Analog Coffee — Restaurant in Seattle

TLDR: Food was fine, service was systemically awful from top to bottom.

The setup of this building is a bit strange, so I’m going to leave this review for both ‘businesses’ inside since the experience occurred throughout the entire space.

I’ve lived around the block from here for some time and whenever I mention that to friends, I’m constantly asked if I like B-Sides. Finally decided to give it a try on a day when I was readjusting to time zones after traveling. Boy was that a mistake!

For what it’s worth, the breakfast sandwich I got was fine. Above average in terms of the quality of ingredients and taste, but not ‘knock-your-socks-off’ great by any means. It was a bagged English muffin ran through a toaster with a single slice of thin ham and a normal amount of egg, mushrooms, and daikon.

The issue was the service. The aforementioned layout is confusing if you come in through B-Sides because it’s only the pickup counter, so you have to go to the Analog side to order. The girl who took my order seemed fine, she repeated it back to me and had me come around the side to pay — she entered the price, spun the Square tablet with the classic Tip Menu around and she walked away. I paid, chose no receipt, and walked to the B-Sides counter.

At that counter, I asked if I could have my sandwich to go and they asked if it was a “mushroom breakfast sandwich”, I said it was “mushroom and ham” and they said they didn’t get that order. I was the only person there and it was the only order, so I told them it must be a mistake. They then asked for my order number, which I said I wasn’t given an order number because I didn’t print a receipt, but if they charged me wrong, I’m happy to pay the difference.

Another employee stepped in and said they must have rung it up wrong and again asked me for my order number. I said I don’t have an order number and she said that they only had one order anyway. She directed me back to the payment counter where I had to deal with a FOURTH member of the team. This guy was the absolute worst, he made a snarky comment about me not picking up my order number which I was more than happy to challenge him about. I told him that the cashier didn’t give me one to which he said, “she put it right here.” So I asked, “as someone who wasn’t even here, can you actually say with 100% confidence that she both placed a number there and told me about it?” He was more than happy to lie through his teeth and say “yes.” A younger me probably would have gotten violent, but restraint is a virtue.

I grabbed my sandwich and was about to leave when I was intercepted by the manager, Danny. To his credit, Danny empathized with my situation and apologized appropriately. He even offered me a refund, which I did accept. I hope this can be a teaching moment for Danny to train the rest of the staff to be better in the future. My only annoyance about the refund is that the tip didn’t get refunded and nobody in that place deserved a tip. Where you work is a choice, if you choose to work in the service industry, great service should be...

Some of the best coffee you'll never want to order for-here.

Starting with the good, Analog has incredibly talented baristas making wonderful coffee. Their espresso is a well balanced roast that tastes incredible straight, in a latte, or mixed with some of their made-in-house syrups. They sell some great whole bean options to take home, and they have a small but tasty selection of pastry items--particularly the cheddar lye roll, which keeps well no matter how late in the day you arrive.

What made me stop going to Analog is their amenities. I don't think it's possible for a cafe to thrive nowadays without good internet, and whenever I went to Analog I was consistently getting 56 Kbps download speeds (yes, the same speed that the first 56k modems offered). I don't know if they're throttling guests or if their service is just that bad, but my last 3 visits, I was unable to do any work while I drank my coffee--which is the reason I visit cafes in the first place.

On top of that, I have never visited Analog without the music being turned up to max volume. The baristas will accommodate you and turn it down if you ask, but it's wild to me that the default setting of music at a cafe would be a level which makes conversation or work calls uncomfortable/impossible.

Overall, I'd still happily swing by for some excellent coffee if I wanted something to go, but Analog makes me painfully aware that it's not enough for a cafe to JUST serve...

I’ve come here almost every day for years. The coffee is my favorite. I’m not really a skilled small talker but the baristas here make a notable effort to get to know their regulars and it’s obvious the impact that has on the community and neighborly-feel that has formed here. It means so much to me to be somewhere where people are genuinely respected and cared for. My respect for Analog soared during the early days of the pandemic as they were one of the best in terms of covid safety - demonstrating they actually care about the wellbeing of both their staff and neighbors. Their hospitality is bar none and I think it’s pretty obvious their regulars feel safe and at home here as a result. I’m gluten-free so I’ve never been able to try their egg sandwiches, but the rice bowl is one of my most favorite lunch items in the neighborhood. Also everyone who works here uses their normal adult voice (no customer service talking to me like I’m 4 years old voice). The music is always good. 1000/1000 immaculate vibes, kind people, reliably fabulous...