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Categories: American (Traditional), Dive Bars, Breakfast & Brunch
Neighborhood: Queen AnneM-F 3-7
Doubles for the price of a single
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I have spent more Saturday mornings/afternoons/evenings on the bar side of the Mecca than I care to count.
There is no pretense at this place.
The bacon is delicious. And the rest of the food is decent diner fare that is cheap and not trying to be anything other than what is (kind of like the Mecca itself).
The juke box has a quality selection.
The clientele is eclectic. Spend a morning at the Mecca and you will find yourself surrounded by all sorts of characters - some unsavory, some not, and many very entertaining (from afar).
This is a good place to saddle up the bar and keep to yourself. If you are into that kind of thing.
Smells like vomit. What else do you expect in a dive bar? Pristine bathrooms? Yeah, strangely enough they have it here.
Drinks weren't as stiff as I expected them to be, but that's ok since I still had to drive home at some point. Three gin and tonics were enough to put a little pink in my cheeks but not enough to set my head to buzzin'. Will have to go for that fourth next time.
This is a great place to take those friends of yours who always conveniently forget to add tax into their total. Mecca is on to that racket and works the tax into the food prices so you only have to pry the extra few bucks of tip money out of their cheap hands.**
Beyond that this place will fill the need if you are drunk and is sufficiently greasy if you are hungover, and is also there for you if you are merely working on one or the other, providing a full bar on the left hand side of the establishment.
Be prepared for what can best be described as formula bad attitude service... the type of payback that is supposed to endear you when you are buzzed and being a right pain in the ass yourself. If you are not being a pain in the ass you will still get this same level of unenthusiastic customer service, but, hey, you will still get served and that is all that matters sometimes, right?
** I am in no way implying that any of the people I have dined here with are cheap bastards, only being helpful since we all know one or two people who are.
I stay at the hotel across from the Cafe Mecca. I decided to eat there due to the rain. The resturant has a nice vibe. If you like dark places. The place smell like marijuna. The place look like it haven't been clean up. The waiter joke about not service us if the table not clean. It was clean enough not to stay. We order to go. I had the meatloaf and mash pototoe. The meatloaf was dry and the mash pototoe had hair.
I throw away half of my food. My mom had the fish and chip. Didn't like it either. The price for the place sucks. It too expensive. I guess this place is good after a concert. BTW the decor is nice.
Finally - I made it in the Mecca! I'd had the bacon before, but it was take-out. I know... don't ask.
This place is famous - and for good reason. Ask them to tell you the history of the joint and you'll get it.
Loved the G&Ts, greasy yummy sandwich and damn good fresh cut fries. Indulgent and sinful, but worth it.
Good place to unwind with some moxie. Someone got beat up in the lot next door while we were there. Adventure with your drinks and food is always welcome!
Being within stumbling distance of my apartment, I desperately wanted The Mecca to be the local dive bar where everybody knows [my] name. It has the potential for greatness -- cheap and strong drinks, cute retro decor, decent diner food -- but the bartenders could use a serious attitude adjustment. They destroy any hope The Mecca may have had of achieving dive bar perfection. I've never encountered such surly people in a room full of boisterous drunks. (Or perhaps the drunks are why they hate life so much?) Regardless: whoops, there goes your tip!
Another half star off for the perpetual scent of vomit and insanely tiny bar. Then again, depending on the amount of booze ingested, the latter may not be so undesirable. The unintentional molestation of rubbing up on somebody when walking past them them could be exactly what you're looking for in those hormone-charged (and ethanol-fueled) moments. You never know, it could be a great way to introduce yourself to the one night stand whose name you won't remember tomorrow morning.
Extra points for the cheap, fancy digital jukebox and absence of TVs to watch sports on. Also, I just moved from Northern California so I'm not sure if this is just a Seattle thing, but I'm always amused when I see people here reading and drinking alone. I guess they got tired of coffee? It's entirely possible in this city. Either way: dude. Seriously. This ain't the fuckin' library. Put the book down, Damien.
A solid 3.5 stars overall but rounding up because I'm hopeful that over time it'll grow on me and eventually they'll hire bartenders who don't have sticks shoved up their asses. I'll at least be back for brunch for the supposed $3.50 pint mimosas, mmmm.
Mecca Bar: You smell like ten kinds of ass. Your Beertenders are snarling pricks. The 1 star is for a decent tasting Bloody Mary.
I gave this place one star because I ordered the pancakes, sausage links and eggs and the eggs and sausage were good. However, the pancake werent good at all. Never in my life when I eat pancakes, do I leave about 75% on my plate. The pancakes were thick and just didnt taste good. I hate starting my morning with a bad breakfast. Something told me to go to Pesos again but I decided to try something new. Next time I will follow my gut and go elsewhere.
Mecca is just as good as the 5 point.
Sunday brunch for the low-brow set doesn't get any better than Mecca. $3.50 pint-sized mimosas, pancakes so big they darn near hang over the edges of the plate, and thick, crispy, bacon.
A staff who doesn't take any crap, but is still super friendly and knows how to take care of business when it's swamped.
One note: the OJ they use for mimosas on the diner side is better than the bar OJ. At some point during the day they switch from making the mimosas with the good stuff to having the bar make them. You can tell a big difference if you start with the tasty, pulpy diner side OJ and they switch you over.
Kinda cool that it's half bar half restaurant.
Smallest bar EVER. I don't even know how the bartender moved behind the counter. It's made for people the size of mary kate and ashley.
I don't get it. Maybe this place is supposed to be so divey that it becomes charming, but Mecca has finally convinced me that I just don't like greasy-spoon diners. Maybe truck-stop chic is going to be the next big thing, but it's hard to imagine coming here for food with any regularity. The dining area was full of flies (I'd hate to see the kitchen...), the tables weren't bussed with any regularity, and the service was alarmingly slow.
The food was forgettable, and the menu extremely unimaginative. Eating here I got my first experience of being so nonplussed at the selection that I literally couldn't decide on anything for ten minutes. It's ok though, since the waitress gave me an extra ten on top of that to take my order. Then when it was delivered, it was the wrong plate. She was friendly enough, but slooooooow.
I can't speak to the quality of Mecca as a bar, but as a restaurant I have to put the fatwa on it, Salman Rushdie-style.
Pay Attention. Don't fuck around. Order the hash and a bloody mary.
There's just something about watching a drunk man get forcibly pulled past your table and thrown into the street that makes you feel cosy. Granted, that's not the atmosphere I always gravitate towards, but sometimes, that's just what you need.
The drinks are strong. The coffee is bad. The service can be great or just so-so, but it is perfect for a hangover breakfast or a late-night reuben. Plus, it had ambiance, and salty drunks.
After a miserable late night dinner fail at Sport Restaurant and Bar we decided to head over to Queen Anne so that we could meet up with one of our friends at Peso's. I was absolutely starving and first we tried to go Pagliacci because two slices of pizza and a beer sounded like a great idea.
12:09AM. Shit.
"How about Mecca Cafe?"
"Do they have food?"
"Yes"
"Do they have beer?"
"Done."
This place is very dimly lit which in some cases (depending on how dimly lit) can be problematic since I consider myself night blind. It really is a condition and not a "tactic to try and make girls hold my hand when walking at night" as some might think. We sit at the bar (the one in the front when you first walk in) and are there for no less than 5 minutes and DO NOT SEE ANY SIGN OF LIFE. I can hear Rage Against the Machine blasting loudly throughout the establishment. "Let's try the back bar." Head to the back bar and get two pints of whatever we got and tried to order food. "Need to order in the front.". That was easier said than done.
Head back to the front after closing out our two beer tab and go back to sit at the OTHER bar. We finally see someone.
"Do you need menus?"
"We looked at them earlier when we were sitt...."
"Did she just fucking walk away?"
Ordered a turkey sandwich with bacon and a side of fries or something similar. Made the mistake of asking for a side of ranch because it took what seemed like an eternity to produce.
"How long does it take to put ranch in a bowl?"
"Is she high?"
Pay for our food and beer and we are gone.
Keep in mind that I usually don't have a problem waiting for food / drinks when it is busy. There was one other party (of two) in there eating and they were leaving before we even ordered. We were also being as nice as possible.
If I was a heroin addict and needed a place to nod out and not be bothered this would be my spot.
Sorry Mecca Cafe.
Two stars for being open + I was really hungry
Now I remember why I loved this place again. Cheap, strong booze served liberally.
Now that I've written a gushing review on how I love the aesthetic of Mecca, I'll update with… Read more »
Hang Over Cure Heaven. That's what it should be called. You get quite a bit of food for a low price. I got the basic breakfast of eggs, toast and the almighty brick-o'-hashbrowns. They grey color turned me off at first but the more I ate the more I enjoyed. The eggs were really good and the toast... well, it was just toast but still good.
I ordered a bloody mary, naturally, and it was pretty damn good. Nothing spectacular but still good. They garnished it with green olives, lemon and lime.
The atmosphere and decor are probably the coolest part about this place. Its definitely a retro diner. Black and white tile floors, red seats and bar stools. Very small and cozy. The newspaper articles/comics on the walls are extremely old and really fun to look at and see how much life has changed.
If you had a rough night and you're hurting the next morning, craving sustenance, go to The Mecca. The grub will ease your hangover and recharge you for the day.
I haven't been there in a while, but back when Element was open, this was our go-to munchie spot after a long night of dancing and boozing if Dick's was closed, which it usually was. :(
The goods: greasy food and big portions! Nachos to share, the mountain of fries...it's a miracle our arteries didn't instantly clog up at the table. (I would've been okay if they had -- if I had to pick a way to croak, it'd definitely be after eating my heart out. Literally.)
The averages: service at odd hours is hit or miss. We'd usually go in around 3 or 4 and the wait for food was a bit long...nothing we couldn't forget about with conversation, but hungry drunk idiots need their grease!
If I lived on LQA, I'd probably find more excuses to hit the Mecca in the middle of the night. :) Will be back if the occasion requires a post-funk of fried food.
Ok, there needs to be two listing for this place becuase there are two TOTALLY DIFFERENT things happening here! 1st Mecca is a bar that makes decent cheap drinks with just the kind of hole in the wall bar feel you can kick back and enjoy on a lazy day off which I'd give 3-4 stars. 2nd there's a GAWD AWFUL cafe that has horrible service and even worse food. Now this is going to sound bad since our waitress was pregnant BUT even if I were to over look the fact that it took me and my boyfriend 35 minutes to get our order when we were only 1 of 2 tables of 2 in this place, I can not over look the fact that my eggs Benedict had rotten tomatoes and the yoke was cooked till it was hard ball of chalk! And upon letting our waitress know the tomatoes were rotten I was told "no they're not! I just had some in a salad", well my dear either you have no taste buds, or pregnancy makes you crave moldy food! Either way they were rotten!
Are you freaking kidding me?!!! I almost gave the cook my number those hash browns were so perfect!! Just imagine a gorgeously fried puddle of REAL potatoes. It only goes up from there.
Also. Remember: seat yourself and $3.50 mimosas in pint glasses.
What was that St. Peter? Better than the crap they serve in Heaven? I couldn't agree more!!
Sweet~ another greasy spoon to add to the list of weekend breakfast runs!
After early sample shopping on a Saturday morning in rainy Seattle- breakfast and black coffee in Queen Anne was the next destination.
Loved the diner feel. Customers filled up the counter seating on the stools with the checkered flooring. And loved the cozy side tables, where I felt like I was in a boxcar~ (not in a bad way)
MMMMm Joe's scramble: eggs w/ spinach, ground beef, parmesan, onions & garlic. That was delish!
sidenote: bf thought the hashbrowns could have been crisper. that's a personal preference though. :)
Pretty good breakfast/lunch menu~ had the usuals~ Nothing was out of the ordinary, just a good establishment, with frequent diners, good customer service filling up my coffee when needed...will be back ;)
I was sorely disappointed by the bartender, and left without even being acknowledged by her after standing patiently for *no exaggeration* 10 minutes for her to finish another customer's drinks. During that time she glanced at me once and quickly looked away, never saying or doing anything to indicate she knew I was waiting. That's forgivable - bartenders are busy people and I understand. BUT when another couple walks in and she immediately takes their order after I waited for 10 minutes for my turn was enough to make me turn on my heel and go. I'm sure the place has it's strong points, but service ain't one of 'em. At least, it isn't if you're a rather quiet, unassuming fellow who doesn't mind waiting so long as I get my turn. Guess I need to be one of those pushy guys to get a drink there. I'll never know, cause I won't be back.
Almost a year after my original review, I found myself at Mecca in the bar on a Saturday night and back for breakfast Sunday morning.
On Saturday night, our server seemed a bit surly towards our large group of Yelpers, but sweet when Cec and I went up to the bar for our drinks, which were nice and strong. It led a number of us to question why on earth a server would be unfriendly to a large group of people when they could be a great source of tips.....
Sunday morning (Noonish), there was no wait for a table, our server was friendly and fast and the food was far from mediocre - it was damn fine (kind of like one of the cooks). My only complaint was that they don't seem to want to give you any butter on your toast, and dry toast is practically impossible to eat. But, you sure can try when you're washing it down with a pint glass full of mimosa for $3.50. Yesh.
This is where I started my hungover Halloween morning, and I try to keep in mind that I was feeling… Read more »
Having never been to Mecca before the Hump! 4 prefunk, I was a bit excited. I'd heard all of these awesome things about it, so it had to be cool, right? Wrong. No. It didn't have to be, and it really wasn't. Not bad, but not great.
The drinks were really strong, but the service was surly, and not in that "Aww, surly servers! How twee." sort of way. The restaurant was also poorly laid out - there's a giant wall separating the bar from the rest of the establishment. Yea, I know you have to keep your bar separate, but it's really bad place for a wall.
I will say the bathroom was in shockingly good shape. From the general vibe in the front I was expecting a disaster (See also: The Hurricane) but it was well-lit, didn't smell funky, and there were no dubious puddles on the floor. My only complaint about it is that the soap dispenser had a slow drip which made it look suspiciously like someone had just wanked it in the sink.
If I ever find myself in Queen Anne with a burning need to get absolutely blotto, Mecca will be my first stop. Being as I, perhaps thankfully, can't see a need for this... I may not be back for a while.
1. Strong Drinks
2. Perfect Hangover breakfasts with strong coffee
3. One of the last holdouts on the smoking in bars issue, that a business should be able to do what they want. if it's legal. I think they smoked in the bar for a year after the ban. And good for them. I don't like it when my freedoms are taken away by the "moral majority" bullshit, either.
4. Indifferent service
This is all you would expect from a dive bar, in the heart of yuppieville Queen Anne.
Awesome.
We hit up the Mecca cafe for some food after another loss by the thunderbirds.
It is very dark in the cafe, so if you like well lit places, this place is not for you. Everything on the menu apparently is made fresh, my fiance said the potato salad was really good, I did not have a taste so I can't verify.
I had the philly cheese steak sandwich and it was pretty good, It was not overpowered by any one single item, so the whole mishmash worked very well.
I digged the decor of the place, and although its fairly small, there was no wait for us (It was sunday night at 7pm)
Rude! Rude! Rude!
After yelling at me to put my camera away, our server apparently went and complained to her friends about us- prompting one of them to walk up to our table and say, "Um, so I'm REALLY good friends with your server and she said you guys looked like the type of people who don't tip, and that really sucks. So don't stiff her, ok? Do me a favor and make sure you tip her really well. After all, it's my birthday. Tip your server."
Um, excuse me? That's one hell of a way to ensure you're NOT getting tipped.
Backstory: my friends and I popped into the Mecca after spending hundreds of dollars at a fundraiser, and we were all dressed to the nines... so it's not like we actually looked like the type of people who are bad tippers.
I am, however, awarding the Mecca two stars because their drinks must be strong since I don't actually remember any of this happening- my friends had to recreate the evening for me because I'm the only one with the power to Yelp about it.
This place is great for the following reasons:
1. Delicious omelets to soak up all the alcohol in my tummy from the night before.
2. Good, fried drunk food and sandwiches for when I'm actually drunk.
3. Strong drinks.
4. Dim lighting which makes me look far more attractive.
If I lived in the area, I could see this quickly becoming one of my regular spots.
Total dive bar.
Ordered a Jack and Coke and it was rocket fuel. Must've been a quarter fifth in the drink (came in a tall glass).
Went again- this time on a Sunday morning Uber hungover. Got the meatloaf with a side of mash and gravy. Felt top notch about an hour later.
This place is cheap, food is good and the drinks are solid.
I have a lot of love for the Mecca, but it has been up and down over the years. I recently had the Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes, and I inhaled it. The steak, just crispy enough on the outside, and the potatoes were portioned on XL size, with tasty gravy.
Monday was a good night. A bit slow, but very good counter help and quick service on the meal.
I will be going back for more.
Disclaimer: this review has been impaired by alcohol, because both times I have been to Mecca, I have been drunk. In fact, the last time I was here was after a beer fest, so I simply needed a pile of grease, potatoes, ketchup to supplement the 40oz of tripels I had just poured into my body. Draw your own conclusions.
Stopped in at Mecca after a few drinks at another location -
We wanted something greasy to pad our stomachs for the rest of the night and my friend suggested the tuna melt. I am ALL about tuna melts.
I have to say it was mighty tasty, not too full of tuna (so it didn't spill out the side), still moist (the tuna not the bread) and had the great Kraft American cheese slice we all know and love. The only down side is that the bread was a tad burned but I still loved it and ate ALL of it. I have to say that the coleslaw, not so great. Just tasted like vinegar.
The waitress was freaking hilarious and our food got out quick fast and in a hurry!
When my friend Christine and I decided to drink while waiting for Buck in the record store, we asked a random guy on the street where a cool bar was. He said "walk down a block that way and go into the place that has a picture of the devil in front of it". Thanks random guy on the street, for guiding us to the best dive bar ever! When we walked in the bartender asked "what the fuck do you want" and I saw hearts in Christine's eyes, it was love! Drink prices were super duper low, and the drinks were strong! The bartender even bought us a round. We made some friends, and even sat next to the barfly who then got 86'd. Manny's (my new favorite beer) on tap, Slayer and Rev Horton Heat on the jukebox and my belly full of booze, aw Mecca I love you!
Most overrated bar in Seattle. If you want a dirty, divey, authentic bar go to Capitol Hill, Ballard or Georgetown. These d-bag bartenders think they're so badass by ignoring you, but they're in Lower Queen Anne...yuppie central. The food on the restaurant side is decent hangover food, but going to the bar for a night out is an absolute joke.
I know it is a dive bar and there is a different set of standards for such establishments, but I was disappointed with the food. Everything else can be divey, but you got to do better than good food to earn high marks from me if the place feels like a David Lynch film. The service was a bit off, too: fries were late, drink was late, they were out of a few things. I won't go back.
I have been going to the mecca for a long ass time.....why
1. solid pour on the hard stuff
2. good diner food....love the fries
3. great people..who chat with each other..best nights..wed-thurs
4. good location..and parking is a breeze, except on weekends
5. it has stayed true to what it does best...if you have to ask...then you have not been to the mecca
1 star for the service
1 star for the atmosphere
1 star for Orientalist representations of Mecca
1 star for the bacon
-1 star because bacon is not halal
Eating here during the day is somewhat disturbing.
It does explain a few things to me.
People with facial tatoos and followers of the "please don't ever hire me ever" subculture work here. I always wondered where they earned a buck.
When I was here, the cast member of Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome cooked me up some totally unhealthy diner food. It tasted better than what I remember eating through a booze-saturated haze at the Five Point.
After my nth drink, I seem to order things chicken fried. Apparently I need a dietary keeper after these events.
.... and the Number One thing I miss about living on Lower Queen Anne:
Taking the monorail to work!
Psyche. It's Mecca. I miss Mecca the most. You know how they say you should do one thing every single day which scares you a little? Breakfast at Mecca counts for like a week.
Would give 3 1/2 if they had it, it's a pretty good place. The diner food isn't mind blowing. But it's kind of exactly what you would expect, which can be great sometimes. Stopping in for a drink in the evening is even better.
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