Coffee on the Ave – (2) Solstice

I’m touring and reviewing the coffeeshops on “the Ave.” Read the first one, on Café Allegro, here.

Solstice

No Business Website | Map and info

Coffee

Solstice’s brew is pretty good, but it’s not my favorite (that award goes to another shop that I’ll review later).

• Beans – They serve Lighthouse Roasters; I’ve had their beans before at Chocolati near Greenlake.
• Milk – Not sure, but I recall seeing Sunshine Farms milk containers.
• Mocha – I’ve had a mocha at Solstice once, but I don’t recall much about it. I’m pretty much a latté guy at Solstice. I did check and they use Ghiradelli cocoa powder for their mochas, so it was probably pretty good.
• Container – To go cups are plain white paper. Drinks enjoyed on site are served in wide ceramic mugs on a saucer.
• Beer? – Sometime after I graduated, Solstice got a license to serve beer. So if coffee and beer is your thing you can get both here.

Prices

Strangely, the first thing you’ll notice about Solstice is their lack of a menu. Sure, the food in the cold case have prices ($6.50 for a panini; $4.00 for Mac and Cheese) but coffee? You’ll have to ask or just be surprised. I don’t know why this is [I should ask] but I find it a bit annoying. Let me spoil the surprise for a tall latté, though: it’s $3.00 and with tax that’ll set you back another 28 cents. Tall drinks come with two shots. Can’t tell you the price of the drip (again, no menu) but a taped-down notecard on the counter informs you that refills on drip are 25 cents for 8-oz., 50 cents for 12-oz., and 75 cents for 16-oz.

If you’re addicted to your credit/debit card, you’ll like Solstice as there isn’t a surcharge for using it as many of the other coffeeshops charge.

Service

There seem to be a cadre of “usuals” behind the bar. What’s odd about them is their behavior. Often, I’ll be waiting for my latté (or their excellent Mac and Cheese) and have ample opportunity to watch people drift in and out from behind the counter. It’s hard to tell whose working and whose just hanging out, helping themselves to stuff. That in itself wouldn’t bother me, as it’s not my business how they run their shop. But the service isn’t very friendly. Once, I asked what their wireless password is (why they have one at all when it’s not protected seems silly). The guy looked annoyed and pointed at the small blackboard propped against the back of the espresso machine that was covered in scrawled notes. At the top were the words: “wi-fi: mochabarn.” And overall, my impression of their baristas is that of competence but not friendliness.

It should be noted, too, that I’ve had issues with their wi-fi service on two different occasions. Once, it didn’t work at all; I was told it was down when I asked. Another time I thought it was down, but as I was about to give up I finally got an IP address. Not confidence-inspiring to be sure.

Location

Solstice is very close to my office, which is one of the reasons I visit there often. It’s on the Ave, just north of 41st. There’s a back entrance, too, from the alley running down the middle of the block. There’s also a small back patio seating area there, and another in the front of the café, but that one is right on the Ave.

Inside is always busy, with the many tables filled with studying students. There are some couches on a small raised platform near the back, which I understand is where musicians perform on some evenings. The is a bar that runs the length of the counter, too, which allows you to sit and watch the action (and where I sat and watched the baristas to form my opinion expressed above).