Baci Cafe

ATMOSPHERE OVER QUALITY. (Translation: I wondered why I was the only customer there.)
LOCATION: On the UW campus (Translation: good luck on the parking)
SERVICE: 2 people to take my order, get my coffee & serve it in a cup that was the wrong size (Translation: College students)
HOTTIES?: 50% (Translation: the guy was cute, the other was a girl)

Baci is still the best place to eat on campus but it’s lost some muster, leaving few options for campus lunch. So it’s worth the extra block of walking to go to Hillside Quickie’s if they’re open.
Their prices have gone up, but the food has stayed the same or gotten worse. Last time I was there, my sandwich arrived with considerable amounts of burned bits, and as a sign of how hard the times are, they didn’t even include their typical side slice of pickle.
Pickles! Another victim of the new depression?

Food is good, other details less so. The chicken terrine salad is the only dish I like, an odd massive slab of mashed meat. The line can be slow, the crowd incredibly attired in pure black, the chairs uncomfortable, and the art bad. I only go when forced by my wife.

Very good food and decent coffee, this is a nice quiet spot to meet someone to chat. Feels like a secret hideaway. Not noisy like a lot of the places on the ave. And the staff was always nice. But the seating is not all that comfortable and, like the menu, is limited.

the best food on campus… ive tried it all, and let me tell you the Baci Café is where its at…
great salads, sandwiches and soups. a patio for the sunny day. decent coffee. and its a cool little space with friendly staff.
the only negatives are that its in the basement of the Henry, so its restricted to the gallery’s hours and it wont take husky cards.

This Secret Café provides the best food on the University of Washington campus. Its located on the middle level of the Henry Art Gallery, a flight of stairs down and tucked into the side against 15^th. Witha menu that is reminiscit of a private caterer, this place delights me.
First there is the coffe. They serve Fidalogo bay coffee, and they have a delightful array of pastrys. This is your first indication that this is not a Tully’s coffee joint.
Moving on to the food, you’ll find yourself amazed that this is food at an Art Gallery on a University Campus. The Smoked chicken salad is delightful, with the best bacon ever. The serving size fills a dinner plate and you’ll be satisfied, but longing for more based on the flavors alone. The creamy curried vegetable soup was spicy and filling, with a cocounut milk base rendering the soup sutible for vegans even.
Truly a delightful place to dine.

Located downstairs at the Henry Art Gallery, the Baci serves coffee, tea and light lunchtime fare to museum patrons. However, if you ask nicely at the front desk, the museum staff will let the general public try it out without charging them admission.
The café’s tomato bleu soup is not to be missed. Unfortunately, predicting which day they will serve it is a gamble at best. Wednesdays used to be the day of choice, but the last several times I visited, they tried in vain to pass of an inferior substitute like cauliflower… or mung.
Also, significant lines tend to build up around noon, and wait times can be half an hour between placing an order and the food’s arrival at your table. If you arrive by 11:30, you can usually beat the rush. Of course, you can always wait, relax and take in the colorful posters advertising past exhibits that line the café walls.