Bonito Café y Mercadito — Restaurant in Seattle

NEW FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD SPOT!

After Bad Chancla opened up the street a few months ago, I’ve been looking for other latin american businesses nearby to get comfort foods from my youth. I was astonished to see a coffee shop on kickstarter! After backing it and patiently checking in for months, it’s so exciting to see that it’s finally opened!

Walking in to Bonito, you can immediately tell it’s a labor of love. The space is bright and pretty large with (real!) plants everywhere and a cute little market area selling local and handmade goods. Ismael immediately greeted me when I walked in and felt like an old friend almost immediately. The upstairs area is gorgeous and feels like a really intentionally communal space for people to spend time together instead of just work in silence.

As for the FOOD… its SO GOOD! I got this little square guava pastry (i forgot the name, lo siento ;-;) which was delicious, if could have had a bit more guava. The gansito cake? Actually to die for, I am worried about my weight because girlfriend wants to get it every day. The conchas are also tasty and the puercito is like a sunflowery ice cream sandwich, yum.

The coffee is delicious and kind of a refreshingly bold take on drinks I’ve gotten used to ordering. The espresso is a bit of a darker blend, reminiscent of like a Cafe Pilon, in milk it brings a powerful chocolatey, caramelized flavor without feeling burnt at all. I would also recommend their drip coffee-based drinks, which are made with a lighter (colombian?) coffee which is delicious and spectacular in their Cafe de Olla.

Oh, and this is a minor thing, but their mugs are STUNNING, they made me contemplate theft (for legal reasons this is a joke)

All in all, a beautiful spot with lovely staff, good food, good coffee. Their Grand Opening is on the September 14 so get out...

Bonito Café y Mercadito is a new, must try coffee shop in the Capitol Hill area. Their grand opening is September 14th, but you can check their stories for soft opening hours.

This place is owned by husbands, Daniel and Isamael, who also run @aquimercado.seattle (a vibrant monthly pop-up focused on highlighting Latinx, Queer and other POC small businesses in the community)

Similar to their goals with Aquí Mercado, they were inspired to make Bonito a welcoming spot for people of all communities - especially supporting local makers from Latinx, POC & LGBTQ+ communities. From sourcing their pastries from @pandelaselva_ to coffee beans from @fulcrumcoffeeroasters and even their mercadito filled with goodies from local Seattle creators, their space is a reflection of their mission of Bonito.

During our visit, we got the Horchata Chai and Fresa Matcha, as well as the Blackberry Concha & Chocolate Puerquito from @pandelaselva_ . I came in on a mission to try their horchata chai which is a flavor I don’t commonly see in Seattle and it did not disappoint. I am already thinking about the next time I’ll be back. The Fresa Matcha was super refreshing and had a decent matcha flavor - I loved the strawberry hints! For the pastries, we were blown away by the concha…this is a MUST and I can’t wait to support their small business at the bakery’s pop-ups.

To top it all off, the vibes were immaculate They had a michilada station which my mom would love and a vintage photobooth. Lots of...

I was super excited to check this beautiful spot out and have a coffee there, love everything they stand for and in such a beautiful space. But was pretty bummed they have a rule that they can't make their drinks in the beautiful ceramics they have to serve in when it is busy - there is something about drinking a latte in a warm mug on a rainy day in a cafe - I get its busy and it can be higher demand to keep up with cleaning/rotation, but I saw others in the cafe with their drinks for there and already had a seat I was going to sit at. Granted, the barista eventually was going to make it for there once I explained I really didn't want to waste the paper cup/had a spot. I feel like the frustration I was receiving from the barista was a little unfortunate, I understand it was a Saturday morning and the line was really filing in, but I feel if you are going to have ceramic mugs, enough indoor seating, there should be a push to serve the drinks for there, regardless of the busyness level. It is one of the things that make coffee shops an inviting place to be. Also, no WIFI on the weekends which is understandable for a spot that is in Cap Hill that is flowing with customers on the weekend. I just decided to cancel my order and hope to check this spot out during the week when it isn't as busy and hope my experience is better to raise my review. I was really excited to try this place, but left feeling super disappointed with the...