Alison’s Coastal Cafe & Bakery

I am immediately rooting for this place when I walk in; local small business in a cool foodie-​friendly neighborhood. Lovely bakery smells pervade.
I order a Monte Cristo sandwich and espresso con panna (just espresso with a little whipped cream). The service is friendly and excellent! (That’s the extra star).
I’m sad to report the food and drink were not so good.
The counter person, as polite, charming and gracious as he was, has not been trained to make espresso. He did his right best, taking a few tips from me, but the result was under-​extracted (shots poured too fast) and very bitter. Oh well– I needed to eat, and customers were waiting behind me, so I called it good and waited for the sandwich.
A classic Monte Cristo is a club-​style double-​decker affair, thus: a slice of french toast with ham and cheddar is covered with another slice of toast, itself covered in turkey and swiss, which is then finished with a final piece of french toast. Powdered sugar, and either honey or fruit preserves accompany. It’s a sweet-​savory pairing.
That said, almost nobody does it that way anymore, and that’s not necessarily bad. Alison’s uses two thick slices of super-​dense but delicious French toast, quality ham and swiss, mayo, and mysteriously: Dijon mustard.
The mustard does NOT pair well with the sweet spiced batter on the bread, or the fruit jam. I managed to scrape some of it off, but every bite still had that vinegar tang and off-​bitter finish. Washed down with bitter espresso… well, let’s just say my tummy is asking me some hard questions just now. :(maybe it’s just my particular taste, but I would opt for their other offerings, were I you.
Totally love the staff’s good attitude and the fun vibe this place has. I wish I could show them how to put that good Lighthouse coffee to best use, and I would happily do some training if they asked me. I’ll be back in a few weeks and see if they bump up their game. Still rooting for them, no matter! :)

Always in the hunt for a good pot pie and I finally found one at Allison’s! Incredibly tasty cookies too! What makes it even better? Reasonable pricing: 1.5 $ for a huge cookie and 8 $ for a personal pot pie. The staff is incredibly friendly and the atmosphere is light and relaxed.

I went here for some coffee and a quick breakfast to surprise my significantly better half in bed – success!
Coffee was good. They had a house-​made pumpkin spice which was flavorful, but extremely grainy once we reached the end of the coffee cup. My plain latte was good, but good only gets you so far in seattle. The coffee is by no means bad, but does not stand out in a coffee city like seattle, much less ballard.
But thats where the negatives stop. I also got the breakfast sandwich, and it was out of this world. The biscuit was clearly made from scratch, and the bacon and egg were cooked to perfection. We were blown away.
Would definitely be back to try more of the stuff they make.

Great little place! I came in and one of the co-​owners was working. He was nice and welcoming and the food was excellent. We had a DECA with an Italian Soda. I was wishing I was hungrier because everything looked amazing, and the prices made it reasonable. If only this place was in my neighborhood, I could imagine stopping here regularly. Good vibe, nice staff/​owner, and great food – what more could you ask for in a neighborhood place?

My overall impression is that I will be back to try more things. It is a good, home baked café.
Banana bread was good! The French toast would have been delish had they not covered it with cream cheese and caramel. I thought it was an option and not just added automatically but my dish came drizzled with the sauce. They were good… just way too sweet for me to enjoy more than a few bites. With butter and syrup it would have been yummy. The coffee (both times) was bitter and not creamy with whole milk like it is at a good coffee shop but it was decent.
My advice to them is to figure out how to froth the milk so the drinks come out creamy and rich. Good coffee is important at small cafes.
I will be back to try the Dutch baby for sure!

We are staying at Hotel Ballard and my husband and I were looking for good coffee, breakfast, and possibly a protein shake after our morning work out. This place was recommended by an employee at the hotel gym. I had the home made yogurt and granola and it was yummy! My husband got the famous breakfast sandwich. They make fresh biscuits there every morning and you can have your choice of any meat. It was delicious!
The guy at took our order was friendly and patient with us as this was or first time there. We will definitely come here again!

Alison’s is a good place to grab some homemade sandwiches and baked goods. Their chocolate chip cookie is quite tasty and the americano was strong. I also tried the breakfast sandwich which came with egg, sausage, and some greens on a biscuit (I asked for no cheese). The biscuit was tasty and the size was just right and filling.

Delicious, cheap breakfast sandwiches. I’ll update my rating once I try the coffee and pastries.

Oh darn! Free cookies for a check in? This is my first time here. The shop smelled like bacon, and the cookie was free. What’s not to like?

Omg!!!
I haven’t ordered anything here I didn’t like, everything Allison makes is from scratch and she’s a baking genius… and the staff is very sweet… the shop décor is inviting and fresh… I love the sausage breakfast sandwich… TO DIE FOR!!!
She also makes her own caramel candy… a must try!!!

I totally love Alison’s. The people there are warm, welcoming, and totally outstanding. I’ve rapidly become a neighborhood semi-​regular.
Alison’s is the kind of shoppe where the know your name.
Hand made, small batch, artisan snacks and treats to both engage the eye and satiate the palate.
I can’t recommend them enough. Just everyone else, stop eating my cheddar bacon scones.

Alison’s created a fantastic birthday cake for me when I had last-​minute request from my husband for his birthday. This bakery is so easy to work with, super helpful when ordering cakes for different occasions, and the cake was delicious! I am now disappointed that we are it all at the party and didn’t have leftovers. I will definitely try the coffees and other bakery items at Alison’s, and will be back for my next cake as well.

I’ve never been here before so I ordered the Waffle Bacon Breakfast Sandwich (which includes Buttermilk waffles as the breeding for the sandwich, overhard egg with perfectly cooked bacon, a slice of Tillamook cheddar cheese and avocado) and it was the best sandwich I’ve ever had. Not too plain or greasy, just perfect! With great customer service, I was very pleased with my visit! :)
For those who want a good breakfast sandwich, please stop on by (:

Everyone I work with & I mostly disagree about more or less everything.
But we ALL AGREE that if we could, we would have Alison’s Coastal Café cater our lives. I mean, Wowza!

This place gets a 5 star rating from me right off the bat. Not because it’s the best I’ve ever been to but because it’s genuine! I feel like ballard has been lacking in genuine places these days and I’m so happy to have found somewhere where I feel welcome.
This is not a hipster café that’s dim and bustling with people. Open, spacious, bright, smiling employees, and fresh smiles.
The barista was very friendly and handled the previous customers before me very well, I was impressed before I even ordered. I opted for an apple cider instead of coffee (it’s just that time of year) I ordered a sausage breakfast sandwich and chose my seat. I looked around and the décor is nice, I noticed some other reviews that mentioned they didn’t like the fact that it was coastal themed… Well the name would explain that part.
The biscuit on the breakfast sandwich was super fresh and delicious. You can tell that everything here is homemade in house. I like that I know where the food is coming from and that Its not brought in from other bakeries.
This place is still very new and has room to grow but I’m sure the growth will be amazing. I also like the fact that they employee teens, in today’s society they need that experience and it’s important as adults to be understanding and patient with them because hey, we were all that age once. I hate to see bad reviews based on things like that.
I will support this local bakery and you should too! I hope Alison’s is here for many years to come (especially since we lost great harvest bakery) and ballard is filling up with bars and pie bars (scoffs)
**** last week to preorder pies for thanksgiving if you’re into that!
*** they have a pastry happy hour too :)

I don’t review places often, but I felt I needed to today. I’ve been to this spot four times now since it opened a short time ago, and each time has been less than ideal.
The first time I had the eggs benedict, and it was fine. I went on a Saturday and it took a while, which I was told to expect, so I didn’t think much of it and knew I’d come back again (especially since I live right above it).
The second time I was craving a sweet crêpe after a long day at work. I ordered the nutella and banana one and planned to eat it there, but there were teenagers everywhere and they were controlling the sound coming over the speakers. It would have almost been okay, except they were just playing YouTube videos. I quickly asked to change my order to takeout instead. When I got the crêpe upstairs, it was pretty limp and not pleasing to look at, but I didn’t think too much of it.
This last Sunday, my sister and I stopped in (again to get crêpes to-​go, but this time the ham, egg and cheese one for each of us), and when we got them upstairs, they were extremely blah and uneven. My sister didn’t even finish hers. In mine, the cheddar (ugh) cheese was all piled in one side, while the egg was on the other, and I don’t think I even found any egg yolks, just very well-​done whites. Also, the chunks of ham were way too thick for my tastes.
Today I came home from work early and wanted a quick lunch, so I went here again, I guess against my better judgement. I ordered the «ultimate grilled cheese,» which was described as containing cheddar cheese, pepperjack cheese, and a hint of gorgonzola, with optional bacon and/​or tomato. Again, I got it to-​go, since I just live two floors above this place, and when I opened the foil containing this thin sandwich, I was shocked that such a thing was $ 6 (plus $ 1 more for the bacon). It was regular bread that was super greasy, and had an overwhelming amount of cheese that I guess was the gorgonzola. I recently had one of the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches PLUS tomato soup for only $ 9 at a place downtown. This was pretty ridiculous in comparison.
I know this place employs a lot of teenagers through the Boys & Girls Club, and while that’s a nice mission, I don’t necessarily want my food prepared by 15 year olds, if this is going to be the result. Oh, how I miss B&O Espresso…

Ahoy! A new coffee and breakfast place has set sail in Ballard! Offering up bright nautical décor and tasty warm brown drinks!
A scallopy chandelier centers the café. Teal! TEAL! TËÅŁ!¡!
Also the barista had hip whipped hair and made me a slick chai!
Alsox2 the keylime pie I had was prime.
All the desserts here look fantastic.
I’ll probably show up again.

Fabulous, super cute and incredibly delicious. We stopped in for breakfast. The theme is definitely the beach and they did a great job with décor. But the food is the best part.
My breakfast sandwich was amazing. I think the tillamook cheddar did it for me. And the biscuit was warm and soft. I chowed down.
My husband got the cinnamon roll. They made it from scratch. Not overwhelmingly sweet. He drizzled it in the maple sauce. Omg.
The women at the counter are also beautiful, kind and honest with their recommendations. Other than feeling my hot chocolate was a little but watered down I give this place high marks!

I’m on vacation from Southern California and found this little café and it was AMAZING! The look is so relaxing and the service is superb! The owner even came and greeted my friends and I.
I ordered the Strawberry & Nutella Crêpe and also the PB&J Milkshake and both items were GREAT! The crêpe was so light and and an even better taste. The PB&J Milkshake was unlike any I’ve had before. A really good balance of PB&J and Ice Cream.
I really believe that this place is a hidden gem.

I was excited to see this new addition to Ballard and bookmarked it right away. I love bakeries and I’m always looking to try something new!
The space is beautiful! I love the name of the café, the soothing blue colors, and coastal touches like starfish and shells. The tables come in various sizes to fit your needs whether you’re by yourself or with a group.
The display case looks great! Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in it when I stopped by. I believe there were a total of 4 different items in there.
I tried a bacon cheddar chive scone and zucchini bread. When I took the zucchini bread out of the wrapper, I was hit with the smell of baking soda. The scone was crumbly but didn’t have any memorable flavors. Both were okay but tasted at least a day old. My friend ordered a sandwich. It was rather small for the price and tasted okay but again, not memorable. I also tried a spinach mozzarela sundried tomato crêpe. I’d been looking forward to this all day. I received a long, flat, pale colored piece of what referred to as a crêpe. The batter was not pliable. It was so crispy on the edges that they were breaking off like a taco shell. There was no sauce to bind the ingredients together and the sundried tomatoes made each bite increasingly dry (when they weren’t falling out of the crêpe between bites).
Overall, I felt bad that I suggested that my family and I stop by. All of us were disappointed. It’s a great looking space and a great location. But we sampled quite a few things and none of them were very good.
UPDATE: I received a comment from Alison to this review on 8÷16÷14. I responded to her but there’s no way to do it publicly. I was not in the shop during SeafoodFest (SFF) weekend (July 12^th and 13^th). This is the first time I’ve missed it in 15 years and was in Portland that weekend where I also got into a car accident. I definitely appreciate her reaching out but wanted to clarify the date. Certainly, if it were SFF weekend, I may understand a number of things that occurred.