Sorrento’s Coffee

Kolaches are not standard Washington espresso stand food, and Sorrento's gives them three sections of its menu: egg, meat and savory. Tacos sit next to them. Between that and a baked goods list that runs to Blazin' Bagels and Macrina pastries, this is a stand doing considerably more with a small window than most of its neighbors attempt.

The chai is the thing they put their name to. The menu category is Teas and Famous Chai, the drink is described as their best selling made from scratch chai, and it has a second priced line as a bagged mix you take home and make yourself, instructions included. That is a house drink by any reasonable test. Beyond it the board is classical rather than novelty: cortado, cappuccino, caramel macchiato, an affogato with espresso over vanilla ice cream, a cafe au lait and a cold brew steeped twenty four hours.

The espresso itself is described on their own menu as a Brazil Vienna roast, with a medium roast Brazilian house blend behind it and a dark roast on drip. The City of Renton's listing names Vista Clara as the roaster, though that entry reads as copy the business supplied rather than independent reporting.

It is a single independent stand, not part of a chain, with both a drive through and a walk up window and no seating at all. One customer says plainly that they wish it were not a drive through so they could sit with the coffee. Weekdays open at 5:30 AM and everything closes by 5:30 in the afternoon, with Sunday opening latest at 7:30.