Pioneer Coffee is a small space with lots of windows that face out on parked cars, the Alki Beach promenade and Puget Sound. I’m always thinking that parking needs to be eliminated from these pedestrian heavy areas, opening up the views from the sidewalks and making the public spaces more pleasant. Pioneer’s location didn’t change my mind any. There’s nothing that wrecks your mellow like having some big-ass SUV trying to squeeze into a perfectly normal parking space right in front of your nose while you’re trying to enjoy your latte. [Yes, I am that tiresome person. You should be used to it by now!]
Parking issues aside, you can’t beat the location of this new to our (sort of) neighborhood coffee house. They’ve got outdoor seating which will be jam-packed when the summer weekends bring everyone and their dog to the beach. They get their treats from Essential Baking, which, while no Bakery Nouveau, does make a fine cinnamon roll. I liked the coffee – it’s got that chocolaty aftertaste that I look for in my joe and they steam a nice creamy foam. The staff is friendly – though being easy going on a wintery weekday is a lot less challenging than it’s going to be on a busy summer weekend.
Your hat wearing correspondent, awaiting a test latte.
I’m happy to see new, independent coffee on Alki. I’m bored with Alki Bakery and I always try to skip corporate coffee when there’s an alternative. We’ll be back to Pioneer, probably with skates in hand, as the days get warmer and longer.
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