Diva Espresso

This is one of my favorite Saturday morning treats. The weekend morning staff there are super great and they can make a great drink. Also besides the coffee the food is really tasty and fresh.
Cheers

This is a cool little spot for a quick cup of joe and a snack. It’s right off of the LCW exit on I5. But be warned the little strip mall it’s located in has a ridiculous parking sitch. You may need a cartographer or an astrolabe to figure it out.
Once you get over the parking you’ll find that Diva has a nice ambiance and lots of seating available so you can use their WIFI to pretend to be a brilliant writer whose novella will be the next big thing… or knock off some work e-​mails while simultaneously vague booking, Unilocaling and Tweeting.
I’ve gotten Americanos and chai tea lattes from this joint and they make a fine cup of awesome fo sho. Sometimes I even get some fancy foam art. FOAM ART! It’s like they made crayons out of caffeinated coffee bliss and foamy orgasmic lustfulness and colored a picture of what I always thought my insides looked like as a child (butterflagons… dragons with butterfly wings)… and they just put that masterpiece on the top of my beverage. No big deal. We’re rad. You’re welcome.
If you want something a little different from the big chain spot that occupies every corner in Seattle and find yourself on LCW then this should be your spot to enjoy the juice of the bean.
I’m a fan!

Makes a great rice milk latte.
Parking is awkward but be patient.
I haven’t gotten anything else here but that’s ok.
They have a cup discount so bring your own cup.
The seating area had lots of kids… so this place seems very kid-​friendly.

A great coffee shop! I really wish I lived closer…
The Batista are friendly and skilled.
The shop is cozy yet not claustrophobic.
This place will definitely be my stop whenever I take my Mini in for work! :-D

This place is all right. And I don’t mean all right as in, «the dude’s my bro; he’s a drunkard but he’s all right,» I mean it as in «adequate; will do the job.»
I’ve temporarily moved to the Maple Leaf/​Ravenna area from Capitol Hill, and thus was expecting a major drop off in the quality of the coffee shops in the area. That’s just what you get. You should also know that I tend to judge coffee shops more on their ability to provide me a space to work — I work from home, but sometimes you just gotta get out.
Diva Espresso is within walking place of my new digs, and one day I decided to go give it a whirl. I don’t have a car, but the other reviewers are right — it’s got a strange location in a strip mall and parking looks like it would be difficult to swing due to the traffic patterns. (Blame Lake City Way; it cuts through the area on a diagonal, which creates a lot of interesting corners in the area.)
But it’s close and I just wanted to get out of the house. Here’s the impressions:
a) Green carpet. Whoa, that’s some seriously green carpet.
b) Tables are large and good to spread out on; there’s some comfortable chairs to sit in as well if you like to sit squishy.
c) Large windows, lots of natural light.
d) I found the barista here to be friendly. Granted, I only got a cup of drip and it’s not like I was seriously taxing his time or skills, but I didn’t experience the ‘ignore’ factor that some other reviewers have mentioned.
e) Coffee quality was pretty good. Not outstanding, but not terrible. Free refills are a plus!
f) No music, which… was strange. The place also echoes, which means that the conversation going on in the back corner sounds like it’s taking place right next to you. No bueno.
g) The wi-​fi here was really slow. And I have no idea why this was the case, as the only people here were myself, another dude on his laptop, and two women having an amplified conversation in the corner.
Overall, I’m not overly impressed. I don’t think I’m going to come back. It’s convenient, but not exactly an inviting place to sit down and hang out for a while. If I’m ever seriously jonsin’ for an espresso-​based drink and don’t want to walk more than a block I might consider coming back, but for now I can make drip well enough at home and the wi-​fi here actually works. If I really want to get out of the house to work, I’ll probably suck it up and walk the few blocks south required to get to Wayward.

Good coffee bad atmosphere. Hard to relax.

I felt their other locations do a better job with coffee and certainly an easier job for parking. The traffic is always a pain in the backside and usually the baristas here are kinda meh. Why bother hassling with the traffic, trying to score a spot and then dealing with lackluster baristas.
No thank you.

So, after coming here a few more times due to the conveinece and location, I’ve concluded that I would rather go elsewhere.
The espresso they use is just not bold enough for my tastes. Last time, I ended up getting atriple tall and was sorely disappointed when it tasted just like all the other double talls I’ve gotten there before, much too muted.
I also studied here the last time and although the free wifi comes in handy, it’s not the best place to study. The set up of the place makes it so that the noise echoes quite loudly and the baristas’ voices carry all the way to the back. I actually study well with background noise, but it was too distracting.
I just prefer my coffee stronger and since xtra shots don’t seem to make much of a difference, I’ll be looking elsewhere for my caffine fix.

Surprisingly nice given that it’s in a strip mall on lake city. The coffee is good and the barista knew her stuff. She made my wife a bone-​dry cappuccino and even explained to me that that’s better termed a macchiato and then charged us for that which was cheaper than the cappuccino. There are big windows that give a lot of natural light, but also are sound-​proofed enough that there’s no traffic noise even though it’s right on Lake City with lots of traffic going by. Also, there are a good number of comfy chairs and tables to work at.
You might not come here just because, but for the neighborhood coffee shop, it’s top notch.

Had a chance to revisit this place earlier in the week, and was fairly impressed. The coffee was fantastic, seating layout comfortable, great barista, and smooth transaction. Parking can be challenging and finding a table is problematic at times.
Café Kopi a block down the road is a better place to hang, but Diva is not bad. Grab a burger at iBurger next door while you are at it.

Lake City Way is a hard place to find a good business worth hanging out in, but Diva Espresso is the exception rather than the rule. I basically come for a place to use the internet when things are too hectic at home, and the place is perfect for that. Free, easy access WiFi (always the same password so once you have saved it, you acquire a signal right away on subsequent visits). Small overall, but feels roomy with an «L» shaped layout, and large wooden tables. Also a plus, lots of outlets for your laptop.
Oh yeah, the coffee is good too! Usually playing decent music, and the space is comfortable. Not a place to go out of your way for, but if you are in the area, looking for good coffee, reasonable prices, fast free WiFi, and a cozy atmosphere, this is your place.

It’s quite unfortunate that the Diva Espresso on Lake City Way, believe it or not, is the only coffee house on the way to work. The coffee is often quite delicious, but the overall experience of ordering from this specific Diva is like pulling teeth. I can’t decide which is worst, the agony of getting coffee from this joint, or going without coffee altogether.
The angry, barista with red hair and glasses reminds me of Debbie Downer with PMS. It takes forever, and when ordering a Grande Americano, don’t bother asking for room, because she’ll just make it a tall.

Pretty a-​okay coffee place.
Prices are good, baristas seem to know you, and over all decent coffee.
I found the flavors of my espresso a little muted, but overall it was plenty delicious. Much better than Starbucks down Lake City way of course.
Limited parking/​busy intersection, so I usually park around the street.
I’ll come here time and time again.

In an attempt to not drive all the way to cap hill for some Vivace I stopped into Diva… which I remember from years past as being quite good coffee… hmmm, something has changed.
Perhaps the barista, who clearly didn’t know how to pull a proper ristretto shot is to blame. She also left the top of my mocha naked… no foam. Just because I didn’t want whip doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have foam. Or perhaps she was just being lazy and didn’t want to make it? No clue.
Highly disappointing experience to say the least. If this was representative of what Diva is today, I’ll pass.

Nice little coffee shop on Lake City Way. We ended up at Diva on a Sunday morning and stopped by for a quick coffee break. I enjoyed my mocha and would definitely come here again if I am in the area.

Free drip refills and a fill your own cup station? That’s brilliant, and I’m down with it 100 percent.
The service is friendly, the biscottis are excellent (try the mint variety) and they offer vegan pastries. That’s both awesome and healthy in many ways.
This particular location is very low key. Parking can be a bit inconvenient since it’s located in a strip plaza, but you can find some on the street.
I like friendly baristas, and the one here was a very nice gal. We need more people like that in this crazy world.

After reading some Unilocal reviews I decided to check out this place since its a stone throw away from my house. I went with the Vanilla Chumley and it really was delicious. Sooo much better than a frappacino. I hate blended drinks that either separate or have big ice chunks. The Chumley was blended perfectly.
I didn’t really enjoy the atmosphere of this location. I would never go and just chill at this place. The barista was really friendly though and there were quite a few people in the place.

(3.5 Stars | B-​) Don’t be put off by the mini-​strip mall-​esque setting, limited parking, or the lovely view of the service station spitting distance from the front door: Diva Espresso is a great spot to grab a cup to go when you’re in the area.
My Americano was not to bad at all; espresso not bitter although even with an extra shot I thought the flavors were not as robust as they could have been. Still not bad. It was (thankfully as it was «snowing») nice and hot. Good cup-​size choices, and I truly appreciate the shot count clearly posted, as well as the prices not charging me for water the larger I go.
Good standard fare selection of cookies, coffee cakes, and scones. Nothing spectacular but would certainly satisfy the munchies if present.
Service was very nice and courteous. There always seems to be a little inefficiency between the person taking the orders and the person making the drinks, but as I’ve never been there when it was busy I don’t know if it would slow things down in a rush.
Seating area is large enough for the shop, I’m not too sure I’d want to hang out there — my internal vibe was the same as when I’m traveling and I opt to pull over and spend some time in a café just to take a break from driving. It might just be me.

I have only been there once so not much to base a review on but I was served a fine latte and my son enjoyed his strawberry steamer. Three stars plus. Defintely better than the big chains and worth a stop if you go that way.

Did you see the headline «Woman Kills 87 Year Old Man Trying to Get Morning Latte!»?
No?
Good because I missed him by inches. I’m also happy to report that he did not have a heart attack after his brush with death via the bumper of my car in the tiny angular parking lot in front of Diva’s Lake City location.
Diva Lake City’s cream façade is easy to spot… not so easy to get in and out of with cars (and pedestrians) zooming by. Once inside it is completely worth the efforts. This has to be one of the best smelling coffee houses in Seattle.
The barista was fast, funny and friendly. The coffee was beautifully presented and delicious.
Oh and I bought the aforementioned 87 year old man a cup of coffee btw :) He joked that he better not tell his wife about our ‘little escapade’! Funny guy. He made my day.