The Volunteer Park Café is a delicious restaurant that gives their patrons the feeling of a small town diner in the heart of a bustling Capitol Hill neighborhood.

I was lucky enough to check out this café two weekends in a row, once for dinner and once for breakfast. During both of my visits, I experienced excellent service and delicious food. For dinner last weekend, I tried the Bianco pizza. What made this four cheese pizza special was the loads of caramelized onions on top. This weekend, I went
back to the restaurant for breakfast and ordered the banana brioche French toast. The meal came served in a piping hot skillet and I enjoyed every bite of the dense toast.

“The caramelized banana brioche French toast was to die for. It’s the best French toast I’ve ever had,” said senior Greta Geivett.

Each time I left Volunteer Park Café, I was satisfied and in a better mood than when I went in. The servers are extremely friendly and the food came quickly.  However, it is the warm atmosphere of the café that separates it from other local restaurants. It is in an old storefront that has been restored and converted into a café. Patrons can chose to sit at one of the smaller side tables, or join fellow diners at the long, wood table the runs down the center of the restaurant.

In addition to the restaurant section, the café offers a small walk up counter where folks can pop in anytime of the day to grab a breakfast pastry, cookie or piece of cake with their coffee, chai, or tea.

Next time you are in the Capitol Hill area enjoying Volunteer Park, the Nature Conservatory, the Dahlia Garden or the Seattle Asian Art Museum, I suggest wandering down the hill and stopping by the Volunteer Park Café.

The Volunteer Park Café can be found at 1501 E 17th and is open everyday, except Mondays, from 7 am to 9:30 pm.