Cafe Flora — Restaurant in Seattle

Fabulous ambiance. The wait was about 30 minutes for weekend brunch. The orange waffle was amazing but the banana pancakes were dry and had very little flavor (why skimp on bananas?). They have a very interesting drink menu and everything's moderately priced for the Seattle area. Service was poor, we were never asked how our food was or we would have sent the pancakes back. I'd go back again if I had plenty of time, especially for the earthy/floral drinks.

Update: 3 years later and I’ve been back at least half a dozen times. The menu changes regularly and it keeps me coming in to try the new dishes. The service has been much better, Ive really enjoyed our wait staff encounters. I will say the reason I don’t come here more is because of the super long wait but they’ve started taking reservations which is a game changer so I’ll probably go here like 3 times this month.

Most recently we went for the Christmas afternoon tea. We were incredibly lucky to snag the only reservation for the remainder of the series! We spoke to the staff (owner?) who said they sold out within hours of releasing reservations, and this happened twice. The tea experience was outstanding and the food was very good, as I’ve come to expect from Cafe Flora.

I’d absolutely recommend this place, especially now that they take reservations, because the ambiance can’t be beat and the menu options are creative.

Update: correction, they do not take reservations for standard meals, only the afternoon tea. Which means I won’t be coming here nearly as much as I’d like because it’ll likely be an hour wait, so down to 4 stars for that.

Update: we went by for brunch and it only took 5 minutes to get in which was VERY lucky. The meal was great, as always, but service was bad. Our waitress only took our order and we never saw her again. Somebody else delivered our food, nobody ever checked on us, and we saw our waitress clock out and leave without saying anything. We weren’t handed off to anybody (or told) so we had to track somebody down to pay our bill. So, service continues to be spotty but the foods...

I went there twice in the course of a few days, the first time was on a Friday and everything was amazing, food was incredible as was the coffee, excellent service, my partner and I had a great time and knew we would be coming back.

I pop in the next day during brunch just to get some coffee and a togo order of their mochi beignets (I tried getting them on Friday but this is a weekend brunch only menu item so I had these on my mind for 24hrs, they seem like they are amazing), when I went to the register area to order I was told that they don’t do Togo orders because they get too busy on the weekends. This was a little shocking as I’ve never been refused a Togo order at any restaurant despite how busy they were, but it was even more shocking as they were not any busier than the day before and they seemingly had more staff on schedule that day (there were about three people behind the bar with only one person who seemed like they were doing something and even Google said they were less busier than usual).

I don’t know if it’s a Seattle thing to not do Togo orders for brunch this place was literally the first Seattle brunch place I had tried but it’s pretty jarring being refused service for something when that clearly was not the case. I’ve worked at restaurants before as a barista and a server and sometimes both at the same time so I get how a policy like this can be helpful when things get REALLY busy, however making it a sweeping policy for the entirety of brunch does not make sense to me. They could still serve folks who come in unknowingly and then inform them that if they were busy they would not be able to accommodate if they were busier but that they can take care of em now. It would give the illusion of folks going out of their way to help out while also still protecting the busy hours versus just freezing them out.

I still really want to try the mochi beignets, the restaurant is really amazing I even bought one of their cool hats, but it’s going to be a while before I do as getting refused service first thing in the...

We chose Café Flora to celebrate the night before Mother’s Day with my vegan mother-in-law and vegetarian son—here’s how it went:

The High Notes Every dish we tried was flavorful and beautifully presented, from the seasonal small plates to the craft cocktails and mocktails. Even the notoriously finicky vegan pizza was delicious when it finally arrived.

The abundant greenery and cozy space make this a truly special spot. It feels like an urban oasis.

Our server was friendly, efficient, and genuinely seemed to care about our experience. We mostly felt looked after from start to finish.

Where It Fell Short

EXCESSIVELY SLOW KITCHEN Despite a half-full dining room, our appetizers took over 30 minutes (echoing the slow service many 1- and 2-star reviews mention). Worse, our two pizzas—ordered together so the family could share—arrived 30 minutes and then another 25 minutes apart. By the time the vegan pizza showed up, we had to rush off to pick up our daughter, and lost the one moment we’d set aside to eat together. It was embarrassing for me and wife to eat while my mother in law waited for her food.

UNDERWHELMING ACCOUNTABILITY The manager chalked it up to an unusually busy Saturday, yet several tables seated after us were served and cleared their meals before our pizzas even left the kitchen. It felt like our order was simply mishandled, and the apology lacked real empathy or follow-through.

Bottom Line Café Flora truly shines when the kitchen and front-of-house sync up: inspired vegan-friendly cuisine, beautiful surroundings, and servers who care. But on this night the timing breakdown meant we missed out on the one thing we’d come for—an uninterrupted family dinner. I hope they use the candid feedback so many have shared to tighten their service flow and own mistakes more sincerely, because when it all clicks, this place is something special.

My wife says she will still come back with her friends since she likes the food. But they have surely lost me...