The Best Coffee Shops in Seattle by Neighborhood
Finding your favorite coffee shop can be challenging, like finding your ideal home; aesthetics and location are everything. Just like I would love to be your guide to finding your perfect property, I would be thrilled to help you find your soul-mate cup of coffee (we all have one). Once you fall in love with one of the coffee shops below, give me a ring, and we can find you the perfect home just around the corner.
Ballard / Woodland Coffee
Woodland Coffee began in 2016 out of our family's love for coffee and a nonchalant place to get it. Known for curating rotating local roasters, Woodland always provides a great ambiance and a solid cup of joe.
Beacon Hill / Victrola Coffee
This is the perfect spot to sit with a book on the weekend or to bring your laptop along to knock out some work with a coffee in hand. I recommend the Cappucino at Victrola, it is silky smooth and highlights their incredible esspresso.
Belltown / Fulcrum Coffee
This cafe is in an amazing location on the corner of Bell & 6th. Insider tip: they have a rotating selection of interesting seasonal drinks for adventurous coffee drinkers.
Capitol Hill / Caffe Vita & Espresso Vivace
These two coffee shops are tied for the best espresso in Capitol Hill. Caffe Vita serves up a more moody and gritty vibe while Espresso Vivace feels like everyone’s neighborhood go-to coffee shop. Both will provide a killer espresso shot any day.
Chinatown-International District / Hood Famous Cafe and Bar
This Chinatown International District shop is known for its incredible Filipino treats, including the cafe’s famed bright purple ube cheesecakes. There are also delectable pandan lattes and iced calamansi espresso tonics.
Columbia City / Empire Espresso
Columbia City’s gem is known for excellent seasonal latte art, crispy waffle snacks, and the record store upstairs. Great for a leisurely morning of browsing records while sipping a latte.
General Porpoise
Fremont / Milstead & Co
They bring in a rotating selection of coffees from roasters up and down the west coast. It’s a cool way to discover new coffee companies and try some stuff you wouldn’t usually get in Seattle.
Greenwood / Preserve and Gather
Greenwood’s shop has built a reputation for making a wonderful cortada. Its current menu includes amazing take and bake cookies and scones, Salt Blade Salami, and whole bean coffee from Fulcrum. This bright space is perfect for leisurely hangouts, with attentive staff.
Laurelhurst / General Porpoise
What could be better than coffee accompanied by a doughnut? Enough said.
Fulcrum Coffee
Pike Place / Moore Coffee
If you’re looking for latte art and waffles, you should stop by Moore Coffee! This coffee shop is a small spot that fills up quickly on the weekends but there is a small outdoor seating area if you can’t find a spot inside.
Pioneer Square / Caffé D'arte
This company specializing in Northern Italian espresso has been roasting beans since 1985, so it knows its stuff. At the cafe’s location in Pioneer Square, there’s wood-roasted cold brew and stovetop espresso, as well as a selection of light snacks. This outpost is open for takeout and limited onsite seating.
Queen Anne / Caffe Ladro
A little cafe on Upper Queen Anne blossomed into a mini-empire 25 years after first opening and has become a well-loved staple of the Seattle coffee scene with its own roasting program. They are known for the short Yankee Dog (an Americano with a dash of cinnamon).
Phinney Ridge / Herkimer Coffee
This small chain is home to some of the best coffee in Seattle, period. If you fall in love with Herkimer’s roasts head to their website and enroll in a coffee subscription that will make a great addition to your pantry.
South Lake Union / Cafe Hagen
South Lake Union’s Cafe Hagen sports a Copenhagen vibe. However, the cafe was started by a Danish native, and I can vouch that the vibe is comfortable, yet fierce, with a good amount of inviting European chic thrown into the mix. Cafe Hagen has idyllic floor-to-ceiling windows, the interior is blond wood, sleek black chairs, and the odd tufted leather easy chair with a white sheepskin rug thrown casually over top, a refined sense of hygge. This is the ideal spot to meet up with a friend you need to catch up with or for a casual business meeting.
University District / Cafe Allegro
One of the oldest shops and roasteries in the Seattle area, Café Allegro has been serving up espresso in the University District since 1975. The store is open for takeout, and there’s a selection of coffee, tea, while the shop has even posted some brew tutorials online. Other places may have surpassed Allegro in terms of coolness, but the PNW chillness here is eternal.
West Seattle / Sound and Fog
In this ultra-minimalist, but inviting shop in West Seattle, beans from a variety of PNW brands are featured, with Portland’s acclaimed Heart Roasters prominent. Seasonal drinks, like espresso soda, nitro and regular cold brew on tap, and beer and wine, round out the impressive beverage selection.
White Center / Moonshot
This small espresso bar in White Center is a very cute spot to grab a cup of coffee and a pastry for a quick snack and caffeine pick-me-up. They also have a great selection of tea if you are trying to cut back on your coffee addiction.
