Royal Drummer Introduces Australian Coffee Culture to North Ballard

Royal Drummer, a coffee shop in the works since December, is "softly open" in North Ballard at 6420 24th Ave NW. The cafe will celebrate its grand opening tonight with a latte art competition at 7 p.m.

The business takes its inspiration from Australian cafe culture, which sees the coffee shop more as a place to socialize than pound espresso to fuel a busy laptop work session. Australia's cafes also tend to serve full-course meals, which Royal Drummer will do as well, all in an effort to encourage guests to sit and stay a while.

The cafe is opening with beans from Bellingham’s Camber Coffee, Seattle’s QED Coffee Roasters, Plowshares Coffee in New York City, and Ceremony Coffee Roasters in Annapolis, MD. Royal Drummer, which takes its name from an infamous Parisian tavern frequented by Louis XV and Marie Antoinette, will also offer a proprietary coffee blend called Antoinette Espresso produced by Camber Coffee.

Royal Drummer doesn't yet have its full breakfast and lunch menus ready (those will premier in the next week or so), but it does have Cloud City's popular coconut bread and a selection of housemade baked goods. There will also be a daily happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. with beer and wine specials.

6420 24th Ave NW, (206) 484-6693, website. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.