Mecca Cafe — Restaurant in Seattle

The Mecca was one of the first cafes I encountered when I moved to Seattle, and back then, smoking was still permitted in enclosed restaurants. It was appealingly rough-hewn and identifiably working class: Queen Anne was not the fashionable district it is today, though the influence of Seattle Center and downtown was apparent in the tidiness of its streets and resplendent brick apartment buildings. The monied few maintained their loftiness in Upper Queen Anne, from which the rabble could be kept at a comfortable distance.

The Mecca was where we rabble happily convened, commiserating over wonderfully overstuffed omelets and a flotilla of hash browns. The black and white chequered tile, intimate banquettes, and industrial lamps were constant companions to the swooping throng. Mad whoops and throaty laughter were chased down with stiff drinks and groaning plates of steaming food. The servers were always (and continue to be) convivial hosts who suffered no fools, and were always ready with a ribald quip. One magnificent woman, way back in my salad days, during an impossibly busy Sunday brunch (I don't know how I managed to get a seat at the storied counter), courageously tamed the mad, hungry hoard, delighting them equally and effortlessly. It was magic.

Eating there recently (and at this writing, following an unfortunate encounter with someone at the Dread Temple of Racist Sleaze and Lucre, a.k.a. the SIFF Uptown - a mighty and merciless pox on that organisation!), I calmed myself with a pleasant Caesar salad and garden burger with wonderfully thick-cut fries. Remembering the marvellous apple pan dowdy a la mode (a perfect, handmade crust in a ramekin and a sublimely supple filling), I ordered dessert. Though they had none on this occasion, the server and I gamely improvised: cinnamon roll a la mode. Gales of laughter ensued. All were pleased.

The Mecca is a warm blanket and old friend in which one finds solace; and its seemingly eternal charms continues to evince the deepest reverie...

We were staying at a local hotel for new Year's. We stopped by th3 Meca on New Year's events for brunch and absolutely loved it, so when my sister in law ans her husband arrived ,we came back for dinner ans loved it again . We came back the next day and the experience was not great . We walked in and immediately walked back to the bar and noticed a table in the very back , that had not been cleared out yet . We asked the waiter if we could see there and he said sure . Before we even got to a hotel , a women from the reaturant side was speaking to the waiter and told him we had to move as this was reserved . But hwr attitude was a 10/10. We were all confused because the table was empty but not cleared and no "reserved sign". We gladly went to the reaturant side and the waitress threw out menus on the table . We did bit see any signs about outside drinks; when we walked in. My fiance had scammed coffee drink and the waiter for the bar side just came to put table and took my fiance drinks with complete attitude about outside drinks had we seen a sign posted this woukdnt be an issue , but it was got her approached it juat grabbed it without explaining . He and my fiance had an exchange of words and opted to take out business somewhere else . We were not rude throughout the entire experience . On the way out, we did let him know we w9ykd be leaving a review and the waiter basically told us he didn't care abd he was told he could be an asshole. We did nothing wrong from the beginning, but it the waiters eyes we made a huge deal about everything, which we didn't. We loved the food the night before and was looking forward to breakfast and the yummy bloody Mary's . We stay at a hotel 2 blocks away at least 4 times a year ans sadly, we will. Ot support this local business , because of ho2 bad we...

Called at 9am to place a to go order. Nice guy at the bar answered and said sorry, we don't do phone orders and to either come down and order in person or use a delivery app. None of the apps were 'open', so I drove down (from across town), parked and walked in. African American lady with dreadlocks told me 'look around' they are way too busy to take to go orders. She could not have been more rude. I told her about my call and that I drove down there. She insisted that I must have called 5 Point. I told her no, and she barked at me 'YOU CALLED 5 POINT!' I walked out and re-dialed and sure enough, she answered the phone, she realized it was me and hung up on me. I swung by 5 Point just to see if they knew what the heck was going on. They were super nice and said that Mecca is their sister restaurant but that they have different phone numbers. They were apologetic but said they don't know what is going on over at Mecca. I called Mecca back once more and got the original guy from the bar and explained what happened. He was also apologetic and explained they are short staffed today but said had I came into the bar, he could have helped me. That lady with the dreadlocks should work somewhere else, far from the service industry. Whoever manages Mecca should take note. After decades of patronage, Mecca, you...