Motore Coffee

This place is total Seattle… It’s my favorite coffee place. The people here are amazing and I’m always dropping by to say hello and give some hugs. You should add this place to your morning commute because the coffee will take any crappy morning and turn it into a pumpkin coach headed to the castle kinda vibe. Much love to Motore! xo

Wifi pass is Stella1904. Very friendly staff. A good place for me to escape from the office and have some private time. There is a quiet place towards the back, where people usually work on their computers or read.

Medicocre cappuccino. Too hot, no latte art, burnt myself when trying to put the lid on. Go to Vivace instead… short walk from there.

Great coffee, clean, friendly customer service, and a nice selection of music. The environment is relaxed in the afternoon and the shop is abundant in electrical outlets. The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because of the restrooms, which are shared between other businesses in the building. They’re not very tidy, but I have seen far far worse. They just upgraded their drip coffee and I’ve heard it’s great. I had an iced Americano that had nice flavor. I definitely would come back again because it is a nice spot without the obscene environments found at Starbuck’s packed full of caffeine induced or deprived customers. Come and give them a try, they even have food and booze. What more can you ask for?

I love Motore.
I have a first love, Vivace, but… I step out on Vivace from time to time for some other coffee shops around the city. Basically, wherever one is nearby that’s not a Starbucks (that’s not coffee, ain’t nobody got time for that).
The coffee is great here, but what really stands out and makes this a go to place for coffee are the people that work here. They are very personable and sweet, especially Heather. Some coffee shops have a very «too cool for you» attitude while slinging you a shot of espresso, not here at Motore. They are too cool for school, but never too cool for you.
I recommend Motore as an option for casual meetings and just getting work done when you’re in the downtown area.

I started going here shortly after I started working at Amazon around the corner. I wanted a local coffee shop that wasn’t the Starbucks that’s too accessible and corporate. I was immediately endeared to the vintage motorcycle motif, being a café racer rider myself.
What really struck me is the staff had my name memorized and a good start on my usuals and the moods that shape them. Quicker than it took me to remember I couldn’t pay with my American Express.
But then that little problem went away as they became one of the first businesses in the neighborhood to fully embrace Square. If you’re a fan, they’ll take your Square Wallet payments here.
I’ve also popped in once or twice for lunch. The sandwiches they outsource to local sandwich shops (Café Racer makes some of their selection) are pretty damn good after they toss them on their panini grill for you. So take five, grab a beer or a mimosa, and you have a great place to grab a bite to eat as well as espresso.
I’m here just about every morning of the work week getting my morning mocha. Come say hi to the staff and get hooked.

I’m crazy about the atmosphere here! It’s super cool. Love the unique seats and wide open space inside the coffee shop. Cute name too.
Service is ultra-​friendly, and the location is great too! If you’re looking for a great alternative to Starbucks, then this is a fun spot to grab coffee with someone or even work on your laptop.

Coffee: I’m a huge supporter of what I like to call «alternative sources of coffee» in Seattle (i.e. not corporation-​owned businesses). However, the coffee drinks I have experienced at Motore are extremely bitter. Maybe it’s just not my style, but I would rather put the $ 4 to a drink at Starbucks or the newly opened Caffe Ladro down the street.
Food: Sandwiches are middle of the line. There’s a heaping amount of deli meat in most of them so at least you get your money’s worth? My preferred food item is their breakfast burrito. I think it’s about $ 6 and yummy. Bagels and pastries just get a shrug from me. Eh.
Service: The baristas (and baristos?) are usually pretty friendly even when there is a long line and only one of them working. If you order food out of the case they will heat it up for you and use their panini press to add that extra crisp.
Ambiance/​Décor: Their décor is cute. Vintage with motorcycle flair. There’s plenty of seating to enjoy your food and drink while people watching the busy streets outside.

Purists be haters. I know, I know, a coffee shop should be judged on its coffee, but I can’t help but like Motore because:
1. They play GREAT music, and by that I mean music that I love — indie rock like the XX, Bön Iver, Metric, Gotye, Band of Horses
2. They serve beer as well, and make for a great bright place for after work drinks
3. Mighty-​o-​donuts!
The brewed coffee is solid, but espresso-​based drinks are quite sub-​par. Since location is king, it’s a nice that there exists a place close to the Greyhound to grab a snack, drink, and wait for the unpredictable bus service.

Laptop camper here. Another themed coffeehouse… Motore has a contemporary Italian scooter theme. There’s a 4 stroke Stella scooter inside and padded scooter inspired seats. Breakfast items include muffins, bagels, scones, Mighty-​O Donuts, Umpua Oats and breakfast burritos. The wi-​fi is free and secure, and there are plenty of outlets. They have beer, wine, San Pellegrino and sandwiches.
* Latte: beans from Caffe Vita, airy foam, hot, good but not as rich as I expected for Vita
* Chocolate vegan donut (Mighty-​O Donuts): sweeter than a non-​vegan donut, fluffy and moist, nice thin chocolate glaze on top, cake has a slight crunch
It wasn’t as crowded with laptop campers as I expected since it has all the makings of a good camping spot. And if you don’t have a laptop, you can read one of their magazines.
You know you love me. X0 X0, laptop camper.

Almost every time I go, the baristas are usually different, so kudos to Motore for consistantly brewing a good Americano and consistant good service.
The lunch selection is OK, but the choices are deliciously expensive, but you pay for convenience and good ingredients. I had the turkey and cheese sandwich that was made that day with fresh ingredients… so the Barista says… and I would agree.
The lounge area and bathrooms are clean. The atmosphere is pretty cool and the layout doesn’t feel crowded. The motorcycle is pretty rad. I’m just waiting for someone to hop on and yell out ‘Vaarooom!’…maybe after drinking a few of their beers they offer, during HH, I’ll be that guy.

Motore Coffee is quite typical of the decent but not great coffee houses in Seattle.
First off, when you see both a cappuccino and latte on the menu that have the same price and both start at 8oz you know something is wrong. That’s a pretty clear indication that the shop is not part of the Third Wave Coffee movement. (At most Third Wave-​ish cafes caps are served in 5.5 — 6oz cups and are usually priced a bit lower than a latte.)
I’ve had enough bad experiences with so called «cappuccinos» at such places where I end up with an 8oz drink that has a huge layer of dry foam floating on top of overly extracted espresso as opposed to Third Wave style caps that are carefully crafted with microfoam steamed to perfection at the right temperature poured into correctly timed extracted espresso producing an even mixture of milk and espresso accented with beautiful latte art.
So I knew enough to stay away from the cap, and I noticed that they had 4oz cups for their macchiatos so I went that route. Turns out it was a better choice. The macchiato was decent. Not great. The microfoam was lacking in texture but was good enough to pour a so-​so rosette (see the picture I uploaded of my mach). The espresso extraction tasted a bit off but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it since I wasn’t able to watch from behind the counter.
Ok, so now the technical details:
— Locally roasted coffee beans: Check. They use Café Vita beans
— Baristas with proper training on pulling espresso: Decent but not great
— Microfoam quality and Latte Art: Decent but not great (See the picture of the macchiato I added)
With Victrola and Vivace both not too far from here I would recommend going to one of those places instead but if you can’t be bothered then it’s certainly not a bad choice and as long as you stay away from the Cap you might be ok.

Luv my fav barista Jennifer who always smiles, gives my cappuccino extra foam without asking me, and when she can, chats me up. If she wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be there, usually waiting for my bus.

Ugh, overpriced and service is hit or miss.

I love Motore Coffee! I live and work a block away, so it’s a great place to conduct a quick meeting or grab a drink/​snack. Aside from the location (which I realize does not apply to everyone, and parking in the neighborhood isn’t awesome), here are the other reasons I go there:
GREAT sandwiches (Mike’s East Coast Deli delivers them daily) — I LOVE those sandwiches
GREAT space — for meetings, chatting, working, or daydreaming
GREAT staff — all adorable and friendly
GREAT tea — I love tea
As for coffee, they serve Café Vita, which I am not the biggest fan of, but they also have delicious bagels, doughnuts, pastries, and awesome breakfast burritos.
The best part? They have happy hour and a decent little selection of beers and wines — I love this at a coffee shop, love it!

Excellent coffee, staff and space. If you work for Amazon Web Services you will appreciate their «cloud» marketing campaign.
They are light on the java condiments but I believe that’s because their coffee is so good it really doesn’t need anything added.
Also, if you area cappuccino purest, they will make a dry cappuccino for you in all it’s frothy goodness.

Motorcycles, scooters, magazines, chairs; on top of the amazing ambiance this place has the best espresso bar to ever turn out a Mocha-​that-​will-​knock-​your-​face-​off. Great food and drinks and if the staff can’t make you laugh you don’t have a funny bone in your body. This place is my favorite part of my morning commute and I hope to be a regular sooner rather than Latte… r.
I promise their jokes are better than mine.
Seriously my favorite coffee shop in the world.

Who does not love a fabulous, well pulled mocha? This girl surely does and Motore Coffee does it right.
Rich and velvety, not too sweet and no bitterness sets the morning off right. By far one of the best coffee concoctions I’ve had in this self-​proclaimed «Coffee Capital».
They also sport a nice assortment of delicious looking pastries and sandwiches (breakfast/​lunch) from the likes of Mighty O Donuts to decadent looking cookies. If a even healthier alternative is more your ideal — they also offer a few oatmeal varieties.
Great coffee, delicious food combined with a casual atmosphere, free high speed internet, comfy chairs and even a well-​maintained assorted up to date magazine rack — this coffee shop, although off the beaten path, should be detoured for.
Enjoy.

Wi-​Fi stats using
fast, but unsecured connection. Just don’t try to upload your photos…
Geekspeak–
Download: 2585 kpbs (Thursday 09:00)
Upload: 654 kpbs
Open network /​unsecured

I stopped at Motore because it was the first coffee shop I found while wandering the area before a job interview. I was super early and needed somewhere to go. I ordered my usual nonfat latte and it came out rather quickly. The baristas were, I kid you not, having a full-​on conversation about how much they love their jobs, which was kind of refreshing. There are tons of magazines to read so I paged through a Vogue for awhile, sitting in a comfy chair.
I really liked it because the first thing I thought was, «Aww, this reminds me of cafes in Rome…» It really shouldn’t, probably, but when you add the bar and the Vespas it makes me think of good ol’ Roma. Anything that reminds me of Rome or Italy or Europe in general is good in my book.
My only real complaint is that they only had regular sugar, no Splenda or anything of the like. I realize that real sugar is less likely to kill me, but for those watching calories or, more importantly, people who aren’t allowed sugar (diabetics, etc), that could be a problem.