Zola's Cafe - Auburn, Washington

Smartmomma

Zola’s was an unexpected hit for us. The space is somewhat small but cozy and welcoming, with varied seating options, including a couch by the fireplace. The staff were kind, and the options for food were a pleasant array. We ordered HASHBROWN BREAKFAST SANDWICHES with bacon, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The meat is an additional cost, but worth it. The hashbrowns were perfectly grilled and robustly seasoned with cracked pepper, and the inside is filled with cheese and 2 eggs. While you can’t eat it with your hands like a typical sandwich, it is delightful and easy to eat with a fork. I will be ordering it again.

Dessert was CARROT CAKE, and for someone that enjoys cake much more than frosting, this was satisfyingly balanced in the proportion of frosting. Delicious!

For drinks, Zola offers complimentary self-serve water with metal cups (thank you for this environmentally conscious choice!). We chose some hot drinks—I opted for the CHAI TEA, which was spicy and sweet and dusted with cinnamon. They offer many alt milk options! My husband and I both noticed that the amount of liquid in the narrow mugs we were served drinks in was definitely less than the 16 oz we paid for. Though wasteful, we would recommend opting for the 16oz to-go cup to ensure you get your money’s worth.

Overall, we will be visiting Zola’s again and trying more of their delicious healthy-ish bakery items along with the Hashbrown sandwich.

Dilara A.

I’m very disappointed with the service I received today at Zola’s. Firstly, the person taking our order was rude and monotone, and kept making weird facial expressions throughout my order. Along with that, he glared at me when I did not tip (which I am glad I decided to do due to the awful service mentioned later). When we received our drinks and food, the guy and other employees gave us multiple items that were not ours. We ordered a breakfast burrito with bacon, and she brought us another burrito (which was later clarified as a veggie burrito) AND left it there unattended with no comments on what either burrito contained. We had to open both burritos to check (which were both wrapped with aluminum with no seal protection to prevent opening). Along with that, 2/4 people we came with had incorrect orders. My friend ordered an ICED shamrock latte and it was served hot. My other friend ordered a bacon and egg bagel, and the bacon looked so undercooked and the bagel was practically burnt. It appeared it was just microwaved, even though it took more than 10 minutes for the food to come out. The waitress came back to us multiple times to ask us what we had ordered and when confronted about the possible food being re-served to another table, the waitress seemed unaware of the food safety hazards that come from
re-serving food to another customer. As someone who previously worked in food service, this is completely unacceptable and could be a major health violation and danger to clients. Not to mention, after the confrontation, the employees were staring at us the entire time while we ate, causing us to leave very promptly. On our way out, no one said anything to us and it was not an enjoyable experience. I will not recommend this place to anyone, and advise others to not come here for their multiple safety hazards. There are numerous other reviews besides my own that show that this place is under bad management, improper training of employees, giving incorrect orders/someone else’s orders, and multiple food safety hazards.

Suzanne O. O.

I wanted to go to a place with comfy couches to read and this place has them! The music was too loud and the other customers were not rude, or of questionable character. The staff was kind but distant. Very nice restroom, I was surprised by its cleanliness and chic.

Natasha B.

I absolutely love this place! The coffee and food are unbeatable and I luv the vibe- if I ever had time, I'd sit and just chill. My fav breakfast is the whole wheat breakfast sandwich and I add bacon and it has grill marks on it + everyone is so nice!! I've gotten lunch and treats here too and they were amazing too!

Madeline T.

Re-served food that was already brought out to a different table. Staff was unwelcoming and when confronted about re-serving the food, employee was unaware of why that would be an issue. After that confrontation they stared at our table for the rest of our visit.

Edit: I am unsure of how to respond to your comment which is why I'm adding an edit here to respond. First of all nothing of my review was wrong and instead of spending time responding to comments maybe you should take a food service class (or at least your employees should). Second of all the burrito was opened because nothing was said about which one had bacon in it. Not to mention, nothing was said on our way out so do not attempt to lie about that, you may have talked to the people with me but nothing was said to me after I confronted your employee on her lack of knowledge about food saftey. Lastly, there are numerous reviews about misserving food, so clearly this is a major issue of this establishment. Thank you and focus on improving both your establishment and your food service review as it is clear there is much needed work.

Sarah Y.

Decent food. Great prices. Pastries were good. Carrot Cake was my favorite. Had a nice selection of alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks. Great place to meet friends for a quick bite/chat. Large parking lot across the street if street parking is full.

Kyle D.

Very cool retro 90s cafe. The chai and focaccia was excellent. My wife got a red bull based drink and she liked it too. The atmosphere was cozy and nostalgic. The prices are great too! We will be stopping here every time we come through Auburn now.

Malaelupe S.

The cafe has a nice vibe and there is ample seating available. I didn't like how there were so many flies though 😔. I had to throw away my food.