Cafe Allegro At the College Inn

The loss of Café Allegro quite possibly marks the beginning of the end for the Ave. It was your signature study group and coffee in the slow part of the afternoon, parent-​student weekend breakfast any time of day, and by far the best breakfast within walking distance to south campus. Also, fresh pastries and coffee any time of day. The people there are great, as long as you’re as easy going as they are. The nice young man working the counter last time I went in informed me that it was converting to a Thai restaurant… He said he didn’t think it was a good idea, and I’d have to agree. Definitely more a student hang out than a yuppie and kid day out, and too small for large groups.

Personally, I loved going here for Sunday morning breakfast. The staff is laid back, the food was good, and the jam might be my favorite part. If the review below me is true, and they are really closing, well then, I need to go eat there before August 15.

A Special Place in Hell
Apparently, the Café Allegro at the College Inn will be closing its doors as of August 15^th.
A place that once rocked eggs and coffee 7 days a week, where no one blinked twice if you ordered a shot of Jim Beam with a bowl of oatmeal back and where everyone knew your name – even if it was punctuated with «high-​maintenance prick” – Café Allegro was a neighborhood institution.
It is all but gone now, brought down not by Big Business, The Man, or University development, but by a strutting trust-​fund baby wrapped in hipster clothing. I suppose this man cannot be blamed for the devastation he has caused by ripping out the livelihoods of his entire staff from under their feet; we live in a world driven by a free market system and it is his business to play with as he sees fit. What puzzles me is that this man would purchase a potentially incredibly lucrative café, ignore it until it drowns in its own filth and reopen it as the 11^th Thai restaurant in a 10-​block radius.
This is just one more blow in the slow decapitation of community in my neighborhood. Generations of relationships were built in this café. Families were created and fell apart within these walls; art was produced, shared, lauded and ridiculed. Now the walls are bare and no one talks above a whisper, the kitchen is cold and the door hangs lose and undisturbed in its perpetually crooked posture.
Up the street there is a park across which no one is allowed to walk. High-​rises with just-​add-​water urban hotspots elbow in to the oldest blocks in the city, and fill its open windows with dust, garbage and shitty coffee served straight from the veins of starving farmers. People still come and go but the faces are hard, tired and unfamiliar. At some point, we’ll all stop fighting.
There is a special place in hell for those who destroy a man’s livelihood. There’s a place close by for those who disregard the sanctity of community. In between, though, they serve a mean Tom Kha and the wifi’s always free.
Melodious Thunk

I am a student and employee of UW who has been lunching around the U District for 7 years now. Café Allegro has consistent food at fair prices. A welcome change from the excess of Thai etc on the rest of the Ave. The grilled chicken salad is really good. They have a daily soup that varies (some are good, some are not) and they always have a vegetarian chili. The wait staff are slow and surly at times, but I’ve definitely seen worse. Tell them ahead of time if you want to pay separately if you’re in a group, or they’ll be pissed. The espresso drinks are good, they sell their whole bean coffee as well which is tasty. They have enormous brownies and cookies which work well for last minute staff meeting/​study group treats. I’ve only had breakfast there once or twice but it was really good. They also have art on the wall that frequently features different artists.

Ever just need a place to get away from the Noise and Study? GO TO CAFE ALLEGRO! Be sure to order their Chi. If you ever need a break from studying really hard,. Come visit upstairs and join the «Open Mic» opened to all ages, Hosted by Seattle’s very own «Youth Speaks» Sign ups at 6 and the mic turns on at 7, every third Sunday of the month.

i’ve only ate here twice…
but they have some banging bagels.

Great location but snarky service! I know it gets busy, but guys — please be nicer.

I ordered a beans and rice meal to go one afternoon. When I left and sat down to eat, I found 2 tiny boxes each packed with black beans. I did not see any rice in the boxes. So I walked back to the restaurant and asked if they forgot the rice. The waitress actually told me that she did not want to bother the chef because he was busy.
Seriously?

–good lunch place with interesting art on the wall. I’ve eaten and drank here too many times to count.
–GREAT little bar (~10 people can sit in there) with good beers. Nice little hideaway for happy hour that few people realize is there… most go to the downstairs, windowless college Inn pub.
–I love the BLT here.
–good salads… chicken Caesar salad is recommended.
–decent soups that vary daily
–coffee is solid
–Service has usually been pretty good to great.
–tight fit… I wouldn’t recommend going in groups larger than 4 – 5 particularly during lunch.

Sometimes I just want food. Plain old food. Not nouveau American, not Asian fusion, not hot dogs, not sushi. Just good old fashioned food.
I finally found «food» at Café Allegro… ok, well Kaitlyn found it, but I am the happy recipient of such knowledge. They’ve got soups and salads and sandwiches and a few other simple food items and everything there is pretty darn cheap. My tuna melt was huge, on really good wheat bread, and contained delicious cheddar cheese — such quality for only $ 6.95 with chips and a pickle.
The atmosphere is simple and cozy and our server really hustled making this the perfect place for a simple lunch.
Oh, I’m so glad I found food.

I love this place. I use to skip class and come here for brunch and to study. Don’t even think about studying in here during peak hours though.

Mmm… nothing satisfies my powerful hunger quite like a salad log. If you too have a craving for salad logs, Café Allegro is the place! I went in for lunch today and ordered a mushroom swiss burger and a side caesar. When the food arrived, the burger was over-​mayonnaised with a bottom bun soggy from mushroom juice and the salad contained two giant lettuce logs! I was unaware that lettuce came in log form. I believe the folks in the kitchen gave me the heart of the romaine in my ceasar, but forgot to break it into edible sized portions. As a result, I had two logs of lettuce in my salad that were about as long as my thumb and almost as thick as a Twinkie! Someone should tell the makers of Gogurt that the folks at Allegro have come up with a new king in the disgusting to-​go snack department.
This was my second time eating at Allegro and I was disappointed, especially after my first visit for dinner about a month ago when I got to experience their bacon meatloaf for the first time. It’s meatloaf wrapped in bacon!!!
The lesson I have learned from this is: The chef at Café Allegro suffers from a Dr. Jekyll /​Mr. Hyde complex. By day he makes the horrible abomination of lettuce logs, by night… BACON MEATLOAF!

I get my coffee here! They have the best decaf americanos in the area (and regular americanos too). I like their pastries and their tea selection. They also put on a good breakfast spread and I like their hummus plate. Unf. you can’t really study here around lunchtime. It gets too busy and they kick you out. Oh well. I still like their coffee A LOT!

tasty soups and sandwitchs and pasteries, tasty coffee and a nice cozy place to chill located to next the college inn. its a good stand by.

The café here is pretty small, but the food is good. You have the option of getting coffee and pasteries at a walk-​up counter, or you can seat yourself for a meal. I have always found the staff very friendly and attentive. This is a great place to have conversation with friends over good food. The décor is nice (I’m a sucker for exposed brick walls), and the art on the walls changes every month. Overall, I will continue to go back there for the atmosphere and food.

This café is small, but I like it. I especially like the large black and white pictures on the wall that depict ther remains of a burnt theatre; it’s very boheme noir. The café has the usual fare – coffee, tea, muffins, bagels… It’s a nice place to study if you live in the South End dorms at the UW.

Great place to grab lunch! Service is good even when their busy and the food, well the food is excellent. I rather enjoyed the atmosphere, low key, not trendy but better yet… Cotswold-​like. Recommended.

Excellent food! Open for breakfast and lunch but I think only until 3pm. I’ll have to look into that. I had breakfast here and it was good. Great coffee too. I’ll have more on this place as soon as I visit again. Photos too!