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Cafe Presse

1117 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122-4415 (Downtown)
206-709-7674
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Ranked #348 of 2,504 restaurants in Seattle
Price range: $1 - $20
Cuisines: Bakery, Café, French, Afghani
Dining options: Breakfast/Brunch, Reservations, After-hours
Neighbourhood: Downtown
Restaurant details
Dining options: Breakfast/Brunch, Reservations, After-hours
Neighbourhood: Downtown
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77 reviews from our community

80% Recommend
    34
    27
    13
    3
    0
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
Vancouver, Canada
Top Contributor
92 reviews 92 reviews
56 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 28 cities Reviews in 28 cities
21 helpful votes 21 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 20 May 2013 NEW

Went for early lunch/brunch. Place was busy. We were seated at a table in the front section near the bar. Seating is very close. Ordered the croque madame which was mediocre, the carrot soup which was tasty plus a ham on baguette that was fine. Service was decent, priced about right but nothing special to make us want to return.

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See 4 more reviews by Ted M for Seattle
Atlanta, Georgia
Top Contributor
83 reviews 83 reviews
23 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 37 cities Reviews in 37 cities
39 helpful votes 39 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2013

We really enjoyed Cafe Presse - so much that we visited twice this past weekend! In a city known for all things coffee, we felt that Cafe Presse served the best cappuccino we had all weekend! We went for brunch Saturday and had a really great meal - croque madame and wonderful pastries. We went early on Tuesday and the... More

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Seattle
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
7 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 11 March 2013

After 15 or more visits, we feel qualified to rate this excellent bistro. Far better than one might expect for such an unpretentious locale with many hits and few misses. The service is always spot on, an excellent albeit limited (appropriately) wine list . . . by the glass, demi or full carafe or bottle. And all at remarkable value.... More

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See 6 more reviews by bodaboyce for Seattle
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
7 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 10 February 2013

We visited on a rainy Thursday in January. The cafe was jumping. Space is tight but cleverly used. Layout simple, clean. Seating is tight. The staff were friendly and pretty responsive. Food was great for bistro fare, and the wine list good. They have wine by the carafe, which was convenient for 3 people who had to work next day.

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Seattle, Washington
Top Contributor
77 reviews 77 reviews
54 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 18 cities Reviews in 18 cities
15 helpful votes 15 helpful votes
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 January 2013

I have been told that this was a place that I had to visit for some time and as it turns out I finally had the time. Took a late lunch to check out some of the food. Pretty unassuming layout and ambience and was welcomed pretty quickly by the wait staff. As a solo visitor it was nice to... More

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See 36 more reviews by dannieboysreviews for Seattle
Newport, OR
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
4 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
13 helpful votes 13 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 2 December 2012

but wasn't impressed with axou d' Espelette-(ground veal and beef)-tasted like salty sloppy joes, and palourdes sautees aux e chalotes (hama hama clams with chorizo) was quite salty so that you couldn't really taste the dish for the salt. We got a glass of white wine to share and the gateau au fromage blanc (goats milk fromage blanc cake) that... More

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Seattle, Washington
Top Contributor
106 reviews 106 reviews
82 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 26 cities Reviews in 26 cities
21 helpful votes 21 helpful votes
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 November 2012

I like Presse other than the service. Really really horrible. Takes forever to get water, get food, and very poor attention to detail overall. Maybe because it's so busy? I dont know my coffee inside out, so I'm not the right person to comment on the coffee. The food, though, is decent. I think the croque madame's are better elsewhere,... More

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See 9 more reviews by ShivG81 for Seattle
Seattle
Senior Contributor
49 reviews 49 reviews
23 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 22 cities Reviews in 22 cities
18 helpful votes 18 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 October 2012

There are 2 rooms in this casual restaurant. The back room is a bit darker. The front space, with table & bar seating is brighter and a bit more loud. I prefer the back space. We were a party of 3. Very lucky to get a server named Holly. Sincere and very good at her job. The FRENCH ONION SOUP... More

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See 6 more reviews by ManOnTheMove for Seattle
Gig Harbor, Washington
Top Contributor
77 reviews 77 reviews
54 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 27 cities Reviews in 27 cities
12 helpful votes 12 helpful votes
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 5 September 2012

Ate here last night with 2 coworkers. We all found the menu to be a bit lacking as well as the service. We had 3 different dishes. The poached salmon was ok - served on greens with a single small quartered potatoe. Another person ordered a dish that said it came with prawns. What she was served was a skewer... More

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See 3 more reviews by Jeff P for Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 4 August 2012

Took my college age son here and he loved the Croque Madame and French, French fries with aioli. Eclectic university crowd and really good French home cooking.

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