Cafe Racer

We dropped our dog off at the groomers and tried to look for a place nearby to eat at. Found this place on Unilocal and saw that it was walking distance so decided to give it a try. Service was okay, nothing special. It was Sunday and it was during a football game when we walked in. Everyone was huddled at the bar and the people that worked there clearly saw us walk in but we weren’t greeted or told where to sit. A little confused, we just sat at a random table and still no service. We had to grab a menu ourselves until someone finally came. They were pretty nice, but it didn’t make up for earlier.
As for the food, I thought the corn beef hash was a little bland and my French toast was just meh. It’s a cute little restaurant but I probably won’t be coming back.

This place makes me think of old Seattle, before the tech companies (and their trendy workers) took over everywhere downtown, Ballard, and Cap Hill. A strange mix of metal and country was playing, you can get espresso or beer (or liquor), and there’s free wifi. The space is full of art that makes you scratch your head, and the customers are a little quirky as well. But service is friendly, food is good (especially the breakfasts, or the tuna melt), and overall it’s a good place to pass the time — anytime of day.

This café is a very nice physical space — it seems like a nice place to have a coffee or beer, and it is a very good venue for shows.
The food, though, from my experience, is not good. had a patty melt — a hard to mess up dish — but it was dry, over cooked, and not greasy enoght. In particular, the burger was way to we’ll done and the onions were not sautéed far enough.
in general, I would consider this a fairly nit-​picky complaint, but I paid $ 10 for this burger, and this was not of a quality that justified the cost. A better burger could have been had at Dick’s.

Really great food for a good price. Had breakfast here couple days ago. The omelet was amazing, In fact it was so good that I didn’t know it was vegan until I was told a block down the street. Great place for a bite to eat.

Corned beef hash is the truth! Really good biscuits and French toast as well! Good food and service would definitely recommend!

This place is pretty dingy. The coffee had a little bug in it, the cup had a ball of dust stuck to the bottom, I found little hairs on my plate, and things were just dirty. Our waitress was very rude but the one serving the other tables was very nice. I did not like the breakfast burrito at all, but my boyfriend really liked the corned beef hash so I bumped it to 3 stars. It’s nice that there are papers around to read but the vibe of the place is so-​so. I wouldn’t come back.

We came here 4^th of July morning, first time we ate here we had our brunch outside, which was wonderful! If you like French toast I definitely recommend getting here best I have in Seattle! But we didn’t realize they are not kid friendly, no high chairs which was a bummer, we made do though! Will be back just for the French toast!

Café Racer makes me feel right at home. I can bring my dog, have breakfast at 2 in the afternoon, do my work using their wi-​fi, and spend the rest of the afternoon bullshitting with the locals over a Bloody Mary. The food is comforting and the ambiance is casual.

The corn beef hash was very very yummy. They have a very different twist on hash browns. They are tiny tiny little potato squares. Very tasty and very different.
The French toast was very good because they seem to use homemade bread. The entrees also come with a thick homemade bread. Reminds me of something my grandmother would have made.
The staff was very friendly and helpful when asking about the menu. It has very eclectic and kitschy décor and atmosphere. My only complaint is the music they were playing. I’m not a heavy metal kind of person especially when I’m eating out. It fits the restaurant but isn’t very relaxing.

I don’t have very much experience going to dive bars but Café Racer fits the bill. It’s friendly, quirky, and quite inviting. It’s also incredibly versatile – there is a bar, there’s breakfast food, sandwiches and hotdogs, a little stage, wi-​fi… You could come for a simple meal or to study or catch up or to even catch a small local show.
I came to grab a quick lunch as a study break on a Saturday. I got the grilled cheese with sweet onion potato chips. No complaints about the food, but I’d probably have to try more menu items to be sure. Everything on the menu is pretty standard, and I don’t see how you could go wrong with anything you order.

Tried to go there for brunch on a week day around noon. Literally we were the only two people other than the three employees having a conversation at the bar. The lady behind the bar gave us menus and we sat ourselves.
Ten minutes go by. We decided what to order but the employees were too busy chatting with each other at the bar to take our order. When one of the three leaves he pops his head in and let’s the other two know that someone «is coming so look busy». They say «what?» and he repeats himself and leaves.
I thought maybe this would prompt them to «look busy» by actually helping their customers… But after another 5 minutes we simply left. Really too bad because I wanted to try the food.
Instead we ended up going to sunlight Café down the street and in the time it took me to type this we were quickly seated. Got drinks and now my hot food is already in front of me. It’s delicious and I’m not even a vegetarian.

There are cool divey places and then there are just dives. I rarely give bad reviews but really don’t waste your time here, there are many other good places to go.
Dirty, uncomfortable, cramped, got our order wrong, hair in the food, food had no flavor anyway… Just… Don’t.

I like this place, good ambience good times, great place to hang out or meet up. I’ve had their coffee and hot chocolate and would recommend to anybody looking for a good cup of coffee or a meal in the area.

Delicious! I had The Breakfast Sandwich on an everything bagel and it passed my expectations! It tasted great and was quite filling. My boyfriend had the Corned Beef Hash and that was just as good. He never finished his food but it was so good that he cleared the plate, to my surprise.
The service was great; our waitress was nice and checked in on us once we got our food to see if everything was okay. The entire place was very unique, with different paintings and decorations everything. That place had some sass. The only downfall of my first experience here was that the coffee was gross. It was equivalent to instant coffee, so I just masked it with cream and sugar. Besides that, ⁵⁄₅! I don’t know about the other things, but I know for sure that I can come back and order The Breakfast Sandwich and be happy with it.

The french toast was good but I had to wait over an hour to get it! Ridiculous, considering the café was not busy at all. The waitstaff aren’t all that friendly and checked on us once, near the end of the hour wait, to tell us the food was coming. Good thing I wasn’t in a hurry or had somewhere to be.
Wouldn’t come back with a wait time like that for average food.

I used to really like this place, it’s quirky and cool. The food is pretty good too and they have great live music. I hadn’t been there in well over a year, and went to see a friend’s band play recently. Now I remember why I never go there any more. I’d give it more stars if they get a bartender who understands the concept of customer service. Otherwise, why the hell am I spending money to be treated so shabbily? I’ll probably never go back. People who behave like dicks should be working in the back, not serving customers.

I met here with a friend for breakfast. I had French toast which came with bacon and potatoes. The potatoes were bland, the bacon was decent, and the French toast was cute (little slices of baguette!) but ultimately weakly flavored, kind of dry, and honestly really boring. There was definitely a dark little hair baked into one of my slices of French toast, which was a turnoff.
Their quirky art was fun to look at and talk about! The location is right next to Ravenna Park, which was great for an after-​breakfast walk. Maybe there are other hidden gems in this little spot, but ultimately I won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend it.

We wanted to get some food, hang out, and get some work done (WiFi)
This place is kitschy, divey, and inviting. I ordered the East Coaster, a reuben styled turkey sandwich. Not a huge meal or impressive meal, but it was good with their home-​made bread. My friend ordered the tater tots and chili. The tots were underdone.
The atmosphere here, thought divey, is great. The place has a University District, Seattle vibe. The staff was terrific.
Be sure to venture deeper into the place, the back room is cozy and might be fun for a group wanting to get some drinks and play a game.

The first time I came to Café Racer was to see my girlfriend play violin with a big band of other musicians. It was a good experience– the place was packed and overheated, but I loved the local/​neighborhood feel and live music is a great thing to offer with their space.
I came back recently for breakfast (it was past noon, but that counts, right?) and was immediately impressed with the service. The bartender/​waitress was friendly, prompt, and super attentive. We had the corned beef hash and french toast plates, which both come with potatoes o’brien. I had bacon that came out crisp even though I didn’t ask for it (yay!) and the french toast was teeny baguette slices piled high and covered with powdered sugar. The hash looked great, too, and the eggs were cooked to order. I wished my potatoes were a little warmer than room temperature, but even that didn’t ruin my meal. We left very happy.
Great little place! The upstairs is pretty cool, too– check it out. That’s where the bathrooms are. ;)

Terrible service. I went in to get a coffee on my way to work — I had ten minutes and my work was around the corner. The inside was dirty and made me feel awkward; it was impossible to tell the difference between customers and staff and the guy behind the counter was ignoring everyone. Finally a staff member — who I literally thought was a customer because they had been standing around not making eye contact with anyone — asked what I wanted, and I said I just wanted a 16oz latte. He relayed this to the barista who turned, glared at me, and snapped «latte? Sixteen ounce?» I nodded. He went back to the coffee machine.
I stood there for two minutes while he watched a commercial on the tv before a girl who had been doing paperwork at the counter said «can I close out?» The barista then made HER a coffee and ran her card without acknowledging me at all even though I was standing right there. Then he started on my coffee, four minutes after I ordered it, when there was no line. He repeatedly stopped what he was doing to play YouTube videos on the overhead screen.
I waited seven minutes in a place with no line to get a completely basic and average cup of coffee. There is no planet where it takes seven minutes to operate a commercial espresso machine. I was barely on time to work and got treated rudely in a nasty café serving alcohol at nine in the morning. I’m at least 99% certain that the barista was hung over.
When I left, someone else was giving him a burrito order. I called «have a nice day» and he didn’t even look up.
EDIT: coffee had a load of gritty coffee grounds in the bottom that had the texture of rough, dry dirt. Auuuugh.