Cortona Cafe

The nice waffle and Americano were serviced. Having the easy and delicious breakfast outside was great!

Super cute café with outdoor seating and quiet indoor space upstairs. Quality coffee and yummy waffles!

Just had a mocha, Americano, flat white, dry cappacino, and a double espresso. The flavor is good but the execution of the drinks with milk was not great. The flat whites and cappuccinos were indistinguishable from each other. The mocha was decent but nothing more than 3 stars. All in all decent coffee, nice shop, friendly staff, but simply not a fantastic end product.

I think i just found my new favorite café to study at! Hopefully it stays that way. Today was my first time here and I was pretty impressed with how much I liked this place. It’s such a good place to grab coffee (and waffles!) and go upstairs to study. It’s quite a small place but luckily there are more seats upstairs. It’s nice and quiet, which I really appreciate, because sometimes coffee shops can get pretty busy and loud. Another plus is the amount of outlets! Some coffee shops do not even provide a couple. Cortona have multiple power strips under the seats! Location is in a residential area so you can stay for 2+ hours.
Coffee isn’t the best I ever had, but is still really good. And did I mention they have waffles too? Waffles are always a plus!

Great coffee, kind folks, nice space. All you want from a café.

Stopped here the other day on my way to the post office. Had an americano and a waffle. Both were excellent and the price was reasonable. The space is beautiful and the owner has awesome taste in music. Looking forward to trying the outdoor seating when it warms up.

Really amazing customer service! Their coffee is really good, and so is their food. This café just makes me feel so warm and very relaxed. The Barista’s and the owner are very welcoming and laid back! I just absolutely adore Cortona café and have been going there for years. I really do recommend their delicious waffles (or just their breakfast in general)! Five stars for Cortona café!!!

5 stars for good coffee, GREAT music, strong wifi connection…
I haven’t tried any of the food… however, the barista (who seemed to be owner, I think) knew most of the people who came in and their drinks.
I sat in corner, they had plenty of plug ins for my laptop. Yes, I was the annoying person who had to take a phone call in the coffee shop but I stayed on first floor so hopefully it didn’t bother anyone (it was a short call, I promise).

Good place to work, but depends on the day/​time. You can sometimes get annoying people talking on the phone or a nice quiet café conductive for working. But that goes for almost any café. Baristas are always friendly and they have good coffee. Upstairs gets hot during the summer tho!

I went in and checked out the café. I ordered a dopio con panna. Plenty of outdoor tables. The Barista was very nice. The dopio con panna was excellent. I will come back again.

This is my neighborhood joint. The nicest baristas, consistently amazing coffee, and a warm vibe — just how a neighborhood café should be.
They use Herkimer coffee, one of my favorite roasters in the city, and the folks working at Cortona know how to treat those beans right! I’ve been working in indie coffee for 11 years, 8 of which in Seattle, so I feel somewhat comfortable offering my opinion here.
They carry pastries from Golden Wheat, a bakery also in the CD, and it’s great to see local businesses supporting one another. (The pastries are pretty phenomenal to boot)
Oh, and another thing I enjoy is the little parklet they have going on out front. This place can get pretty warm in the summer, so it’s great to have a good amount of outdoor seating.
I’m going to keep going there, no reason to stop. One day there will be a waffle in front of me, but I have yet to try them.

This place has a very small menu so I ordered the tiramisu waffles with fresh fruit and an iced mocha. You do wait a bit for your waffle that’s because they make it from scratch that’s what I hear but OMG it is SOOO worth the wait. IHOP eat your heart out. This is the best waffle I’ve ever had from a restaurant. It tastes like a high quality tiramisu you get at a restaurant. There are no protein sides like bacon or ham but I’m not gonna be fussy about that. I just wanted to get that out to anyone who wants a protein side with their waffles. if you’re not worried about that then this place is definitely for you. the fresh fruit on the side was awesome enough. the iced coffee was superb.

3.5
I had been craving for waffles for awhile and thought Cortona Café would satisfy that craving. I got the fruit waffle while my BF got the tiramisu waffle. We also shared a chorizo empanada.
The waffles took awhile to come out because the waffle iron had to heat up. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed at my waffle because the texture was just off. It was probably a little undercooked. The whipped cream was really good and I wish there was more of it. My BF loved his tiramisu waffle.
The empanada was just OK. Looks large and puffy but it is mostly just air inside. The crust also wasn’t great — I would definitely skip this next time.
The biggest turnoff was the amount of flies in the café. Good thing it was sunny and they had tables outside because I did not want to sit inside and eat while shooing away flies.

The waffles are dope. The lattes are savory and not bitter. This is definitely one of my favorite neighborhood coffee spots.

The waffle I got was fluffy on the inside and had a slight crunch on the inside. Delicious. Their other menu offerings look good as well. Interestingly they have empanadas. might have to give that a try

Amazing mocha! This was my first cup of coffee in Seattle, ever, and it’s really proven to me how amazing Seattle coffee is! The café itself was really cute and homey, and the barista was really friendly and seemed very knowing about espresso. Fell in love with it!

Last time I stopped in to Cortona Café was back in October 2010 (waffles!), so it was great to reacquaint myself yesterday 2÷3÷15 after eating lunch at another place two blocks away.
I sat in the front window seating area (lots of natural light) with a tasty mocha and enjoyed the wide variety of music (R&B, blues, jazz) and to catch up on my reading.
During the hour I was there a least dozen folks came through, even a pair were upstairs conducting a design project business meeting. The barista was very personable (thankfully not fake politeness or sullen pouty) and had a kind word or tidbit to share with the neighborhood regulars. Other plusses: Herkimer Coffee, Remedy Teas, and a fine assortment of baked goods.
The Central District and Madrona neighborhoods have quite an awesome collection of cafes and restaurants. So if the Downtown and Capitol Hill parking situation or frenetic pace drives you nuts, head over further east to chill at a neighborhood gem like Cortona Café.

Stopped by for Sunday brunch date because it was just an awfully waffley kinda day. ;)
The Good:
1. Cortona has a cozy lofted space with lots of light, and also outdoor seating (including a parklet) for days when it’s not raining.
2. The waffles were pretty good. (More on this.)
3. Herkimer coffee.
4. Friendly staff.
5. Loads of parking.
The Less Good (but not bad):
1. The waffles — They only do sweet waffles, which is fine. We got a fruit waffle and the tiramisu one. As much as I wanted to like the tiramisu (waffle topped with a shot of espresso, chocolate syrup, and whip,) the texture was just too tough. It was a lot tougher than the fruit one, which was in fact lovely. So I guess waffles are just hit or miss here.
Overall, I would come back here again if I needed a coffee and somewhere to read in peace. I hope they get their waffles more consistently fluffy. I’d still give it another try. They also have some yummy-​looking pastries if waffles aren’t your thing. And wi-​fi.

Since I can get to this place in about 30 seconds from my front door, I am a bit biased in how amazing I think this place is. Let’s start with the waffles — they’re incredible. Hands down one of the best waffles I’ve had in Seattle, but when you throw in the price and location, it makes them even tastier (I swear). I can get a 12 oz soy latte and waffle for a little over $ 10 including gratuity!
Next up — the space. It’s small, but in a cozy and warm way. I don’t feel crowded in here and even if there’s a few folks around everyone is so warm and friendly that you don’t really notice that you don’t have a ton of space. As someone with a very large personal «bubble» this says a lot.
Last, but not least, the people! I’ve been in here just a handful of time as I recently moved to the neighborhood, but the barista already knows my order and always greets me (and everyone else) with a smile and an accompanying pleasant conversation (unless you’re me and you have a «coffee before talkie» mantra).
Places like this are the reason I moved closer into the city and I am excited to try out FOOD by Cortona, a pop-​up restaurant they host. If you haven’t been here, that’s fine, it’s my little secret piece of heaven anyway.

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting here in this hidden corner of capitol hill, sipping a strong cup of coffee and munching happily on a delicious belgian waffle. I’m also typing away on my laptop thanks to the free wi-​fi.
The consumables are great, but I always come back for the quiet cozy ambiance. The seating area is upstairs in a loft with large windows that let in ample natural light, which is great for this night owl trying to wake up to the day. There is old soul music playing along with the music of the lone barista downstairs playing on her espresso machine.
Love this place.