Cafe Victrola

5 stars in a lot of areas, but in Seattle the coffee standards are high. I was actually going to do 3 stars, but they don’t deserve that. They have great service, great (and healthy) snacks, and good coffee. There’s just better, nearby.

This is one of the best coffee spots in Seattle to do work in and their coffee is just amazing. If you love espresso try it here too. I remember it being extremely flavorful and hardly needed any sugar.

I love Victrola’s coffee! Best crema in Seattle. I also enjoy the service people here — they’re usually pleasant and helpful and often even funny and good conversationalists.
The environment is nice and clean, modern, with rotating selections of modern art on the walls. Pastries and grab-​n-​go food are nice but not exceptional — about what you’d expect at a coffee shop lacking its own bakery/​kitchen.
The only unfortunate part about this Victrola is that it’s not open to the public, you have to be an Amazon employee to go here!

I’ve always liked coffee at Victrola, but I am definitely not a regular. I went to the Capitol Hill location periodically years ago. I always laughed at the staff’s arrogance. They were so proud that they perfected the latte leaf. But that was a long time ago. I’m sure the current staff are lovely, humble people.
I stumbled upon this location in South Lake Union on my way to Swedish. I was sick and needed tea. I could not believe it when I was told that without an Amazon badge, I could not go in. This Victrola is IN THE SAME BUILDING as Swedish’s primary care. Weird. They could only make an interior door for Amazon employees to enter the coffee shop? They also have a security guard standing at the badge scanners. Amazon has so much wealth that they don’t care if they are taking business away from Victrola. They tried to direct me to a coffee shop down the street.
This is just a little too much ‘us and them’. And don’t get me started about how much city funding went into the changes down there. The city used to care less about south Lake Union!

The place is open only for Amazon employees, so that is a strike against the place when it comes to accessibility.
Once you are over that hurdle and assuming you are an Amazon employee, Victrola is amazing as it is really chilled out and you do not feel cramped once you enter. You get quite a few seating options — sit on the counter and chat if you are alone, single seater couches if you are in a group of 2, and tables, chairs if you are in a larger group. The place has some really good coffee and my standard orders are the Gautemalan pour over, and Espresso. This is one of the few places in and around the Amazon campus that do pour over coffee. They are well stocked with fresh bakery goodies and my personal favorite is their sticky bun. They also have a good amount of fresh fruit options, sandwiches and salads for a quick grab and go lunch.
The staff and the place in general is friendly, patient and definitely does not leave you with a feeling of being rushed into your order.