Bauhaus Ballard

This place was awesome. Too bad to see them go!
We need more coffee spots that are open late in Seattle.

Just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing coffee — and the best baristas in Seattle! So sorry to see you all gone.

So I just wanted to use this moment to share how sad I am that the coffee place is closing down — permanently as I heard — this Sunday on the 13^th of December!!!
I live around this area and often visit the coffee shop that also has a book store attached. I love the down to earth look of the place. I always get a cappuccino and some Skydottir Epic Cookies. It has been truly wonderful to have such a place in Ballard. I just hope that you know how much you will be missed, truly.

Stopped by for a cappuccino to go and I ended up with more of an americano with almost no foam.
Had I not been in a hurry I would have taken it back.
12 oz for $ 4.65
I do not think they used espresso.

Feels like you’re walking into New York public library meets eclectic coffee/​tea house. Grab a cup of tea. (Black tea with lavender) sit and read the paper below a green metal bankers lamp.

No free Unilocal cookies? Bummed. Granted, it was 10PM when we stopped in for an after dinner coffee, but would have been nice to be offered an alternative. It’s a large space with many seats, plus a few chairs outside for people and life watching. Imagine this is a jumpin’ place during the daytime. Coffee was decent; our barista clearly had a long day because that happy-​chattiness we experienced in similar coffee venues in Portland was no where to be found here. Felt a bit like a production line. We’ll find a smaller, cozier spot for our next coffee fix.

This is only my first time here but I instantly fell in love with the café. It’s spacious! Well-​lit, well-​ventilated, and beautifully decorated (I particularly approve of that narwhal painting on the Western wall).
«Atmosphere» is important to me, most especially at coffee shops. And Bauhaus is great there.
Today I ordered an Americano. It’s good! Very good. But nothing super special? So for now I’m giving Bauhaus a tempered 4-​star review because while I have literally zero issues/​complaints, I’m here for the coffee and I haven’t been impressed. YET.
Definitely going to come here again, definitely going to try more drinks, and I’m definitely going to take advantage of their amazing hours (they close at 11p!!)
Oh also they have books? Everywhere? Everyone loves books. Books and coffee? Best.
Come try Bauhaus!

I’ve been coming to this location since its been opened in 2013.
Along some of what the greater Unilocalers had to say about this fine establishment, I might add the things I value and what Bauhaus excels in is its cleanliness. If you haven’t been here, it gets busy… real busy. But the shop does a great job maintaining the place all day.
Next, the hours. Their awesome! Being a Seattilite, who doesn’t love getting coffee late in night! I believe they used to be open til midnight, but since have slightly scaled it back to 11PM. Still its a great place to study or get work done at night.
Unique to Bauhaus is their collection of books and bookstore. Note that the bookstore does have shorter hours than the coffee shop, but I’ve found it to be a great place to wander in and buy some used books after getting a cup of coffee.
Now there has been some people who have mentioned their employees, but overall I think they are great. Yes some are friends, but I think its part of the atmosphere. Its the hipster dream to be a barista and more power to them. They show they like working at the establishment which is great.
Tip for newcomers. This is what local Seattle coffee taste like. Note its stronger than your average Starbucks and will definitely keep you up at night if you don’t have a caffeine tolerance.
Come out and try one of my go to spots in Ballard for coffee!
GU APPROVED

Gonna try and do this #complimentsandwich style…‘kay, here it goes…
The Good…
They have have a great café space here. There’s ample room with plenty of outlets. So, this location is perfect for working alone or for hosting a team meeting.
Oh, and did I mention that their WiFi password is usually something cute and funny?
The Not So Good…
Often times the line is out the door, so maybe operations could step it up a notch? Like add another cashier?
‘Kay, so arrive at the cashier and ask for an item. Cashier charges me for it… and then discovers they are actually all out of said item. #wompwomp.
I’m pressed to decide on an alternative, but I’ve got a line growing behind me.
Oh god.
Alright, pressures on, so I quickly decide on an alternative, but perhaps the cashier could confirm the item is vegetarian?
Her response is something along the lines of, «Hmmm, I dunno.»
She turns the wrap over in her hands and quickly scans the ingredient list, shrugs her shoulders and tells me like, «Here, you can read it» and then passes the item to me.
Huh?
Did I mention this particular sandwich ended up having foreign matter in it?
Sum mo’ good…
Ok not their fault and yes, cashier did (quickly) refund my money. I appreciate the hassle-​free service here.
(But that long ass hair though… makes me nauseous just thinking about it…)

I’m updating my review because the management was decent enough to reach out and explain the situation from my previous review (they had a no-​show that night and ended up one person short). I’m not one to knock a business when it’s not their fault an employee flaked out. I can’t update my review more than 3 stars though because I just genuinely didn’t like the drinks. The fiancé went back again and said the drip coffee was still no good and that he wouldn’t be back.
In fairness to Bauhaus, I like my chais sweet and flavorful. Theirs was more bitter and spicy, which I think some people prefer, but that’s not my cup of tea (haha, see what I did there).

There are plenty of seats. Tall bar seats that face the streets, and tables throughout the store, even some in the «back.» The furniture is okay, and feel sturdy. The décor is simple, but effective, and everything is clean.
The coffee itself is not bad, about average by Seattle standards. They don’t sell much else in terms of drinks, though. They sell a pre-​paid card that will give you 12 of the same drinks (must be the same drinks in the same size) for the pre-​paid price of 10 drinks. Kind of wish it’s a cash loaded card with bonus credit instead (like Fiore or Diva). That way, I’m not stuck with the same drink in the same size every time. But I suppose it’s alright, because they don’t have that many drink choices anyway.
They do have a little bit of pastries, cookies, and such. The wifi works good and offers plenty of speed. There’s a bookstore in the back. Overall, it’s unassuming, which I believe is their goal. It’s a good place to meet up or just spend some alone time. Dogs are often seen here. It doesn’t take many trips to notice that the same music plays over and over. Mostly oldies, but not all goodies. Would be nice to see some variety in tunes, or bring your own.
My only gripe is about the employees’ attitudes. It’s clear that they do know many of the people that come in, which is great. With these customers, they’re best friends, chatting up about all kinds of stuff. But, for others, they’re basically cold, to the point of sometimes ignoring them. I don’t need to be BFF with the baristas, but geez, it doesn’t have to feel like I’m ordering a Whammy Burger at best, or feel like I have to wave my arms to get your attention other times, even though I’m standing right in front of you. Sometimes I even feel guilty because I feel like I’m breaking up a deep conversation between the employees while I’ve been standing there for a while.

Cool coffee shop in the heart of Old Ballard! I think the books in the shop give it a really cool flair. The guy behind the counter was friendly and my coffee came in a reasonable amount of time. I like that the shop was open late on a Saturday night so I could enjoy some time with a friend.
I had one of their apple cinnamon rolls and it was delicious and fresh! But I was a little disappointed in the coffee. I love «strong coffee» so that was not an issue for me, but the taste was a bit off. Not the best coffee in town, but the shop itself is a really cool little spot right on the main drag in a historic building with lots of cool little areas to read, chat and watch people walk by!

Coffee, it seems like Seattleites live and die by the stuff and this is a pretty nice location. With a good selection of single origin brews, a large space to spread out and an ok selection of pastries, this is probably somewhere you can hang out for hours if that’s your kind of thing.

No, no drop-​off here.
Just wanted to add that they pasted the following text from a recent «I, Anonymous» column from The Stranger at the counter — so people can read it as they order:
«All you passive-​aggressive Unilocalers need to get a life and grow some balls. If you have a problem with your coffee, pasta, pizza, sandwich, hair, nails, anal bleaching, tattoo artist, vet, or whatever else you are bitching about, why don’t you just say so to the business owner/​manager as soon as it happens? You might even get some free sh*t! I wonder what you were all doing when there was no Unilocal.Probably going home to cry. Modern technology, social media, and mostly Unilocal have turned you into douchebags that can’t even communicate without a small screen in your hands. Congratulations!
–Anonymous»
This makes me love BB even more…

Bauhaus is great. Good coffee, friendly staff, tons of seating, tons of electrical outlets and very reliable wifi. The front windows are also huge and provide you a great view of Market street. This place has become one of my regular hangouts.
I recently moved to Ballard and Bauhaus has become one of my goto coffee shops. Keep up the great work guys.

Ordered and waited by the bar for my drink. Ten minutes later, asked if it would be up soon after seeing folks who had been in line behind me receive their drinks. Barista did not make eye contact and seemed irritated that I would bother her over not having gotten my drink. She checked the slips and told me it’d be up «eventually».
I can understand being busy and getting things out of order, but being snotty and unapologetic about making a mistake is not ok. Could be easily fixed if they took names with coffee orders like everywhere else — or if they acted like they cared.
Also didn’t mention the CC fee to me, it just appeared on my check. I expect a fee for a purchase of under $ 5, but it seems like they’ve got a history of not making this explicit.

Ah, the coffee shop. MacBooks out everyone!
I’m not the biggest of coffee drinkers. I used to frequent coffee shops back in the heyday of high school when I thought it was super cool to do so. Once in a while I will go to a coffee shop and read or write, now that I have a laptop I’m «one of those» as well. But I like this place because it is unassuming and doesn’t feel so pretentious or whatever else.
I think the drinks that are made are good, the pastries are tasty, I’ve seen the same baristas when I’ve gone and they’re cool. Outlets can be hard to see sometimes, and a couple times I’ve shared my table with a stranger (looking for an outlet) but as long as you have your white «don’t talk to me» earbuds in place, you won’t have to socialize. Ugh, god forbid.

Baristas have always been kind and truly are masters at their craft. The mochas come with a stick of chocolate and cappuccinos are provided with a cloud of delicious foam.
For those who want to get some work done, here are the details that matter:
–Faster WiFi compared to Starbucks
–Plenty of seating between counter space, tables and booths
–Lamps and huge windows for maximum lighting
–Outlets galore. May your battery life be as full as your real one

I hate to be a traitor to the original Cap Hill location (off Melrose), but I enjoy Bauhaus Ballard so much more.
For starters, I don’t have that weird and strong coffee smell when I leave Bauhaus now. That was honestly one of my biggest complaints about the original location. Secondly, it’s more inviting. There aren’t weirdos (normally) standing outside with neo-​nazi wear, scaring you off. And? There is a lot more room to sit, or so it seems, and it’s attached to a used book shop!
One recommendation? Turn up the A/​C on humid and/​or warm days. It can be a little stifling inside with the coffee machines and the numerous laptops going.

I’ve found my new favorite coffee shop in ballard and I won’t be going anywhere else. They have the best mocha I’ve ever had and that’s saying a lot. It’s the perfect ratio of foamy goodness and a wonderful little chocolate piece to accompany the drink. Their drip coffee is also amazing and I can’t wait to try their teas!
They also have the best selection of pastries I’ve found in ballard — Lemmon poppyseed scone is awesome!
I love the openness of the space, the lighting is perfect (I don’t have to work/​read in the dark) and their selection of books is wonderful.
Staff has always been super friendly!
Oh and all of those reviews talking about the music and how it was bad… What?! They’ve always played a great selection that gets me pumped up and ready for the day!