Seattle Cafes 2016-2024

In my mind, Seattle has a reputation for good coffee. Maybe it’s because Starbucks is from Seattle. Maybe it’s because the weather is cold and dreary like Portland – the perfect coffee weather. Maybe it’s because it’s a big city with a large international population. Or maybe it’s because all my other food and beverage experiences there have been so positive.

Whatever the reason, I had high expectations for Seattle. I asked friends for recommendations and researched extensively to find the best of the best. Over the course of many weekend trips to Seattle in the past few years, I managed to visit all of these cafes.

When I first started my quest, I was disappointed that the cafes I visited didn’t wow me. As it happens, they were all establishments that had been around for a while. But over the years, as new and interesting places cropped up, the coffee scene got better and better.

Here is the list in its entirety: the old and the new, the good and the bad. It’s certainly not every café in Seattle – not even close – but it’s a fairly accurate representation of some good options at this point in time.

Victrola, 2016

Zoka, 2016

URD, 2024

Union, 2018

Storyville, 2021

Sound & Fog, 2018

Slate, University District, 2016 [closed]

Phin Cafe, 2023

Mr. West, 2019

Little Oddfellows, 2019

La Marzocco, 2018 [closed]

Herkimer, 2022

Hello Em, 2023

Evoke Cafe, 2019 [closed]

Elm Coffee Roasters, West Seattle, 2019

Elm Coffee Roasters, 2022

Craftworks, 2023

Capitol Coffee Works, 2023 [closed]

Broadcast, 2018 

Anchorhead Coffee, 2019 

Analog Coffee, 2022

Ada's, 2022

203 F, 2024

Here We Go Again: Lockdown 2.0

 Almost as soon as I thought things were starting to get better, when restrictions seemed to be loosening and I felt more and more comfortable going out, the city of Portland went right back into lockdown. 

Just the week before, I had done the two things I was most looking forward to post-pandemic: Olympus Spa and Proud Mary. 

Olympus Spa is a Korean Spa with locations in Tacoma and Lynwood, just south and north of Seattle. Ever since my first trip there in 2016, I have fallen in love with that place and try to go every time I am in Seattle. Unfortunately I didn't make it there before the lockdown in March, and I was dreaming of going ever since. 

After eight months of closure, finally in October they announced they would reopen with a myriad of restrictions: 50% capacity reduction, appointment only, had to wear a mask at all times (even in the pools), temperature check at the door, signed consent form, everything sanitized, etc. But I didn't care - I wanted to go. So on a Thursday I called them up and booked the earliest appointment for Monday. I took off work and drove 3 hours north just for a day at the spa. 

It was amazing. Even though my mask got wet. Even though breathing through a wet mask made me feel like I was being waterboarded. I still got to go in all the heated pools, savor the dry sauna, enjoy a decadent lunch at their Korean restaurant, hang out in the heated rooms, and get a full body scrub. And even better, I got to do it all with my best friend. 

On the way back from Seattle I also got to check out a new cafe in the area: Olympia Roasters. We went to their flagship store in Olympia which is usually packed. 

Emboldened by my success at the spa, I booked long-awaited reservations at the newly opening dining hall of Proud Mary. In December of last year I had taken a dear friend from Japan to Proud Mary and had been savoring their  flat white and toast with scrambled eggs ever since. During the lockdown Proud Mary was offering takeout and delivery, but not their flat white and  toast with scrambled eggs. So I waited and waited and finally made reservations and had my first in-door dining experience since March. 

Again, it was wonderful. The food and flat white were exactly as I remembered. We even sat at the exact same table I sat at with my friend a year ago. I also appreciated the reduced capacity and 6-ft distance from other diners because the place was packed and I felt like I had a lot more space and privacy than before. 

I was lucky to have these two incredible experiences before lockdown 2.0. Now Olympus Spa is closed again, and Proud Mary is back to takeout only. I am sad that this joy did not last, but grateful that I got to experience it while I could. 

Hanami with my baby

I try to celebrate the Japanese tradition of Hanami every year. When the cherry blossoms begin to bloom, I head to the park to photograph them like I've never seen them before. My photo album is full of identical photos of cherry blossoms, and it is impossible to distinguish one year from the next. However, this past year we had a defining photo shoot with out 2-month-old baby. 

It was a glorious day at the University of Washington, where practically all of Seattle was there trying to get a good picture. 

Dress: NM Neiman Marcus

Scarf: Vintage

Leggings: Urban Outfitters

Seattle Road Trip: an exodus in three feet of snow

What do you do when you have planned a weekend road trip with your best friend and it snows three feet in your city?

Go anyway!

That wasn’t the advice I would give. That’s more of the chance I would take.

My friend and I had been planning a girls’ trip up to Seattle for months and when we finally nailed down the date and booked our airbnb, we were stoked. Only one little thing got in our way: Portland was hit by it’s biggest winter storm yet and we were buried in three feet of snow.

After much deliberation we decided to rent an SUV with 4-wheel drive and try to tough it out. This was not an easy task.

Step 1: To get to the car rental location, I had to walk one mile in the ice.

Step 2: I boarded the MAX (light rail) and road it for one hour to the rental location. MAX service had previously been suspended for days due to the weather, and they had only just started running the trains the day before. I had no guarantee that my train would not be derailed en route. Fortunately I made it.

light rail station

Step 3: The car rental agency came to pick me up in a vehicle with chains and drove me to the center.

Step 4: I get the most bad-ass car on the lot, and load up on insurance.

one of the better roads that was plowed

Step 5: I creep along the icy roads and pick my friend up at her place. After a scary could of miles on the war-torn freeway, we made it out of snow-country and it was smooth sailing for the rest of the trip.

at a rest stop on the way to Seattle

 

In Seattle we checked into an awesome airbnb in Capital Hill. Perfect for walking to the restaurants in the international district, and the bar in Capital Hill. Almost as soon as we arrived we treated ourselves to a spa experience at The Hot House, an all-women nude spa in the basement of a lesbian bar. I love Seattle.

our bad-ass airbnb

we made it!

For dinner, we ate the best meal of my life at a Syrian restaurant called Mamnoon.  We ordered:

Moushakal: muhammara, hummus, shamandar bi tahini, baba ganoush

Dolmeh: stuffed vine leaves, sweet and sour rice, parsley, shallots, labneh

arnabeit makli: fried cauliflower, tarrator, parsley

kefta: minced beef and lamb, pistachio, baharat, cherry tomatoes, laban bi khiar

And two desserts, one a tangy custard with pomegranate and homemade marshmellows, and the other an icecream with chocolate and meringue.

The next day, we had a food feast: Chinese hot pot, Hawaiian guava cake, Taiwanese bubble tea. Then walked through downtown, stopping off at Seattle awesome public library and sculpture garden, before visiting the highlight of the day: Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. This was a very special museum for my friend who is a professional florist, and love’s Chihuly’s glass renderings of flowers.

The day we drove back to Portland, we prepared ourselves for another long icey drive in the snow by stopping off at Olympus Spa on the way. What was supposed to be a two-hour detour at the spa (again, another all-women nude space) ended up being 5+ hours with lunch. This spa was really incredible and you could easily spend the entire day here. One of the best parts was the Korean restaurant in the spa, which made delicious chijimi pancakes and soondobu. I took a photo of us  in the restaurant wearing our spa uniform: a robe and silly pink hair net.

After a long and scary drive, we made it back to snow-laden Portland a little warmer and happier than before we left.