The Artisan Cafe is a cute, very small, cafe on the corner of 5th and Vine in downtown Seattle. Nothing extraordinary about it. The coffee is good, with a nutty taste. None of the food is made in the cafe, it all comes from different bakeries in the Seattle area and serves sandwiches more than pastries.
I'd recommend the place if you just need to some coffee before work, but not for meeting up with friends, it's too small.

-Rikki

Hiroki is an adorable little cafe which serves Victrola coffee and has THE BEST PASTRY YOU WILL EVER EAT! It's run by a really sweet Japanese man and he makes the most exquisite French pastries and cake and cookies you will ever taste. It's a tiny place up on North 56th, it's so tiny if you drive too fast down the street (which you shouldn't) you will miss it. So yummy!

Go forth and eat and drink of the good coffee and desserts!

-Kaya

Sugar Bakery and Cafeis a very cute cafe located on Madison. The walls are painted Pink and white and all the cupcakes and things look very good. Their coffee is delightful, they brew Cafe Vita, like I've noticed a lot of independent coffee shops have doing. Cafe Vita coffee has a sharp taste and is very strong.
When I went there I had a latte and a brownie. The brownie was good, but did not taste very brownie-ish. It had brownie texture and looked like a brownie, but it tasted more like hazelnut, which was something I was not expecting. So if you like hazelnuts, go for it.

-Rikki

I would like to add to Rikki's review of Sugar....

I agree the store is adorable. I was expecting a japanese bakery because of it's sanrio-esque exterior. Walking inside I was surprised to find that the pastries are all very french and there is nothing Japanese about the place.
I have visited Sugar Bakery on several occasions and loved it! The first time I had the most amazing coconut snowball (a cushy puffy outside rolled in coconut and sugar filled with a coconut cream inside), so good and one of my friends had a chocolate chip cookie. Oh so chocolate-y.

The second time I had a fabulous goat cheese and chive scone with a soy latte (so good!) and my friend had a lemon cookie that was very lemony.

My only grumble with this cafe/bakery is the neighborhood (it's on the more sketch part of Madison) and their lack of choices. I went there for brunch on a Wednesday morning around 10 am and they were out of a lot of things that I would have loved to try. Who runs out of goodies at 10 am?

-Kaya

Piroshky on Madison is a little cafe/piroshky place on, well, Madison. The owner is very nice and the coffee and piroshkies are very good, although they don't have very many veggie options. Everything is made fresh, which is AMAZING. If you're looking for a pastry, try the ricotta and cranberry thing is lovely.
If you buy a coffee in the morning, you get a free cookie if they aren't out yet which are very tasty. They're kind of like mini, slightly fluffy snickerdoodles.
They also give out stamp card, which is nice. But you have to get two: one for piroshkies and one for coffee.

-Rikki

Bottega Italiana has best gelato and coffee ever. They have two venues in Seattle one on Greenlake, and the other in Pike Place. I've never been to the Pike Place one, but the Greenlake one is fabulous. An amazing array of mouth melting flavors which change from day to day. My favorite is carmel (Latte Mou). They use Illy coffee, like the kind you find in European cafes. Really smooth and no bitter after taste.

The baristas are very nice, the chairs aren't as comfy as the look, but the food is good. A summer cafe must.

-Kaya

Cupcake Royale

Why I haven't reviewed this cafe before is beyond me. It's fabulous and they have cupcakes! They have two venues: one in Ballard and one in West Seattle. And my friend Zoe says they have one in Madrona. I believe her. Though I've never seen it.

Anyway: Good iced tea, good coffee (by Verite), and AMAZING CUPCAKES. They have every flavor and then some. Like, lavender. Sounds weird, but it's good. My favorite is red velvet. Very good.

I prefer the West Seattle venue. No reason. The atmosphere I guess. Although Ballard, to me, feels very much like West Seattle.

This is a very scatted review. Anyhow, the base of this post is: Cupcake Royale is AMAZING. So good. Go there. Take a dozen cupcakes home, plus buy one for later, or in the car or for the walk to your car. Or for me.

-Kaya

Hello to anyone who reads this, and I don't know if anyone does, but if you do you're awesome.

We will both be attending Lewis & Clark College (located right outside of Portland) next year, so we're going to start adding coffee shops that are located in Portland too!

Hope that it's helpful and enjoyable!

And we'll try to make sure it's obvious what City/State the Coffee shop is in.

Bakery Nouveau

The closest thing to Paris in Seattle. The pastries are exquisite (just like in Paris), the coffee is okay (just like in Paris) and the atmosphere is old fashioned (just like in Paris). They have everything you might want to get walking the streets of Paris, even my favorite french pastry une pistole, although labeled something else at Nouveau, tastes divine.

For those that don't know what une pistole is (go eat one. You are missing out on Heaven itself), it is a french pastry filled with honey cream and melted chocolate. The pastry outside is either made of a light coating of brioche break or, imagine the butter, a few layers of croissant dough, baked to perfection. So good. My mouth is watering just typing about it.

Sadly the venue is a little cramped (just like in Paris!) and very popular so finding a good place to sit it difficult. AND it's in West Seattle, which is fine if you live in West Seattle, but I don't, nor do most people I know, so it's a bit of a trek over the viaduct. But a trek worth making.

-Kaya

Cafe Solstice

Although I really have never had their coffee, or actually been there during actual café hours, the venue is amazing.

Then again, I've only been there while the Senate is playing. And they could make any venue amazing. Awesome actually.

Someday, I plan on having a cup of their coffee and when I do, I'm sure it will be worth it.

-Kaya

Just adding on to this post from Kaya:
There's a reason we don't try their drinks- They aren't very good. If I remember correctly the brownies are good though.
<3

-Rikki

Kaladi Brother's

Kaladi's is just below my school. Good coffee, friendly baristas, and the best sour cream coffee cake you've ever had. I go because it's convenient, and for the coffee cake. The atmosphere is very artsy. Art on the walls, a little alcove in the back, without much light. There is computer access, I've never used it though, and free wi-fi.

-Kaya

Sureshot
Sureshot is a little cyber/video arcade coffee house on The Ave and it is brilliant.
You get 15 minutes free on one of their computers when you buy something.
When first entering the place your first instincts may be to just turn around and go up the closest Starbucks nearby, but don't. Despite the dank look of the place, it's clean and has a wonderful variety of drinks and food to choose from. They've got vegan and vegetarian choices.
I recommend their Chai Tea (they have different kinds, I like Oregon the best) and a scone (warmed up) as a tasty treat.
As well as some vintage pinball and video games.

-Rikki

Zoka

There are two in the Seattle area. One off Greenlake, the other around the University District. I've only been to the Greenlake one, and I love it. Their Chai (either spicy and sweet) is amazing, their coffee is great and their food (savory or sweet) is fabulous. It's always a bit crowded and hard to get a place to sit, but when you do sit down it's worth the wait. The seats are comfy and the atmosphere is so inviting that you feel comfortable sitting by yourself or sitting around one of their many, rather large, tables in one of their, also large, chairs. Baristas are friendly and eager to please.

I recently tried their "comfy latte", which is heaven in a mug.

-Kaya

Victrola

Victrola's is a funky spacious cafe. The new one lacks the atmosphere that the original has created for itself, but I'm sure it will get there eventually. The coffee is delicious, the tea is great and the food is good too (I recommend the raspberry thumbprint cookies). In my opinion it's the best coffee on Pike. Sadly, the baristas are pretentious about their coffee and about life in general and aren't too friendly to non-regulars or people who don't pay attention to which coffee is which.

-Kaya

Bauhaus
Bauhaus is a large two story cafe with kind baristas and really bad
coffee. For some reason it's a popular place for kids from my school
to go even though the coffee (in my opinion) tastes like dishwater
that has been left sitting in the sink for a day or three and has gone
stale. The chai is also nothing special. The atmosphere is nice
though. The cafe looks like an old library. The walls are covered with
books and there is even one of those sliding ladders so that you can
reach the books that are on the top shelves. It has a decent array of
treats though. If you want a place to study, come here, but if you
want a decent cup of coffee steer clear.

-Kaya

Arosa's
Arosa's is on Madison off Summit. It's a tiny little cafe that sells
snack waffles for $1.75. Snack waffles are waffles baked in maple
syrup and they are amazing. The chai is good, the coffee is good
(amazing if you dip your snack waffle into it). The old man who owns
the cafe is sweet and always finds a way to ask you about the weather.
He also has a knack for remembering faces. Not only do they sell snack
waffles but they also sell a variety of (actually) grilled sandwiches.
Only problem is the cafe is really tiny and sort of hidden in a corner
next to a Right Aid (or is it a Walgreen's?).

-Kaya

Uncle Elizabeth's
Uncle Elizabeth's is on Pike right off Boron. It's a little cyber cafe
that makes an okay cup of coffee and a good cup of chai. They have
paintings hanging on the walls by local artists that change weekly and
are for sale. Uncle E's has a small selection of sweets. Consisting of
croissants, bagels, chocolate cake, shortcake and macaroons. And they
sell "grilled sandwiches" that are sandwiches wrapped in tin foil. If
you buy a cup of anything you get twenty minutes free on a computer,
but if you don't want to pay for surfing time bring your own laptop
because (I think) they have free wi-fi. The baristas range from loud
wish-I-was-a-comedian-but-I-have-no-sense-of-humor to
Im-a-quite-cute-nerd-and-I-dont-know-it. As a rule they are all
friendly.
-Kaya

Chocolati
This is a very cute Seattle chain. Their coffee is very strong and they sell homemade chocolates as well as pastries. They are a bit pricey. I actually haven't gotten coffee from here much, but my sister loves it and has stayed awake many a night after drinking a cup of their coffee to late in the afternoon.

-Rikki

The Urban Bakery
Although the place lacks the beauty or cuteness factor. The coffee and pastries are good. I love their cherry turnovers. I don't recommend their quiche (unless you like egg jello), but I've heard their sandwiches and soups are good (although none of which are vegetarian). They reside across the street from Greenlake.

-Rikki

Cafe Ladro is a little coffee shop chain in seattle. There coffee is good, but unless you like healthy goodies I don't recommend their food. Their quiches are bad, unless you love cheddar cheese and a lot of mushrooms, which I don't and their scones are okay (I ate mine over a period of 3 days), if you like spelt flour.

-Rikki

El Diablo Coffee Co. is AWESOME! It's on Queen Anne and connected to the Queen Anne Bookstore.
I love this cafe and try to take all my friends to this place for coffee. I absolutely love the atmosphere. It attracts the artistic group, so it's a great people watching spot.
The cafe used to be two stories:
You came in the downstairs which is painted as if it were hell and you could go upstairs, which is painted to be heaven. But due to what I can only guess to must be financial issues there is no longer an upstairs. This makes El Diablo a bit less cozy and more ridged since most of the plush chairs were upstairs.

My favorite drinks are:
Cafe Cubano: A double shot of espresso and caramelized sugar at the bottom of the shot glass. Their coffee is really strong.
Cafe De Leche : Pretty much a latté but different? That's the only way I can explain it.
Lemonada: It's a carbonated lemonade drink which they make fresh (NOT the one in the bottle, although they serve those too).
All their food is good, if you pick anything I swear you'll love it.
The cafe sells t-shirts and sweatshirts, devil ducks, devil air-fresheners and some other cute accessories.

-Rikki