Candor Coffee — Restaurant in Renton

This is a new coffee joint in the area that gives off Cap Hill vibes while being down south, something that I truly appreciate. There are a few things that kind of rubbed me the wrong way though, even though it's a beautiful local establishment.

First off, the interior as well as the coffee are to die for. It is extremely Instagrammable for sure, and I have taken a few photos here and shared them on my stories. It's really beautiful and if you need to get away from the house for an hour, this place is great!

However, the one thing that was a turn off for me has to be the food and drinks. I've tried their croissants a few times and they are very chewy and oily compared to other croissants I've had. I'm only speaking for the butter croissant. I'm not sure if it is house made or bought from somewhere else, but these were very disappointing every time I did get them.

The coffee is probably the most disappointing I would say. Every latte that I have gotten so far has been very subpar. Most of the time I would get the coffee with a very acidic taste to it, as if the coffee they use is expired. The flavor choices are great, but they're not as flavorful and are greatly overpowered by the acidic taste you get from the coffee. It doesn't have a punch that you would get from your usual cup. I do recommend getting their lavender syrup, it is house made and it's very delicious! The pricing is a little more than your usual coffee shop but I was not reallly surprised given the interior/vibes of the place. Overall, there could be some improvements made and I'm sure they'll figure it out somehow!

The last thing I wanted to mention is the lack of COVID guidelines. The owner and baristas are in contact with many customers daily, yet every time I go, I do not see them wearing masks. The cafe is pretty small, and so distancing is nearly impossible if you are concerned about that. Overall, they do not enforce any restrictions and many customers have come in without masks and not attempting to distance. I just wanted to give people a heads up about this! I probably will not stop by any time soon after seeing this just for safety reasons!

Overall, this cafe is very cute but they do have a lot of improving to do! Probably in the future I will visit again. But definitely try it out for yourself and see if...

2025 Update Candor is under new management! And it's much improved!

From my post below, you'll see the coffee was terrible, the pastries tired, and the baristas were both.

This morning I need a place close to home and so popped in on the off chance things had changed. YES, they have.

My coffee was as good as the cafe I frequent (which I'd drive out of my way for). I had the Avocado Toast w Salmon...it was very good with a hearty portion of lox. The pastry case has been updated and is full of tasty looking options from almond croissants to macrons to cheesecake.

The barista who took my order was kind. By the time I left, there were four behind the counter scurrying to keep up with the crowd. They were all business, but it was busy. They all have the same eastern European accent... maybe indicating a family business.

I'm so glad to have a cafe around the corner again!

2023... I think we all look for those cozy little "local" spots. That's what drew me to Candor. I settled right in, looking to work for an hour or two from the cafe. I did this for a day a week for a few weeks. Unfortunately, Candor let me down. The coffee is actually quite bad. If you do order coffee, always get it in a to-go cup. Both times I got coffee in their for-here cups, it was tainted with the taste of dish soap. The pastries are dry, tasteless, and appear day-old (at best). You can usually see a fly in their glass case. The baristas lack warmth. One of them remembered my name and usual order...but in such a dry and unaffected way it was still off-putting. Also, they play the music quite loudly. I like music...I like loud music, just not when I'm looking for a cozy quite place to have a coffee and conversation or to work remotely, taking an occasional call or meeting. I've taken to working at the Starbucks across the street...if that tells...

I’ve been coming here on and off with friends over the last couple years, and though I want to love it, I can’t. As a previous barista of a decade, the coffee is inconsistent. Whether over steamed/piping hot, burnt shots, or far too much chocolate, and other times none at all. It’s so disappointing.

The prices/menu are also quite laughable. The menu items do not match the cafe and usually are delivered in an underwhelming way. Prosciutto and salmon toast? I’ve ordered both, and they either come out slimy and hot…. Or cold but the meat is strangely warm. For $15, I’d expect that these are mastered recipes and everyone on the team is comfortable making one of good quality consistently, but that is not the case.

Recently they’ve also nearly cut the size of their croissants in half, probably 5 inches at large, and are still charging $5. If that’s hard to imagine, picture a single fair scone… for $5.

The seating/waiting area is not proportionate to how many drinks they are able to put out per minute vs orders being taken, and the staff is usually very stand off ish. No surprise— due to the huge menu, people are typically asking alot of questions, including “is this my drink” as soon as they’ve called out a mocha 30 seconds after they ordered despite 6 other people waiting behind them.

There typically isn’t much seating room because people stay all day to work, so we always hang outside, if there isn’t a Bible study group who's collected all the chairs….

This cafe is new so I know there’s plenty of learning to be done, but having to settle for candor, is something I’ll no...