05/02/08

Best coffee ever - great environment

by coffee2die4

I have been going to Cafe Allegro since the early 1980s. It has proven to be both the best coffee I have ever had, and the nicest people. The environment is very welcoming, just like the people. Cafe Allegro has been like a canvas upon which my entire experience has been accentuated over many years. I remember the owner as a barista back then, with his beret, and his warm personality. Many a rainy days were given a huge uptick from a visit to Cafe Allegro. Many people I have known have been regulars there; although time has scattered us around the globe, we all still talk about the good old memories of Cafe Allegro and the people who made it special.

• Pros: Coffee, people, ambiance, inspiration
• Cons: Only that I only have one lifetime to experience it.

04/15/08

Go Here If You Want to Feel Like an Inconvenience

by saywhatsaywhat

Dear Bitchy Baristas at Cafe Allegro,

I am sorry that we inconvenienced you by coming into your establishment.

If it is such a bother to explain which pastries are which in your case, maybe you should consider putting signs into the case to save yourself the irritation.

I understand that we had a miscommunication about the size of my drink. For a second I thought maybe I really had misspoken, until you also got our pastry order wrong.

Regarding the size of my drink: I understand that you thought I ordered a short, however, upon my simply asking if the drink you were making was a tall, your response was "YOU ORDERED A SHORT! Do you WANT a TALL?" When I responded with, "Only if you made enough, other wise a short will be fine," you proceeded to slam a tall cup down on the counter in front of me, and then toss the remaining beverage into the cup, spilling milk everywhere.

You know, I get having a bad morning. I was a barista for almost 7 years and sometimes it's f***ing awful to have to get up at 5 in the morning and deal with people. I totally get that. But honestly, I was perfectly nice to you. I smiled, I said thank you, I would have WAY overtipped you guys, and you were just mean for no reason.

Honestly, if you're going to be THAT rude, you should at least make a good drink. Our Americano was mediocre at best, with weak tasting shots that had mere remnants of a crema on top. The foam on my drink... if you can call it foam, was full of giant bubbles and the milk had a burned flavor.

My suggestion to the Baristas: If you're going to try and act like you're such hot sh*t that you're better than everyone you're helping, actually make coffee that's good enough to bring people back despite your attitude.

To everyone else: Think twice before subjecting yourself to the bad energy of the employees at Cafe Allegro.

Sincerely,

A Much Nicer Barista, Who Makes Way Better Coffee Than Those Bitches

• Pros: The Inside of the Shop has a Nice vibe, could be good for studying
• Cons: Awful Service, Mediocre Coffee, Stale Pastry

Beloved by regulars for pouring high-octane shots and treasured for its hideaway location, this U-District cafe is a Jet City institution.

by Contributor

In Short
The narrow room, with exposed-brick walls, certainly feels like a venerable patriarch of Seattle's coffee culture. This is the kind of place where folks read the Sunday New York Times cover to cover and graduate students work intricate equations in dog-eared notebooks. Shots are pulled thick and strong--even die-hard caffeine fiends might consider ordering a single instead of a double. Treats from Essential Baking Company are perfect partners for the potent pours.

03/30/07

Live music upstairs on Friday nights

by alchemst

This has always been a good place to study and have a great coffee, but now they have live music in the upstairs room on Friday nights too! The schedule is posted on their website at www.cafeallegromusic.

• Pros: great atmosphere and coffee
• Cons: limited menu

11/18/06

Mixed feelings

by kee22

Allegro is so so to me. I like their hot beverages and their desserts are good...it's also an ok place to study...I didnt find out about it until my senior year. The bathroom is kind of minimal/almost scary. I totally agree that one of the baristas is snobbish/almost downright rude. So I can't say that I liked it 100%...it's alright.

• Pros: Good hot beverages, good dessert
• Cons: rude barista

06/01/06

User review by 45spike

by 45spike

Not the best spot for studying, with minuscule restroom, very smug barista and entrances/exits facing the foul smelling alley -- not the best ending to your mocha experience... but second floor is nice and the coffee is fantastic !!

03/15/03

pre-SBUX charm

by jtheodore

It's a close community, but not a closed one, at (the) Allegro. It's pretty much just coffee and snacks, and the old timers give themselves away by ordering an au lait, as the menu read back in the 80s, but it's fair dinkum. Super comfortable grad-student/software genius/unemployed n'eer-do-well (non)chic. Coffee-snobs: it tastes a snad burned; Coffee culture-snobs: smoking upstairs only - hey it's Seattle, deal with it!