Over a year in the making, URL Coffee features a specialty coffee menu, plans for a future in-house food program, and an eye for design. URL’s shelves and table are by Italian designer Enzo Mari (Image: URL Coffee)
The playful, design-forward URL Coffee at 524 Broadway just opened in mid-March, and despite being sandwiched between a couple other cafe options at Sharetea and QED Coffee, URL is already carving out a unique space on First Hill.
URL aims to provide a “healthy pleasure,” that begins with coffee, and expands beyond just caffeination alone.
Now open for business, the café boasts a stylish interior of eclectic tastes.
“We wanted to create a unique mood at URL by gathering the beauty that we have imagined, all in one place,” a representative for the cafe said. “We mixed mid century modern designer furniture with contemporary furniture . . . URL presents new beauty by bringing together old, established things, Eastern and Western things, and things from different times and spaces.”
Why URL? “We thought a simple, fun, scalable name would be good to explain and express our brand story,” the cafe rep explains. “URL is an internet term that everyone knows, and because it has nothing to do with coffee, people may not predict that this is a coffee shop.”
Tables and shelves are by the Italian designer Enzo Mari, the colorful stools by Martino Gamper, and vases and other objects by South Korean ceramic artist Hee-jin Jo are also on display. The space includes a large kitchen, perfect for a menu that will feature sandwiches, housemade desserts, and other offerings slated to debut at URL’s grand opening next month.
URL is part of the Zig Apartments development. Years back, the corner of Broadway and James was home to the El Mestizo restaurant. Neighboring tenants these days include another Instagram-busy venue — Korean fried chicken chain Bonchon.
At URL, the specialty coffee comes by way of Portland’s Coava Coffee Roasters. They have a café menu with espresso drinks, matcha lattes, and mochas made with an in-house chocolate recipe. Cold brew coffee is prepared through a Yama Cold Brew Tower. Their two signature drinks are Mischief, an espresso topped with housemade cream and cocoa powder, and Walk to Work, an iced latte topped with cream.
“Those who have tried our Walk to Work say they can’t have a whole week without it, it’s so delicious,” the cafe representative said.
Those who order the Walk to Work on their literal walk to work, are mostly Seattle University students, or staff at Harborview or Swedish Medical Center.
URL is still getting off the ground, in the process of fine-tuning its menu in response to its customers, and perfecting its food program before next month’s debut.
The next time you’re in the area, grab a Walk to Work to go, or sit in one of the Italian-designed stools and enjoy a Mischief for yourself.
Learn more at instagram.com/_u_r_l. You can also order online before you go here.
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El Mestizo was so so good … still sucks that they are gone. Will have to check out this café tho. thx!
Skip the Italian design (says the designer with the Italian name), you could fill the entire shop with work from S.Korea and it would amazing. This shop in Seoul in particular, it’s like a curated gallery of beautifully designed and crafted art for sale:
https://www.ah-won.com/