotype of the surly, snobby Seattle barista to be just that, a stereotype. For the most part all employees at the coffee places we’ve been to have been cordial, efficient and plain decent human beings. On the particular days we visited these establishments, the service happened to be extra special. This might be the first, last or only time we ever visit these places, but on the day we went, it left a lasting impression on us. So much so that they made it on to our Best Seattle Coffee Shop With Friendliest Service list.
- Cafe Vita – Pioneer Square
- Realfine Coffee
- Slate Coffee Roasters
- Pegasus Coffee
- Storyville – 1st Ave
I find it amusing that out of 60+ Seattle Coffee Shop reviews from our website that the most viewed coffee shop review of all time Caffé Vita’s in Pioneer Square. It’s popular because I made a fool of myself there. Here’s the backstory. I like to find out about the origin of the logos and/or names of the establishments. I went into this particular Caffe Vita one morning and forgot where I was and asked the barista about Caffe Ladro’s logo like an idiot. The cashier at Caffe Vita(bless her little heart) didn’t correct me or look at me like a moron and tried her darndest to come up with an answer about Caffe Ladro’s logo. It wasn’t until I had ordered and gotten my coffee that a realized my faux pas. I actually did finally get my answer from Caffe Ladro about their logo. She was so nice in trying to answer my question. There was a co-worker standing right next to her who just listened. She must have also thought I was crazy.
I deemed the owner/cashier/barista at Realfine Coffee, The Master of Small Talk. She really engaged each customer with small talk and she was one of the best I’ve ever heard. It didn’t matter if you were a regular or a new customer or if you were in a good mood or bad mood, she really knew how to interact with people.
When I ordered the Deconstructed Espresso at Slate Coffee Roasters the cashier/barista asked if I had ever had it before. I thought it was strange at first, but I understood why, when he brought the three cordial glasses of espresso, milk , macchiato to my table. He went into great detail explaining each ingredient-where it came from, what type of notes I would taste, suggestions on how to drink each ingredient and in what order. I could tell he really took pride in the ingredients, it’s presentation and felt like he really wanted me to have a great experience trying it. And because of him, I did.
Pegasus Coffee in the Seattle Tower on 3rd could well be one of the smallest coffee shops in Seattle. For this reason, if you stay there to drink your coffee, you will undoubtedly strike up a conversation with the cashier and barista. It would be too awkward to be is such small quarters in close proximity to each other and not make small talk. Both gals I spoke to that day were really friendly and I could tell they were really into coffee. When I asked what cafes they hang out at when not working at Pegasus, their eyes lit up and they seemed so excited to tell me where they like to go. They had some good ones too-Zeitgeist, Caffe Vita, Victrola Coffee Roasters, La Marzocco.
On the particular day going to Storyville on 1st Ave, the cashier had a standard question of asking where each person ordering was from to see if they were from out of town. This would then lead to more banter. You can read about a conversation she had with a Philadelphia coffee novice in my review. They also bring you a cup of water as soon as you sit down and bus your dishes and cups for you. This is unheard of in Seattle.
Realfine Coffee
See our other installments of Seattle Coffee Shop Awards:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
Part 1 – Best Coffee Neighborhood, Most Popular, Most Underrated
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
**********12/20-Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
The Wandering Goose – Best Breakfast in Seattle?
Recommended by: Our server, Marissa at the The 5 Spot recommended The Wandering Goose to try out. She advised they had breakfast everyday and had some of the best fried chicken in the city.
Description on the The Wandering Goose’s website: The Wandering Goose is a thirty seat Southern influenced cafe in the heart of Seattle’s North Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Wandering Goose is warm and inviting with bright natural light streaming in through the east facing windows. The demising wall between the neighboring restaurant is made from vintage leaded glass windows allowing for even more light and a sense of openness in this tiny but magical café. Offering Southern inspired breakfast and lunch fare including biscuits, cookies, layer cakes, biscuit sandwiches, hushpuppies, crock pot grits, country ham, sawmill gravy, country sausage gravy, greens, pimento cheese, chow-chow and fresh salads. All ingredients are seasonal and affordable fare. We will offer baking classes, cooking classes and retail sundries.
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Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 403 15th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
What we ate/drank: Hangtown Fry-fried oysters, cured pork belly, poached eggs. Fried Chicken Plate w/collard greens, coleslaw, butter milk biscuit. The Sawmill Biscuit Sandwich-fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese, poached eggs. Machiatto using Caffe Vita coffee.
Comments: Update 9/22/19: Wandering Goose just made Seattle Met’s 100 Best Restaurant
Marissa at The 5 Spot did not let us down with her suggestion! We’ve now been here multiple times and The Wandering Goose is now in our rotation of breakfast places.
Wandering Goose has two similar characteristics of two other recently reviewed restaurants:
- Like Il Corvo, you line up, put your order in toward the back of the restaurant, pay and then take a seat. They’ll bring out the meals to you. Also similar to Il Corvo lines through the restaurant form regularly due to it’s small size and popularity.
- Like Citizen Cafe and The 5 Spot, it’s one of those rare Seattle restaurants that’s opens for breakfast at 7:00am not only on weekends, but on weekdays.
If there is anything you take from this post it’s if you have a group of four or more, you’d better get there as soon as it opens or you’ll be waiting awhile. The Wandering Goose only has 30 seats. We’ve only come on weekdays in between 7-8 am to ensure we get a table. We won’t even think about going on the weekends unless we do takeout. There’s basically two rows of long benches on either side of the restaurant with tables and adjoining chairs.
The Wandering Goose specializes in Southern comfort food and has the decor to match. It feels like a diner in a small farm town – branded wooden tables, weathered window panes, ceiling fans with long downrods, lamps made of burlap sacks, old cases behind the cashier. It has that laid back country feel, which is a nice departure from the modern hip restaurants that permeate the Seattle landscape.
Here are some of the yummy dishes we’ve had. There aren’t many places that serve a Hangtown Fry(typically eggs, bacon and oysters) in Seattle, so whenever I see it, I normally order it. Usually the ingredients are all scrambled together or as an omelette. I like Wandering Goose’s variation on the dish. You have a poached egg, so you have the runny yoke. You have the pork belly instead of bacon. Take a look at the picture down below to see how thick the piece of pork belly was. Whoa. Lastly you have fried oysters on top of a bed of potatoes in a skillet. Lots of savory flavors in this dish. I added a bit of their house made “sweet heat” sauce too. As with all their dishes, the portion size will leave you full.
Note: There are two entertaining origin stories of how the Hangtown Fry came into existence. The first was a gold prospector hitting it rich and going to a hotel in California and ordering the most expensive things on the menu which in those days were eggs, bacon and oysters. The other story is that a condemned man was due to be executed and for his last meal he specifically ordered oysters, because he knew it would take more than a day to get them, so he gained an extra day of life.
Fried Chicken Plate w/collard greens, coleslaw, butter milk biscuit. Their fried chicken definitely deserves mentioned when talking about the best fried chicken in the city. Perhaps Wandering Goose will enter the fray in the war over who has the best fried chicken in Seattle between Ezell’s and Heaven Sent. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The seasoning on the crispy skin was flavorful, but not overly seasoned like many other places. Our two year old devoured the drum stick like the Tasmanian Devil from WB. The Fried Chicken Plate also came with collard greens which were sweet and spicy and cole slaw which was crisp and fresh. It also came with one of their biscuits.
The Sawmill Biscuit Sandwich-fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese, poached eggs. Like the Fried Chicken Plate, The Sawmill may give another Seattle Food War a new combatant. Wandering Goose may give Morsel and Bean & Biscuit a run for their money for Best Seattle Biscuit Sandwich. Take a gander at the pictures of The Sawmill below! Your mouth is salivating, ain’t it? I opted for the addition of a poached egg for extra. How could I not have some runny yoke with this bad boy?
This is not really a traditional sandwich you can eat with your hands. You’ll need a knife and fork. The biscuits are huge and fluffy. I always expect biscuits this big to be dense. Everything about this dish is substantial from the size of the biscuit and chicken to the amount of thick gravy. The sandwich was delicious and despite it being so substantial, I finished it. Needless to say, there was no need for lunch that day. I think the next time I order this, I’ll try it without cheese. The cheese melted into the gravy, making it cheezy. It was still delicious, but I’d like to taste the gravy on it’s own.
The Sawmill – **Before**cutting into it $13.00- fried chicken, sawmill gravy, cheese add poached eggs $1.25. Score: (5.0/5.0)
Summary: Are we ready to crown The Wandering Goose as our favorite breakfast spot yet? Not quite yet, but it’s a front runner. I think if we were to put it in a category, it would be our favorite breakfast spot when playing hooky from work. Due to it’s small seating capacity and popularity, I think we’d only come here during early morning weekdays.
If you want to learn more about the history of The Wandering Goose you can read about it here.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.85
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
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- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The cashier recommended Fat Hen as a suggestion. We’d heard of Fat Hen and have a funny story about it, but we’d never been there. Stay tuned for our visit and review of Fat Hen and the funny story connected to it.
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The Seattle Coffee Shop Awards-Part 1
As you know Seattleites 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.
These are our choices for Best Seattle Coffee Shop Awards. With two young’uns, we’ve had to trade in our frequency of night life in Seattle bars and pubs to morning life in a lot of Seattle coffee cafes.
In doing so, we’ve gotten to revisit a lot of coffee shops we hadn’t been to in a while and also got a chance to visit a lot of new places that had always been on our radar but never been able to go to. We Seattleites are so lucky to have so many varieties of roasters and cafes in such a condensed area.
You’ll notice in our Coffee Shop blog posts we rarely mention how good the coffee is in each place, because we feel like it’s a given we’re going to get exceptional coffee. If we happen upon a coffee shop in which the coffee is not good, we will not review it. This might be the reason you may not see a particular coffee shop on our blog.
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
Best Seattle Coffee Shop Neighborhood – Pioneer Square
There are only really two choices. Capitol Hill and Pioneer Square. South Lake Union has ton of satellite branches of local Seattle cafes, but they’re mainly in the lobby of Amazon buildings and don’t have the atmosphere that most cafes have. I also don’t consider Downtown Seattle a neighborhood. We’re giving the nod to Pioneer Square. You’ve got Convoy Coffee, Slate Coffee Roasters, Elm Coffee Roasters, Zeitgeist Coffee. In our opinion you have the best Caffé Vita, Caffe Umbria and Cherry Street Public House locations in Pioneer Square. You also have a wide variation of styles. You’ve got the old cafes with tons of character in Caffé Vita and Zeitgeist Coffee. You’ve got the more modern cafes with great views in Caffe Umbria and Cherry Street Public House. You’ve got the bright little start up spot of Convoy Coffee. You’ve got the hardcore roasters of Slate Coffee Roasters and Elm Coffee Roasters.
Most Mentioned/Most Popular Seattle Coffee Shops – Espresso Vivace and “The Caffes”
When talking favorite coffee shops with local friends, there four names continuously pop up. These are the granddaddies of the Seattle Coffee Shop scene.
This actually makes sense because they all have an empire of multiple locations and all have been around for a longggggg time. And of course they have great coffee and roast their own beans. In no particular order……
- Espresso Vivace– 3 Seattle locations. Established 1988.
- Caffé Vita– 6 Seattle locations. Established 1995.
- Caffe Ladro– 15 locations in the greater Seattle area(incl Bellvue, Kirkland, Edmonds, etc). Established 1994.
- Caffe Umbria– 3 Seattle locations. Established 2002 , but family behind Umbria has been involved in Seattle cafes since 1986.
Caffe Umbria
Most Underrated Seattle Coffee Shops – Tempsta Coffee, Convoy Coffee, Ghost Note Coffee
These are the exact opposite of the popular coffee shops. We never hear anybody mention these coffee shops.
Tempesta Coffee(RIP)- Convoy Coffee
- Ghost Note Coffee
- Realfine Coffee
- Seven Coffee Roasters
- Anchorhead Coffee Co
- Analog Coffee
We believe these places are never mentioned, because they have never been visited by most people. There are a lot of reasons why. Here are our theories. In the case of Tempesta Coffee (RIP), they’re in a super small unassuming space in the middle of Belltown. It’s so small there’s not even a single seat, but damn, do they have good Americanos. Convoy Coffee is also a small place and might be drowned out in a sea of great more established coffee places in Pioneer Square(see above). Most people know them as the bicycle coffee bar at the University and Ballard Farmers Markets. Ghost Note Coffee is off the main streets of Pine and Pike in Capitol Hill and is relatively new. And although Realfine Coffee is not new to West Seattle, it’s very new to Capitol Hill and perhaps just gaining it’s footing. Seven Coffee Roasters is roaster in the middle of the Ravenna neighborhood and is disguised as a general store. Most people pass it and don’t even know it’s a roaster. Anchorhead Coffee Co is probably the most Instagrammable of the bunch, but it’s also relatively new being open for only two years. Lastly, I think Analog Coffee has actually gotten a lot of accolades and publicity, but nobody ever seems to mention it. Perhaps because it’s also in the middle of a neighborhood and not on a main avenue. We’re totally fine with these places being underrated and undiscovered, so we have them all to ourselves.
Next: Stay tuned for our next installment of The Seattle Coffee Shop Awards.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
Part 2 – Best Coffee Shops for Groups or You Want To Be Alone.
Part 3 – Best Seattle Coffee Drink Sets, Best Views
Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
Part 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
Cafe Lulu – Greenlake
Description on Cafe Lulu’s website: A fun, cozy, welcoming atmosphere might just become a natural extension of your own home.
Neighborhood: Greenlake
Address: 6417 Latona Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115
What we ate/drank: Doppio Espresso, Cinnamon Roll.
Comments: It’s actually been awhile since we’d been to Café Lulu, the small little neighborhood coffee shop in between Greenlake and Roosevelt neighborhoods. They just recently did a remodel which really changed the feel of the café. Before it was a cozy colorful spot with orange walls, chalkboard menus and lots of art. Now Café Lulu has been transformed to a more modern clean café with white walls, bright lights and no artwork. Perhaps the remodel is not completely done? One thing that remains at Café Lulu is their collection of travel books. I remember coming here a few years ago and reading through a Japan travel guide right before our trip there.
Here are the before and after comparisons:
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The seating quantity is about the same as before, but the quality is much nicer. There’s some stool seating along the front counter looking out on Latona Ave. There 5 tables of two and 1 table in the front that starts at the wall and goes perpendicular to create a table. The wood tables are quite stunning. The counter between the customers and the barista is much more open and lower now, so you can more easily interact now. Before you could only see their heads as they were making drinks.
The coffee machine they have has a Caffe Vita sticker(yes, I finally figured out Vita vs Ladro), so I assume that’s what they’re serving.Some of the food options are yogurt, banana, oatmeal, breakfast burritos, bagels and I think some bagel sandwiches. One other thing they added with the new remodel is the selling of wine by the glass and bottle. With the addition of wine it only makes sense that they extend their hours from 2:00 closing to 6:00 on weeknights starting in February.
I’ll be honest, even with the upgrades in lighting and outlets, I kind of miss the cozy environment prior to the remodel. Perhaps, it’s just something we need to get used to. I give kudos to any coffee shop that’s been in business for 21 years especially with the plethora of coffee in Seattle. They’re obviously doing something right maintaining their customer base.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: Library of travel books
Atmosphere: 3.75
Service: 4.50
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.15
Eavedropping Convo: There must be a Microsoft Connector bus stop nearby. 2 Microsoft employees waiting inside Cafe Lulu for the bus. I think they had just figured out that both of them were both waiting for the Connector.
M1(Microsoft Employee 1): What area do you work in?
M2(Microsoft Employee 2): —-Sales. I just started two weeks ago so I’m still finding my way with the commute and the company. Note: I couldn’t hear the exact sales dept.
M1: It takes awhile to get the lay of the land that’s for sure. It’ll get better. I promise.
M2: Yeah, I’m sure it will.
M1: Where did you come from?
M2: I moved here from Atlanta. Man, this cold weather is another thing I need to get used to.
M1: This? This ain’t nothing. It’s actually been a mild winter. Don’t worry, it’ll get colder.
M2: Gee, thanks.
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