Enlighten Cafe & Art Gallery

Unfortunately, the place appears to be closed. 1 Star because its closed. Otherwise would have rated it a 4.

I love Enlighten and how peaceful and pretty it is. I’ve had tea and coffee here many times. But I’m only giving it three stars instead of four or five because it seems like every time I come here, I’m charged a different price for my drink. The staff are very nice but inconsistent.
I usually order the same herbal chai with soy milk. It’s usually around $ 3.85 but sometimes it’s a little more or a little less and last time I went, the barista tried to charge me $ 5.50 even though their menu said it was $ 3.50. I let him know that wasn’t the price but he said that’s what it was. So, I ordered a chai tea instead for around $ 2. I really like coming here. I just wish the staff were better trained in the drink prices.

I was walking by this place the other day and remembering why I don’t go in. Although the café is cute, nice décor, always clean, and pleasantly quiet inside — it never seems to impress me.
The few times I have stopped in for coffee it was just okay. The last time I went in and ordered a cappuccino the barista seemed confused asking if I wanted decade. When I said regular, she went on to make my drink only to look at me and ask again– «Regular?» usually when someone wants a drink decaf they specify. What was going in in here? She then proceeded to tell us how uncommon it is to make some coffee drinks… I thought she was working in a coffee shop? I am sorry, but staff seems uneducated and this is Seattle — I thought everybody knew a thing or two about coffee here.
In the short of it. The coffee was just okay, and I am sorry but I do not think I will be going back.

I went there and became a fan. Reason is you can get coffee, ice-​cream, alcohol and food in this place. I like the puzzle games which you can see as soon as you enter into this shop. It’s a great place to hang out with friends during weekend.
I tried beer flow with cinnamon flavor vanilla ice-​cream in this place, am looking forward to go to this place again. I always enjoy hanging out in local coffee shops and this is one is my fav.

I have been here several times now and enjoy it more and more each time I come. I love that they have beer, wine, and espresso in addition to the tea they offer. And even better than the free wifi, is the free refills on tea. As a huge sweets fan, the only thing I would change is more on the pastries side — they have some fun green tea and rice cake treats, in addition to wasabi peas and mix, and a few Macrina Bakery options including several of their biscotti.
The large open windows let the sun shine in with both cozy tables and larger ones to set up camp with laptops etc. And games to play and artsy shopping.
The service we received was great — even with us only having tea and staying for a few hours.
This place really embraces what a true coffee/​tea house should be — great space, products, and service.

Moved closer to Seattle from Everett and have been frequenting several local coffee shops. This was one of my favorites. Very relaxed on a Friday evening with a low key local musician playing up front. The environment was very comfortable. I wanted to sit and read and was able to do so quite nicely. Having allergens to gluten and milk, the girl was very careful about what she sold me and offered a couple great recommendations. I appreciated the effort, the environment, the gluten-​free choices, and the great coffee. Plus the location is perfect. And they had beers and wine so I would definitely come back for a date or a calm evening out with some friends.

I just love Enlighten.
I love the cool lamp shades and hanging ball lights. I love the large wood tables and all their Thai art pieces and frames and such. Which by the way are on ridiculous sale. I am a recent purchaser of one very nifty frame.
I love the ambience, the dim lights, the staff (always friendly), the teas (ginger peach is yum), the beers, the root fries (pretty generous serving). I want to try more tapas options. They have waffles on the menu, but the one I had a while back wasn’t my favorite. This place is a great choice for a long study day when you are working through lunch and don’t want another pastry, and you don’t want to leave just to go get something to eat!
Oh yeah, and I love that the hours are pretty long, and that there’s free live music every Fri and Sat night! Who knew! I happened to be there Fri night and I was thrilled to hear a couple of talented new artists.
I study there often but I’d never checked out the night scene. I hope to return one night for just games and beer, no homework in hand. Their music selection is pretty choice, definitely mellow enough to work.
Only one critique — not enough outlets! My computer’s batter life sucks, and I don’t have a super long plug cord, and not all the tables by the wall have an outlet nearby.

Practically perfect in every way! No, not Mary Poppins, THANKYOUVERYMUCH! :o)
I don’t get out to Ballard all that often, but I have gotten over to Enlighten twice, and I loved it both times. From the well-​made drinks (like a yummy vietnamese iced coffee) to the simple rustic décor, this place is lovely.
Grab a coffee with a friend, or bring a book to read. Either way, you win.

I don’t usually go visit Ballard because there is no easy way to get there from downtown Seattle. :-(When I do go to Ballard, I discover so many awesome restaurants and coffee shops, which makes my head spin. (Whaaat? Whaaaat? How could you have this many cool restaurants/​cafes in such close proximity!!!)
Enlighten Café is such a gem. It has a very cool vibe and good coffee served by a friendly barista. Although I didn’t purchase any of the snacks/​baked goods, they did seem to serve both fancy baked goods catered by local bakeries and kitschy sweets (I thought I saw Pocky in a huge glass jar), which I adore.
Grab a cup of coffee/​tea or a glass of beer (if you must), and enjoy your Sunday newspaper at Enlighten!

Not a coffee fan? no problem… don’t like tea? it’s arlight… want a cold beer? in a jifffy! Definitely Enlighten is a place to study, chat, play some mind games, have a good cup of coffee, tea, beer or wine! Man… talk about variety!!! loved it! The roasted beans smelled so nice!
I had the chinese earl gray (tea mood) and it was delicious! Two of my favorite teas blended! i love the ambiance and décor is definitely better than the generic green face of a girl =D. No worries. still love them… just Enlighten has better tasting coffee beans, live music and free brain games!

Yes, folks, I’m even willing to ignore the ridiculously glib name. Enlighten, you’ve inspired me to Unilocal after a veeery long hiatus.
From the dimly lit, well-​appointed room to the enchanting baristas, this place be bomb. Yeah, kids, I said it. I’ve really missed this particular vibe since moving to a small «city» for school, and I walked in to Enlighten and felt exactly at home. Excellent tea (moved from the Pitta-​Dosha to the Red Bush Chai), truly beautiful space, and I witnessed more than one beautifully-​crisped plate of fries float by — though I didn’t sample them myself. Also: great mix of students, families, and random Sunday lollers. All doing their own thing, without the hesitant library silence that sometimes deadens a good café. Loved it and wish I could make it my regular study haunt.

If you’re looking for a library-​like atmosphere to drink good coffee, tea or beer, this is the place for you. Wow, is it quiet.
They say they are a «café,» but there really isn’t any food — only desserts, edamame and dried wasabi peas along with biscotti. May be I missed the other stuff.
It’s an «art gallery» too — to me it seems more a collection of eclectic, hand-​made home décor items. Perhaps I’m being too traditional in my sense of «gallery.»
Good music. Friendly service — they charge a $.30 fee for credit card purchases under $ 5.00, which always pisses me off — I know, I know, the little guys get squashed by Mastercard and Visa and/​or I should carry cash. I don’t and I won’t and it violates a vendor’s contract with Mastercard and Visa to charge extra fees … that’s what annoys me. I suppose I should be grateful they take credit cards at all!
Nice, funky little place.

Perfect place to study, but also great place to hang out with friends. They have beer, wine, great teas, coffee, assorted games, ice cream, pastries AND tapas from next door neighbor, Root Table. Everything I need!
I stopped in during art walk and ran into a ton of old friends and had an enjoyable evening. The lady running the show was knowledgable about all their products, helpfull and cheery. I don’t think she ever gets stressed out and she had a full house! I came back the next day to do some studying and she was still there and still in great spirits.
This is going to be my new downtown Ballard hang out.

Spacious, jazz on the stereo, quiet, great atmosphere with beautiful woodwork and huge window overlooking old Ballard. A good place to park yourself and read.

Tapas: grown up word for food you can eat with your hands in public. Enlighten has a peaceful vibe and delicious foods and beverages to match. Excellent study place or meeting ground for friends (both old and new).

We stopped in here last week and it seems like nice place to hang out with a cup of tea. Very relaxed vibe. Kind of how Mr. Spots (Morning Glory) used to be when they were on Market Street many years ago.
Lots of creative coffee, tea, and soda drink choices. Would be better if they could make the food portions larger. Free Wifi and many different seating arrangements and styles available.

I’m here now. Enlighten has become the main setting for most of my out-​of-​office experiences. At least twice a week I come down to this airy coffeehouse and café, order a delicious green curry chicken sandwich and a bowl of hot-​and-​sour soup with a ginger-​peach iced tea, take my laptop to one of their salvaged wood tables (free WiFi, of course), and I set up camp.
Sometimes I’ll follow lunch with a cookie or pastry from Macrina; I can rarely say no to their Nutella Brioche. I quietly tap my foot to the old-​school jazz playing quietly on the PA, or I plug in my headphones secure in knowing that I won’t have to crank the volume up all the way, as I do at some other local cafes. Tranquility is a fact here. There’s just something in all this handsome wood and exposed brick that inspires you to use your inside voice.
Beverages? Yes, thirsty traveler, they’ve got your beverages. Their coffee, tea and chai are exceptional, and their beer and wine list is deep and varied. Glancing over at the coolers, I can see they have Dry Sodas and … what’s that, Bluebird Ice Cream? Are you joshin’ me? Even I didn’t know they had ice cream by the scoop. Good to know.
Look, I have to stop here, before I promise to name my offspring for these people. Enlighten does many, many things right and maybe one thing wrong, and I can’t even begin to conceive of what that one thing might be. As I said, I’m here now, and so should you be.

I think this listing will be a little confusing, being a furniture store AND a café/​espresso location. Yes, it’s both!
Very lovely atmosphere for a café as the seating options are many. There is a large long table in the middle where you and 16 or so of your friends could sit, or you could sit in the display window on pillows or a wood couch or some café tables or at the adorable little metal school-​desk-​chairs outside… choosing a spot to sit is fun! EVERYTHING is wood, but not in a dark stained lumberjack way. It’s all quite modern and earthy feeling.
They have some thai-​esque food offerings as well as Macrina Bakery baked goods and ice cream and iced tea and coffee and chai and yeah. Good stuff.
Very cozy, usually deserted, great music… it is a truly lovely place to unwind and relax and get some peace. The espresso is made well, as a friend making you coffee would make it. That is, a barista friend who happened to have a fancy espresso machine in their house.
Oh and they sell little cards and wood lights and wood furniture as well. :)

Any time I go to Ballard, I have to go to this store. Nine times out of ten it’s to drool and daydream, but that one out of ten times I wind up purchasing something, it’s beautiful and well-​made.
Go if you like natural materials and quirky Asian designs.
The service is always impeccable and the whole feel of the place is calm and serene.

You must run, not walk, to Enlighten right now. I went there on Friday and they had a 50% off of everything in the store clearance sale. I finally bought of their beautiful lamps that I have been eying for years. And at $ 25 bucks, it was quite the amazing deal. The woman who worked there was super nice and I am very pleased with my purchase!