Best Coffee Shops in Seattle

Fonté Café, located on First Avenue across the street from the Seattle Art Museum and steps from the Pike Place Market, offers a European bistro-style experience and is as swanky as a coffee shop in Seattle gets. This cafe is befitting their local roasters reputation “the best micro-coffee roaster in the Northwest,” by Northwest Palate Magazine, which has attracted a prominent, global clientele of luxury hotels including Seattle’s Olympic Four Seasons and Wynn Las Vegas. The décor is elegant; a charcoal-hued wall mural of all things coffee accents the sophisticated subtle grays and earth tones creating a calming allure in the heart of the hectic city. The cozy leather booths along the window offer a great place to work on your laptop and watch the busy city masses walk by. At Fonté, classy does not mean inhospitable. The service is great and in addition to outstanding coffee they offer breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Victrola Cafe and Roastery built in a classic 1920’s building, once called ‘auto row’ is a vintage coffee shop with high ceilings, tall windows, brick walls, cool art, red couches, huge tables and the roaster working away in the full view roasting room. This is a serious coffee house with a friendly atmosphere. If you want to learn about coffee ‘cupping’, regional coffees, processing and more, then join them every Wednesday at 11 AM for free lessons and tastings led by their knowledgeable staff. Free internet.

Located on Capital Hill, long considered the center of Seattle’s counterculture; most noteworthy as the birthplace of the ‘grunge scene’ is Vivace Roasteria. Like the neighborhood, Vivace is eclectic and has a cool vibe that has thrived over the last twenty-years. The café features Northern Italian espresso and their signature curved Italian stand-up bar and checkered linoleum floors covering all 2000 square feet. Along one wall, artist Kurt Wenner’s mural An Italian in Algiers sets the décor tone. There are lots of tables, inside and out, and free internet during weekdays. At Espresso Vivace their goal is to develop, educate and promote caffe espresso as a culinary art. If perfect-artsy foam on your cappuccino tickles your fancy, this is the place. Along with being at the heart of the city, the company writes books, teaches classes and is a leader in the fine art of espresso. Some free parking, some paid.

“Zeitgeist” by definition means “the spirit of the time,” in the coffee world and as coffee shops go, this is a cool place for community, art, good eats, and great coffee just a stone’s throw from Pioneer Square, Chinatown and Mariner’s stadium. Located in the Historic District of Pioneer Square, Zeitgeist’s décor is hard wood floors, brick walls, high ceilings and lots of art. Its clientele is urban; artist to working class. This is a smart and trendy coffee shop and meeting place in the heart of downtown Seattle. Zeitgeist is committed to the arts community of Seattle and displays art from emerging local talent in its ongoing monthly shows. On Seattle’s ‘First Thursday’s’, the big art-walk night in downtown Seattle, Zeitgeist is a meet-up place for the arts community. Wireless is available. Pay parking. So, if art is your thing, and good coffee and food of course, then this is a great urban hangout.

Seattle Coffee Works is a coffee connoisseur’s dream. Located around the corner from the Seattle Art Museum and only steps from the Pike Place Market, this low key coffee shop offers coffee aficionados an opportunity to explore. As the only roaster in downtown Seattle, they roast fresh coffee daily. Aside from a cozy coffee cafe with oak tables and chairs, brightly painted orange walls and inviting nooks with newspapers and books beckoning from the shelves, this is a community friendly place in the heart of the city. In addition to their standard espresso bar, their Slow Bar is what makes them unique in Seattle’s coffee world. It’s what wine tastings are to wine. At the ‘slow bar’ which is easy to spot under the map of the world’s coffee belt you can explore your passion for coffee in a tasting room. With low playing music, lots of seating inside and out, this is a real coffee lovers gathering place.

Bustle is a friendly cafe that offers quality coffee, French pastries, and organic baguette sandwiches. Built as a grocery store over 100 years ago, the space has been renovated but still clings to its original charm as is evidenced in the bits of original wallpaper, fixtures, and paint colors that you’ll notice on the walls. At Bustle they exclusively use Attibassi coffee beans that are flown in directly from Bologna, Italy every week. It’s a smooth rich cup of coffee. With the gracious staff, scrumptious pastries and laid back atmosphere I felt I was back in a neighborhood in Paris relaxing on a Sunday morning with an espresso, a croissant, fresh flowers on the tables and chandeliers over head, just watching the world go by. Free Wifi, Free parking.

Voted number one by Seattle Magazine in their Best of 2010, Café Ladro can be found in several locations about Seattle, but a local favorite, and the original café is on Queen Anne. The richly colored walls and ambiance of the coffee shop give it a funky urban feel that is popular with local writers. Author Jennie Shortridge and others are known to pen a novel or two within these walls. Ladro sells Fair Trade and Shade Grown, Organic coffee and their baked goods are made fresh daily. Sit inside or out and watch hustle and bustle of eventful Queen Anne Avenue. Free internet and free parking.

Recognized by Seattle Magazine, Fresh Cup Magazine, Bon Appetit, Sunset Magazine, and more for their great coffee and dedication to creating a great coffee shop experience, Fuel Coffee in Montlake as well as their other two cafes is a stoic, never disappointing coffee shop experience. People come back over and over for the friendly staff, the strong Coffee Vita roasts and the monthly art classes and art shows, not to mention the delicious pie made at their very own pie shop, HIGH 5 Pies. http://www.high5pie.com/ where you can get pie lollipops. The coffee shop at Montlake has a classic old wooden bar and espresso machine, looking like its right out of the 1940’s. The café’s are well lit, lots of tables and have a time-honored coffee shop feel.

The Flying Apron is a favorite little Fremont coffee café. This place is friendly, open and welcoming. As you enter you’re greeted by the scent of exotic spices, and a row of pastries in the long display case. All the delectable foodies are organic, wheat free, gluten free and vegan. But you’d never know it. This is a first class bakery with irresistible food, great coffee and free internet. It’s a small old-fashioned café with antiques and wood table, but cozy and comfortable right on Fremont Avenue. One of the greatest features about the bakery is that each item is clearly labeled, listing all of its ingredients, making it easier for someone with allergies to make healthier choices with no surprises. What’s even cooler is that they offer day old specials that taste as fresh as just made. But cost half as much.

The University Village branch boasts the distinction of being the second busiest Starbucks in the world, second only to a store in Tokyo. What makes this Starbucks popular is the location. It’s smack in the middle of the U-Village’s trendy shopping center where the hustle and bustle of people coming and going is non-stop. You can grab your coffee and sit at one of the many tables or booths along the windowed wall, rub elbows with university professors, wealthy house wives laden with treasure bags from the surrounding Pottery Barn or chic boutiques and struggling students doing their homework. In this Starbuck’s they used a green design when they revamped the large space. For example; all the table wood was salvaged from a fallen ash tree in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood, the burlap on the walls is from used coffee bags, and the leather on the bar is comprised of scraps from shoe and automobile factories. Hours: 5:00 am daily until late night; hours vary seasonally.

This local hang is hard to find if you don’t know where it is. Solstice, which hides behind a bus stop on University Way is THE quirky, busy, eclectic hang for UW students. The music is loud. The coffee, from Lighthouse Roasters is caffeine charged. The full menu eats are made fresh in their kitchen. Start at breakfast and end the day with a beer. Every student that needs a caffeine pick-me-up and a place with outlets and huge tables to spread out their books goes to Cafe Solstice. With outside seating in the front and back and barstools next to the chatty baristas, seating options are plentiful. After the homework’s done, there’s beer. It’s a perfect homework, socialize, get connected kind of place. On weekends they often have eclectic bands play. Solstace is a definitive U-District hotspot. This is not your grandmas coffee shop.

In the Maple Leaf Neighborhood sits a painted blue gas station turned coffee shop. The Maple Leaf Neighborhood received a Neighborhood of the Year award from Neighborhoods USA in 1986. Little has changed; it’s still a great place with its core values present in the Cloud City Coffee shop. These days it’s hard to find a coffee ‘honor bar’ where you can pour your own and pay only a buck for coffee. The food is made fresh in their busy kitchen. The baked goods are not for the calorie conscious. One menu favorite is their ‘grandma’s recipe’ coconut bread that melts in your mouth. There’s fun art on the walls, books available to read, comfy chairs and tables. The garage has been turned into a welcoming café where patrons pour over their newspapers, work on their laptops, or visit. If you’re a knitter, join them every Saturday at 4:00 pm for their Knitters Meeting. Every neighborhood should have a Cloud City at its heart. Free internet and parking.

Seattle’s Greenlake area, just minutes north of central Seattle buzzes with activity and lots of people and coffee shops, but Zoka Coffee Roaster – Voted ‘2008’s Marco Roaster of the year’ stands out among the best. You can enjoy the aroma of Zoka’s many blends (from many regions) of coffee beans the moment you enter the dark wood paneled café. The coffee is roasted fresh daily; the proof is in the rich smooth flavor. With barista’s who place in or win the Northwest Regional Barista Competitions you can count on a great cup of coffee every time. The pastries are also delicious, fresh and modestly priced. There are lots of thick glassed windows, tables and chairs. The counter up on the elevated floor that is surrounded by bookshelves and looks like an urban study is a great place to people watch or work. While many coffee shops limit your internet time, Zoka welcomes you to stay as long as you like. Free internet. Free parking.

Rated ‘The Best Cupcake Ever Eaten’ by NPR, Ballard’s Cupcake Royale is a treat. Cupcakes with a conscious is their slogan, all made from organic, local ingredients: your tastes buds will go crazy. Where else can you get a Bacon Whisky Maple cupcake? This coffee shop is large, spacious and welcoming to lap toppers or anyone in search of a sugary treat and a great cup of Stumptown Coffee. The café is reminiscent of a 1950’s café with a long table lined wall and pink and brown coffee cups. Free Wifi, some free parking and a busy, but pleasant staff.

Consistently winning ‘top coffee’ awards in a bevy of contests; the Ballard Java Bean is a busy quintessentially northwest coffee shop. Just a stone’s throw from the heart of Ballard’s Scandinavian seafaring community, this coffee shop even offers the local fishing reports. Often jam-packed with students, college professors, dates and neighborhood regulars this café is a much loved meeting place. The wood stove and Pacific Northwest mountain décor creates an old-fashioned homey ambience that is comforting and cozy on Seattle’s rainy days. The coffee is organic, Fair Trade and Shade Grown, the food good, the service friendly. Sit inside or out and enjoy a favorite Ballard establishment. Free parking. Free Wifi.

South of Seattle along Lake Washington is Seward Park’s Cafe Vita. Recently voted by the Huffington Post as one of ‘The 9 Best Places To Have A Cup Of Coffee Around The World’, Caffé Vita has five cafés in Seattle. Consistently a great cup of coffee and good food in an atmosphere that’s unique to each neighborhood, featuring work from local artist. Each café offers free Wi-Fi.

Serving smooth Stumptown coffee and good food, this Central District coffee shop is also a dedicated community meeting place. There’s a large story and play place for kids with local a librarian - very kid friendly, yet still a quiet area for lap topers. This large, off the beaten path coffee house has something for everyone including on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays an open mic for all music, poetry, and written word acts. Free Wifi and free parking.

Madison Park is one of Seattle’s oldest and most traditional upscale neighborhoods along the shores of Lake Washington. The local Tully’s and Starbucks are always a great choice, but in addition there’s the extremely popular Essential Bakery, a long standing favorite coffee shop and eatery. The coffee is their very own freshly roasted Baker’s Blend. The food is certified Organic and made fresh, from scratch, daily. Sit at one of the many windows and enjoy a fabulous organic meal and coffee and watch the busy Madison Valley shoppers go by.

The Honey Bear Cafe is located in the Commons at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. This place is huge and has something for everyone from an enormous book store to a stage for live performances, several selections of restaurants from Chinese to Italian and plenty of free parking, free WiFi and community events daily. The Honey Bear is a wide open spacious coffee shop in the center of it all. You can take your laptop and camp out all day if you like. Honey Bear serves the dark rich coffee from Victrola Coffee Roasters and excellent frothy cappuccinos. And if cake is your thing, this is the place. Honey Bear specializes in delicious tantalizing cakes. The 5-layer Black Forest cake is scrumptious! Now, while this is a busy happening place, it can get noisy, so if a quiet corner is what you seek this may not suit you. But for good food, good coffee, lots of activity, people watching and book browsing, this is wonderland.