Cafe Allegro | ★★★★★

Cafe Allegro

4214 University Way NE

Seattle, WA 98105

Rating: ★★★★★

Hours:

M-F 6:30am - 10:00pm  

Sat 7:30am - 10:00pm 

Sun 8:00am - 10:00pm

Website: seattleallegro.com

Facebook Page: facebook.com/seattleallegro

Who Is It For?:

Anyone - if you can find it. 

Neighborhood:

University District

Ease of Location:

Impossible to find unless you are looking for it (and know where to look). It is in an alley between University Way NE and 15th Ave NE off of NE 42nd St. Got it? Whew!

Local:

Yes.

Multiple Locations:

No. The one and only.

Transit:

Tons! Holy Cow! King County Metro 30, 43, 44, 48, 49, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 83, 167, 197, 271, 373. Sound Transit 542, 556, 586 all within 1 block of the coffee shop.

Parking:

Tough. U-District. Metered or parking lots.

Price:

$ Coffee. $$ Food

Coffee Brand:

Cafe Allegro.

What I Had:

Decaf Café Americano, Steamed Cream, 2 Splendas.

How Was It?:

Great!

Staff:.

Friendly, but not overly so. It was Sunday afternoon; I think shift-change was right around the corner.

Crowd:

Mostly students, artist-types.

Food:

Don't know - they were wiped out when I got there.  That's a good sign as far as I'm concerned.

Seats & Tables:

Wooden chairs with seat padding, which was the final tipping point that gave them 5 stars.

(3) 4-person booths, wooden seats.

(4) 2-person tables downstairs; (6) two-person tables upstairs.

(8) 3-person tables.

(6) 4-person tables

Outdoors:

Yes. Two long, wooden benches.

Recycling:

Yes. Plus composting.

Power:

Good as long as you have a table by the walls. If you're in the middle forget about it.

Music:

Interesting mix of 50's  & 60's music while I was there. Early Ike and Tina Turner review, Santo and Johnny's ever timeless and beautiful "Sleepwalk."

I went back a second time - good music again plus live music upstairs!

Decor:

American rustic. I'm not sure if there's any other kind of decor for a coffee shop in Seattle.

Temperature:

Ok. A little chilly for my taste. But I'm always freezing.

Heat-A/C:

Central air.

Lighting:

Incandescent. Giant bay windows along the front wall bring in tons of light. Upstairs and the extra room are full of light too.

Special/Extra:

My friend Pat, a Seattle native, says this was the first espresso coffee shop in Seattle, having opened in 1975 and that Starbucks borrowed the idea from this place. 

Their website confirms this and says that Allegro has "…apparently served as the basis for the design of the original Starbucks coffeehouses."

Wikipedia also says that "…founding proprietor Dave Olsen designed the Starbucks coffee product line."

Other Notes:

Fantastic vibe and mojo in this place. It has two extra, attached rooms that give it this rambling/ambling/stumble around feel to it. One of the rooms is upstairs and the stairs can only be accessed from outside.

Foreign currency and art posters on the walls. Love it.

More Info from their Website:

In 1975, Allegro founder Dave Olsen started a little coffee shop in the 1909, former mortuary that still houses us today. 

Olsen's original design of the coffeehouse as an cozy, artsy, neighborhood joint survived the success of the "to go" focused, fast-paced environment of his later Starbucks legacy--and apparently served as the basis for the design of the original Starbucks coffeehouses. 

Over the years, the cafe has been managed by two sets of baristas-turned-owners, whose prime directive continues to be a continued adherence to the Old Ways: keep the coffee good, the music on and the atmosphere chill. So seriously--this place is addictive. Watch out.

Jewel Box Café | ★★★★★

Jewel Box Café

321 NE Thornton Pl, Seattle, WA 98125

(206) 432-9341

Rating: ★★★★★

As good as it gets. Fantastic. Comfortable. Open early & late. Northgate location will make coffee shop snobs scoff. But they can hit the bricks.

Website: 

http://www.jewelboxcafe.net/

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jewel-Box-Cafe/175706992459139

Hours:

M - T: 6 am-11 pm | Fri - 6am to midnight 

Sat 8 am – Midnight | Sun 8am - 11am

Who Is It For?:
Anyone looking for a great place to get coffee or food, business people, people in the Northgate area, people who want a late night coffee, students (North Seattle College, Everest College, Pima Medical Institute).

Neighborhood: 
Northgate

Ease of Location: 
Exceptionally easy:  Right off of the I-5 and Northgate exit, directly across from the Northgate Mall, across 103rd.

Local: 
Yes

Multiple Locations: 
No. Totally independent.

Transit:  
Tons. Northgate Transit Center is 550 feet away. 
Metro: 16, 40, 41, 66, 67, 68, 75, 242, 303, 345, 346, 347, 348, 995
Sound Transit: 555, 556

Parking:  
Plentiful. There is a parking garage directly beneath the area.

Price: 
$$

Coffee Brand: 
Zoka Coffee

What I Had: 
12 oz drip breve 1 Splenda

How Was It?: 
Ok. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Again, this is "Where Would Ed Drink," not "What."

Staff:  
Incredibly friendly and hardworking. 
Top notch, a hundred percent. 
Great sense of humor, best staff I have encountered in my travels so far. 
The customer in front of me ordered some food, and it was done before she could pay for it. She exclaimed "Wow! You're fast!"

Food:
A huge menu.

Seats & Tables: 
6 2-person tables.
7 3-person tables.
1 bar-height counter with 6 bar stools.

4 4-person booths.
1 2-person waiting booth as well - awesome.

3 person couch with a large table in front of a fireplace.
2 high-back chairs - old Victorian style.

Outdoors: 
6 – bar-height metal tables with tile tops.
Four bar-height chairs with each table. 

Metal, a couple of padded seats!

Recycling: Yes.

Power:  
All over the place. Nearly every seat and booth. 

Music: 
Everything near as I can tell. 
At the time, R & B. “U Shoulda Known Better” by Monica was playing while I was there. 
They also have live music events, I’m sure there’s a wide variety of music.

Decor: 
A great combo of American diner with Americana old wood, & a Victorian era parlor tonight area with couches and chairs. 
It’s comfortable and a real welcome expansion on the usual small, uncomfortable chairs of a lot of coffee shops.

Temperature: 
Good. It was a little cool and there but not too bad; I am still trying to get acclimated to the thicker air of Seattle (vs 3 years of living in the thin air of Denver).

Heat-A/C:  
Central air. Air conditioning and heat. 
Be a good place in sweltering heat, which we’ve had a lot of in 2014-2015 here in Seattle.

Lighting:
Lots of natural light. 
Two of the walls are windows and bring in the light.
Incandescent bulbs with chandeliers and on the wall fixtures. Interesting look and quite lovely.

Special / Extra:
Tall entryway doors are at least 8 feet high, with metal artwork on top of the glass. 
“Garage door” walls that open up for sunny warm days.

Other Notes: 
Padded booths in the style of a diner.
All the chairs have padded seats which is 100 percent completely awesome for me. 
A lot of the tables have checkerboard squares on the tops of them. 

You can call your order in by phone if you are running short on time. 

They serve a multitude of different food and drinks. 
They have a 12th man flag over the counter.

Caffe Vita - Fremont

Caffe Vita - Fremont

4301 Fremont Ave N

Seattle, WA 98103

(206) 632-3535

Rating: ★★★★☆

So incredibly close to perfect. Except all seats are wooden - no comfy chairs. Yeah, I know. But this is important to me.

Hours:

M-F 6am-8pm | Sat & Sun 7am-8pm 

Website:

http://www.caffevita.com/locations/wa/fremont 

Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/caffevita 

Who Is It For?:
Everyone.

Neighborhood:
Fremont.

Ease of Location:
Easy as can be. Blocks away from Aurora Ave / US Hwy 99, blocks south of N 46th St, Downtown Fremont, 2 miles west of I-5 (taking NE 45th St).

Local:
Yes.

Multiple Locations:
Yes.

Transit: 
KC Metro 5.

Parking:
On-street only. You might have to walk a block or too, but it's a pretty slow neighborhood and you could use the exercise anyways, dude.

Price: 
$

Coffee Brand: 
Caffe Vita. That is correct; they make their own.

What I Had: 
Decaf Americano.

How Was It?:
Unbelievably amazing. 

Staff:
Very, very friendly. Barista Tiffany was super and very helpful. 

Food: 
Baked goods, gluten-free selection, Mighty-O Donuts, Theo Chocolate, Skydotter Epic Cookies. Milk alternatives soy and milk rice milk hemp and almond. Theo has their own blend of coffee designed to drink with their chocolate. It's not chocolate, but a coffee blend.

Seats & Tables:
2 2-person tables with bench seats and one wooden chair
3 3-person table with wooden chairs

1 5-person bar-height counter, facing the window that looks out on Fremont Ave N with 5 Bar Stool seats, made of wood.

Outdoors:
Yes. 3 Outdoor tables, metal with 2 metal chairs each.

Recycling:
Yes. Compost too!  

WiFi:
Yes. Free.

Power:
Good. One outlet near front windows, one by the two free-standing tables, one by the 1-3 chair table & 2-2 chair tables, 3 along the bench seats.

Music: 
Barista's choice. Good stuff while I was there, including Television's "Marquee Moon." 

Decor:
Old school decor, for instance old school clock, phone. I love this kind of stuff. Light brown, dark brown, aged wood.

Temperature:
Good. Same as outside - 65°. 

Heat-A/C:
Central Air.

Lighting:
A lot of windows, natural lighting. The rest is incandescent. 

Special/Extra:
Caffe Vita supplies the coffee for several other coffee shops in town.
Lots of swag. They sell their own coffee cups and T-shirts, Theo chocolate. 

Other Notes:
Bay windows open up to both streets, Fremont Ave N and N 43rd St, which is awesome!

Chocolati - Green Lake

Chocolati

7810 Green Lake Dr N

Seattle, WA  98115

(206) 527-5467

Hours: 

M-Sa 8am-9pm | Sun 10am-8pm

Website: 

www.chocolati.com

Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/ChocolatiFactory

Rating: ★★★★★

Who Is It For?:
Anyone, especially coffee and chocolate lovers.

Neighborhood:
Green Lake

Ease of Location:
Not bad. West of I-5, not too far from Hwy 99/Aurora Ave, it's nestled in the middle of E Green Lake Dr N, it's a bit of a chore with all the runners and slow-moving cars in the way. But not that big of a deal.

Local:
Yes

Multiple Locations:
Yes

Transit:
KC Metro 16, 48

Parking: 
Non-Existent. You need to park on the street, and it's usually pretty packed. Don't be discouraged, it's worth it.

Price: 
$

Coffee Brand: 
Lighthouse from Fremont

What I Had: 
Decaf Americano and a sea salt truffle (see below).

How Was It?: 
Blast off! It was great!

Staff: 
Best yet. Friendly, outgoing, totally got my sense of humor. This of course scores big points with me.

Crowd: 
Locals, lots of folks on laptops.

Food: 
Ungodly amount and choice of chocolate, hand-made, pre-made sandwiches, fruit.

Seats & Tables: 
2 2-person square tables
2 2-person round tables
Wooden chairs
3 comfy chairs w/coffee tables

Outdoors: 
2 2-person square tables, wooden seat chairs w/metal frames
3 wooden park benches

Recycling:  
Yes, plus composting. Nicely done, Chocolati!

WiFi: 
Yes, free.

Power: 
Ok. One plug only, however, the place is tiny. Bring your extension cord.

Music: 
Barista's choice. Black Keys, XX, Johnny Cash, Modest Mouse were playing overhead from Pandora. This could read like my favorite music list.

Decor: 
Rustic. Wood floors, wood ½ walls, burnt orange walls.

Temperature: 
Perfect. Same as outside; it was 75°

Heat-A/C:
No heat. Wall-mounted a/c & fan unit. 

Lighting: 
All natural on South Wall, takes up a huge amount of the interior.
Incandescent track & recessed lighting.

Special/Extra: 
Chocolate is unbelievable. They'll give you a free truffle on your 1st visit.  I had one with sea salt. I thought I would pass out this stuff was so good.

Other Notes:
Place is really small.  It was hard for me to fit in, because of my size. Place could be really tough to navigate in busier times. I was there at 4:00 pm on a Thursday afternoon, so I'm not sure if the size is a pain. But you could always walk around Green Lake instead of hanging out inside.  Totally worth it, this place is amazing.

Fuel Coffee - Wallingford

Fuel Coffee - Wallingford

1705 N 45th St

Seattle, WA 98103

(206) 634-2700

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Hours: 

M-F 6am-7pm | Sat-Sun 7am-7pm

Website: 
www.fuelcoffeeseattle.com

Facebook Page: 
www.facebook.com/fuelcoffeeseattle

Who Is It For?:
Anyone in the city. Easy to access, good price, enough seats and tables to accommodate the clientel.

Neighborhood:
Wallingford

Ease of Location:
Easy. 1/2 way between I-5 and Hwy 99/Aurora Ave, on NE 45th St, one of the main-est main drags in Seattle.

Local:
Yes.

Multiple Locations:
Yes.

Transit: 
KC Metro 16, 44.

Parking: 
In back, on street. Not difficult once you're off N 45th St.

Price: 
$

Coffee Brand:
Caffe Vita.

What I Had: 
Americano with steamed cream.

How Was It?: 
Great!

Staff: 
Very friendly & helpful.

Crowd: 
Locals, students.

Food: 
High 5 Pies & baked goods. Mighty O Doughnuts. The pies were totally gone by the time I got there. Rats.

Seats & Tables: 
7 2-person tables (2 pushed together to make a 4-person table.
4 1970's style chairs
1 metal framed, vinyl cushioned love seat
1 2-person bar-height counter
1 4-person bar-height counter
Both have metal stools.

All chairs are wooden, with no padding. The 1970's chairs were quaint, but not exactly comfy. And this place was almost perfect.

Outdoors: 
Yes. 3 metal lawn chairs.

Recycling: 
Yes, and composting too! 

WiFi: 
Yes. Free. I think I'm going to eliminate this category.

Power: 
Plentiful.

Music: 
Barista's Choice. "Nirvana MTV Unplugged" was on while I was there.

Decor: 
Rustic Americana.

Temperature: 
Warm - it was a cold day outside.

Heat-A/C: 
Nothing obvious. Not sure.

Lighting: 
Incandescent, frosted white globes.

Special/Extra: 
An old map of the U.S.A. adorns the back wall.

Other Notes: 
Place has a very 1930's Art Deco feel to it. I feel like I stepped into a modern-day John Steinbeck novel.