Dining Advice, Tips, Recommendations, and News
PrintBest Non-Starbucks Seattle Coffeeshops
Photograph from Bradley Allen on Flickr
In the spirit of Starbucks closing nationwide three hours early today, we thought you'd need some alternatives. But this one only applies to the coffee mavens themselves—the Seattleans. Here's our guide to the Seriously Seattle coffeehouses, where you should expect pretty foam art and lots of people-watching. But definitely no twin-tailed siren logos.
About the author: Erin Zimmer, our Washington, D.C., correspondent, is a new media analyst and frequently writes for Washingtonian, DCist, and other local publications. While Georgetown's food columnist, she investigated the cafeteria's omelet station, Hoya coffeeshop's cultish pumpkin muffins, and what exactly the basketball players ate.
Victrola
Address: 411 15th Ave E, Seattle, WA and 310 E Pike Street, Seattle, WA
Phone: (206) 325-6520 and (206) 624-1725
Website: victrolacoffee.com
Always busy, and everyone is jolted, so expect movement. Art on the walls, probably David Byrne playing overhead and baguette sandwiches on plates. Plus they even have a blog, which is pretty cute.
Zeitgeist Kunst and Kaffee
Address: 171 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA
Phone: 206-583-0497
Website: zeitgeistcoffee.com
Takes coffee as seriously as emerging artwork. Every "First Thursday", it's the nexus for painters, potters and creators of all kinds, embracing the big art-walk night downtown. The German name does not disappoint; it’s "the spirit of the age," with everyone from execs to busdrivers ordering a latte.
Bauhaus
Address: 301 E Pine St, Seattle, WA
Phone: 206-625-1600
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with massive windows, looking out onto outdoor seats that are pleasant when it's not raining (for once). Great place to gather your thoughts.
Cafe Fiore
Address: 224 W Galer St, Seattle, WA (and two other locations)
Phone: 206-282-1441
Website: caffefiore.com
Organic beans and compostable materials, so slightly more expensive. Friendly baristas playing good beats. As some have said, it’s like “honeycomb” walking in here given the warm golden glow.
B&O Espresso
Address: 204 Belmont Ave E, Seattle, WA
Phone: 206-322-5028
Shabby chic interior, with old opera posters and mosaics. For late nights and early mornings, with a full bar and good food menu too. Munch on shwarma pita 'wiches and salmon benedicts at the communal tables. Apparently the waitresses are cute too.
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13 Comments:
Stumptown Coffee and Cafe Vita are also quite nice.
josephrlee at 2:49PM on 02/26/08
How can a "Best Seattle Coffeeshops" list not include Espresso Vivace??
unarata at 3:08PM on 02/26/08
Stumptown is quite good, a recent Portland transplant. It's also worth noting that B+O is in danger of being torn down for a new apartment complex/shopping area. Sadness.
chrisfurniss at 3:08PM on 02/26/08
My favorite is Diva, and the one on Greenwood is best for people watching as far as I'm concerned. But I hate going downtown for anything.
thepictsie at 4:13PM on 02/26/08
Cafe D'Arte is as good as it gets!
Emily Adamson at 4:29PM on 02/26/08
am I the only one who likes Caffe Ladro? the mocha with orange peel is my favorite coffee drink ever.
slashchef at 5:59PM on 02/26/08
Lots of these are great. The icing on the cake, though: Vita's doing free drinks at all of their locations for the duration of the Starbucks outage...
SteveB at 6:39PM on 02/26/08
VIVACE!! I'm with unarata on that one. Best in town, hands down. slashchef, it sounds like your Ladro drink is probably a knockoff (I say only because I am a viciously loyal Vivace drinker, not because I have any proof) of Vivace's Cafe Nico. So so good.... Ladro is my go to on 15th though. Victrola's vibe is weird.
katiekate at 9:52PM on 02/26/08
Caffe Ladro! mmm
paris221966 at 11:29PM on 02/26/08
Written by, "Erin Zimmer, our Washington, D.C., correspondent..."!!! I guess that makes sense to an eastern clientele; after all, Washington IS Washington...
At first glance at the attached map, it is obvious that the same error is made here that characterizes our local pols and other such elitists.
No, Seattle's life does not end at the edge of the downtown core. Seattle's neighborhoods have a rich offering of culture, arts, quality eateries, independent coffee vendors and roasters. To ignore that detail is not doing this otherwise fine site's reputation any favors. Where was Matthew Amster-Burton when this post was written?
czken at 6:28AM on 02/27/08
czken: I do know that Erin contacted a number of friends she has in Seattle and polled them all, collecting intel and observations to put this together. You're right, though; I should have put her in touch with The Mamster as well, since we all know he's a great trusted source in Seattle.
I did like seeing Zeitgeist on this list, though; it was where I grabbed coffee and hung out a bit with friends before going to see the KINGDOME DEMOLISHED.
I'm curious now, though, which places and neighborhoods outside the core would you have placed on the list?
Adam Kuban at 11:34AM on 02/27/08
Okay, I'm not an espresso junkie wandering the neighborhoods of Seattle. Much of my drinking is done behind closed curtains at home.
That said, these are the shops I frequent most; Cafe Ladro in the Gatewood/West Seattle district (they also have an outlet in Broadway/Capital Hill that is far more renowned), Cafe Rozella at the southern edge of West Seattle/Rat City, Angelia's (renamed from the Red Cup after the untimely death of the owner) in the Alaska Junction, Revolution Coffee and Art in the Admiral District, and finally Diva in the Greenwood/Phinney Ridge area.
The point I was making is that far too much attention and resources is paid locally to the downtown core while rich, rich neighborhoods go unacclaimed and neglected. It strikes an even more sensitive nerve to have an out of towner extol only what is found in the heart of town.
Granted, any attempt to list the "best of" coffee houses in Seattle is going to rattle everybody with an opinion. But more, stepping into an age-old fray between downtown and the 'hoods is treading dangerously.
czken at 6:12PM on 02/27/08
I've seen lots of comments on which coffee house is best.
I've been enjoying Espresso in seattle for a very long time now. I started drinking espresso at (does someone else remember?) The Last Exit at it's original location on Brooklyn, which was in the early 80's.
I've been to nearly every coffee shop at one time or another. Ironically, the one I've avoided, because I felt it took itself to seriously, was Espresso Vivace. My friends would keep bugging me, you've got to try Vivace and I would say, but how could it be better than _____. I recently read Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques, which is the Bible for anyone considering opening an Espresso Shop, and decided I had to try it.
I am now ruined. When I go back to my old standards, all I can do is bitch, "It's too bitter", "It's too flat.", "It tastes burnt, etc." I'm not saying no one else can make a decent espresso, but I've never had a bad espresso at Vivace, period. They are the pinnacle as far as I'm concerned.
stanley at 7:12PM on 04/25/08