Lettered Streets Coffeehouse

I always feel right at home in this little hole-​in-​the-​wall café. The baristas are always great and make my coffee just the way I want it… I’m picky! :-) We’ve been going there for years and have never had a bad experience. The owner is very nice as well.

Average coffee, average location, disgusting service. As soon as we entered we were not greeted, the transaction was uncomfortable because they didn’t speak loud enough and to ask a question seemed bothersome. First time going here and with this sort of service, along with the fact that I wasn’t given change back and when I gave a tip it wasn’t even appreciated– An incredibly disappointing experience in this coffee shop.

Great service on a sleepy Saturday morning. Barista was friendly and made us a couple of delicious drinks — twice — as we had seconds before we left it was that tasty! The atmosphere in the old building is cozy and warm. I liked everything about this place and would recommend popping out of downtown to the Lettered Streets to give it a try.
I ordered an 8 oz latte and my sweetie ordered a 16 oz triple mocha. Both perfect!

Quite possibly the best café mocha I’ve ever had. They use really good coffee! Local Onyx roasted, I think. The mocha flavor isn’t overpowering or sugary. It’s rich and flavorful. Their espressos are excellent too, but I’m not so much a connoisseur or coffee snob so I might not be a reliable review for that. I really like the casual environment. It’s always been good place to study or read.

Great coffee, cool/​clean historic building, very friendly staff, good wifi. What else could you ask for? I’ll be back!

As my Local Coffee Shop Quest continues I find the list narrowing (hey, even Bellingham has to run out of java joints eventually), and yesterday realized I hadn’t hit Lettered Streets yet. So I loaded up the laptop and headed on down. This is a cute little place in a super-​historic old building. I ordered my usual… a regular coffee in a «here» mug. They have a few choices on size, which is a nice option. You can also choose from their regular or dark roasts. I chose regular, added the requisite cream and sugar, and grabbed a toasted sesame bagel which they delivered to me a few minutes later after I’d parked myself next to the last remaining seat in the Laptop Room. Well, I don’t think it’s really called that, but it should be! You see, Lettered Streets is split into two spaces — the main entry where you order up your coffee, and a side room which is full (like literally FULL) of folks hunkered over their laptops like something out of my old Suzzallo Library days! It was like I’d wandered into a well-​kept secret society of Other People Who Can’t Get Work Done At Home. I worried the wi-​fi would be slow due to the secret society sucking it dry, but it worked fast and flawlessly during my entire stay.
The coffee was delish and they also had some yummy lunch options up on the board. Would have loved a breakfast sandwich but the bagel held me over until my work was done.
I’m definitely adding LSCH to The List (what, you haven’t seen the list?).
Which means I’ll be back — the free street parking is definitely a bonus, and the bathroom is in an interesting spot (you have to go outside first, like on Little House on the Prairie, except with good plumbing), but that just adds to the charm of this place.

Some of the best coffee in town, not to mention a great atmosphere for both studying and catching up with friends. FYI– they close at 6pm most nights, so not a late night place!

Staff is a little too cool for their own good, but this place is highly recommended nevertheless. Beautiful building and great coffee and so far very limited number of WiFi-​hobos make this a very nice treat.

Great coffee and gluten free sweets are available. Good customer service, respect to the bean. Local products and light meals.

I hit this coffee shop every time I’m in Bellingham. Anna, the owner, makes one of the best soy vanilla latte’s I’ve had and their Guatemala beans are my favorite for my home brew. A++ on all fronts.

I used to frequent this shop when I was going to school and living in Bellingham. Every time I am in town I visit, I am a sucker for their toddy in the summer and mocha variations in the winter. It is a small, quaint, and iconic place.
I am most impressed with the knowledge of their staff on all things coffee and the pleasant conversation they always engage with me in.
Certain times of day or days of the week are busier than others, something to be aware of with any coffee shop. It’s a great place to relax, meet friends, and their food is quite good too!

This is not a coffee shop to go to if you are in a hurry, regardless of how convenient its location might be, and it feels very unwelcoming to me every time I have been here. This last visit, I ordered drip and an Italian soda for my son. We had about 15 minutes before we needed to head to his school, and it took 10 minutes to get the Italian soda. When we came in, I could see one person ahead of us (after I posted the first version of this review the owner, a lovely person, contacted me to tell me there were four orders ahead of us), and we were careful to order things I think of as quick. I did get the drip right away, but only got the Italian soda after asking for it to go (we were on bikes, and had hoped to have our drinks there).
Given the unusual configuration of space which allows folks to be waiting for an order while physically being in another room, perhaps a sign at rush times could indicate that you will have a 10 minute wait for your drink? Or maybe 15? I am pretty sure I «cut» in line to get my son his drink before we headed for his school, so I don’t know how long I would have waited if I had not been impatient.
I get that this is a kitchy space not designed for speed. It has an ambience in which I am sure a lot of folks are comfortable, and it seems to have a loyal clientele. And I am always a fan of local independent businesses. I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is that makes me feel so unwelcome there. My husband, and some friends, also always feel uncomfortable there, while other folks I know love this shop. But if you are comfortable there, and are interested in a nice, slow paced, relaxing experience, this is certainly a place to try out.

This place was actually pretty great. I’ve only been given the chance to go there once, and yeah, they made my drink differently than what I ordered (pretty sure I just wasn’t clear on how I wanted it, so easy mistake.), but at the same time, what they gave me was delicious. The atmosphere was incredibly Bellingham. Cozy, unique, a little bit of the quirkiness that you find when you even just meet someone from Bellingham for the first time… I was lucky enough to be able to go here on a beautiful sunny day with my hubby, which made it all the better. All in all, I’d definitely go here again. Maybe I’ll be a bit clearer on what I order, too. :P

I really tried to like this place. It being Bellingham and wanting to stay local, I had high hopes. A couple girlfriends and I arranged to meet here once a week for a book study on Friday mornings. We did this for eight weeks. My order was pretty consistent: espresso con panna or tea, and a scone or bagel. The only reason they get two stars was for the espresso. It was consistently delicious. Every time they offered to toast my scone, however, they burnt it. After the third week, I gave up and just asked for it plain. This disgruntled them.
Never once in our eight weeks there, did either one of the baristas smile when taking or delivering an order, not even when I came to the front counter to get it to save them a trip. I was cheerful, said good morning, smiled at them, but it was never returned. They looked upset to see me come in. I observed them smiling and interacting positively with other customers, so I don’t know what I did to particularly piss them off, but maybe you’ll have better luck than me.
My friends and I decided that if they don’t like to see us come in, then we won’t. We’ll be taking our business elsewhere from here on out.

My first ever non-​franchise coffee joint, and homey, cozey, comffy indeed.
Basically inside a heritage-​like setting, I just Unilocaled for best milkshakes and voila these guys showed up. While not the best chocolate milkshake, she assured it was real chocolate ice cream, and not pumped with chocolate sauce, yay.
in fact, Maybe a tad too much milk, not malty enough, still had a bit of chopped ice bits (a good thing) just not sweet enough.
Overall a great hangout compared to a Starbucks as there is a separate room beside.
Window seating. Parking is tough in this residential hood, they have 2 spots.

Lettered Streets coffee shop has a perfect environment. The coffee is excellent. The baristas are friendly but not cheesy. The scones they have here are the very best I’ve ever had. I don’t like scones very much but these are awesome. The café has art on the walls which changes fairly frequently, and the baristas play chill music so its a perfect place to study or do computer work. The windows face the east, so all morning long there is beautiful sunlight inside. It is also in a very old building which adds to the charm. This and the Black Drop are my two favorite cafes in Bellingham.

How I heard of this place: Mojgan and I drove past it yesterday as we were in the midst of running errands. Today, when the call for coffee and a quaint café from which to work came, I suggested checking out the new spot. We both agree it was worth the experiment in search of cute, new coffee shops in Bellingham to check out!
Type of cuisine: Café with hot, iced and blended coffee beverages, teas, hot cocoa, Italian sodas and sweet pastries including scones, muffins, raw & gluten free desserts.
Ambiance: Set in what looks to be an old home, the bright yellow and rust-​colored walls, tall ceilings and wooden furniture make you feel at home in the space! One entrance opens to bar stool seating at high tables and the barista counter where orders may be placed and delivered to your table. The adjacent room, which has its own entrance from the outside, or through the doorway at the end of the barista counter, is full of seating, books for adults and children, local artwork and bright day light streaming forth from the near floor to ceiling windows! French music plays in the background, gaily and joyfully without overtaking conversation, but enough to feel like you have your own cozy work space. Traffic noises from outside can be hears as people stop at the light to cross Dupont and F Streets with their cars, trucks and motorcycles. But it’s more the noise of life and things continuing to go on outside as you sit in your café haven enjoying the creamy java at the tip of your fingers!
What I ordered: I ordered an 8-​ounce non-​fat single ristretto vanilla latte, on the sweet side ($ 2.35). My sister ordered the 20-​ounce mug of non-​fat latte ($ 4.05) that was delivered to our table with a rosetta atop the glossy foam.
What I loved: The creamy, smooth flavor of the coffee, layered with the sweet taste of vanilla made me love this café as a place to which I must return on future trips to Bellingham!
Why I loved it: The ambiance presents itself to one of casual ease where I can study, read a magazine, work or bring a friend with whom I wish to catch up! A light, smooth coffee over conversation or a good read makes LSC a great go-​to café!
Cost: Low to average ($ 2-​$ 4.50 for coffee beverages)

Great espresso and espresso drinks.
HOWEVER the service is terrible. The baristas aren’t friendly and make it feel like you’re bothering them both just by being there and when you let them know their out of drip/​creamer/​sugar/​etc.
Today, after receiving the wrong drip coffee roast (which I chose not to fuss about), there was dust and what looked like crumbs in my mug, but, because of the attitudes of the baristas, I felt like I couldn’t ask for a new one.
I wanted to like this place as the coffee is usually nice, and it is very cozy and cute, but after today, I won’t be coming back.

Unbelievable! We left without coffee after waiting forever for the batista to finish a protracted conversation with some regulars then she took some one else she new ahead of us, again, lost in their exclusive conversation. No notice when we looked at each other and left to continue our walk.
I definitely recommend they require their staff to read «will I ever fit in: conquering adult dysemia» by nowicki and Duke,
est their behavior catch up with them and cause yet another business failure in this location. Remember, you’re only serving coffee which can only be so good, and mainly you’re selling the human touch.

A lovely little house turned café in the lettered streets themselves, It doesn’t get more Bellinghamster than this. The main room with bar-​stools and baristas leads into a second room with wifi and a wonderful study space. It’s bigger than you think upon first walking in, just look for the leeetle doorway on the right.
The coffee is roasted to perfection. The drinks are oh so smooth and sexy! The skill level of coffee art that pops up in your beverage is a huge plus too! Just check out the pictures people have posted, the sweetheart service is amazing in and of itself, but a snowman in my latte? Yes please! They make a stiff soy foam too, which is hard to do.
The baked goods are fresh and yummy, and they have a few GF options. This is a neighborhood locally owned café, so give em your business!
**Parking can be a little hard as there is only a few spaces, but the neighborhood streets provide ample and free spots all around it.