Cloudy Cafe

Cloudy Cafe is only a few weeks old, and it's honestly some of the best food in Seattle right now. Everything I try I'm impressed by, we have gotten this mushroom croissant half a dozen times already (I cut it in half, it's much more beautiful in person!), and every time the pastry is so consistent, and consistently delicious! I've had most of the menu already, and the themes of this restaurant are 1) great texture and 2) many flavors (which never seem to overwhelm each other). I love to savor every bite and pay attention to each flavor, noticing new flavors as I eat the dish. A friend got the chicken and waffles, which I'd been avoiding since it's kind of a trend to have chicken and waffles in Seattle, but I was missing out! Cloudy Cafe's chicken and waffles are amazing, a totally unique take, the pandan leaf in the waffle is great, and the roasted red pepper puree made for an amazing sauce. Pan-fried chicken - so good! Again, so many textures and flavors. Normally in a review I try to recommend a particular item but literally everything they make is a hit! I asked the owner if they have anything on the menu just because it's popular (like chicken and waffles?!) and Dionne said that she only makes things that she likes, and wow does it ever show. Everything here is clearly something that is loved, and I trust her to give me the best flavors! Thank you so much for bringing me this delicious food!

I'm so excited that they're finally open! I went this weekend and it was quite busy, but we didn't have to wait long for our coffees, which were delicious. We tried an assortment of pastries, but I need to go back for that Basque cheesecake and the quiche. The atmosphere is warm and inviting with plenty of seating. Dionne is a pastry master!! I love her Indonesian take on some of the flavors. Oh, try the babka! Soooooo goooood!

OMG! It was beyond amazing! Honestly, the best place I’ve ever been. The coffee, food, and pastries are all top-tier. The atmosphere, the music, the staff — everything makes this place feel warm, cozy, and full of love. You guys just gained a huge fan. ❤️

The coffee here is really good—rich and flavorful. The cakes and other pastries are okay, not amazing but decent. It’s still a nice spot to sit, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee. I’d come back for the drinks for sure.

Cloudy Cafe is AMAZING! The breakfast sandwich and quiche were delicious. The pickled onions with the quiche was an additional love fest. Coffee was so tasty! Looking forward to our next visit. 2nd trip: Happiness! Coffee and Mortadella Croissant.

Holy moly, this bakery is the best bakery I’ve ever been to in my whole life and I lived in France for 67 years. The mushroom danish, insane the grilled cheese and tomato soup ridiculous. The lemon meringue is honestly the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth in my whole life since I was sipping breastmilk.

Super fun new spot tucked into apartments. It was super packed when we first arrived, so I'm surprised to be the first to review. But it cleared out so we could take a photo of the cozy space. The food was stellar. We got a few of the Jacob sandwiches - super generous amounts of delicious mortadella and delicious pickles. Also got the meat quiche which came with quick pickled shallots that I need to reverse engineer at home. Also tried a few pastries - the palmier, the Paris Brest (vanilla), and the chocolate swirl. All scrumptious. High-quality ingredients. Our 3 kids (3, 5, 7) all loved it. Tried the avocado latte (sans coffee) and since my wife spent a summer in Indonesia they were amped to try out sweet avocado. Spiced latte was excellent also (they grind the spices fresh I believe).

Cloudy Cafe is absolutely bomb. Pastries are all at least 8/10. And the best quiche I've ever had! The coffee is even quite good, even for a coffee snob like me. My new favorite spot for breakfast!

Cloudy Cafe might be one of fav bakeries in Seattle! Came by on a weekday and weekend, and I'd def recommend the weekend more bc they had way more pastries. They had I think 4 on a Thursday but on Saturday they had way more plus quiches. The pastries are so good!! I've never seen a double chocolate croissant but it's delicious esp fresh bc the chocolate is still gooey inside. The regular chocolate croissant is my partner's fav he's had in Seattle. The quiches are great too! I had the mushroom one and it comes with some pickled shallots that are incredible. They also have a brunch menu online, but I'm not sure they're serving it quite yet bc I didn't see it in the bakery. Whenever they do, I will be so excited to try!

Saw this new cafe in the former watson's counter spot, so I decided to check it out. They still don't have the complete menu listed on their website, they have a few baked goods and drinks. I got the avocado latte which was creamy and delicious. I got the double chocolate croissant, which was flaky with rich chocolate. Looking forward to checking it out again as they expand their menu!

I saw that Cloudy Cafe was opening in the former Watson's Counter site via the My Ballard blog and IG. The cafe owner has a really awesome pastry chef and restaurant background. Quite the professional pedigree. Coffee and baked goods, I'm in! I decided to check it out on this blustery Sunday morning (10/19/25). Glancing through the windows, I am amazed at the transformation inside. This is the third business at this site, so I'm hoping that's third time's the charm. There are items mentioned from the online menu that give me sticker shock. However, seeing prices in Maui nearly two months ago, overall inflation, and dining prices in Seattle, one just has to be judicious with those culinary dollars. Definitely, I will have a mocha. I just have to decide to go big with Chicken & Waffles at nearly $25 - boneless Indonesian fried chicken, pandan waffle, fried egg and roasted potato? Or cobble together à la carte items with baked goods I saw in the pastry case? Soon to find out as it's nearly 9am. I ended up doing the latter since they are in soft opening / training mode at the moment. Here's the rundown: *16oz mocha - paper cup, cool latte art ($6) *Bacon Quiche - nice & custardy with pickled onions or shallots, crust for structure ($11) *Plain Croissant - decent lamination ($5) *Chocolate Swirl ($7) *Candied Ginger Palmier - nice addition ($5) Tax & tip was under $43. Thank goodness for takeout boxes. I was one of the first in the door this morning, but soon the line got longer and tables filled up. I purposefully sat at a corner two top to observe the cafe vibe for over an hour. Well staffed, popular, family friendly, lively overhead music. Various seating configurations: two & four top, banquette, and counters. One counter also allows a view of pastry production, as I spotted a sheeter & speed rack. Also, Cloudy Cafe is located along Metro bus route 40 and with the usual street parking in Ballard. Pro tip: come early for better menu selection & seating availability especially once they transition to grand opening and full production. Ran into another Yelp Elite and Ballard resident, Wendy K and her friend. 4 to 4.5 stars, but raised to 5 stars with my initial visit. Recommended!

Danger! A cinnamon roll and incredible chocolate cake bread thing. I would have ordered more but horrified myself when I sat there and ate both ( I was going to take the chocolate cake bread thing home. I didn't). Loved this space when was Royal Drummer. So glad it's occupied again!

Customer service here was non existent and the texture of the double chocolate croissant was odd. The space is nice though with lots of seating. Overall, this place isn't worth the hype. I won't be back here again and I don't recommend this cafe.

I am so excited to see something open in the old Watson's Counter space! I know this place literally just opened and I am optimistic that it's going to be great eventually but, for me, it just wasn't there yet. The good: I love what they've done with the interior. It's so much warmer than when it was Watson's and feels like somewhere you want to hang out. The pastries and coffee are really good! The staff members provided friendly service. The needs improvement: I think we waited in line for about 15-20 minutes, with only like 5 people in front of us. There seemed to be some confusion because they're just serving a partial menu (not the menu on the website) and perhaps that slowed things down. There was very limited info available about the dishes they were serving beyond the pastries. The water dispenser was empty for our whole time there (I did see it get filled right as we were finishing up). It's one of those counter service/bus your own table spots, but I didn't see any staff members wiping down the tables when folks left. Obviously the price point is high, but hey, that's Seattle. I am excited to come back once things are little more up and running!

This brand new cafe in Ballard is a must! Everything from the coffee to the pastries and savory foods are so delicious! Beautiful art on the walls, lighting makes you want to hang out all day. We tried a variety of dishes, and brought pastries home for later. The quiche with Sambal matah was incredible, I could go on and on !

Ooo I am so happy to report that the cafe closest to me now has amazing coffee, lattes and pastries. Still haven't had a whole sit-down meal experience but will sometime soon. Had the Toasted Latte today that was a perfect holiday (or maybe year-round?) latte -- it's got cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. A lot of the other holiday lattes I've had are too sweet or have a weird imbalance of spices I don't like. This was perfect. Also got the mortadella cheese croissant - om nom! I wish they had a few more savory options in the pastry case because I like getting some meat-based protein in for breakfast - this one was great tho. I am definitely going back in at least once a week to try out everything else. Delicious and beautiful addition to the neighborhood!

Went there just after they opened - the veggie bowls were great and the quiche sublime!

Had a chance to go here this morning. FYI they are not doing their full breakfast menu yet and just have their bakery items. We literally tried one of each and all were very good. Our favorite were the almond croissant and the Chocolate croissant as well as the basin Quiche. I recommend coming for just the bakery items but look forward to coming back for their full breakfast menu