Seattle is a coffee city. It is amazing and overwhelming. With so many options, it sometimes can feel hard to pick a spot. I embarked on a coffee shop hunt and evaluated my favorites based on three specific criteria:
- Light and Year-Round Vibe Potential: this is a Seattle problem. I want a coffee shop I enjoy being in in both the summer and winter months. Overly dark establishments are great in the winter, but frankly depressing from May-November.
- Neighborhood Identity: One of the best parts about Seattle is that it has so many different and unique neighborhoods. If I didn’t care about how my coffee shop fit and was contributing to the neighborhood feel, I would go to Starbucks.
- Do I feel well?: We have all been overly caffeinated, and under-eaten. When I spend the afternoon in a coffee shop, I want options that bring me to optimal focus.
These are my favorites.
Oxbow
2307 24th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
I am unapologetically obsessed with Oxbow. It falls on my list of 5 places I take everyone who visits me in Seattle. Vibes-wise, Oxbow has a subtle brightness to it – welcome on both rainy days and a warm, sunny summer one. The shop embraces the open concept, and is a comfortable place to spread out and welcome the thoughts into your brain.
I consider Oxbow a coffee shop, but in reality it probably falls under the bakery classification. In addition to coffee, they sell bagels, coffee, pastries, and other sandwiches and snacks. We have all been at that point in our working-at-coffee-shop experiences where we are absolutely starving. Oxbow provides a sustenance-based alternative to the chocolate chip cookie you would have gotten to curb your hunger. Oxbow is also a branch off of Sea Wolf bakery, so their baked-goods gain an extra edge of credibility.
- Light and year-round vibe potential: 5/5
- Neighborhood Identity: 3.5/5
- Wellness: 5/5
Drink of choice: drip coffee for *here*
Bonus treat: sesame bagel w smoked salmon cc; daily quiche
Hello Em
1227 S Weller St, Seattle, WA 98144
Hello Em to me, is everything a coffee shop should offer as a community space. The Vietnamese coffee shop is in the heart of Seattle’s Little Saigon. In addition to Vietnamese ca phe, Hello Em sells banh mi kep (warm banh mi paninis) and other pastries. The shop also partners with the Little Saigon Cultural Collective to host a rotating art gallery, little library, and community meeting space.
- Light and year-round vibe potential: 4/5
- Neighborhood Identity: 5/5
- Wellness: 4.5/5
Drink of choice: Caphe Brulee
Aroom
3801 Stone Way N Suite C, Seattle, WA 98103
Aroom has gotten a lot of (worthy) hype since it opened. This coffee shop serves up delicious, Vietnamese coffee drinks in a minimalist, bright space – perfect for a Seattle outing. If you’re hoping to plant yourself and get some work done, you’ll have better luck on a weekday, but I find their mini-tables and stools the perfect place to catch-up with friends, collaborate with colleagues, or have a journal moment.
Aroom has positioned itself well in the up-and-coming Northlake millennial development. I believe it fits in well into the young-person Fremont/Wallingford development.
- Light and year-round vibe potential: 5/5
- Neighborhood Identity: 4/5
- Wellness: 4/5
Drink of Choice: Cafe Muoi/Salty Coffee
Volunteer Park Cafe & Pantry
1501 17th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
Picture: A Saturday morning with your toddler. That is so far from where I’m at in life, but that is how I picture Volunteer Park Cafe (in the most beautiful way). This classically aesthetic, wholesome environment is a wonderful place to spend a Saturday morning (if you can get a spot), to stop in for a latte before walking around Volunteer Park, or have a work from home moment (note that they don’t allow laptops Friday-Sunday). The cafe itself is bright during the winter, and also has a quiet courtyard to enjoy time in the summer. Their pastries, quiches, cakes, and breakfast sandwiches are overall solid, and the shop embodies North Cap Hill pretty perfectly.
You will also find the smallest sink I have ever seen in their bathroom.
- Light and year-round vibe potential: 5/5
- Neighborhood Identity: 4.5/5
- Wellness: 4/5
Drink of Choice: Iced Vanilla Latte (it’s a classic drink for a classic spot!)
Bonus Treat: egg + cheese sandwich (expensive, but recently voted BEST egg and cheese in Seattle)
Fremont Coffee Co.
459 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103
As I’ve already mentioned, my general problem with Seattle coffee shops is that they overly embrace the cozy, dark, rainy-day feel. This makes sense on all of those dark winter days, but what someone needs to serve us summer once the sun finally comes out. Fremont Coffee Co. is a perfect any-time space. It is the perfect mix of somewhat grungy and super clean. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating with something to fit every need and vibe. They also stay open relatively late, and are a great place to come for a late-evening coffee run or study-sesh.
Fremont Coffee Co. also has an obligatory space in this blog post because it is where I am currently seated!
- Light and year-round vibe potential: 5/5
- Neighborhood Identity: 5/5
- Wellness: 4/5
Drink of choice: blackberry + vanilla french soda with whip cream (of course)
updated Nov. 9, 2023