**********Unfortunately, This Restaurant Has Closed Down**********
Recommended by: Not a server, but a customer eating next to us at Porkchop & Co. made small talk and mentioned the Hi Life down the street is another great option for brunches and is a bigger space, so there’s less of a wait.
Description on the Hi-Life’s website: Located in the 106 year old historic Firehouse No. 18 built in 1911, we serve up a rotating menu that features the best of our four seasons here in the Pacific Northwest. With an emphasis on our grilled and brick oven roasted dishes, our line turns out tasty, full flavored food for breakfast, lunch and dinner each and every day.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 5425 Russell Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Ballard Barrio Breakfast Burrito- A burrito full of chorizo, black beans, eggs, and cheese, topped with salsa and served patatas del desayuno, Chorizo Scramble-Green onion, avocado, tomato, parmesan cheese with crispy potatoes and toast. 2 x Caffe Ladro drip coffee.
Comment: We’d never been to this establishment as the Hi-Life, but I did come here when it was a concert venue known as The Ballard Firehouse. In fact, I remember seeing The Fixx and The Alarm play here one weekday night many years ago. Bands such as The Kinks, Blue Oyster Cult, Anthrax, Motorhead and Modest Mouse also played here.
Well now this former firehouse is The Hi-Life, part of CHOW Food, which also includes one of our other favorite breakfast restaurants, The 5 Spot.
Based on the pic above of the Hi-Life you can definitely see the remnants such as the huge doors and open space that this building has been reincarnated from a previous life of a firehouse. It was built in 1911 and the horses were kept in stables where the kitchen is now. You can actually see one of the original fire poles from the old sleeping quarters right over the current bar. The building was in use as a firehouse until 1975 and has been the Hi-Life since 2004. The exposed beams and brick walls give the feel from yesteryear.
Like the The 5 Spot, you enter a huge space with a bar area on the right and the dining area on the left. Many of the dishes harken back to the firehouse, such as the Firehouse Benedict, Station House #18(short stack of pancakes with bacon and two eggs) and Firehouse Mac & Cheese.
One of the better deals you can get here are the meals on the “Not-So-Early-Bird-Breakfast” menu, which is served from 8am-11am on weekdays for $7.75. Can’t beat that. One of the dishes we got off this menu was the Ballard Barrio Breakfast Burrito, which had chorizo, black beans, egg and cheese and served with potatoes and salsa. The burrito was toasted on the outside just how we like it. We were thinking that because it was on this special priced menu, it might be on the smaller size, but that was not the case. It was huge and we took half of it home with us.
The other meal was a special of the day, a Chorizo Scramble with green onion, avocado, tomato, parmesan cheese with crispy potatoes and toast. We had originally ordered another dish and after our server left to put in the order with the kitchen I noticed the special on their black board. We flagged down our server and she graciously went to the kitchen to change the order without issue.
The Hi Life is a good place for groups and in a historical building with a fun history.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.25
Bang for the Buck: 4.75 especially off the “Not-So-Early-Bird-Breakfast” menu.
Overall: 4.50
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: Our server, a recent transplant to Seattle, was really friendly and engaging. She tried to give suggestions on where some of her favorite restaurants in Seattle were, but she was so new to the area she hadn’t gone to a lot of places and then ones she mentioned, we’d already been to. She actually went to a co-worker who suggested Toulouse Petit.
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Mabel Coffee – Ballard
Description on Mabel’s website : The coffee shop is named after founder Brooke McCurdy’s Great Aunt Mabel; a remarkable woman who blazed her own storied trail her whole life. The tiny coffee shop celebrates Mabel’s spirit of adventure with tasty local fare ready to go for its customers, and delicious coffee drinks for their road less traveled, whether off to work, or a stroll around the surrounding quiet residential streets.
Address: 7001 24th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117
Music Playing: One Love by Bob Marley on a record player
What we ate/drank: Macchiato
Comments: We’ve passed by Mabel Coffee a few times and always thought it was a small little cafe with only a few seats due to their small store front. Little did we know that it’s actually a very big place and probably one of the better coffee shops for large groups to gather. It probably has a chance of cracking our list of Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Groups.
When entering Mabel Coffee, you’ll notice a travel theme with map covered tables, postcards lining the counter, a community travel journal, the menu appearing on an Interstate symbol and the Mabel Coffee logo that includes a traveling RV. This area is rather small with seating for maybe 10 people max. They have some pastries from Macrina and Flying Apron and your normal coffee drinks.
The one thing that sets Mabel Coffee apart from the rest of the Seattle coffee shops is that they serve Bulletproof Coffee with Brain Octane and Grass Fed Butter. The only other places I know of that serve Bulletproof is of course Bulletproof Coffee in South Lake Union and the cafes in Whole Food Markets. If you’ve not heard of Bulletproof you can read more about it here. In short, it’s supposed to suppress hunger, provide mental clarity and provide a more steady lasting energy than regular coffee. I first heard about it from Tim Ferriss about 4 years ago and it always intrigued me. I do get a Bulletproof Coffee every once in awhile and there’s some controversy on whether or not it’s just a placebo, but I’ve got to admit, I do feel my mind is more clear whenever I drink it. Mabel Coffee provides another option if I ever want Bulletproof Coffee.
You can add Mabel Coffee to the long list of Seattle coffee shops that spin records on an old fashioned turntable. I know Convoy Coffee, Slate Coffee Roasters, Porchlight Coffee and Analog Coffee have record players and you also have Victrola Coffee Roasters that has the phonograph as its logo.
Once you’ve obtained your drink, you can go through the door way and it opens up into a massive room full of a mish mosh of tables and chairs. The space reminds me of my old class rooms from grammar school. There’s a small kids area and the biggest community board I’ve ever seen. There’s also another separate room that can be reserved.
Mabel Coffee definitely has a community feel to it – the community travel journal, the large community board, the unpretentious nature of their mish mosh of tables and seatings, the availability to rent a room, doggy treats, dedicated kids area. It’s definitely been added to our list of coffee places we intend to frequent.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: They serve Bulletproof Coffee, space is great for large groups and you can rent a small room in the back
Atmosphere: 4.75
Service: 4.75
Food Options: 4.25
Overall: 4.65
Eavesdropping Convo: A guy(G1) was showing another guy(G2) the separate room available for reserving in the back.
G1 – This is the room I was telling you about. I think it’s reserved for a church group on Wednesdays, but we can reserve and go over our business plan.
G2 – G2 looks inside. Oh, wow. This is great. It’s bright and we can have some privacy and good coffee to boot.
G1- No doubt. I don’t think anybody knows about this place.
G2 – How did you find out about it?
G1 – Remember my buddy, Greg? He said he and his boys used it to play Catan here for a few hours last weekend.
Related:
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
- 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.
- See what a 25 year old from Finland thought of Seattle
Viretta Park (aka Kurt Cobain Park) + Feud with Howard Schultz and Obama visit
Neighborhood/Type: Denny Blaine
Address: 151 Lake Washington Blvd E, Seattle, WA 98112
Just like our Green Lake Park blog post, the more we delved into Viretta Park’s history, the more interesting it became. Viretta Park was named after the daughter-in-law of Seattle pioneer, Arthur Denny.
- Kurt Cobain
1994 is when Viretta Park was really put on the map because the park sits right next to Kurt Cobain(lead singer of Nirvana) and Courtney Love(lead singer of Hole)’s former house. They moved into this house in January of 1994. According to Zillow the house sold for $1,485,000. The home was built in 1901 and although you can’t see the house from the street on Lake Washington Blvd, you can see the top floor from Viretta Park.
Unfortunately, Kurt Cobain took his own life while in the house on April 8, 1994. The last place he was seen alive was Linda’s Tavern in Capitol Hill. Once word spread of his death, grieving fans gathered at Viretta Park for an impromptu vigil. There’s a bench located right next to the house, that mourners left messages and mementos on.
Most visitors to the park today, don’t realize that the original bench was removed put up for auction and appears to have been sold for $1500. The replacement benches which visitors continue to write on is located on the same exact spot as the original.
Aftermath: Kurt Cobain took his life in the gardener’s house on the premises. Courtney Love ended up tearing it down. She also had the City of Seattle remove a tree in Viretta Park because people would climb it to get a glimpse of the property. In 1997 the house was sold. According to Zillow’s records the house was sold for $289,500, which I find hard to believe because the house is now estimated to be worth over $7 million dollars!
There’s also been talk of putting a Kurt Cobain memorial in the park, which has been opposed by the neighbors residing there and the Parks Chief.
NOTE: I did a little more research and found the data on Zillow is incorrect. It was sold for $2,895,000, not $289,500. Still a pretty good appreciation-over $4 million!
- Howard Schultz vs Viretta Park
Prior to Kurt Cobain’s suicide, Viretta Park was best known for the feud between Howard Schultz(Starbucks founder and former CEO / former Seattle Supersonics Owner) and his neighbors and the Seattle Parks And Recreation Department.
According to this article in the Seattle Times, in 1991 the Schultz’s purchased their home directly south of Viretta Park. The property had no access to the street, so a legal deal was struck to build access to the property through Viretta Park. Even though the access was obtained legally many years before, there was an outcry due to the driveway through the Viretta Park being landscaped in such as way that the it appeared more to be an entrance to the property than to the park. The Viretta Park Meeting to discuss the issue seems to have gotten pretty heated according to the Seattle Times article:
Take, for instance, the experience that Shirley Feliciano cited. The Madison Park resident recalled that on Sunday she and a friend parked their car in the driveway and were accosted by the Schultzes, telling her in angry tones to move her car.
“They were ballistic,” she said after the meeting. “They didn’t need to get out (of the driveway). They just wanted me out because they wanted me out. That (public) property was theirs.”
But then there’s the experience of the Schultzes. For them, hate mail and anonymous phone calls have become commonplace.
The Schultzs were actually sued for infringing on park land along with the estate of the Cobains, who were located on the opposite end of Viretta Park.
In 1997 Washington State Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Schultzes and Cobains and both parties sold their properties shortly thereafter. Although the Schultzes won the right to keep the driveway as is, they did modify the landscaping to try to appears the neighborhood group.
- Barack Obama
Admittedly this is a stretch for Obama and Viretta Park, but this article did include this gem that Barack Obama lived is Seattle for a short period of time, which we were unaware of.
The President Comes Calling: On May 9, 2012, crowds of people, TV cameras, and reporters filled Viretta Park to watch the motorcade of SUVs, police motorcycles, a fire truck, and ambulance that accompanied President Barack Obama (b. 1961) and his staff as it passed on Lake Washington Boulevard before entering the driveway of a private home across the street from the park. Bruce and Anne Blume were hosting the president at a $35,000 per couple fundraising event in their waterfront home.
It’s interesting that this small little park has a history with two of Seattle’s more popular residents, Kurt Cobain and Howard Schultz. Nirvana was such a game-changer during the early 90’s that Kurt Cobain’s popularity still lives on. Chalk it up to morbid curiosity or paying respects in a small way, but Viretta Park offers an unusual visit to a pop culture phenomenon.
We had a lot of fun researching the Viretta Park history. Hopefully, you’ve learned something new.
Related Posts:
- Green Lake Park Secrets- Murder, Crocodiles, Led Zeppelin, Ted Bundy, Secret Skateparks?
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
- Part 4 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visitors, Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs, Make Visitors Feel Like Locals.
- Best Seattle Bars For Each Stage of Dating
Porkchop & Co.
Recommended by: The person making coffee drinks and cashier at The Fat Hen suggested another popular brunch place nearby in Ballard, Porkchop & Co. We’d been to Porkchop & Co. before, but it was a good reminder to revisit.
Description on the Porkchop & Co.’s website: Porkchop & Co. is a New American restaurant located in the heart of Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. We make casual and creative food from scratch using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. We smoke, cure, pickle and preserve everything in house – utilizing the full, rich and varied American arsenal – from longer-standing traditional fare to contemporary techniques.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 6201 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Croque Madame, Steak & Kimchi Hash, Coffee
Much like many of the coffee shops and restaurants around Ballard on Sundays your experience will be very different if you happen to come on this day due to the Ballard Farmers Market. Porkchop & Co. is likely to be packed with a lengthy wait on Sundays, so our advise is to visit during the weekdays if possible. And luckily Porkchop & Co. does serve breakfast during the week unlike many Seattle restaurants that only serve breakfast on the weekends.
Porkchop & Co. is a bit on the casual side which is perfect for breakfast/lunch. There’s no table service. You just order at the counter, find a seat and they’ll bring out your food to you. There’s a bottle of water and glasses at each table, so you don’t have to ask or wait for that. Even the drip coffee is self serve. Although there isn’t your traditional table service, somebody came around to check in on us regularly to see how things tasted and if we needed anything else.
The space is bright and their front windows can be opened when the weather is nice, which is a nice touch for semi-al fresco eating. The main focal point is Porkchop & Co’s extensive library of cookbooks displayed on their walled book shelf.
Looking at their menu you’ll see a wide variety of foods from French inspired(Croque Madame, Foie Gras Stuffed French Toast), Medeiterranean(Shaksouka), Asia(Steak & Kimchi Hash) and some American(Scrambles). They not only serve breakfast dishes, but also sandwiches if you want an early lunch instead. They close everyday at 3:00pm, so no dinner. They also serve cocktails, wine and beer along with your normal non-alcoholic drinks such as coffee, sodas and juices.
One thing to take note of is that they smoke, cure, pickle and preserve everything in house, so you won’t get these flavors anywhere else. On this particular visit we have the Croque Madame – Brioche toast topped with Tails & Trotters ham, roasted kale, gruyere, house cheese sauce, & a sunny Stokesberry egg. Along with a chicken fried steak, my favorite breakfast dish is the Croque Madame. Porkchop & Co.’s variation has a cheese sauce that you don’t normally see on a Croque Madame. It’s doesn’t overpower like you’d suspect and compliments well with the other ingredients.
The other dish was the Steak & Kimchi Hash -House kimchi, potatoes, cauliflower, Painted Hills beef chunks, and a sunny Stokesberry Farm egg. The kimchi by itself was a little over powering, but eaten with the steak, potato or cauliflower, it provides a good balance of flavor.
On previous visits we’ve had the Pork Belly Hash, the Porchetta Benedict and Frank’s Scramble(eggs, asparagus, cheese kale, mama lil’s peppers and a bagel) and all are delicious.
Porkchop & Co. is a great place where you can bring out-of-towners and know they’ve never had any of these dishes before since the dishes are inventive and everything is made in house from locally sourced ingredients.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.75
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: Not a server, but a customer eating next to us made small talk and mentioned The Hi Life down the street is another great option for brunches and is bigger so there’s less of a wait. We’ll check it out.
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Hub Coffee
Description on Lighthouse Roaster’s website : One of Seattle’s original roaster cafes, Lighthouse has spent more than twenty years creating a loyal following of coffee lovers by treating the coffee buying, roasting and drink-making as a noble callin
Description on Hub Coffee’s website : A modern coffeehouse in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. We serve small batch local coffee, artisan baked goods, and Rishi premium teas.
Address:2821 Thorndyke Ave W, Seattle, WA 98199
Music Playing: Fat Freddy’s Drop by Ernie
What we ate/drank: Cortado
Comments: We don’t venture out to Magnolia much, but our former next door neighbors made the move out there last year, so we’ve been there quite often for visits lately. When it comes to coffee shops, it’s slim pickings in Magnolia. We don’t want to go as far as to say Hub Coffee is the de facto quality coffee shop in Magnolia, but it’s close.
It’s located on a very nondescript street-Thorndyke, so blink and you’ll miss it.
Hub Coffee has a very minimalist decor with white walls, a few black and white photos and concrete floors. The store front faces Southeast, so tons of natural light pours into the space. The configuration and style reminds us of Revolutions Coffee.
There’s a couple seats outside the front door, a few separate tables and a bench that runs the length of the space. There’s also some stools that look out on Thorndyke Ave.
Had the Cortado, but no food. They do have food options, though. Pastries sandwiches-kale, egg, arugula, cheddar on a bagel, avocado toast, hummus plate w-pita and veggie and a chicken pesto with arugula. Apart from coffee, Hub Coffee also has Rishi Tea.
I wouldn’t say the service is the friendliest, but if minimal is your style, a good cup of coffee can be had at Hub Coffee.
Ratings(1-5)
Favorite Thing: A(the only?) quality cafe option in Magnolia.
Atmosphere: 3.75
Service: 4.00
Food Options: 4.50
Overall: 4.15
Eavesdropping Convo: Guy comes in to order a drink.
Guy: Nice day, huh?
Barista: Yeah, I had the door open earlier but bees were flying in here, so I had to close it.
Related:
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Seattle Coffee Shops
- 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.
Watson’s Counter
Recommended by: Nobody. We saw it on the way to Biscuit and Bean a few blocks down the street and decided to try it.
Description on the Watson’s Counter website: We’re native Seattleites who want to provide a space for people to come together and build relationships over some damn good coffee and food. We have a full espresso bar as well as a kitchen focused on classic brunch foods and afternoon bites. We’ve drawn upon our Korean heritage and taste for nostalgic flavors to add a bit of our personality to the offerings.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 6201 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
What we ate/drank: Loco Moco, Chicken & Waffles, 1 + 1 = espresso and 4 oz latte, Anchorhead drip coffee. Update 7/19 below- KBBQ PORK PLATE-Roasted pork belly, rice, assorted kimchis, perilla leaves, tofu, lettuce wraps, Korean peppers, and sauce
A few weeks ago we noticed Watson’s Counter on our way to Biscuit and Bean down the street, so we decided to check it out. We found out they’ve only been open for a little over a month. When first walking in you really wouldn’t know they served food since the first thing you see as you enter is the espresso machine and the coffee/drink board hanging overhead.
Upon entering it reminded us of a mini Mr West Café & Bar -white marble table and counter tops, lots of plants, fancy pendulum lighting , dark wood bench and cabinets, lots of natural lighting, airy. There’s limited seating, a couple of 2 seat tables, a couple of 4 seat tables and a community table for 8. They also have a small counter that’s probably more conducive for standing than sitting. Even with its limited seating, it’s really family friendly. I counted 3 high chairs stacked and they have a changing table in the rest room.
We happen to be there for breakfast and it’s served all day. Watson’s Counter opens at 6:30am and closes at 4:00pm(7:00pm on Fri) on the weeknights, but opens from 8:00am to 7:00pm on Sat and Sun. To start, I ordered the 1 + 1, which is a solo espresso and a 4oz latter. My wife got a drip. Anchorhead is the coffee roaster they use. Can’t go wrong there.
They don’t have a lot of dish choices, but we prefer that a restaurant have fewer plates that they do well, than a restaurant that has a lot of options, but of mediocre quality. Although the menu is small, it’s still varied-Soba Noodles(Japan), Loco Moco(Hawaii), Poutine(Oh, Canada!), Chicken Wings(Korean). The menu definitely has a Korean slant to it.
I got the waffles and chicken. On the menu it’s listed with a honey butter, but the owner advised it comes with an in-house made gochujang option and recommended it, so that’s what I went with. The waffles came with two huge chicken wings and was prepared to perfection-crispy outside, juicy inside. It came with an organic maple syrup, but I thought the waffles tasted best eating it plain in combination with the savory gochujang flavored wings.
CHICKEN & WAFFLES
two of our honey-butter wings on top of our house rosemary Belgian waffle. Served with organic maple syrup and Louisiana hot sauce. gochujang. Score: (4.0/5.0)
My wife got the Loco Moco. I know it’s early in the year, but this dish is a contender to be on our Top Dishes of 2019. We’ve had our fair share of Loco Mocos in Hawaii and around town at Kona Kitchen, Maono, Cheeky Café. This is the best we’ve had. The patty is made with a blend of chuck, short-rib, and pork belly and you have the rice and egg, but the showstopper is the house-made gravy. It’s a thick peppery flavorful smack in the mouth. Mixed with the egg yolk, generous sized patty and topped with sesame seeds and green onions = Broke Da Mouth! As mentioned the dish selection is on the small side, but there are definitely a lot of other interesting dishes we’ll need to try in the future. The K-Poutine, soba noodles and a cereal French toast creation covered in Fruity Pebbles that the gentleman next to us ordered, all look really delicious.
Tips are included so the prices are rightfully a little higher and payment is made at your table-Canadian style. I think I saw a notice/application for a liquor license in their window, so alcohol is likely on the way. We asked about the logo since it’s hard to figure out what type of animal it is. The owner said that it’s his dog wearing a tiger outfit, whose name is Watson, the namesake of the restaurant. We also found out that the owner is the former Director of Education at Caffe Ladro. Quite the pedigree.
For only being open for a short time, it felt like they’d been open for years-attentive service, good suggestions, organized, efficient, spotless.
Prediction Time: Right now this small Watson’s Counter is new and at the moment largely unknown, but trust us this place will soon go the way of other popular Seattle small spots like Fat Hen, Wandering Goose(RIP 2020), Il Corvo(RIP 2020) and have crowds waiting and lines forming when word gets out, so get your ass over there soon!
Update 7/19: Went back for breakfast and got the Loco Moco again and it was as good as we remembered. We also tried a new dish, the KBBQ. You can eat it as just as you see below or you can use the provided lettuce leaves to create a lettuce wrap. As you can see below, there area a ton of ingredients that you can mix and match and come up with your own favorite. One ingredient I’d never seen before was kim chi apples.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 5.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.80
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 Locals recommendations to visit in the future: 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.
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.
The Seattle Coffee Shop Awards – Part 4
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 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 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 Shops to Impress Visitors
We tried to pick cafes that are close to Seattle’s main attractions, but have really nice ambiance and atmosphere and would make any visitors Seattle coffee experience memorable. We wouldn’t mind taking our visiting parents or high school age nephews/nieces, because we think they’d feel comfortable in these cafes.
- Storyville Coffee in Pike Place Market – Secret place in Pike Place Market.
- La Marzocco Cafe – Located in the Seattle Center.
- Cherry Street Public House – In Pioneer Square near Occidental Park
- Mr West Café Bar– Wow, I want to hang out here.
- Café Allegro– Oldest cafe in Seattle and hidden in an alley
The number one spot(for now) goes to Storyville Coffee in Pike Place Market. It’s located in the number one attraction in Seattle and although the first Starbucks is also located here, we usually take our visitors to Storyville Coffee. It’s hidden from the crowds, it’s a very cozy and has an inviting atmosphere and the view of the market and Puget Sound can’t be beat.
The number two spot goes to La Marzocco Café. It’s in the major tourist attraction, the Seattle Center, so you’ll most likely end up near the café anyways. The Seattle Center includes the Space Needle, International Fountain, Chihuly Garden & Glass, Museum of Pop Culture, Pacific Science Center and the Seattle Children’s Museum. La Marzocco Café is a huge café that shares space with Seattle radio station, KEXP. It has a rotating coffee roaster that keeps things fresh, so multiple trips throughout the year will bring different experiences. This historic espresso machine maker was founded in 1884 and this is their only café in the world! Visiting here is like visiting a museum with their various espresso machine iterations.
Pioneer Square is another destination for visitor. It’s the oldest neighborhood in Seattle and the architecture of the buildings in the area showcase this. Right on the main walking thoroughfare of Occidental is the Cherry Street Public House. It’s bright and big and not only can you enjoy a coffee there, but they have alcohol and serve food there too. It’s a newer construction so the place is modern and well thought out. The owner actually won the US Barista Championship in 2014. Baller.
Mr West Café Bar is near the main shopping area in downtown and always impresses with their service, the décor, the seating arrangements(bar, window counter, patio, comfy chairs or separate tables) and atmosphere. They have a good selection of food as well as alcoholic beverages. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s just a place you want to hang out.
Café Allegro is near UDUB(University of Washington). It’s the oldest café in Seattle and also has the “secret hidden” café thing going for it that visitors seem to love. Although there are throngs of students normally there, it’s a very big place with an adjacent seating section and an entire 2nd floor with a patio if the main café area is crowded.
Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Impress Visiting Coffee Snobs
So the previous award for Best Seattle Coffee Shop to Impress Visitors were for general visitors who want a nice café close to various Seattle attractions, enjoy the atmosphere/décor and want a good cup of coffee. The places listed below are for the visitors to Seattle who are coffee snobs and who say things like, “I keep hearing that Seattle is the Center of Coffee Universe and the coffee is all that. Well, prove it to me!” Location, café décor, service quality and atmosphere are all secondary. They want to be impressed by the coffee. This is where you should take them:
When we walk into these places, it just feels like they take their coffee game seriously. They all have that minimalist vibe to their cafes and we’d like to think it’s because they want you to really concentrate on their coffee with a minimum amount of sensory distraction. We have three roasters, one multiroaster and one coffee shop that makes coffee concoctions like a mad scientist.
Slate Coffee Roaster has three locations around Seattle-Near UW, Capitol Hill and one in Ballard. It’s home to the Deconstructed Latte, which is a good way to not only learn about the coffee, but also about the dairy they use in their drinks. They seem to really care about the experience of drinking their coffee and are enthusiastic about telling you all about it. I genuinely felt like I was in a Coffee 101 class.
Elm Coffee Roasters located in Pioneer Square does their roasting right on the premises, so you know it’s fresh. Roasting is done on Tues, Thurs and Sundays. You can get one of their combos here, the One of Everything, which gives you a chance to have a Macchiato, espresso and a brewed coffee. You’ve got their roasters mere yards away from where you’re drinking their coffee. What coffee snob, wouldn’t be impressed by that?
The Broadcast Coffee in Roosevelt is my personal favorite place to work on my laptop. And are they serious about their coffee? You can read our Broadcast Coffee blog post when the barista made my espresso three times because she wasn’t happy with the quality. Somebody left the door open, which she believes altered the pressure in the café that affected the espresso.
Milstead & Co are known nation-wide as a top notch multiroaster. They employ two La Marzocco espresso machines to keep things moving along and a rotation of featured coffee roasters to keep things fresh. You want to brag to your coffee snob visitor? You can tell them that Food & Wine rated Milstead & Co a perfect 5 out of 5 on the Coffee Snob Factor for Seattle cafes. To give you an idea, Slate only got a 3.
Ghost Note has a custom built espresso machine that with the push of a button attempts to replicate the characteristics of a pour over in only 90 seconds. That would impress the coffee snob in all of us, but they go a step further and serve their coffee in fancy glasses and have very progressive concoctions you might imagine that a coffee mad scientist created. For example, Sun Ship- Espresso, smoked grapefruit rosemary syrup, coconut water, sparkling water, lime. Cold. The menu notes…..”alterations politely declined” <<<
Elm Coffee Roasters
Best Seattle Coffee Shops to Make Visitors Feel Like Locals
The Best Seattle Coffee Shop to Impress Visitors Award was for general visitors near Seattle attractions. The second was for serious Coffee Snob Visitors. This one is for the visitor who perhaps has already been to all the Seattle attractions and just came to Seattle to visit us and just wants to relax and chill and catch up. They want to see what a normal day looks like as a regular Seattleite and where we might spend time drinking coffee in our normal life. These are the type of coffee shops that we enjoy taking visitors to the most. In a lot of ways, these places feel like an extension of our home.
- They are typically in the middle of neighborhoods off of main streets(Preserve & Gather, Analog Coffee, Lighthouse Roasters, Seven Coffee Roasters)
- You find that most people that frequent these spots are walking in from the neighborhood. No dedicated parking spaces for any of these places.
- You get the feeling there’s a real sense of community. It was not unusual to see multiple families with kids here. It was common for baristas greeting visitors by their first name and ringing them up without asking for their order, because they already knew it by heart.
- It felt comfortable to leisurely enjoy our drinks over conversation without being hurried.
- Most importantly, these places were vibrant and alive and not like a library full of zombies working on laptops in total silence.
- Analog Coffee
- Lighthouse Roasters
- Seven Coffee Roasters
- Zoka Coffee Roasters – Tangletown
l Diablo Coffee(RIP)- Preserve & Gather
Analog Coffee, Lighthouse Roasters and Seven Coffee Roaster all have that “neighborhood general store” vibe and are all right in the middle of neighborhood on side streets. Analog has that “stay a while” vibe with it’s newspaper and magazines available for your reading pleasure clipped against the walls, ample seats both outside and inside and the barista part-timing as a DJ on their turntable. We also can’t forget about their stack of comic books. You could be there all day.
In our original Lighthouse Roasters review, we mentioned how our time there felt like a scene out of the movie, Doc Hollywood(small town feel). You could tell it was part of people’s daily routine to come here for their coffee-the baristas greeted the customers by name, customers recognized other customers and proceeded to small talk, and so many people were there reading newspapers just passing the time.
Seven Coffee Roaster has that “general store” vibe because it really is a general store, but they also happen to be a coffee roaster. This really is one of the hidden gems in Seattle. There place is really small, but they do have an outdoor bench in front of the store and an attached patio. Because it’s a general store, we can enjoy our coffee, while we can get snacks or ice cream for our kids. Everybody’s happy!
Zoka Coffee Roasters in Tangletown has been around for as long as I can remember and they definitely have a loyal following. Although the space is huge by Seattle coffee shop standards, it’s always crowded. It’s pretty much the only coffee shop in this neighborhood which might explain it. This is one place that can get overrun with students and laptops, but the crowd and seating arrangements make it a prime spot for neighbors to just hang out.
El Diablo is another neighborhood gem up on Queen Anne Hill. There is a plethora of coffee shop on the hill, but this one stands out for it’s unique quality of being in a house. The space is one of the biggest in Seattle and for us parents, the dedicated room for kids is a god send. It also has two patios one in the front and one on the second floor balcony. Yes, there is a whole second floor! It’s a perfect place for big gatherings(It won our Award for Top Coffee Shop for Groups). Perhaps it’s the quality of being in a house, that makes you feel your getting a local’s experience.
The last place is Preserve and Gather. We liked everything about this place-the fact that they made all their pastries in house, the numerous and varied types of seating, the general décor, how much pride the workers seemed to have in keeping the space clean and of course, the community feel. I believe it garnered one of our highest rating scores with a 4.9 out of 5.0. I have no idea the origin of the name, but we’d like to think they are “preserving” the act of getting together and catching up over coffee and are offering their space to “gather”. Clever, huh?
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 5 – Best Seattle Coffee Shops for Food Options, Friendliest Service
Part 6 – Seattle Coffee With Most Character, Best Seattle Coffee Shops Overall.
The Fat Hen – Not Little Red Hen!
Recommended by: The cashier at Wandering Goose(RIP 2020)recommended Fat Hen as a suggestion. We’d heard of Fat Hen , but we’d never been there.
Description on the The Fat Hen’s website: The Fat Hen is a neighborhood café serving breakfast & lunch along with handcrafted coffee drinks, house-made pastries, tea, fresh squeezed juices, local & import beer and wine, mimosas, and more. The Fat Hen seats up to 25 guests, and reservations are not accepted. Please note that the menus below are sample menus only; please inquire about our seasonal specials and current menu highlights!
Neighborhood/Type: Phinney Ridge
Address: 1418 NW 70th St, Seattle, WA 98117
What we ate/drank: Alla Boscaiola 12.50 two eggs in house-made tomato sauce with sausage, mushroom & mozzarella. Chicken Sandwich 16.5. Buttermilk fried chicken breast, calabrian chili aioli, cabbage slaw, house-made spicy pickle. Served with small side salad. Cortado
Comments: Before we get into our review of The Fat Hen, we have a funny story to tell. About 5 years ago, friends of ours recommended The Fat Hen to my wife as a place we should visit due to their great brunches.
When my wife relayed the message to me, all I heard was “hen” and I assumed they were talking about Little Red Hen, which I’d never been to, but knew about as the de facto country line dancing establishment in Seattle. My wife was new to Seattle at the time, so she assumed I knew what I was talking about when I said, “Little Red Hen? Really?
I never knew they served breakfasts. And never heard anybody say they were great.” So of course we had to check out Little Red Hen for brunch. Those of you who don’t know Little Red Hen, it’s a lovable divey bar with the service to match. Here’s a picture of Little Red Hen:
So we go there on a Saturday morning at about 9:00. The place opens at 8:00. There is not a soul in the place. I said to my wife, “If this is such a great brunch place, why is nobody here”?
There was one lady there who was our host, server and bartender. She gave us menus and we ordered. If I remember correctly, it was your normal breakfast stuff-eggs, bacon, hash browns, white toast, etc.
We order and she says, “You guys will have to wait a bit. Our cook just called and he’s hung over and I just woke him up. He lives real close though, so he’ll be here shortly”.
We’re already there drinking Bloody Marys, so we just wait. He did come shortly and our breakfast was fine, nothing special. We ask the server for our check and she busts out a pen, grabs a cardboard coaster from a table and writes the price of our meal on the back of the coaster and hands it to us! That was our bill. We looked at each other and laughed.
A few weeks later we saw our friends and told them about our experience at Little Red Hen and asked them why they liked it so much? They looked at us like we were insane, “The Fat Hen, not Little Red Hen!”
On to The Fat Hen: Like Mike’s Noodle House, Il Corvo(RIP 2020), Wandering Goose(RIP 2020), The Fat Hen is small on space and big on popularity, so you’ll most likely be waiting for a table. But of these small places, Fat Hen is by far the tiniest. If you come with more than 2 people, good luck to you. If you come with more than 4, I’ll give you credit for being gutsy.
The space seats only 25 people and even with just 25 seats, the space is so small it feels cramped. There were actually a few daring folks who came in with kids in bassinets and even that was a challenge to find any space to lay the bassinet down. The place is well lit and bright, though. If you are waiting for a table, they will take a drink order from you while you wait. I ordered a Cortado.
They have some small side dishes and salads, but there main dishes ate their Chicken Sandwich, Benedicts and Egg Bakes.
The latter two dishes have variations where you can change the ingredients. For example for the Benedicts you can have Dungeness crab, salmon, prosciutto, pancetta or Florentine. They don’t have a huge menu, but I think it allows them to really perfect the dishes they do have.
I ordered the Chicken Sandwich and my wife ordered what appears to be their most popular dish, Alla Boscaiola, which comes in a skillet and includes two eggs, sausage, mushroom and mozzarella in a their house-made tomato sauce.
As you can see from the picture of the chicken sandwich below, the chicken breast was bursting out of the bun. The chicken was tender and lightly seasoned and matched well with the tartness of the aioli and pickle and came with a side salad . I enjoyed the sandwich and would recommend it albeit at quite a hefty price tag of $16.50.
The Alla Boscaiola is definitely an instagrammable looking dish and not one I’ve seen anywhere else in Seattle. It’s simple ingredients make it one of those dishes that seems so simple to make at home, but difficult to replicate due to the superior ingredients used here and the expertise needed to cook it. The bread that comes with it is the perfect tool to dip and sop up all that sauce.
Summary: The space is really beautiful, but hard to enjoy when the seating is so close together and the rest of the available space is being taken by those waiting for a table. The food is also beautifully presented and tasty, but the prices a bit steep. The service was great. With such limited space, they do a good job of managing the number of parties waiting.
Of course they want to turn tables as quickly as possible, but we never felt hurried. We did feel guilty though about those waiting so we tried to balance enjoying our brunch, but being conscientious of those waiting. The Fat Hen would be a perfect place to visit on a weekday morning while catching up with an out of town guest one on one.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.00
Overall: 4.50
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.
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- Most locals know about it
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- Locals “in the know” know about it
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- Only those who live close by know about it.
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- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: The person making coffee drinks and acting as cashier suggested as another popular brunch place nearby in Ballard- Porkchop & Co.
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