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Categories: Coffee & Tea, Beer, Wine & Spirits
Neighborhood: International DistrictMon-Sat. 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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I really like this place, I can't believe I haven't been here before! its right in my neighborhood!
The place has a nice ambience that is relaxed with soft candle light and antique wooden floors. There are so many old photographs and relics from the past it almost feels like your sitting in a historical display. They even have a spot in the floor which is see-through where you can view the basement which is chock full of old suitcases and trinkets left behind by Japanese Americans just before they were shipped to internment camps.
The place is split between two rooms one where the register is located is more dimly lit and the adoining room is brighter with a very long table which would work for group gatherings. They also sport a working piano which any one (for better or worse) can freely start tickling the ivory on.
It is a bit pricey, $4 for a cup loose leaf tea which is of good quality. They don't provide a timer as you steep your loose leaf so be mindful! Their selection is not as vast as some of the other tea houses in town but the location and interior make up for it.
The crowd is usually older, there are many tourist which may account for the high prices. Though they sport coffee as well, this is much more of a tea place.
The good:
- Beautiful, beautiful space
- Variety of alcoholic beverages & interesting tea drinks
- Tasty snacks like green tea cupcakes, homemade energy bars, delicious looking cookies
The not as good:
- It's not super cheap. A cup of tea will run you $4+, a pot of tea $8-9+
- The wireless is free, but at the time I went there, it was so slow as to be unusable
Still, an interesting & pretty place to work or to take friends/family.
Another reviewer mentioned that they apparently didn't accept credit cards in the past, but they do now.
I would have given 4-stars to this unusual, off-the-beaten-track tea house but I was dismayed to discover that they post seemingly randomly placed small card-signs in the back room informing customers that they must spend $5 every two hours. (A cup of tea is $5).
The place was far from crowded the time I went. I don't recall any other business of this genre having such a draconian requirement. To avoid possible embarrassment, just be sure to remember to check your watch.
At any rate, the decor, furniture, lighting, doors, windows, etc.--as other reviews indicate--bring you back into the era of pre-World War II Seattle. The walls are lined with vintage black-and-white photographs of the China- and Japan-towns of Seattle's yesteryears. Not the Shanghai Bund, but fascinating just the same.
All in all, the building and its main-floor interior have been respectfully and lovingly preserved and/or restored. Dark inside--whatever the weather outside may be--, Panama Tea House is certainly a cozy place to hunker down in, away from the tumult of the International District just one-and-a-half blocks down below.
The clients in the back room--outfitted with a long table used for informal conferences--tend to be pretty loud, projecting their voices as if addressing a roomful of listeners, which doesn't include me or the person I am talking to me, who would prefer private conversations.
The teas, with imaginative appellations, are fine but nothing to actually rave about. They also are rather cumbersome to take back to one's table (no platter, no lids--just coasters).
I've only been here twice because it's a little far to get to, but it captured my heart from the moment I set foot inside. Aesthetically, it's five stars, a gem of spare, impeccable taste lovingly overlaid on an old hotel or rooming house in the International District. The result is that my eye was happy wherever it fell as I sipped tea and ate my cookie. I don't think there was a huge selection of food, but hey, it's a tea house. The tea was good. I want to go back. It felt like a haven.
The tea house is a great, chill little spot, but the true treasure is the history of the place that is outstanding. Here's my recommendation...
Pick up a copy of Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet
http://www.amazon.com/...
The hotel mentioned in the title is the Panama Hotel. After reading the book, call ahead and schedule a time for the owner to give a tour of the place, including the bathhouse in the basement that has been left completely unchanged since the war.
The owner was really busy when we got there at the set time, but the wait for the tour was so beyond worth it. While you are waiting, check out the tea selection. My only recommendation is to avoid the green tea latte - green tea and milk are not so yum in my books...
This is certainly a wonderful place to finish off your Japanese afternoon in International District...go to Uwajimaya for Japanese grocery, Kinokuniya for Japanese book, maybe some hair cut by a Japanese hair stylist, and finally here for macha latte and beautiful hand-made Japanese sweets. Those sweets may seem a bit pricey since they're so small but cost like $3-4, but that's how they traditionally are. Nowadays I can't have caffeine and need to skip macha latte, but they have so many other choices of decaf/herb tea!
Amazing tea. But definetly go for the history and learning experience. It is a very moving history you won't forget.
We came here after a friend recommended stopping by after dim sum.
The place is oozing with historical significance and they show it off proudly. The windows are filled with abandoned belongings of ID residents that were forced into internment camps during WWII. It was awfully nice of the Panama Hotel to hold onto them and sad that so many never came back to reclaim their heirlooms. You can even take a view into that world through a viewing window in the floor. It's quick a mind trip.
Aside from the vast history, there is a wonderful ambiance that makes you feel welcomed here. We came with a toddler in tow and were still welcomed. (except for the bald jerk who had to text without kids around) Our friend picked out a delicious tea. Our little one indulged in a Macrina bakery cookie. The staff was wonderful and very nice to our party. So where most of the patrons who didn't mind a sweet little girl walking by to say hello.
I definitely would love to come back at some time without the little one for a break away from it all. And with the sign mentioning coffee martinis coming soon, I think I might just be doing that!
I had a pot of tea with my boyfriend here for only $8-something. It was good. They served it with some "fancy" sugar and cream. Not bad!
Place is very interesting and historic. I liked all the pictures.
Street parking, so please pay the meter unless it's Sunday!
Gotta love this place...
The atmosphere... ambience...
And the tea...
I could live here... if I could.
Free wi-fi, great atmosphere for studying or chatting, and good drinks / desserts. What more can you ask for?? :]
One downside: Cash Only
(iced matcha lattes or carrot cakes are the best here)
Panama Hotel is a neighborhood fixture... you can find people getting English lessons, or the knitting club hanging out as well. Its a wonderful place to relax with a book, or have a convo with a friend.
Just remember to bring CASH :)
Oh ya. Definitely 5 stars.
Great ambiance, very chill but warm.
Asian decor (very very well done) with some history behind it.
Great sweets selection. Seems a good bunch of yumminess.
Ask for Manju, the real Japanese sweets that you can not get just anywhere.
I haven't explored the drinks but a decent selection of tea and their tea cups are real tea cups that make your tea taste better.
Be aware tho. You might not want to leave for a couple of hours,,, A good idea to plan to stay there for a good solid conversation with a pot of tea.
This is a great place to go if you're visiting Seattle-- take a trip through the International District and visit the Uwajimaya, Kobo at Higo, and then come to the Panama Cafe for a lovely (although expensive) cup of tea.
Great quality, terrific atmosphere, and a stellar tea selection.
My favorite place in Seattle to sit and relax. I am in love with tea in America's coffee city. My favorite is the lychee tea --- fragrant, slightly sweet and well rounded.
The ambiance is peaceful and serene like a Japanese bonsai garden. It is an oasis from the rest of the craziness of the International District. I can sit here for hours and read the newspaper with no one bothering me.
What also makes this place so special is the incredible mementos and historical artifacts about the Japanese American internment. It was an ugly chapter in American history and this place is a reminder of how far we've come as a nation.
Want to get away from the over dominating coffee place (ie.. the green mermaid brand on every corner of Seattle)? Try here.
History: I definitely love this place. The history and the atmosphere of it all. Historically known to be an old Japanese Bathhouse, the current owners bought the place to find belongings still in place. The preserved history are displayed through photos and a glass panel on the floor displaying belongings to the old family. A small reminder to never repeat history.
A great place to sit with friends or to get some work done. The place has plenty of chairs. The decor reflects the Asian theme. Teas are great, you can always get refills. Pastries are from variety of local bakeries. This place only accepts CASH.. please bring some. And to top off the great place... they have FREE wifi.. who doesn't like free?
Enjoy!
-free wi-fi
-great selection of loose leaf teas
-LaVazza espresso
-historic without being old
-cool without trying
The Panama Hotel is really as much a museum as it is a tea house. The tastefully refurbished building has just the right touch of new and old. The conteporary 12vdc spotlite track lighting highlights all the old photographs and momentos throughout the place. The refinished hardwood floors and old furnishings preserve the feel of times gone by. The Panama Hotel is in the heart of the Japanese-American community that is 100 years old, now part of the International District of Seattle. The photos and artifacts document the Japanese heritage and culture, and the close knit community before World War Two, when that community lost everything during the racist, forced internment of all Japanese by Presidential Executive Order.
Because of this unusual combination of a modern commercial establishment with historically significant heritage, this place has a serene, comfortable feel, invoking a need to reflect and walk gentle in life. This is perfect for the teas and light food offered, and the pace here is much slower than the outside world. It is almost like the importance of what is here is greater than people just getting a latte or a pot of tea to satisfy their immediate need for self-gratification. You are surrounded by reminders of people who sacrificed so much just to be in the same place years ago where you now sip a warm, relaxing beverage.
I think if you keep the perspective that the Panama Hotel quietly invites you to take, the small things that concerned you in your daily life don't seem to matter so much anymore. They melt away into the old artifacts, as if they are there to help soak in any pain, sorrow or animosity you shed, allowing you to move to a more serene place of humbleness and grateful humility with every little sip you take.
If you're in the International District and are sick of all the chain coffee and/or tea hangouts, come here!! Certainly a nice quiet place to hang out with a couple of friends - no big groups - and have a good cup of tea. I've only been once and had a pot of tea with my girlfriend served in a beautiful glass pot and matching tea glasses. Nice!
Supposedly, it's even some history 'monument'!
I told a dozen or so friends that I was going to be at the Tea rooms on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm. I thought that maybe 3 or 4 might join me. 8 people joined me. We were able to find a table and seating for us all to sit in a circle. Some of us tried pots of tea, some of us cups. The cups that came with the pots were handleless as vaired designs, mainly engraved glass, beautiful designs. The pots all poured beautifully and were served without the loose tea still in them, no stewing of the tea. Conversation was easy.
Other customers had their laptops open (free wireless) and sat at long tables with benches, or small tables with easy chairs. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable. The clientelle looked to be aged between 20 and 35. The atmosphere was sophisticated and relaxed. The tea tasted wonderful. A thoroughly enjoyable Sunday afternoon, highly recommended, I'll defintiely be going back. I do not know the Seattle 'International' district, where the Panama hotel is located. It looked very interesting, I now want to go back and explore, to see what other hidden curiosities it has to offer.
Why didn't the Panama Hotel get all 5 stars? I'm being harshly conservative. The hotel doesn't accept credit cards, it was rather cold, I kept my coat on, the hard wood floors and decor made the place seem more cold and harsh and stylish than 'comfortable'. All these things are miner points, and points of personal taste, it wasn't quite 'just right' for my English Tea tastes. The company and ability to flexibly support such a large, unbooked, group of guests was a major advantage...
This is a great place to work. They have good teas, long bench tables downstairs where you can get work done. The internet's a bit spotty.
Even their bathroom is cute (with flowers and nice-smelling soap). Yes, the little things matter.
It's really nice and relaxing place. We usually end up being there for a few hours just yapping and chatting about nothing. They have comfortable couches and chairs and downstairs is the place to be. They have wifi also.
Their tea selections are nice. I tried their Hojicha latte and it was yummy! They have some sweets also.
You should ask to check out the bath house, it looks really cool.
The place is clean. The food is good. The staff are nice.
The decor, is so beautiful.
The Panama Hotel Tea and Coffee House has always intrigued me. Last weekend, finding ourselves with about 45 minutes to spare, we stopped in. I'm glad we did!
I love the ambience. They've preserved many of the historic features (like the wonderful wood flooring and quaint old walk-in cooler), but have also added some nice tasteful touches (e.g., that long dining table and associated bench-style seating). When you walk in, you immediately know that you're in a place with a great deal of history. And yet it feels warm and inviting. No mustiness or spookiness to be found here!
I ordered us a pot of jasmine pearl tea, a large bottle of sparkling water, and a couple of the Spanish wafers (the name escapes me) - one savory, one sweet. There were 3 of us. The order turned out to be just right for our brief tete-a-tete.
The Panama Hotel Tea and Coffee House is essentially self-service. You order at the counter and take your food and drink with you. Nonetheless, the service was outstanding. The staff obviously knew what they were doing, and were efficient and polite. Two thumbs up!
I do have one minor gripe and that's that some chairs had fabric cushions which were stained. This detracted from an otherwise perfect interlude. Please clean, replace or remove them?
4 Stars - I'll be eating there again.
Ahhh, so relaxing! I love this place! Classy, serene, and historical (though newly renovated). A lovely place to look around, and I feel like I could sit there all day. I've actually only had chai there, just because it's so good, but they have an impressive tea selection. I'll tell myself not to fall for the creamy chai yet again. I do wish they had more baked goods to offer -- the pastries and cookies I've tried have all been good, but they're just the standards you'd find at most coffee shops.
Take your visiting friends and family here. Oh, but do note that they just take cash!
One of my favorite tea places ever! Excellent selection of high grade loose tea's (I'm a tea snob), spacious and beautiful interior, and a nice little place to get educated on a small part of Seattle.
It's the place to meet someone before dinner, on a date, or just to sit alone and ponder.
What a find...come here if you like to just sit back and chit chat with a friend or two and jibber jabber about the world and life over a cup of tea or coffee. The teas aren't too bad. Not exactly a huge selection but there's a theme somewhere in there. Definitely go here for the atmosphere. A renovated part of what was once a hotel for Japanese immigrants and dignitaries, is now this brick exposed lofty like place to hang out. There is even a separate room where you can hold cool meetings with your study group and perk-up your neural pathways with some caffeine. Recommended for those peeps who like unique places to sip a cup of tea in.
Good For: history, trying teas, ambiance
Panama Hotel Tea and Coffee House is one of my favorite hang out place. I really like the place and the white teas! :) They always brew teas the right way.
I always loved the flower arrangement- made by the owner- always beautiful, grand and unique.
It's a good place to study, or chatting with your friends. I think it's a good place to get to know your date too :) ....
This is my first time signing up to Yelp, even though I have been using this to guide me through great places in Seattle for quite some time. Shame on me! Coming here for the first time has prompted me to write a review. Living in Seattle for a good deal of my adult life (about 12 years), I have developed more into a coffee snob. Even before then, I grew up in Bellingham (between Seattle and Vancouver BC) I was accustomed to great coffee through Tony's in the late 80s.
IMHO, this is one of the best spots in Seattle for coffee, and probably tea judging by their selection of loose leaf. I am not much of a mocha person anymore because most places tend to use very sweet and disgusting chocolate sauces like Hersey's. When I was about to order a latte, I glanced over and saw a pump container reading Dagoba. My reacation was "WHAT!!!!" Dagoba is an organic chocolate company that I normally see in great speciality grocery places like PCC, an organic grocery chain in Seattle. They also use LavAzza coffee which is extremely smooth and tasty.
The mocha was delicious. You better not be in a hurry, because the barista is very meticulous in making her drinks. But hey, this is not Starbucks ala McCoffee, so relax! They offer free Wi-Fi, and the cafe is very cozy, warm, and has an early 1900s nostalgic feel. The barista even mentioned that the cafe is going to move towards serving drinks with liqeur and other alcholic beverages. Unfortunately, the hours are mis-stated, and they have had to move to close at 7pm because of staffing. They anticipate to close at 10pm when they move towards the expansion of the beverage offering.
The cafe location is not in a very visable area. It is tucked behind the "not so busy" area in the International District. So make sure you map out the place if you are not familar with the area. This definately makes this one of the Seattle's hidden gems. Enjoy!
I love the tea and coffee service. The baked goods are good, not great, just good. I'd love them to take the Asian modern thing into the food. Think green tea bisquits, black sesame shortbread, plum jam, etc. That would rock. So it's unfair the rating I have given them. I do love this place. But I have so many hopes and dreams for it when I go there; I can't help but think of all the cool things they could do.
LIKE: bring back the bath house. Why not? A men's and ladie's shvitz would be awesome.
I love the atmosphere of this place. I went this afternoon for the first time and ordered a pot and some pudding and sat and read for a few hours. If you are like me and like to chill, this is the place for you.
Ready to get whacked upside the Chi with serenity and bliss? Kill a load of time here. Try all umpty-seven of the teas. Realize that whatever you had to do was not all that important. Your parole officer can call back. That's what they pay them to for. Enjoy the moment instead.
The Panama Hotel used to be a rooming house and bathhouse, and it's easy to imagine it in its heyday, bustling with families going for a communal bath and laborers having breakfast and chatting before work. According to their website, it's now the last remaining original Japanese bathhouse in the country. Before the internment during WWII, the ID had a ton of bathhouses serving the Japanese immigrant population. After internment, the bathhouses all closed - along with almost all other Japanese businesses. The Tea & Coffee House is a monument to this period in Seattle's history. There are framed pages from local English and Japanese language newspapers on the walls, with heartrending articles full of the latest breaking internment news, as well as grainy photos of prominent local families and Japanese immigrants at work. Even more poignant is the glass panel in the floor, which leads to a lit underground room. The room contains a trunk overflowing with clothes and piles of old books - possessions that the rooming house residents couldn't bring with them, and left with the owner of the Panama Hotel for safekeeping. They never returned for them.
It isn't all serious and melancholy, though - the space is lovely, full of light and air and gorgeous earth tones, all brick and wood. It makes you feel instantly calm just walking in there. Plus they have a million different teas pleasingly displayed in glass jars, pastries, espresso, and wifi.
From the lush wooden floors to all the photographs that give you a peek into what life was like in the early days of the International District, the Panama Hotel Tea House is definitely a Seattle gem that shouldn't be missed. It's easy to overlook because of it's location at the edge of the I.D., but once you find it, it's sure to become a favorite. It's a nice quiet place to hang out or chat, and it's a good "off the beaten path" place to take visiting friends and family. The coffee is really good, and they even have free wi-fi.
If I had loads of $$, this is what I'd do. Maybe I'll hit the lotto and find a space, do a pinoy spin on the Panama Hotel. sweet.
This place gets high marks for ambiance and history alone. The building is very old and has been restored tastefully and authentically. The walls are laden with photos of this portion of the International District, which was largely Japanese inhabited. Guests have come and jotted down the names of the people and stores featured in the photos as well. To further the history lesson: this building held a Japanese bath house that I believe you can arrange tours to see. Visible through a glass panel in the floor is a pile of 50-year-old luggage. Towards the end of WWII, when Japanese Americans were being carted off to internment camps, some of the luggage prepared by local Japanese were left behind in this building and are still there. Finally, there is a hand-drawn sketch of a map of this area of the ID in which people have jotted down what businesses existed in various locations. You might be surprised how many brothels existed in Seattle back in the day...
On to their wares: I ordered a chai tea, which probably wasn't the best move. It was loose tea, ginger, cardamom, etc, but the barista seemed inexperienced in it's preparation. When it was delivered, it was lukewarm and very mild in taste. I got the tea strainer back and let it steep longer but the flavor never really returned. I will go with a coffee or different tea next time.
Oh, and free wireless!
Previous three reviewers are spot on - I'm just helping the rating to encourage people to come to this fine Tea & Coffee house. So come!
Pretty damn good espresso and an even better atmosphere. If you are being served by an incredibly beautiful, sultry and smoky-eyed croatian girl, you are being served by a magnificent barista. Just to let you know. She specializes in hot drinks and not too much sugar.
This is a really comfortable, stylish (without being pretentious) tea house. It's easy to miss if you don't know it's there - might otherwise be mistaken simply as a hotel.
A great cup of tea with a sad story.
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