Anthem Coffee & Tea | Tacoma — Restaurant in Tacoma

This place was great initially, but I have updated my review overtime after spending multiple hours across many visits here.

Good things: -Vibe is cool. Hipster vibes and string lights if you're into that. -Coffee is tasty. I order a black classic cold brew and it's not bitter. -Plenty of tables and plugs if you're staying for a bit and working. -The Washington History Museum offers nearby parking for cheap.

Not great: -The staff locks the only bathroom door well before closing time on multiple occasions. -There are constantly a large swarm of flies inside and it's kinda gross! -No vegan food options

UPDATE 12/13: We came to work for a number of hours, like we do regularly, and apparently the bathroom has been broken for a few days. There is a functional employee bathroom that the staff will not let customers use, despite the only customer bathroom being broken. Instead, the staff has been instructed by management to send people to other local businesses (a suggestion made after we already spent over $30). We will be finding another local coffee shop to support with...

Super disappointed in the staff and the experience. It was 4:02, and I I had no idea the store just closed. The barista came over, awkwardly, to tell my business partner and I that our time was up. I politely had asked him if we could have just 2 more minutes to finish up..

He turned his back, and said sure with an attitude, and cranked the music. Now normally in this coffee shop it's already hard to have a business meeting due to the loud music... but thats ok I expect that here... This was intentional.

Insult to injury, the other two employees were laughing the whole time knowing exactly what HE (with his tie-dyed mask covering up a long beard) was doing.

We finished our conversation in less than 2 minutes screeming at each other with our final remarks and called it a day... Sucks bc this was the first time we had met each other and I choose this meeting spot (embarrassing).

Thanks Anthem for such a plesant experience! You have some real winners working...

Ernest Hemingway once venerated the importance of a "clean well-lit place," a humble little Haven away from the chaos of the world. That is what I think of when I think of this place, with its spacious interior and warm teas and reasonable prices. It has an ideal location right at the heart of downtown Tacoma, but it is also not too overwhelmingly crowded. It is a place to stop and escape the throbbing disorientation of life and think and perhaps talk with someone you care about. I do not know if anyone would call this their favorite cafe ever or say that the tea here is exceptional: but I wager most people would say that it is a pleasant place and the food is hearty and the tea is soothing. Sometimes that is all one needs: relief, especially in a cloudy and often melancholic place like the Pacific Northwest. There is a warm, honest simplicity to this place, and from those characteristics much of its...