Tully’s Coffee

sometimes they’re not very talkative, but today they remembered my drink and I find that to be rather awesome!

October 6, 2012, after walking for two hours we finally found a Tully’s. I know Seattle is owned, bought, and paid for by Starbucks but they should know by now that Seattle’s Tully’s is the best coffee around. I love you guys and didn’t give up. We were so happy to finally find one open. You guys were great to us Southerners. Thank you a bunch.

This is a nice big Tully’s in a somewhat not slamming part of downtown. The people are nice and you don’t feel on top of people most of the time. It’s a decent place to take a break.

I have been in Downtown Seattle spending my summer here. I wanted to try something different than Starbucks. I loved how Tully’s had some different flavors, but they could have some new ones too. Anyway, the employees were very friendly and tried to have a real conversation with me. My drink actually tasted delicious too (Caramel Machiatto Bellacino) I think investing in some new furniture wouldn’t be so bad… BUT the music has to go, definitely! I also love the location (very close to the main attractions) Other than that, come try it out! Each person will have a different opinion of course.

I started working downtown a couple of months ago. I really tried to like this shop since it’s around the corner from where I work which makes it convenient. The coffee is good but it all depends on who is preparing the drinks. The one male I see in there these days knows how but if he isn’t making it, it’s probably not going to be good. Also the staff aren’t all that friendly AND they seem to be fairly clueless about anything I ask them regarding coffee, food, whatever. Several times I’ve walked in there waiting for them to end conversation amongst themselves before acknowledging me. I’ve even listened to one female complaining about another except she couldn’t hear her because of the espresso machine.
Forget this place… Go to Seattle Coffee Works instead!

This location is the flagship store for Tully’s, and it is equipped with a grand piano and a shoe shine station. However everything else just looked so old.
I always like to try something new, so I consulted the cashier to ask her what she suggests. I really wanted to try the intense dark chocolate mocha, but that drink was only available hot… I ended up getting a Madagascar vanilla latte which was a pretty normal vanilla latte. 3 stars for the latte itself.
Minus 1 star for the service. When I was waiting for my drink I noticed a poster for a salty caramel machiato tucked away on the side of the bar. WTH? I would have much rather had that then a normal vanilla latte. I asked if they still had the drink, and sure enough they did. I was quite disappointed since I love salty caramel everything. Then the cashier told me «why didn’t you ask me about it when you were ordering?» Uh. Miss, I did ask you if there were any special drinks. And you were the one that suggested the vanilla latte. PLUS, who puts a freaking poster were no one can see it?!
They also didn’t offer to remake my drink. Lame. And this is their flagship store. I expected way more out of this place!

Staff was nice but wasn’t impressed by the coffee. I wanted to like it, as it’s a historic coffee place for Seattle, but my husband and I were disappointed.
They offer awesome flavors, and we were intrigued to try flavored coffee. My husband peanut butter, I tried cookie dough. Unfortunately, neither of us could taste the flavors. So paid for it, could kinda smell it, but couldn’t taste it.

now I know why this coffee chain has struggled. The flavor was weak. There was coffee grinds in my latte. I can’t remember the last time a coffee place had coffee grinds find its way into the beverage. At least they made another one after I sent it back. With all of the coffee places in Seattle, there has got to be a better place to get coffee.

Free WiFi, unlike Starbucks. But the men’s room smells like a highway rest-​stop. Way to go Tully’s, your flagship store’s bathroom smells of urine.

I loved that the place opens really early, especially when you have an early Saturday meeting!
The baristas, coffee, and food was great! Atmosphere and pics amazing, they have a piano also!

According to my guidebook, Tully’s is supposed to be Seattle’s second largest chain after, you’ve guessed it — Starbucks. There are quite a few of these around but it’s definitely not a popular as the Starbucks which can be found at basically every corner. Anyways we stopped into this one to warm up and kill an hour after some shopping in the area. It’s located on the bottom floor of an office building. And we were there mid-​afternoon so it wasn’t too busy. Unfortunately they only had one guy behind the counter. So it took awhile as he had to take and make the orders. We only had one other person in front of us, who ordered like 3 of the most complicated drinks. Thus it felt like 5+ minutes to get to us. The guy was cool though — multitasking while he was making the drinks cause this homeless guy kept bugging him to use their phone. Turned out there was another guy working but he was on break. He returned about 10 minutes after we sat down. They have a few tables scattered about and some comfy couches too. It was very quiet the entire time we were there. We just sat and talked quietly for about an hour without anyone bothering us. It was nice. Oh I got a hot chocolate and my friend got hot tea — guess we’re not really coffee drinkers. My drink felt like it didn’t have too much chocolate and more milk. It warmed me up though. And the prices were s bit cheaper than Starbucks.

Some cafes attract business types (Starbucks); others attract students, or artists. This one attracts homeless men.
But I can see why. The staff is absolutely wonderful, there is lots of comfy seating, plenty of power outlets, and free wi-​fi.

Came here every morning when I was in town for a conference — 8 to 5 on a subject outside my practice. Booorring!
I recall someone telling me that Tully’s is much better than its more famous corporate-​coffee sibling, i.e., Starbucks. This doesn’t seem that high of a bar, but I agree. The latte, smooth and subtle, didn’t punch you in the face with the super intense, burnt taste of the latter. The yerba mate latte was way too sweet, but then again, maybe it’s too much to expect a coffee shop to make great tea (well, not really tea, but closer to that than coffee).
The service was sufficient, at least on weekday mornings; I’m not sure I ever stood in a line of more than 2 – 3 people. Quite unlike the Starbucks (Starbuckses?) around my office, where you have to use vacation time to get a latte, despite their frontline-​assembly style of producing caffeinated beverages. Then again, this may be due more to the prevalence of coffee shops in the city than extraordinary efficiency on the part of the employees here. Who cares; I liked it.

I didn’t realize this was Tully’s flagship store, because it seemed so ordinary to me. The service was quick, but I don’t think their customer service is too friendly.
There is plenty of seating and free WIFI. They have a TV and it seems pretty noisy.
They also have a shoe-​shine station in the back that I saw a few people using.

This? This is the flagship store? Really?
The staff here are often friendly, but a little fumbling. It never looks clean, I’ve been in when the bathroom was literally smeared with feces. I know that some of that is the risk of any downtown business — but most of the downtown businesses are aware of this and take extra care.
The plugs are always being hogged for several hours by people who glare when you ask if you can share the seating area/​second socket on the plug with them. (And there aren’t that many plugs to begin with.) It’s also noisier in here than any other Tully’s I’ve been to — it’s like they designed it to carry the espresso machine’s noise through the whole café. The music is often turned up to compensate and then there’s always a few interviews/​meetings happening where people are trying to carry their voices over the music.
If you want to go to Tully’s downtown, I’d suggest the one that’s close to the waterfront near Pike Place — it’s quieter, the staff are just as friendly and you don’t have to fight with anyone for a plug.

Dish: What’s a Bellacino?
Cashierlady: You know Starbucks Frappuccinos? They’re like those.
Hmm. is that what corporate tells you to say? Good marketing. haha. Other than that, I thought the staff was very friendly.
I will say that their caramel macchiato is perfect. At Starbucks they pile on the caramel like there’s no tomorrow. I also enjoyed the banana bread they had (chocolate chips included. word!). As for hang out-​age, there are comfy chairs everywhere and free wireless. Good for one on one chats (not too loud) and for groups. There are some long and some big tables to study/​work at with other people. Not to mention there’s a grand piano by the doorway. Just in case, you know, that latte makes you want to tickle the ivories.