Seattle is home to many big companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing, but it is also home to Starbucks, arguably the biggest coffee chain in the world. In a bid to create a more “refined” offering, Starbucks created Starbucks Reserve. There are only a few Starbucks Reserve outlets around the world. Two notable ones are the largest outlet in Shanghai and Starbucks’ first Italian outlet in Milan. My brother and I visited the outlet in Seattle for breakfast on our way to PAX West in 2019 as it was my brother’s first visit to Starbucks Reserve and the outlet was pretty near the PAX Venues.
This Starbucks Reserve is a vast industrial-looking space combining a coffee roaster, Starbucks outlet, and an in-house Italian style bakery. The bakery is where my brother and I decided to have a spot of breakfast. I decided to get myself a baked egg dish that was essentially a shakshuka but with fewer of the traditional spices. My brother ordered something similar; however, his eggs came in a white sauce instead of a tomato-based sauce. The breakfast dishes came served in little cast iron skillets, with a side of sourdough slices. Since we were at a Starbucks and we were jetlagged, we obviously paired the breakfast with a comically large nitro cold brew.
Overall, the food and drink were better than an average Starbucks, but not groundbreaking. That said, the Reserve outlet offered much more variety in terms of food and beverage choices, and a much more delightful ambience than a