Drip Espresso Bar — Restaurant in Olympia

Tasty pastries, good coffee, and without a doubt the best baristas in Thurston County. (That is saying something, since there are many great baristas in this town.)

Pastries: Baked fresh daily by the owners. There is an occasional miss, but rarely. I love gluten, but no protest from me about the gluten-free raspberry bars. (Try them heated up slightly.) My wife loves the lemon blueberry scones. Currently they are serving a pumpkin coffee cake. I rarely eat coffee cake, but my wife almost did not get her share when I tried some.

Coffee and such: Good product overall. They are one of the very few coffee stands/bars in town that does a good chai, meaning the dirty chai is my go-to drink there. They have a good quality chocolate if mocha is your drink of choice. Hint for those obsessed with pumpkin spice: in season they make their own pumpkin spice for their drinks. I am not a pumpkin spice aficionado, but it's pretty good.

Service: Did I mention these are the best baristas in a town with some great baristas? Even when the line of state workers requiring caffeination is long, they handle the pressure well. I keep trying to talk one of the baristas into going to a barista art competition, given the designs she pours into the cup. I'm sure they must exist somewhere.

Atmosphere: Comfortable, given that they are in the lobby of a building with small offices and apartments. The seating in the lobby itself is cozy, and there are chairs and tables and a reasonably cozy nook around back. Some might rate the atmosphere lower, but they do well with the space they have.

Price: For years, my one complaint has been the price, although "you get what you pay for" is true here. In 2023, I think their prices are about average with most other coffee joints in town. If you are paying about the same at other places, you might as well enjoy the product and service at Drip.

Bottom line: Give them a try. I don't think you will be...

June 2025 update: do not get iced drinks, waaaay too much ice with the tiniest bit of actual drink. You'll pay $5+ for a cup of slightly flavored ice. That being said they still make great espresso.

I frequent this place, it's great. Staff: friendly and engaging. Drinks: made very well Price: coffee is expensive everywhere

Food: ok...so, this is what I've got for the food. Breads (pumpkin, banana) are awesome and thick slices.

-The croissant "sandwich" things (ham & Swiss or bacon & cheddar) are tasty, but dry as hell.

-The breakfast burritos are good, but...I have an issue with the hashbrowns in the burrito, as they're almost undercooked. I find myself picking it out of the burrito...However, the rest of the burrito is pretty good, albeit pretty pricey.

Their new cheddar scone tastes very good, but also dry as can be.

I still highly recommend this place though, as they put together some fantastic drinks, even a simple americano that doesn't taste...

Now I like Dancing Goats coffee, it's decent. But Drip takes that experience and makes it so much better! I was recently in Olympia on a business trip and Drip was on my walk into the office, so I stopped in to give it a whirl. The staff behind the counter was friendly and accommodating of my excited fumbling with my bags & wallet and whipped up an excellent coconut milk latte. 🙏🙏🙏 But the thing I loved most about Drip was the accoutrements bar which offered, among other things, 4 kinds of coffee topping sprinkles (vanilla, cocoa, nutmeg and CAYENNE 🤯) and some good ol' fashioned Costco organic honey, just like I get at home. They also have a back room with a big enough table for a small conference. I can't wait to visit Olympia again just so I can...