Hello Em Viet Coffee and Roastery

Hello Em opened in the Little Saigon Creative space on Weller Street on January 24, 2021, and the South Seattle Emerald and Daily Coffee News both reported it as Seattle's first Vietnamese coffee roastery. The Emerald named co owners Yenvy Pham, who also co owns Phở Bắc Sup Shop, and Nghia Bui. The cafe shares the space with Little Saigon Creative, which the nonprofit Friends of Little Saigon runs, and in 2021 the Emerald described a wall of neighborhood history and a map of Vietnam marking where the beans come from.

This is a roastery at this address, not just in name. The company's own About page says every batch is roasted weekly on site on a Stronghold S9, and its locations page calls 1227 S Weller the flagship cafe and roastery. The house coffees are Anh, a single origin robusta from Buôn Ma Thuột used for the Vietnamese drinks, and Em, an arabica espresso for the cortado and latte side of the menu.

Order the cà phê trứng, egg cream coffee, from $6.75 for 8 ounces, or its torched cousin, the cà phê brûlée. The cà phê lá dứa uses coco pandan condensed milk, the cà phê maggi a Maggi caramel, and the cà phê chuối stacks caramelized banana, pandan egg whip, salted peanuts and banana chips. Food runs to a pandan croissant, a Maggi caramel croissant and bánh mì from a $6 pâté to a $13 salmon.

The cafe's own site lists 8am to 4pm every day; the Google listing shows a 5pm close on Saturday, so call ahead if you are cutting a Saturday visit close. Soy, coconut and oat milk cost 25 cents extra, and credit cards carry a 3 percent surcharge that debit cards skip.