Seattle Coffee Tour: Fremont Coffee
/On a nice Saturday afternoon together, Josh and I decided to enjoy some coffee. Why not add another review to my tour? Yea, let's do it...
Coffee Shop Name: Fremont Coffee Company
Location: 459 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103
The Order: Tall Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte for me and a Tall mocha for Josh.
General Babble: This place had great coffee, a great atmosphere, but okay service. It's amazing how service can "put you off" a bit on a place. When we walked in, there were a few other folks inside. Josh and I headed to what we thought was the end of the line. Another gal that walked in later we did also stood behind us. After a few minutes, the barista told us that the line went around another way. However, during that time span, two to three other groups had gotten in line in front of us even though they came in after. Err. When we got to the front, they moved us along quickly which was nice.
Josh and I chose to sit outside on the porch since it was actually a sunny day. A bit of sun in January in Seattle is uncommon so we seized the chance to catch some rays. The porch was quite pleasant. We enjoyed our coffee in some wicker chairs. The building itself was fun with several rooms to enjoy. There were also some quirky things inside that gave the place some spice. Overall, a very Fremont, funky feel. Here me talk about it on my video below.
Ratings:
Overall Visit: 4 - The coffee was really delicious. Smooth taste and lovely foam. Josh and I both were very pleased. The setting was nice on the porch and there was a good Fremont vibe to the place. The baristas weren't the friendliest - a bit barista snobby-ish. Perhaps they felt busy, or a bad day. I really just go for the coffee in the end I guess.
Latte Art: 3 - Now, I was disappointed here. I ready a few reviews before going here and a few folks talked up the latte art. How great it was and the cool designs such as this gal on Yelp. Sadly, I got a nice design, but nothing I haven't seen. I mean some have gotten hamster and pumpkin designs. The Yelp pictures are cool. Perhaps it's a barista that wasn't there on our visit. Sigh. I really want to see something cool someday. I'll keep trying! Until then, I'm happy with the flowers and hearts.
Atmosphere: 4.5 - Josh and I sat outside on a wrap around porch, which was great. They had plenty of sitting out there too. On sunny days, this is a great option. I'm not sure about the inside, but it seemed cozy enough. This might be a bit biased of a review because we sat outside on a day with some sun (sun which we haven't seen much lately...).
Drink Options: 4 - I stuck with my SF Vanilla latte and Josh to his mocha (you may notice these seem to be our default drinks), but they had a nice selection. I think I read a caramel latte or something too. Again, not much Sugar Free syrups, but who does?
Coffee Knowledge: 3.75 - Here's another point in the service that was disappointing (besides the line thing I mentioned above). I stopped to ask about they coffee they use and the barista didn't really want to give me the time of day. She simply said they roast their own and it was a type of espresso roast. I do think she really knew what she was talking about and you could tell they roasted it on their own (cool). Plus the taste of our drinks was great. That said, I could give them a 5 score here if they seemed more interested in talking to me.
Food: N/A - It seems they have croissants and a few muffins. There might be more earlier in the day. I might have had biscotti too. I just can't rate this because we didn't get anything to eat.
Don't agree with me? Check out Yelp reviews.
Coffee Shop Name: Fremont Coffee Company
Location: 459 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103
The Order: Tall Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte for me and a Tall mocha for Josh.
General Babble: This place had great coffee, a great atmosphere, but okay service. It's amazing how service can "put you off" a bit on a place. When we walked in, there were a few other folks inside. Josh and I headed to what we thought was the end of the line. Another gal that walked in later we did also stood behind us. After a few minutes, the barista told us that the line went around another way. However, during that time span, two to three other groups had gotten in line in front of us even though they came in after. Err. When we got to the front, they moved us along quickly which was nice.
Josh and I chose to sit outside on the porch since it was actually a sunny day. A bit of sun in January in Seattle is uncommon so we seized the chance to catch some rays. The porch was quite pleasant. We enjoyed our coffee in some wicker chairs. The building itself was fun with several rooms to enjoy. There were also some quirky things inside that gave the place some spice. Overall, a very Fremont, funky feel. Here me talk about it on my video below.
Ratings:
Overall Visit: 4 - The coffee was really delicious. Smooth taste and lovely foam. Josh and I both were very pleased. The setting was nice on the porch and there was a good Fremont vibe to the place. The baristas weren't the friendliest - a bit barista snobby-ish. Perhaps they felt busy, or a bad day. I really just go for the coffee in the end I guess.
Latte Art: 3 - Now, I was disappointed here. I ready a few reviews before going here and a few folks talked up the latte art. How great it was and the cool designs such as this gal on Yelp. Sadly, I got a nice design, but nothing I haven't seen. I mean some have gotten hamster and pumpkin designs. The Yelp pictures are cool. Perhaps it's a barista that wasn't there on our visit. Sigh. I really want to see something cool someday. I'll keep trying! Until then, I'm happy with the flowers and hearts.
Atmosphere: 4.5 - Josh and I sat outside on a wrap around porch, which was great. They had plenty of sitting out there too. On sunny days, this is a great option. I'm not sure about the inside, but it seemed cozy enough. This might be a bit biased of a review because we sat outside on a day with some sun (sun which we haven't seen much lately...).
Drink Options: 4 - I stuck with my SF Vanilla latte and Josh to his mocha (you may notice these seem to be our default drinks), but they had a nice selection. I think I read a caramel latte or something too. Again, not much Sugar Free syrups, but who does?
Coffee Knowledge: 3.75 - Here's another point in the service that was disappointing (besides the line thing I mentioned above). I stopped to ask about they coffee they use and the barista didn't really want to give me the time of day. She simply said they roast their own and it was a type of espresso roast. I do think she really knew what she was talking about and you could tell they roasted it on their own (cool). Plus the taste of our drinks was great. That said, I could give them a 5 score here if they seemed more interested in talking to me.
Food: N/A - It seems they have croissants and a few muffins. There might be more earlier in the day. I might have had biscotti too. I just can't rate this because we didn't get anything to eat.
Don't agree with me? Check out Yelp reviews.
Coffee Tour - Fremont Coffee from Heather O'Neill on Vimeo.
January 22, 2011: As part of my Seattle Coffee Tour, Josh and I stopped over at Fremont Coffee in the early afternoon. We sat on the porch and enjoyed lattes and mochas. Hear more from me with this video!
