Working in Portland Coffee Shops and Cafes Reviews, part 2
11 comments Latest by elizabet Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:58:04 GMT
During the summer of 2005, I wrote a post that listed several coffee shops in Portland, Oregon that I found to be really good places to work on your laptop at. I’ve gotten bored with my regulars and have recently begun to look for new places to venture to.
Pier Coffee is in a weird part of Portland that is somewhat isolated due to the train tracks that will block you in when a long train is moving through town. It’s a very short walk from Allison’s place and they have Oregon Chai, which has become my replacement for drinking coffee. The chairs in Pier Coffee are very comfortable and they have an electrical outlet at most of their tables. When you get bored, you can walk over and play darts, or get a glass of wine. The wireless works really well and when it’s not raining, you can sit out front and overlook the train tracks and downtown, while hacking on your laptop. Pier Coffee is what I would consider an easy place for me to feel productive. There usually isn’t too many people here and I believe most of the customers are from the two condo complexes next to it. The staff is very friendly and their music tastes aren’t annoying.
Backspace is about a half block from the PLANET ARGON office. They don’t serve Oregon Chai, so I usually only get a tea, a viso, or a hot cocoa while there. They have a few tables and couches and I haven’t found this a good place to be productive. It’s a good place to have a short meeting with a coworker though. Music tastes are better here than most places, and they have a food menu now that caters to my vegetarian diet. There are a few electrical outlets, but the seats near them are often occupied.
Three Lions Bakery is about a block from the PLANET ARGON office. They do have Oregon Chai, so I stop by here often in the morning to get my fix. Not many electrical outlets, so your visits are usually not very long. They have a few sandwiches that are quite good. This is a good place to stop by if you’re in the mood to work for about a hour and have some chai and an excellent (and freshly baked) cookie.
If you’re in Portland and have some recommendations, please do share. I’m looking for a few places that are open later in the evening.
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World Cup (NW 18th & Glissan)
Great coffee. Limited food.
Moderate number of outlets.
Nice, clean atmosphere – though a bit sterile.
Closes fairly early.
Old Pharmacy Café (NW 21st & Glissan)
Mediocre coffee. Decent bagels, sandwiches, etc.
Tons of outlets.
Great counterspaces to spread out and work for the long haul. Some couch and cozy chair space. Music a bit loud sometimes.
Open 24 hours.
Coffee Time (NW 21st & Hoyt)
Mediocre coffee. Crappy food.
A few outlets.
A bit grungy.
Open 24 hours.
Anna Banana’s (NW 21st & Pettygrove)
Okay coffee. Okay food.
A few outlets.
A bit grungy, hippy-dippy atmosphere, but very friendly staff. Nice outdoor seating area.
Open ‘til midnight.
I like the World Cup in the Ecotrust building on NW 10th and Irving. The times I’ve been, it has been fairly quiet, and it’s been a good place to meet with people (unlike, say, Albina Press on N Mississippi—that place is noisy).
The employees seem pretty cool, perhaps because they get to choose the music, which has always been decent and not too loud.
There aren’t as many outlets as you might like, but the wireless seems reliable. There’s an area near the front with some big plush chairs and an area toward the back that is a little more private (it’s a fairly big place).
In addition to fair trade, organic coffee and tea, they’ve got some vegan snacks and Kombucha. Also, it’s right across from Hot Lips Pizza, where you can get vegan slices, beer, wine, and homemade blackberry soda.
Stumptown (SW 3d & Pine)
Good coffee. Limited food. Beer!
Very few outlets.
Can get a bit too loud and busy to really work.
Can’t remember how late they’re open.
Albina Press (N. Albina & Blandena?)
Good coffee.
A few of outlets.
A nice place to hang.
Unfortunately, closes at 8:00
I agree with Wyatt’s comments about the World Cup in the EcoTrust building, but I usually head to the one on 18th because it has the same coffee/food/atmosphere and there are more outlets and good seating.
Thanks for the recommendations! I was considering World Cup earlier as I haven’t been there yet. I’ll put it on my list of places to try this week.
Coffee House NW W. Burnside and Trinity
Definitely check them out. Serve Stumptown coffee, a bit of food, and are absolutely incredible. Consistently the best espresso in Portland from my experience. Plenty of outlets, cozy little place, and free Wi-Fi. They’d rather throw your drink out and make you a new one than serve you something mediocre. Highly recommended.
Hey,
I work at Backspace and I figured I’d bore you with a discussion about why we switched away from Oregon Chai.
The most basic issue is taste, which is obviously, totally subjective. To our palettes, OC is overly sweet & lacks complexity.
During our search for a new chai, Dragonfly emerged as the top contender for several reasons. They had a variety of formulations available, including both a sweet & spicy version, as well as a Rooibos-based uncaffeinated concentrate. It foams extremely well for a chai with such a short ingredient list. It’s also a local company with a focus on quality & customer service.
Their closest thing to Oregon Chai is the sweet version; it’s pretty close, but has enough spice remaining to balance the sweet.
We like to choose vendors, when we can, that we see as role models & leaders, like Stumptown, Hot Lips, etc.
This post does go a long way toward explaining why I see Dan & Allison a lot more often than you, though :D.
Pier looks really nice, and Coffeehouse is amazing & worth the walk up there. They have the espresso machine that I dream about. The new Stumptown cafe at 10th and Stark is also worth a trip.
Hey,
I work at Backspace and I figured I’d bore you with a discussion about why we switched away from Oregon Chai.
The most basic issue is taste, which is obviously, totally subjective. To our palettes, OC is overly sweet & lacks complexity.
During our search for a new chai, Dragonfly emerged as the top contender for several reasons. They had a variety of formulations available, including both a sweet & spicy version, as well as a Rooibos-based uncaffeinated concentrate. It foams extremely well for a chai with such a short ingredient list. It’s also a local company with a focus on quality & customer service.
Their closest thing to Oregon Chai is the sweet version; it’s pretty close, but has enough spice remaining to balance the sweet.
We like to choose vendors, when we can, that we see as role models & leaders, like Stumptown, Hot Lips, etc.
This post does go a long way toward explaining why I see Dan & Allison a lot more often than you, though :D.
Pier looks really nice, and Coffeehouse is amazing & worth the walk up there. They have the espresso machine that I dream about. The new Stumptown cafe at 10th and Stark is also worth a trip.
i suck at the internet.
Liked the post on lap top places and Chai. I’ll tell you my absolute favorite for atmosphere, and the best Chai I’ve had in a very long time; not the watered down stuff at usual cafe’s and coffee houses, but a really top quality Chai.
Cafe Delirium in historic downtown Gresham, only a few blocks south down main street from the Max Civic Station. Great atmosphere, all year; good lounging places, either couch or table, for laptop and small group discussions. ~ cat
Thanks for this list! Kudos for taking the time to put this together.
Muddy Waters SE 30th & Belmont (close to it), Open until 11, bingo on most Thursdays, fyi WiFI, veg & vegan options and good space, not too crowded *hummus & tomato sandwich on como for $2.50 and really good cinnamon/orange tea
Crema I live really close to this coffee shop. Pros: great, big tables to work on, good strong coffee Cons: food is not great for vegans, little expensive (but you are paying for quality) and closes at 6. :(