[3] Elm has a marble bar,[4][5] high industrial ceilings, and blue tables outside.

[9] Elm has served doughnuts from General Porpoise and other pastries.

[13][14][15] In 2020, the Daily Hive included Elm in a 2020 list of Seattle's twelve best coffee shops,[16] and Naomi Tomky included the business in Thrillist's overview of the city's best craft coffee shops.

[17] In Eater Seattle's 2024 list of the city's fourteen "essential" coffee shops, Mark Van Streefkerk and Harry Cheadle called Elm "a perfect place for stellar coffee, geeky yet approachable in a way that invites you to learn more about the finer points of brewing as well as harvesting and processing.

"[18] In 2024, Sophia Beam included the business in Tasting Table's 2024 list of the seventeen "absolute best" iced coffees in Seattle,[19] and Sydney Baker included Elm in a Fodor's list of the city's ten best cafes other than Starbucks.