Best Coffee Shops in Seattle

Seattle knows a good cup of coffee and is home to some of the best cafés and roasteries in America. Want to know where we get our coffee kicks in the Emerald City? Here are some of our favorite spots.

Caffé Vita Coffee Roasting Co.
From its beginnings as a Queen Anne coffeehouse in 1995, Vita has remained adamant about quality. Visit any of its six Seattle cafés for first-rate, farm-direct coffee and espresso. Six locations, caffevita.com

Cherry Street Public House
Run by 2014 United States Barista ChampionLaila Ghambari, this café in Pioneer Square serves coffee all day and beer and wine in the evening. 210 Occidental Ave. S, cherrystreetpublichouse.com

Dubsea Coffee
Get your hands on Stumptown Coffee, Rishi Tea, and pastries from Macrina and Le Fournil in the formerly underserved White Center neighborhood. 9910 Eighth Ave. S.W., dubseacoffee.com

Elm Coffee Roasters
Elm serves its house-roasted coffees out of a beautifully minimalistic, sun-soaked space in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. 240 2nd Ave S #103, elmcoffeeroasters.com

Empire Espresso Bar
Visit this Columbia City café for fresh brews from Kuma Coffee, and don’t skip the house waffles and crêpes. 3829 S. Edmunds St., empireespressobar.blogspot.com

Espresso Vivace
Operating on Capitol Hill since 1988, Vivace was a pioneer in the local and national espresso craze, and it’s the home of the now-classic rosetta latte-art design. All three locations are worth checking out, but definitely visit the Sidewalk Bar on Broadway, which has been a fixture on the storied street for more than two decades. Three locations, espressovivace.com

Herkimer
This little PhinneyWood roastery is serious about good coffee. Visit either of Herkimer’s beloved neighborhood coffee bars to taste roaster Scott Richardson’s handiwork. 7320 Greenwood Ave. N., 5611 University Way N.E., herkimercoffee.com

Honor Coffee
Honor serves beans from Olympia Coffee Roasting in beautifully designed shops across Seattle. Six locations, honorcoffee.com

Kuma Coffee
Visit this microroaster’s self-styled Wallingford retail location to taste the latest direct-trade coffees from hard-working roaster Mark Barany. 4110 Stone Way Ave. N., kumacoffee.com

La Marzocco Cafe
From the makers of the ubiquitous La Marzocco espresso machine comes this stunning café located in KEXP’s Seattle Center HQ. Each month there’s a new roaster featured on the menu, and the space includes an espresso lab where enthusiasts can learn to make espresso. 472 1st Ave. N, lamarzoccousa.com

Lighthouse Roasters
This tiny café/roastery has been churning out top-notch coffee since 1994. Get a French press of fresh-roasted coffee, and hang out in the cozy, no-frills environs. 400 North 43rd St., lighthouseroasters.com

Makeda Coffee
This eclectic Greenwood coffeehouse features a range of single-origin coffees and blends from Ballard microroaster Seven to a steady stream of neighborhood locals. 153 N. 78th St., makedacoffee.com

Milstead & Co.
This new arrival from celebrated local barista Andrew Milstead is caffeinating Fremont with a range of coffees from Stumptown, Coava and Chicago-based Intelligentsia. 770 N. 34th St.,  milsteadandco.com

Porchlight Coffee and Records
Local Herkimer coffee, Macrina pastries and Zatz bagels, plus a carefully curated selection of new and used vinyl, have made this two-year-old Capitol Hill shop a neighborhood favorite. 1515 14th Ave., porchlightcoffee.com

Royal Drummer
This lovely shop in Ballard opened in the spring of 2017 and features a variety of Pacific Northwest roasters and a rotating menu of baked goods. 1515 14th Ave., theroyaldrummer.com

Seattle Coffee Works
Just up the street from Pike Place Market, this coffee bar, tasting room and roastery offers a range of single-origin coffees—some brewed on a Seattle-made Trifecta machine. Check out the “slow bar” cupping lab, where they encourage customers to play with their coffee. 107 Pike St., seattlecoffeeworks.com

Slate Coffee
With four locations across Seattle, Slate serves house-roasted coffee presented beautifully and thoughtfully, including their popular deconstructed espresso + milk. Four locations, slatecoffee.com

Stumptown Coffee
The Portland, Oregon-based biggest little coffee roaster in the country burst onto the Seattle scene in 2007 with these two stylish Capitol Hill cafés, recharging the local coffee scene with its own brand of relationship-coffee cool. 1115 12th Ave., 616 E. Pine St., stumptowncoffee.com

Tougo Coffee Co.
This family-friendly coffeehouse in the Central District brews coffees from Stumptown, Intelligentsia, local roaster Velton’s and San Francisco’s Ritual Coffee. 1410 18th Ave., tougocoffee.com

Union Coffee
This beautifully designed designed shop in Capitol Hill serves Olympia Coffee Roasting beans, yogurt bowls and locally made pastries. 2407 E Union St., Ste. B, instagram.com/unioncoffeeseattle

Victrola Coffee Roasters
A Capitol Hill institution for 11 years, Victrola recently expanded to a second Capitol Hill location—the lovely, airy Victrola Roastery and Café, where it hosts free public cuppings every week. Three locations, victrolacoffee.com

Zoka Coffee Roaster & Tea Co.
After it opened in 1996, and before the recent wave of new-school coffee bars, this roaster was a major player in the local coffee scene. Zoka broke its own laidback, comfy coffeehouse mold with its recent Kirkland Zoka, a cutting-edge contender complete with a single-origin espresso bar featuring a Slayer espresso machine. Four locations, zokacoffee.com