Chocolati Cafe Wallingford — Restaurant in Seattle

Let me start my saying I agonized over a 3 star rating!

In terms of the quality and taste of the food and drinks, I've tried a lot, and it's all been outstanding! Muffins, truffles, quiches, chocolate covered pretzels, chai latte, hot chocolate with peanut butter add a shot of espresso (excellent recommendation), hot chocolate with peppermint patty add shot of espresso, drip coffee. And the chocolate dipped fig is OUT OF THIS WORLD. If I were ONLY rating the food, it would be a definitive 5!!

Haven't had any issues with wifi so no complaints there either.

The place itself is ok. A. Its dingy and dark which is fine and seemingly appropriate for a cozy Seattle coffee shop. Maybe a touch on the dirty side, especially if you sit upstairs and look down at the dust on the shelves etc.

The atmosphere is mediocre at best and I say that mostly from the clientele. Call me old fashioned, but I still think coffee shops are a place where people go to meet with friends, study, work etc. But people should be respectful of those around them and it's up to the staff to uphold that.

My last few visits were extremely disappointing. Screaming kids crawling all over the floor. A homeless man coming and sitting at the ONE AND ONLY other chair at my table (table for 2) when half the shop was EMPTY. Be prepared that if you sit near the door, people leave the door open constantly so you'll have to get up and shut it behind them, and there always seem to be a group of entitled whoevers who don't think they need to move their chairs, even an inch, so you can squeeze by to grab the last available seats at the "bar" facing the windows.

But my absolute favorite...a teen (if I were to guess) that must have been friends with one of the baristas. With all due respect she may have some sort of behavioral or learning disability and I am familiar with the difficulties this presents in social situations. But no matter the circumstances (hey I'm human and I try not to judge...we all have our issues and battles), this type of situation should not be allowed in a place where basic customer service and sanitation suffers as a result.

She was blocking the stairs, standing at the counter drawing on all the cups (putting her hands all over them...those are the cups YOU drink out of), talking extremely loudly, standing in front of incoming customers wanting to make an order. To say the least it was obnoxious, not to mention disgusting since I drink out of those cups. I was there for more than 2 hours on that particular visit and finally just got fed up and left shortly after she walked BEHIND the counter. Again, this is where the food is made. Where your drinks are made. Completely unsanitary and unprofessional.

The staff has little to no control over the homeless guy sitting at my table and maybe it's asking a little too much to ask mothers to keep their screaming kids (mothers I salute you, I know it's tough) at least at their own table, but there is zero excuse for allowing a teen (or any age person for that matter) to essentially set up shop around the counter let alone walk behind the counter, touching the cups, and getting in the way of paying customers. I'm extremely disappointed and if the food and drink weren't so dang good, I'd rate this particular...

4.5 stars. Great cafe, great staff, great ambience. I love coming here whenever I want to read. The spread of warm wood and lighting is reminiscent of classic PNW cafe vibes, especially during rainy days. Many cafes in Seattle tend to have the same "modern" look and feel (which I'm fine with), but Chocolati Cafe Wallingford charmingly stands out among the crowd in its own unique, cozy ways.

If you are a student needing to focus on grinding out some work, this cafe is really perfect for you. They don't play loud music; there are many cafes in Seattle that play music loudly to churn customers as fast as possible. The music level here is just right to be able to focus on your work/have conversation with your group mates.

There are plenty of seating tucked away in upper-floor areas that really help you focus. I love reading there. Also, they close at 7:30pm, instead of 4 or 5pm like other cafes in the area! The drinks are great too! I really like their frozen drink selection.

The only reason why I say 4.5 stars: they sometimes are closed during their regular business hours without notice, and I can't figure out why.

Nevertheless, a great cafe and definitely one I'll keep...

A chocolate cafe?! Absolute heaven for me. My sister and I both got the Europa hot chocolate on our last visit, one with soy and one with hemp milk. Europa hot chocolate is essentially sipping chocolate - far more rich than regular hot chocolate and highly recommended for chocoholics! They have espresso drinks as well but it was evening and we didn't need the caffeine. Their truffles and chocolate goodies are very good. They sell a small assortment of baked goods from All About Cookies - the vegan chocolate chip pecan cookie was amazing! The gentleman helping us out was super nice. He was the only one working so there was a small line but nobody minded - gave us time to browse all the goodies before ordering! This is also a perfect place to pick out a chocolate gift for the chocoholic in your life. Or even work from - plenty of seating and free wifi. I'll definitely be back when visiting...