Ballard Coffee Works

Excellent vibe and perfect place to people watch. It is usually pretty busy. I haven’t gotten any food or pastries yet but as far as coffee goes everything I’ve tried has been great.

Love this coffee shop! Their cold brew on tap is super caffeinated and delicious, never been disappointed here!

I was working from home in the morning so I decided to come here to have a coffee and do a little work. Haven’t been here in a while and it was nice to come back and actually sit for a while.
It’s a relaxing coffee shop, good amount of space to work, and a lot of windows to look at the cool people on the street. It wasn’t as busy as Starbucks across the street and the coffee seemed to taste better as well.
Got me a vanilla latte and some banana bread. My latte wasn’t too sweet and I liked it very much, banana bread was pretty dry, probably wouldn’t get it again.
Overall I enjoyed «working» from here so I would come back again in the mornings. Prices were good and staff was friendly as well.

Pretty great coffee along with some pastries to tie into your beverage. Parking is a little tricky around that area, but if you’re patient you can usually find a spot. There is construction going on the adjacent street so it can be a little wait during the day to find that prime parking spot. I enjoy their outdoor seating during the summer as well as their chai selection.
If you’re in the area and want to hang out to enjoy a great cup of Joe and do some people watching, this is the perfect spot.

OK, OK… I get it now.
Not that I didn’t before, but now that I’m here at least three times a week, getting a single-​origin aeropress or espresso drink, I should probably suck it up and share that I love this place.
Just embrace the coffee. Let it love you as well as you love it. Chew on the savory notes of a Kenyan coffee. Savor the blueberries in an Ethiopian coffee. Be pleasantly surprised by a Bali coffee. There’s plenty to choose from.
Also, and this is my new weakness, the Ellenos yogurts are available, making it a great mid-​morning breakfast stop.
I’ll still say that this is not a place for the timid, or the casual coffee drinker. You probably shouldn’t come here unless you can already name two micro-​roasteries and a single origin region you favor. Just sayin’.

I didn’t actually sit and have a cup here, just stopped in to get some filters and beans (not budget but not horrible), but it looked really nice. Busy coffee house vibe, some food/​snacks, and some beer taps too. They were advertising a happy hour that looked cool. They had a whole bunch of tables, and two current newspapers in those newspaper holding log stick/​rack things you see in the library.
I saw they were selling two or three pins bags of unroasted beans – I guess if you wanna roast them yourself?
Bathrooms were clean.

One of the few places around that serves amazing espresso AND offers coffee brews, like Chemex and the V60 Pourover.
If you want a seriously good Cappucino (or any other espresso drink), or a GREAT Chemex to share with a friend I highly recommend this place.
The staff is cool as hell, and very knowledgeable. Love it here, this is my go-​to place when I want a coffee-​tasting experience.
Can be crowded during the work day, but the internet is always fast. A top notch place to hang out at night, or during free time before your movie starts.

Awesome coffee joint with so many brew methods on the menu. I admit I went for the standard latte, but it was wonderful and beautifully presented.

Perfect little corner coffee house — a good cuppa joe, simple understated ambience, and even some good people watching out the large windows.

I visit Ballard Coffee Works weekly because of the friendly staff, decent coffee and food, and for the indoor and outdoor seating.
I’m not a huge coffee drinker (maybe 1 or 2 drinks a week) and I like my drinks on the sweeter side. So I can’t exactly tell you if this is the best or worst place to get coffee.
I come here mostly because I usually have my dog with me and we can sit outside together. Even though I normally can tie my furry pal outside while I order I know he is also welcome to stand in line with me if I wanted.
I mostly go on the weekends and it’s pretty busy whether I go in the morning or in the afternoon. Regardless, the staff is friendly and does their best to get orders out quickly.

This place EXCEEDED my expectations. I’ve been meaning to come here for probably 2 years, and last night I finally made it happen. I came to get a few things done for school, so I had my laptop. It was around dinner time on a Saturday night. Ballard was hopping (per usual). I came in not wanting any coffee (wayyy too late for me) and I ended up scoring this awesome pre-​packaged «spicy chicken salad» which was delicious and totally gluten-​free for only about 6 bucks and some change. Great deal!
What I loved:
— location, especially great for people watching
— variety of seating
— amount of seating
— availability of outlets
— vibe: I could tell there were locals here
— background music: whoever was picking the tunes has my seal of approval
— wifi with no password = score
— the counter where you can throw away trash, return your dishes, get a glass cup of water, plastic utensils, half ‘n’ half, etc.
— bathrooms are unisex and easily accessible
— the epic quote on the white board near the bathroom hallway, definitely provoked some deep thoughts on my part
— outdoor seating for a warm afternoon
What I would change:
— maybe shut the door? it can get cold and drafty depending on where you’re sitting
— background music volume: ’twas a little too loud on certain notes
Can’t wait to come back earlier in the day to try their coffee (decaf Americano with heavy cream please). Seriously people, why go to Starbucks across the street when you can come HERE!

Can’t believe after three years of coming here I’ve never reviewed this awesome coffeeshop. This is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) coffee houses in all of Seattle.
The drinks are excellent, the staff is always very nice, and there’s a good selection of food and beer/​wine to go with the coffee/​espresso. The space inside is huge and there’s some nice outdoor seating as well. Prices aren’t cheap, but in line with most other local coffee spots. Bonus points that they let you bring in your dog. Overall, this place has it all when you’re looking for a coffee to go or somewhere to hang out while enjoying a delicious latte.

I really did enjoy the atmosphere of this place the service was also good except that the product was nothing memorable at all the mocha was extremely sweet this spicy chai latte which brought me to this place to begin with was very weak definitely not spicy it was just an ordinary chai.
so I’m not sure if I will make the trip again to this place

The grouchy counter guy yelled at me.
I’m recently retired and have been looking for my new «second place» and regular morning hangout. Currently, I’m sitting at the Starbucks located directly across the street, looking at Ballard Coffee Works, enjoying my coffee and snack where people don’t yell at me.

A fun coffee joint in the middle of Ballard. I dig it! You’ll see many people with their computers while book clubs and others will be conversing. My latte was slightly on the bitter side but I tamed it with some sugar. I had a positive experience. They were super busy on the afternoon we went. No biggy. Fun to sit down and get a little work done or chat the day away!

Eh, I love Ballard and pretty much I’ve seen so far but this place was a bit of a let down. Service was astonishing slow, even so with just one party in front of us. I appreciate the coffee craft and taking their time making drinks but it was a little ridiculous that it took so much time for a lackluster cappuccino. The atmosphere kinda makes up for it though, lots of space to relax, work, play etc with outlets galore along with a nice patio area. Maybe we just came on an off night?

Hands down my favorite espresso in Ballard. To top it off, it’s the grooviest feeling coffee spot too.

Great place to hang out for a while — lots of comfy seating, relaxed ambiance. They even have a spot for the kiddos with books, games, etc.
Coffee/​espresso is very good. I love the chemex experience here — something about it is extra perfect. The baristas are always excellent.
I do wish their breakfast sandwiches were better. But overall, I always look forward to an easy Saturday morning at BCW.

If a coffee shop sits next to a big Starbucks and still get a big crowd, then you know it must be good. Ballard Coffee Works is such store.
What BCW drew our attention at the first place was its smell. The authentic strong and pure aroma of coffee beans, not compromised by the sugar or cream. The scent distinct the store from any Starbucks store, because honestly, most Starbucks smells more like bakery than coffee shop now, too sweet and milky.
The interior design is quit artistic. Bright, modern yet cozy. They have a coffee brew bar there and the stuff introduced several options to me enthusiastically. I can see that they’re really serious about the coffee. At the end I ordered same cappuccino like my wife did.
There were lots of people in the store and all the seats were taken, so I went out sitting at the outdoor bar booth, which is quite unique, comfortable and perfect for enjoying the sunshine at a summer day.
I was quite surprised to see the latte art work in our coffee, because ours was to-​go order in paper cups. Not many coffee shops bother to do latte art for paper cups now a days. A big plus.
The scent was excellent and the taste was even better. The taste was strong in coffee’s natural flavor, but also very smooth and well balanced. The after taste for each sip was very clean, no unpleasant bitterness or sour. That’s some perfect coffee beans and brewing.
Love the store, and I will definitely visit them again if in the neighborhood.

As a chai latte fanatic, I’ve tried versions from the ‘Big Boys’ in town and some more independent cafes — and BCW, by far, has the best hot chai latter I’ve ever had! First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed & appreciated the friendly service from start to finish. The counterperson (sorry I didn’t catch your name!) said he had 3 questions for me: sweet or spicy (first time I’ve had a choice!), what size… and, I can’t remember the third question. I had a mix of sweet and spicy — and boy, that was a great choice!
I was enamored with the latte art on top of my beverage — again, a first for me. Little touches like this make me want to go back — it’s all in the details. Anyways, the drink was ridiculously good. Hot, but not too hot. Spicy and flavorful — with REAL spices and REAL chai — not some cheap, corn syrup-​laden flavoring. I wanted to drink it in a hurry because it was so good but I decided to sit and sip white enjoying the free wifi.
The perfect hot bevvy to enjoy on a chilly January afternoon. I look forward to my next visit!