Cafe Racer — Restaurant in Seattle

I feel like five stars are in order here because this place really fulfills a promise of what it offers.

This is a simple, unpretentious, well lit little bar and cafe with food offerings and very reasonable prices. Don't expect a high-end $15 Mezcal Negroni or handcrafted top shelf martini with blue cheese olives. On the other hand you can get a good cup of coffee, espresso drink, herbal tea, shot of decent liquor, good beer on tap and old style canned Brews for a very reasonable price. Also if you want a simple cocktail, they are very nice and I'm sure they will try to accommodate you. Overall a very friendly and low-key vibe.

It's about halfway between the Ravenna district and the U District so the location is pretty good and even having said that there is usually parking! Definitely a plus.

Typically an eclectic, artsy crowd spanning a large age range. They frequently offer music and on Sundays that have a curated free jazz session followed by an open free jazz session. Really an awesome opportunity to hear local talent.

February 23rd update: BRUNCH!

This is an update to an earlier post.

Just had brunch there this morning! This is a new thing for them and it was amazing! My wife and I had Sunday brunch. The Ambiance was casual and relaxed and we hung out for a long time chatting with the owner, the bartender, and in general just sat around drinking coffee until we were ready to leave. There was no long wait. We found parking right out front. The food was excellent and really creative. And it was super gentle on my wallet. I will definitely be going there for brunch again. My wife had the house omelet of the day and I had oh, wait for it, biscuits and vegetarian gravy. Now I seriously love sausage gravy but I went with the vegetarian gravy on a recommendation from the server and it was amazing. Tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and I am told it off and has field roast but it did not this morning. It was Savory and delicious and I had it topped with two...

We went there while they were "open" not just after they opened, but like the middle of a business day according to the hours posted on the door. Most of the lights were off but the door was open so we walked right on in. We ended up giving ourselves a tour, and by tour, I mean we walked into the back only to see utter darkness... The kind of darkness that could swallow you whole in the search for answers. "Why was this place empty?" "What happened here to make it smell like weed and PBR?" "Where is the bathroom?" What made the experience truly creepy were the 2 people (I assume to be hippies) playing strange aesthetic music in the background. One of them looked at me... Almost as if to signal to us that we needed to leave, otherwise we too will become terrible art. The kind of deep piercing gaze to signify we were about to be swallowed whole by this... D A R K N E S S

Overall, it was truly an incredible trauma bond for our relationship 10/10 would reccomend, the trauma bond that is.

UPDATE: This was not a Monday. Minus one star for...

A small cafe and live music space in the Ravenna neighborhood. As a club it has a main room with a long, narrow setup, good for a more intimate gig. The bar in the back has a good selection at reasonable prices. There is also a separate room up a flight of stairs that works as a lounge with bizarre paintings on the walls. It hosts various srts events throughout the year. They serve food during the day, but as I was there at night for a show I didn't eat there. It's a fixture of the neighborhood, having avoided the recent waves of redevelopment in Seattle. In short, good spot for a local night out.

NOTE: since I wrote the original review Cafe Racer closed permanently in 2020 due to the pandemic. The space is currently vacant with no new...