🌱Planted August 28, 2021.
Last tended October 9, 2025.
Last tended October 9, 2025.
budding 🌿
3 minutes read ⏱
Sometimes while working from home I want to mix things up from the normal work environment at home. Cafes have many perks:
- drinks and small bites
- They smell fantastic
- People watching
- A change of atmosphere/vibe
- Moving to another location is an easy way to rebuild momentum
These are some of my favorite cafés in the Seattle area.
| Venue | City/neighborhood | Laptop friendly | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada’s Cafe | Capitol Hill | ✅ | Technical bookstore with nice indoor/outdoor seating and good tea. Often busy. |
| Anchorhead | Belltown | ⚠️ | Good coffee, great mochas, awesome location. No wifi. |
| Aroom | Fremont | ✅ | Delicious Vietnamese coffee. Seating is limited |
| CoffeeTAB | Belltown | ✅ | Good coffee with a great cause (helping homeless youth). Quiet w/ good seating. |
| Don’t yell at me | Kirkland | ✅ | Clean, modern space with solid bbt. UW location is too busy. |
| Fulcrum Cafe | Belltown | ✅ | Solid coffee and great seasonals. Nice working space |
| Goldvine | Belltown | ✅ | Puget sound views with excellent coffee and seating. Roasting day smells 💯 |
| Happy Lemon SLU | South Lake Union | ✅ | Beautiful outdoor urban area with benches and greenery. Nice for summer |
| HeyTea | Bellevue | ❌ | Easily #1 bubble tea. ❤️ brown sugar bobo & mango coconut boom. No seating |
| Little Oddfellows | Capitol Hill | ⚠️ | Great vibesy cafe in a bookstore. No wifi, but hotspotting works great. |
| Lizzy Kate | Kirkland | ✅ | Great tea shop with indoor & outdoor seating. Limited snack options. |
| Mercury Coffee Co. | Bellevue | ✅ | good variety of food & seating options. Excellent cinnamon rolls! |
| Miro Tea | Ballard | ✅ | large tea selection, including ceremonial matchas. My favorite tea shop. BUSY |
| Mintish | Capitol Hill | ⚠️ | Lovely space with delicious Middle-Eastern inspired flavors. Very slow wifi |
| Nana’s Green Tea | South Lake Union | Tea, sweets, and a few casual Japanese dishes. Great matcha & hojicha | |
| Saint Bread | University District | ⚠️ | Great bakery with immaculate waterfront vibes for Summer. Outdoor only. |
| Starbucks Reserve Bakery | SoDo | ✅ | The vibe and quality of a Starbucks Reserve without the crowd. |
| Storyville Coffee | Belltown | ✅ | Stunning aesthetic with great seating and windows. Overpriced by $1-2 per item. |
| Tea Republik | University District | ✅ | nice selection of teas, cheap & quiet. Good cheap food nearby. |
| Temple Pastries | Leschi / Central | ✅ | Excellent pastries, 100mbps wifi, lots of seating. Try the mushroom quiche! |
| The Shop by Porter | Downtown | ✅ | Beautifully designed hybrid cowork & cafe space. Probably the best cafe for working. |
| URL | First Hill | ✅ | ~30-45Mbps wifi, good matcha & lattes, big tables |
| Vita at KEXP | Seattle Center | ✅ | Strong menu variety, KEXPs community space is great, and excellent music. |