This index is a list of all the interesting coffee shops I've visited with my commentary on their interior design. I am a furniture designer in SE Portland. I enjoy interior design and love thinking about coffee shops. I respect the hard work that these local businesses put into their space and try to keep my critique positive. I enjoy coffee flavors but I can't speak enough about the nuances so I'll mostly stick to interior style.
There can be a huge overlap between curated vintage and grannycore. Maybe because all of our grandmas were hip in the 60s, for obvious reasons the two are super similar. There's a cousin that I'll call "style absent" which has dated furniture that's a mixup of eras. Because this place is all 60s/70s finds I believe the deco is going for vintage. There are lots of houseplants around as well and this of course works with the huge windows and natural light and general 70s atrium vibe.
Seating
At first a judged the chairs as coffee shop generic, but have since decided that the style still is roughly 60s vintage. The Thonet bentwood style chair has become so common in restaurents and the like that I didn't notice at first that they correctly fit into the vintage style. There are bar stools in the elevated front window area, they’re a 2000’s era style economy wood barstool. The owners can be forgiven for the era mismatch, it's hard to find true 60s barstools as they're often either 50s diner style or bentwood that haven't aged well.
Lighting
Lots of table lamps and hanging chain type lamps. All mid century 60s style. Like the rest of the room it all has the feeling of authentic thrift store finds.
Tables
Coffee tables and side tables are a mix of formica style older particle board and newer pressed wood hairpin, and they mostly work well in the look. There’s some newer shaker style group tables that are inconsistent with the rest of the look.
Dishware/Coffee
Cappuccino was served with all the foam on top, white out, no obligatory leaf or heart. White medium sized cup with saucer, no spoon.
This place has a common comfortable neighborhood coffee shop feel. Not particularly design forward in my view, but comfortable and welcoming.
70s walnut gold and houseplants vibe. In general very well done with few misses. I’m not sure I would have included the vintage radio on the shelf, it leans too hard into to motif when the rest of the decor already does the job well. Classic 70s plants like Philodendron, Pothos and Spider plants. This place has the feel of intentionally curated style, but almost all purchased new instead of vintage finds. Because of this it all feels very clean and fresh, but vintage.
Seating
Eames type moulded chairs with pleasant green medium tooth canvas type padded covers. Walnut stained legs. Lighter quality but great look. Most cafes go for a more commercial chair so I appreciate the effort. In the corner two vintage finds? or just good replicas of 70s orange lounge chairs.
Lighting
is three quarter globe bronze pendants above the customer seating areas. Also interesting tri fixed pendants with naked bulbs above the bar that are more reminiscent of art deco but still work reasonably well.
Tables
mid-century styled reverse bevel square in walnut stain. Particle board with laminate surfaces but medium quality and fit well into the intended style.
Floor
The floor is so good. I’ve heard it came with the space and is so dominant that it lifts the question of whether it inspired the entire theme.
Really the only thing missing is shag carpet. I want to see the 70s theme pushed a little harder in that respect.
Feng Shui
The best seat in the room is to the right of the door in the corner facing the bar. Against the side slider that goes to the apartment lobby. Good views of everything and a nice table to work. The second place is to the left of the door in a windowed nook with the orange lounge chairs. Since it lacks a table it is less functional and the windows at your back makes it less private. It’s impossible to avoid the fact that the majority of the seating in this cafe is bar seating that faces outward. It’s one of my opinions that humans mostly don’t enjoy that type, we prefer to face in. This design decision resulted in more seating but less desirable type. In general this location makes good use of its space and will likely get better with time.
Dishware/coffee
Baked brown earthenware dishes are consistent with the intended theme, latte art that’s pretty standard (leaf, heart)
This unique heavy retro style is special in an era where modern industrial is practically the uniform for coffee shops. I enjoy the effort the owners made in making this vintage look and it fits in with the vintage enthusiasm that’s evident along Division street.
Modern styled coffee house in an urban business neighborhood. The entry also serves as a lobby for some glassed in offices and the elevator for the condos above. There’s a striking gold chain security curtain that partitions off the shop if needed. I was so interested in it that it’s all I could talk about at first to the barista. In general it’s pretty standard recent build coffee shop style, lots of metal, glass, and clear finished wood. Concrete floors are pretty standard now but I still love the look. There’s a unique herringbone tile and wood mosaic on the front of the bar that left me wondering what happens if the wood expands or contracts due to moisture. I guess time will tell.
seating
Upholstered seating is somewhat hotel lobby in style, not particularly adventurous but pleasant and likely comfortable. Style is vaguely modern, in that catchall that goes as “contemporary”. Cool light duty wooden dining chairs pair with built ins and angular tables. I enjoy the sharp edges and striking relief of the tables. I kept looking at the tables to see how they were made but I was too far away to get a good look. They appear to be RTA.
lighting
Mostly what came in the space. Can lights and possibly owner chosen pendants. There’s so much natural light from all the window and door units that not much is needed. There’s opportunity for some cool end table lamps if they wanted to add something.
fengshui
This one’s really good. Roughly L shaped around the bar area, seating around the exterior looks in, good, and the space is broken up well with sofas and single seating. Easy to find a comfortable space with your back covered. There’s an awkward space in front of the bar which has a tall bar stool set on a live edge that is a little too much on display for my taste but the tall stools of course drew my daughter in and so we sat there.
presentation
Cappuccino served in matching cup and saucer with stirring spoon. Latte artwork was a bit chaos but I know what it was trying to be. I feel the cup and saucer proportions were out of balance, I prefer the saucer being about 1/3 smaller. The point is to catch drips, not to serve as an eating surface but nobody cares about this like I do so it’s fine.
So Nova, I mean it’s great. It has that light modern almost scandi feel that makes it easy to go and enjoy yourself. It’s absolutely a place I’d go to again because it’s easy to feel bright and open and awake in the space.
Bare minimalism, wood tones with whites and lots of glass. Tile mosaic in the entry is a great touch. All the metal shelving, tables etc is powder coated and heavy in style. House plants. The aesthetic is almost Japanese modern. From a style perspective everything is exactly as I expected a coffee shop today to look: charcoal ceiling, white walls, wood floor, lots of glass and built in seating. The minimalism is well executed but not entirely comfortable.
seating
Simple utility low stools, art studio vibe, a long welded bench with galvanized metal and natural finish wood. No cushions in the whole place continuing the minimal style. The booth I sat in was either designed to have cushions or had the table height set incorrectly. Based on the low feel of the seat I think the table is at a standard 30” and the seats are low.
tables
Welded heavy base, bolted to the floor, everything is powder coated. Natural oak top with lacquer.
lighting
feng shui
It’s really good. Door on the side enters into a tiled step in area, then you have to walk around the corner to get to the bar, and there’s a large shelving matrix in the middle which blocks the bar from the seating. This gives some cover for the cafe area and places to hide. This place does a good job at providing a selection of cozy spots, although absent cushions.
presentation/coffee
Not surprisingly the cup and saucer are white on white, well proportioned, served with spoon. Partially blended cappuccino in heart shape, basically what I’ve come to expect. The drip was a lighter roast and enjoyable, but maybe a little sour? I’m not a coffee flavor expert but some brews tend to have sour edges and this felt like that.
My exit thoughts about Good Coffee are that it executes sparse minimalism well. I’m left trying to decide if I want to sit in that environment for very long as it isn’t heavy on cushions and comfort. Perhaps that’s the point, to give people a place for just long enough and then keep them moving on their day. The almost buddhist bare setting does tend to focus me on my work well, so it’s a good location for getting digital work done.
super mega heavy industrial
Raw wood, raw metal, old industrial size accents.
Big heavy chandelier, big heavy coffee table made from solid 6x6 beams, houseplants, old photo prints.
Like everywhere, vaguely indie ambient soundtrack
seating
Bonus points for having a sofa, most coffee shops now don’t have soft seating. It’s a large L sectional that wraps around a big block of a coffee table made from solid posts. All other seats are worn wooden barstools, two heights to match the two bar heights (36” and 42”).
feng shui
We’re on a downhill slope and this building is designed with one part of the space two steps lower. It’s a great fit for the space. You order in the upper area, then walk a few steps down into the seating area. Looking closer, the seating area is supposed to be a lobby area for the building we’re in, and they sort of walled it off to make it the coffee shop. That’s why there’s a garage door hanging in the door between the two spaces.
Only problem is here we see my #1 sin of having the bulk of the seating single bar seating facing outward. Not many people here this morning and of course nobody is in those seats. The best seat is on the end of the couch next to the fireplace facing the bar.
presentation/flavors
Probably the best cappuccino cup to saucer proportion yet. Deep colored latte art. Strong toward bitter flavored, which I enjoy. I have to note that the drip coffee here is among the strongest I have experienced. It’s delightful, and very stiff. They have several kinds as you’d expect from a roaster.
There’s a lot of small details that make Stumptown really pleasant.
The two coffee tables in the lounge area that are made from 9x9 groups of 12x12 beam chunks.
Built in benches with cushioned backs that are beautiful and yet still feel good as you sit down.
The concrete floor that’s not pretending to be old, it just is old, and has an amazing patina and texture and saw marks.
The huge skylight above the lounge area that brings such a lightness to the area and makes the separated space bearable and even enjoyable.
feng shui
Just to head here first, this is the biggest thing with the space, it’s hard to work with the way it’s structured. It’s basically two halves, and one side has the lounge/seating, and one half has the bar, roasting equipment, and entry. There’s a large opening that joins the two, but it doesn’t do well at linking the spaces. The biggest challenge is a pocket of windowless space in the lounge. Luckily its balanced by all the light on the other end where there’s a glass rollup and skylight. I don’t find myself ever wanting those seats in the pocket, but they might be acceptable for those who wish to hide with their laptop. The best seat is in the middle of the lounge, facing the opening and the bar, on the bench with the cushioned back.
seating
As I previously mentioned, the oak benches with leatherette cushioned backs are wonderful, and I love that they hang off the wall on big heavy brackets. The brackets are fashioned in such a way so that it results in a slight curve which should make it more comfortable. The bulk seating at all the tables are blacked out scandi farmhouse stick built chairs. They’re fine. I can understand why they went with them because the whole lounge area is leaning on that black white farmhouse style with the farmhouse angular white pendants as well.
presentation
Burnt brown cup and saucer in perfect proportions. Served without a spoon. I never use the spoon, but somehow I’m missing it? Like wanting to get the invite even if you know you can’t attend the party? It’s nice to have options even if you never exercise them. They’re extra fancy with their name engraved on the inside of the cup so as you drink it appears. It’s done so a right handed drinker will see it. A left hander, like in so much of the rest of their experience in life, will miss out.
A lot of coffee shops wear some version of the modern concrete floors raw metal, natural wood uniform. This isn’t really different in any way. It might have been the “first” in the area, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m often looking for something different, and this doesn’t really have that, but it is a pleasant space and deserves a small amount of respect for their history. I'd best summarize the style as modern hipster farmhouse. Big clock, 50s style overhead fan, vinyl on the shelves with a stereo head unit.
Americana hardware store styled cafe. I try to keep this to only coffee shops but I needed a coffee shop in montavilla because I was over here for errands on a Saturday morning and this was one of the only ones that wasn’t a chain. So the theme really is schoolhouse americana. Photos everywhere in patchwork puzzle on the walls of politicians. 50’s 60’s 40’s era. The style fits in with the montavilla stark street mainstreet zone. Schoolhouse pendant lighting.
Seating is cafe basic, there’s a few long church pews against the back wall that serve as the base for all the cafe tables. Also loose tables out in the middle. A good coffee shop ratio of two seater tables to community spots and bar seating. That said about the seating, the chairs are not the most common, they are an older style of a schoolhouse chair that has more filling in the backrest.
Fung Shui
Because the space is basically a general store that’s turned into a cafe it’s just a big open room with 1/3 partitioned away for the kitchen area, and the rest open. Major beam line in the middle does help, but nothing really tries to break big open space. I want to see some sofas or houseplants or something to give people a space to hide a little. Glass at the front, no windows and gets darker as you slide further back.
Presentation
I ordered drip here instead of my usual cappuccino and had their quiche as it only felt right given the cafe vibe. Drip comes in my least favorite type of mug, the super heavy half inch thick rimmed hourglass mug. It does a good job of keeping the coffee hot, which is the redeeming quality. White basics for dishware.
Overall. I’m not instantly drawn to the schoolhouse America hardware store style but variety is nice. Still not the most comfortable because of how open it is, the cozy factor could still receive some effort. I do feel like I’m in a hometown cafe and that does give me some nostalgia. Its funny in a way, that I can be in urban portland and find a space like this, but if you walk out the door and look at the street it’s on you can see how it fits in well.
White architectural modernism. Everything, walls, ceiling white out job. Distressed concrete floors. White oak accents at the bar and tables A few houseplants but mostly this one is bare. Retro inspired bulbous pendants.
Lots of windows, lots of light.
Seating
A bunch of genuine hot mesh chairs everywhere in white. It’s rare to see designer chairs in a coffee shop, even though these are quite robust, typically I’d see knockoffs here. Outdoor seating is simple all metal barstools that are more squared out then typical, also in white.
Tables
All white oak, custom build of bar tables and main large community seating tables. Waterfall type with heavy ends of white oak. All powdercoated white metal bracketing. It’s all well done and high quality.
Feng Shui
Despite having the design so meticulously curated I can’t escape the feeling that there’s no obvious nice spot to sit. Lots of seating around the outside, but it’s facing out as they often do. To the idea’s credit, the seating facing out does feature large storefront windows but the view is of the side of a gas station and other utility areas so it’s not drawing me in for that reason. There’s two large community tables which is where I settled. There’s also plenty of outdoor seating, which is where half the people are sitting today. The entry is in the middle and it leads directly to the order area, after which you can branch out to either side. On the far left is a roastery corner. It’s all pretty bare and open with few places to hide.
Dishware
I like the drip cups here. They are a more vertical sided small medium mug with the handle a little more streamlined than I’d prefer. Nonetheless it isn’t the normal dreaded hourglass style megathick meg and the drinking rim is nice and thin so it’s great.
Architectural minimalism with a nice emphasis on white oak. It feels clean and modern and a little too bare for me but I can understand if it is perfect for other tastes. If they were to paint the hvac tubes muted colors that would liven it up and stay consistent with what they’re doing. From a coffee perspective I always enjoy their roast and quality.
Beautiful blue china type tile bar. Natural wood of variated colors for the backsplash, all the tables and shelves are rimmed with cyan. The owners are from Brazil and while the general coffeeshop vibe is basic concrete glass modern, they do a good job of giving it some color and flavor. Lots of houseplants and travel photos on the wall helps too.
Seating
Light quality mass produced modern bentwood chairs, z lounge chairs, standard issue sheetmetal barstools in white. The bar is very low, maybe at 30”, because the window it’s at is so low. The means they went for super low barstools, they are probably at 20”, nearly chair height. Two cool wire cyan chairs as well. I know they were leaning into the other turquoise that is happening around but they should have done a new color.
Tables
A curious mix of basic single pedestal tables with oak tops and sit/stand motorized type desks which is weird but I understand they’re going for the coworking type crowd? Still feels strange in a coffeeshop, especially the way they’ve done it. Outside are some baby picnic tables that are just for two people in a dark painted finish. Would have loved to see them natural. Standard issue live edge bar at the window at the aforementioned low hight.
Feng Shui
The whole place is essentially a long hallway with an entrance on one side and an exit or entrance on the other side that goes into the office building. It’s multifunctional but lends itself into being too efficient for foot traffic. Also limits the indoor seating to being next to the wall and it’s a little tight. One of the guiding principles of Feng Shui is that you’re trying to keep the good spirits in but making the interior broken up so they get lost inside while searching for the exit. In this case once entered they can just coast straight out the back door. Luckily in this case the back door enters into an office lobby so at least they’ll go there and we all could use more good spirits in the workplace.
Overall
This is a chain that has three locations and they are really proud of their branding and it’s maybe a little heavy? All the cups have it, exterior signs, window painting, bags of beans…I think part of it is that it’s not subtle, it’s red on white and so it sticks out as a little corporate of a feel in a city that embraces more of the natural small shop type. It’s in a really good location, a busy spot on the corner of Ladd and Division and so while it may never be the spot for the ultra locals it will always get good foot traffic and do fine.
Photos (google reviews)
Website
Sign on the wall says established in 1991 and indeed that’s exactly how it feels inside. It looks and feels like being in the coffee shop from Friends. Posters for upcoming local faire at the checkout, colorful oversized mugs, a rack of magazines, books on shelves, a large clock. A picture rail and lots of artwork on the wall from local artists. Heavily distressed concrete floors. This space has seen a lot of life since it opened 30 years ago and it shows.
Seating
Massively functional utilitarian basic. Metal cafe style chairs with vinyl padded covers, black on black. They’re the type you buy when you want them to last forever and that’s your priority number one. Barstools are sturdy chunky wooden type, thankfully not the most common type, instead a heavier stronger version of the same classic basic. There’s a green sagging vintage sofa, a 60s find that’s rounded in all ways and includes a low skirt to cover its feet.
Tables
Some 40’s art deco type pedestal tables designed for two or three, and two larger four person wooden farmhouse type, one is so worn, one just purchased. Two areas of bar seating, on each side of the entry doors, live edge type granite with lots of color variation, like they loved in the 2000s.
Feng Shui
It’s a “big jug” type of space. You enter through the single entry exit point and are immediately in the whole space which is one big room with seating all around. Covid has taken its toll on the experience some and the bar is armored with lexan windows everywhere. This space has their own spin on it and has their shields framed in literal fancy artwork frames suspended from the ceiling by fishing line. It’s amazing and weird and works well for their style. Lots of sort of wasted space in the open room, but after being in business for so long I guess they know how much seating they need. Perhaps most of their business is to go.
One more thing, outside the building, there’s a little tight alley space to the left that has a ton of foliage and some seating and is really cozy and beautiful. There’s a window to the ally space where you can place an order if you wish. I wanted to sit in that space but I wouldn’t be able to see and talk about the interior but next time.
Overall
This is another basics type coffee shop that isn’t particularly design forward, it’s just a nice space for locals to get coffee and read a magazine, probably like they have been for 20 years. Now it’s common to see coffee shops selling drip for $3-4 but theirs is just $2 and refills for $0.75. Lots of affordable pastries as well. It’s friendly and comfortable and I really enjoy it, even if the interior isn’t striking out in any new direction.
Desert white on white on white with neon. It’s a modernists dream and it’s very small. So small in fact that the first time I visited I realized that my laptop wasn’t charged and there was no indoor seating so I wouldn’t have enough battery to work outside. So I left to go somewhere else.
The style of the place made me want to come back so I returned knowing that I’d be sitting outside. There isn’t any indoor seating, unless the picnic table under the overhang outside counts. It’s a unique space that hosts the bar and a tiny bit of merch, and nothing else.
Lighting is single hanging pendants with enlarged bulbs. Tall ceiling at 12 or 14ft. It’s an attached space to the coworking space next door and likely the same ownership.
Exterior is similar to the minimalist interior, desert white stucco with natural wood trim. Same color scheme on the picnic tables, white metal with natural wood tops and benches.
I’m attracted to Never Coffee because of how severe their design is but I find the actual function as a coffee shop to be difficult. If the mutual owner of the coworking space were to open some of the adjoining space to the public it would make the coffee shop easier to choose more often. It is really pleasant to sit out next to Belmont street with my coffee but that experience is largely dependent on the weather being comfortable.
I call this style Japanese Modern. It’s modern that’s leaning on woodwork and built ins that are compact and pod like. As expected from another spot from a small local chain, the interior shares similarities with their other location on Division. Oddly one similarity is that the seats are again a little low for the tabletop height. I expect the same builder makes all the furniture so this makes sense but it’s still funny. The style is of course modern architectural white with heavy with houseplants and lots of open shelving. This location takes it a little farther with a super high (16’?) ceiling and so of course the shelves just keep going up the wall. The standout is a little cedar tree fort nook that’s inaccesable to us but still enticing and fun.
Tables/chairs
Like the other location, most of the tables and chairs are from a large built in steel bar with all these low light quality industrial stools. In a departure from their aesthetic this location has two cast iron decorative who knows maybe vintage pedestal tables with hardwood tops. Unlike the Division location, the seats on the built in benches have leather on them but they are still too low. Some builder must be working from their normal built in spec but without recognizing that no 4” cushion will be applied here.
Feng Shui
Like the other location this also has a donut style layout. It’s generally great and breaks up the room well. Most anyone else would have just done a few double tables in that space but the tall built in breaks up the room and provides respite from the bar’s gaze. The restroom is under the tree fort thing and having that all happening in the corner is interesting and fun and further breaks up the space.
Overall
There’s some killer sphere inside sphere pendants going on. The same wonderful tiled entry with their “Good” branding. Their modern aesthetic and hex and triangle patterns are everywhere. Schoohouse large pendants over the bar is something I wish were different. I get that they fit the modern style but I’d rather see more hypermodern and less vintage modern to match all the Japanese modern going on.
Bright airy, surrounded by windows on two sides. Muted globe pendants. Maybe this place has just opened but everything seems brand new. Flawless tables, chairs, benches everything is perfect and without wear.
Pretty classic coffeeshop uniform, polished concrete floors - metal pedestal tables with wood tops - houseplants - white walls - bar with tiled front. This does have some unique spaces though. Has a nook alcove in bright green with seating in it and a cool wallpaper backdrop. The bar backspash is gloss glass pink. In general this space is premium modern feeling. A little more cocktail bar than coffee shop.
Seating
Modern waxed pine scandi chairs. Remind me of starbucks, possibly the same vendor. Lots of commercial type built in benches with cushions. Tall bar on the side looking outward with the same style barstools. It’s rare to see anyone do a different bar stool then the usual all metal or all wood basic, so it’s nice to see these.
Feng Shui
Another donut shaped space, which is effective and works well. Door on the corner. It’s a double door, which I don’t think it needed to be. No fault to the business, just the building architect’s choice. To have a double on such a small space feels odd. A big brutalist stone column is in the center of the donut with a header above it that’s equally formidable. Nondescript jazzy common music playing.
Perhaps this is a coffee shop that was just born and has all the glow and innocence of those early days. The total perfection of every item makes it feel like I’m sitting in an ikea mockup of a coffee shop. I don’t want to take points away from a space that’s done everything right but it feels like this place doesn’t have a soul yet.
Photos (google reviews)
Website
Modern industrial style heavy iron type place. Shelves made from schedule 40, heavy stool made from welded bases and wood chunks, lots of black. Heavy black and white theme. Great name. Disappointed that they did not lean harder into their name and make the place feel global or worldly or thematic.
Seating
Chairs are a bentwood variety, all black. There’s a couple of high chairs for little kids, which is rare to see in a coffee shop. There’s the aforementioned tall stools made from 3/4” square tube welded and powdercoated with stained fir tops. The one fun element is the bench at the back, in a 60s cafe style cyan with matching pattern wallpaper behind it. It looks really inviting and it’s where I’m sitting.
Tables
Super uber standard butcherblock/maple glue up tops on pedestal bases. Built in bar seating at the window with quartz top. Its ok.
Feng shui
Delightful irregular line between waitstaff and public areas, breaks up the space well. A few posts also in the middle which help. The back and side walls are by far the most interesting with logo, tiles, a cool board showing what’s on tap, and a all fir capped section of the wall which hides the bathroom.
In summary, the name is better than the space. Nothing they’ve done is wrong, it just needs more. At the moment it’s fulfilling the basic uniform of a coffee shop. To make this space live up to itself I think it needs to lean into the name and make the space seem more related to that theme. Tell us what the virtues are, and hang on them for style. This shop is on Hawthorne, a street that’s funky and touristy and fun. A little more effort and this would fit in well.
Oh my. Huge 12’ ceiling fans, concrete floors, soaring ceilings an old freight elevator, it’s all happening at the Honey Latte Cafe. The space is modern warehouse industrial and so good at it. There’s offices clustered around the space but in general it looks like a co-working type coffee shop that has an unusual amount of space.
Seating
Mix of hive modern wire chairs, and either real vintage or vintage inspired Eames type classroom moulded fiberglass chairs with padding. There’s some cut plywood chairs with metal bases over in the corner that are cool as well. Couches are vintage mustard 60s salvation army type finds that are in great condition.
Tables
live edge top, single metal pedestal tables. Large fir community tables with a contrasting middle brace.
There’s two incredible sheetmetal cantilevered tables outside that are hanging off the railing. They’re 60” long and wedge shaped. Finally some 70s round office tables with formica tops that match up with the vintage moulded chairs well.
Feng shui
It’s really pleasant, although from a strict feng shui perspective there’s a door and a garage door on each side exactly facing each other which would technically allow all the good vibes to enter and directly exit. But the space is so good that it’s hard to imagine them wanting to leave quickly. There’s enough breaking up the space in the middle around the bar with the large defunct freight elevator that the space works. Also several offices all using the coffee shop as a lobby helps.
There’s so much here that's great.
Half oil barrels of plants, arcade game, vintage designer chairs, great plywood and sheetmetal cladding on selective walls and popouts, big glass garage doors for summer. This is all too much for a single coffee shop to afford, so it works that the space really is a lobby for the companies that lease space in the adjoining rooms. For the public that gets to come in and work or chat here the space feels open airy cosmopolitan. Because it’s off the nearby Hawthorne it might not be found by as many people but it’s a total gem.
Well it’s amazing. I landed here on accident walking to another coffee shop nearby. Glanced through the window into this Mediterranean deep narrow ornate space and saw the coffee name and decided on this instead. If I were to separate pdx coffee shops into noStyle/Modern/Eclectic, this would be the latter, and maybe at the foremost of the latter. This does pretty well at holding firm to its vision with a few misses. In some ways it’s pretending to be a greek restaurant, but in a rundown downtown kind of way. It’s surprising and super pleasant and cozy.
Seating/tables
Not perfectly in character. vinyl wood print tables, albeit on iron black pedestals, but table top quality shows. Sheetmetal formed classic diner style chairs in black. And then there’s this side seating area off to the left that has a bunch of 50s style diner booths.
Feng Shui
At first glance you’d say it’s not great. Bowling alley bar style shotgun deep space with a door at the end and a back door at the other end. Bar in the middle. But next to the bar there’s a odd side door and then suddenly there’s all this other seating space. So from a spirits perspective, they really could get lost if they took a left. All this suggests that I am sitting down to the left given the optimal good vibes there but I can’t bear to because the decor is better in the entryway. The seating space to the left has no windows and is really a basement type space and feels like being in a hole so I can't live there but there appears to be plenty of people who aren't as picky as me and find is just fine.
Coffee
I mean the cappuccino was served in a large well drink glass. First time I’ve had that, no saucer or spoon. They have a wall of funky different drinks and a space for you to instagram! your drink if you desire. The window says “and roastery” so maybe they roast their own beans? All the coffee related part is different than the ceramic cup norms and I appreciate the refresh.
Last thoughts
Let me try to describe the space a little more. Carved old world style picture frame, two greco/flamenco style columns, beat up concrete floor with green dye, peeling peel and stick wood paneling, a bar area with chain lighting, fake ivy crawling everywhere..
On a rainy day like today it’s a really pleasant space.
This coffee shop is different than the usual and trying to be. In this case they have so little competition for the weird that they're doing just fine.
Photos (google reviews)
Website
Modern industrial space that’s open and vacant in the middle (probably pandemic). Maybe I need to find and go to the original Heart coffee that has the roaster in it, it might have more character and may be more interesting. Heart on Burnside starts out pretty good, as you walk in there are large illustrations of bugs and snakes and animal life in scientific style. Though a hanging sign asks us to avoid disturbing the roaster while at work somehow I don't really believe them. This location feels like a satellite coffee shop and it's clear no roaster is here or has ever been here. In many ways this space has yet to gain significant character. I’m guessing it has to be the pandemic because the whole center of the space is empty. I’m sure in the past there were clusters of tables there. I simply can’t evaluate a place based on what it might have been, rather what is currently is is ultimately what matters. It’s a bit sparse, a bit blank. It feels like a starbucks that’s about half moved in. Maybe the chain grew too fast and the founder's love has been spread too thin.
Seating/Tables
Tables are a beautiful rich walnut wood, appearing to be solid. Mostly pedestal style but at least have a stainless base that’s less common. There’s a striking large built in seating feature that wraps around the corner when you enter. The backing wood is manufactured wood that’s prefinished flooring. My gripe with prefinished flooring is of course that the seams between the wood panels is so evident, but the seating feature looks pretty good. There are tall stools that are really beautiful modern schoohouse style and look premium. There’s also some short stools everywhere that are ubiquitous stamped sheetmetal. They’re fine but not worth writing about.
Feng shui
“P” shaped experience with the door on one side and flow circling in to the right. The built ins do a good job of making the space less plain. The primary built in is right next to where people will naturally line up for their orders, which isn’t ideal. You don’t want to sit next to the queue.
Again, because the space is so hollowed out (because of the pandemic?) it’s hard to really evaluate a space with such a big vacancy in it.
Last thoughts
With a name as great as it is I wanted it to be better. The Burnside location at least is just a basic modern coffee shop without anything to write home about. They have several locations and I’m guessing they’ve made their name by being a roaster. The interior design is pretty basic and feels like it needs someone to take control and do something interesting. The fact that they have no wifi means that during my whole visit people were struggling with their phones for hotspots. In this modern age having a coffeeshop without wifi feels unexcusable. Hopefully it's just a temporary thing.
I’ll be interested to come back in a year or so and see if it’s grown into the space better because with a name like Heart I really want to love them.
Photos (google reviews)
Website
MMMMMmm baltic birch. This is unfair to other coffee shops in that they’ve used plywood everywhere in super tasteful ways. Unfair because I’m a plywood furniture builder and when I come in to some place and see celebrated plywood used everywhere looking so good it creates a crushing bias. Color scheme is cyan on natural. It’s done everywhere and risks being too perfect a uniform but it’s so pleasant that it’s hard to be too picky. Otherwise it’s a tall modern airy feel coffee shop with a roasting machine in the corner and a few other oddities such as a projector hanging down and a killer rack of 60s style lockers.
Seating
60s era machinist industrial chairs that look vintage but based on the quantity, uniformity and plastic use on the knob are likely recent. Super cool though. They’ve been painted cyan but the seats and backs are still clear coated natural. There’s a big birch plywood built-in booth in the corner. All the warm wood looks inviting even though it’s without cushions. Some barstools in the corner that mimic the same look and are probably the same manufacturer.
Tables
Double layer europly birch mounted on custom metal frames. The ones by the wall hang off the wall with these cool heavy duty brackets that are made from 2” square tube stock. I should mention the bar at this point, it’s made from quarter inch powdercoated steel that has their name engraved in the front and it waterfalls the edge about 1/5th of the way. It’s so cool, ugh it is.
Feng Shui
It feels balanced in here. Door at the corner, Lots of nooky spaces due to the two big concrete posts that they had to work around. Group table in the middle helps break up the space. The cozy nest nook plywood built in booth forms an escape at the end away from the door so there’s a space for positive spirit to congregate.
Last thoughts
Cyan/plywood/concrete. Add in vintage inspired touches like those chairs and the tube amplifier and tape deck with an ample dispersement of potted plants and it just feels like they have the hip kid playlist on loud. It’s pretty far from my house and so I can’t make it my regular but I would if I could. It’s only 6 blocks or so from my shop though... You know that feeling when you see something that’s so good that it makes you a little irritated that you didn’t do it, get there first? This is it. Ugh it’s great.
Walking in I immediately knew I’d have lots to talk about. There’s a bunch of things that individually are great and some big things that are wrong and when I walked in I could feel it. The elephant in the room is the bar area, which looks like it’s been optimized for efficiency, like a fast food restaurant. Flat panels for menus, large bold font for pickup and ordering signs, basic branded garish colored to go cups in big stacks on the counter.
But if you shift your gaze to the lobby area it really is fine and would fit in as any other craft 3rd wave coffee shop.
Quality mid-century styled lounge chairs around low tables, bent formed plywood barstools and pedestal chairs around standard issue live edge tables with steel welded pedestal bases. It’s all fine. It’s just that bar.
I’ve wanted to try Portland Coffee Roasters because I’ve seen their beans prominently in the grocery store. I felt like I needed to try the drip in their coffee shop before buying a bag because I was skeptical of their quality. Now I’m here and I’m tasting it and it’s fine. Let’s keep going.
Tables/seating
Like I said, tables are all standard issue square tube welded with live edge. That’s become the safe uniform of coffee shops in the pacific northwest. There’s a group of midcentury style lounge chairs around low gold and white tables which is nice. Next some overly complicated formed plywood pedestal chairs and some Eames style formed plywood bar stools.
Feng Shui
I’m glad they put in the somewhat gaudy paper birch partition because it does draw the eye once you walk in and makes a sense of other space. Otherwise it’s typical coffee shop sized room with tables in the middle and bar stools on the outside. Door on the corner. The paper lantern style square pendants make a really cozy space with the lounge chairs.
Last thoughts
I do try to keep my writing positive but some of my negativity in this review comes from my dislike of their branding and how that same style leadership has continued into this coffee shop experience. It’s really simplistic and in this business basic accidentally communicates lower quality. The reason I didn’t give their coffee a try in the store was because the bag looked like a store brand. The building exterior of this shop continues the branding basic style and when your name is already as simple as the name of the city you operate in all of that sort of adds up. I think a simple change like making a more ornate brand label and identity and then following it up in the chain of coffee locations would go a long way.
It’s taken me a couple minutes to figure out where to start with this one. True to Portland form this coffee shop is different. Tucked into the neighborhood the location is already off the main Glisen route and feels quite neighborly. When I walked in I felt disorientated, it’s hard to understand what the space is, how it’s so large and grand. What’s happening is that the space is leased from a church and effectively operates in the church lobby. In one sense it doesn’t feel like a church lobby, but then on the other hand you can’t avoid the back wall being a gorgeous entry to a church auditorium. Cafe’s in church lobbies are nothing new, but usually they’re owned and operated by the church. In this case the coffee shop is separate, and they’ve done a lot of their own decorating, but the feeling of being in a church lobby can’t be overcome.
Chairs/tables
There’s a bent/formed table made from melamine and polished wood that has Ikea stools paired with it. The stools are too short for most people to sit properly even if the looks is reasonably modern. There’s a bunch of wall mounted bar tables made from welded steel with the welds ground off and loosely polished and fir dimensional lumber topping it. Those are paired with common sheetmetal stools. A hairpin tall standing table with thick white top, a window seat with sheetmetal chairs Ikea pedestal tables. A church pew that does look wonderfully vintage but also drives home where we are. Finally some tall wing back mesh accent chairs in grey with cushions add an almost cozy element.
Feng Shui
It’s open. Too open. The ceilings are so high and there are so many doors and windows that it feels airy and light but also loosely underused and stark. It’s not the coffee shop’s fault per se, it’s a fact of the location, but it’s still the feeling. I think it could benefit from more central tables, but there may not yet be enough customer base to warrant it.
Overall
I’m sorry, being in this location makes it impossible for me to fully separate the coffee shop’s individual business with the business and opulence of the church. The lobby is so grand with its soaring ceilings and endless glass windows and polished concrete. I’m left contemplating the role of churches and if their congregate funds ought to be spent on such finery. Like I said earlier, it’s hard to focus on the coffee shop in its own right. That’s probably where I leave it. Attending this shop is also literally setting foot inside the church again, and that’s a place that I find mentally distracting and a space that I don’t currently want to frequent.
Small little coffee cave . Raw wood and black type aesthetic. The name and logo are really good, so I was interested in seeing the space. The style is pretty standard for pdx, machinists stools, built in pedestal tables with natural slab tops, distressed concrete floors. The size is what surprises, it’s quite small inside. About enough for 6 people on laptops or a max of maybe 10 total. It’s really cozy with shelves and merch everywhere, a deer’s bust on the wall, a built in seat along the side wall.
Seating/tables
The aforementioned built in bench is custom and wraps the corner a little bit. Steel square tube and wood top mini tables next to it. Solid fir cube “stump” type seats. Then machinist stools are next to an outward facing bar. All of this is equally cool but also pretty normal for a coffee shop now.
Feng Shui
It’s so tight that there are less problems with space utilization and prevention of open floor space. It’s more a situation of trying to use the inside well. It’s a corner entry with the bar in the apposing corner. Usually I’d take issue with bar stool seating facing outward, but in this case I don’t think they have many other options. The furnishings along with lots of edison bulbs make the space cozy and that’s a good feeling.
Last thoughts
With any coffee shop I like to ask myself “what is it that they do?” You know, do they roast, do they do interior design, are they filling a spot in the neighborhood? They are on a pretty wide fast moving street and on the edge of a neighborhood with no other coffee around. Since they don’t roast, I think it’s the style they’re going for. Baristas wear heavy duck type aprons, the brand is pretty prominently displayed, some pretty deliberate style decisions were made. I Iike the name and logo but I’m just not sure that they pushed it as far as they can for the best outcome. Like at Seven Virtues, with such a good name comes an expectation that something there will be different or exceptional. It’s fitting the need for a neighborhood coffee shop but as far as a strong lever off their great name it’s not quite there.
The first thing I noticed inside was the fantastic board-formed concrete walls, a stepped ceiling made from rough dimensional lumber, and the occasional use of glass bricks. I love the industrial style electrical conduit routing along the walls and the big exposed i-beams holding the ceiling. Glass along the east wall provides lots of light in the morning, houseplants, edison bulb chandeliers, it feels great inside. I find myself coming back to this place as a semi regular because it’s set up so well for the work from home crowd and has plenty of space. Among other amenities, this has the only zoom/phone booths that I’ve seen in a coffee shop. They’ve done a bit to make it really easy to come here and work and I love it. There’s this one little thing. It’s connected to a church. For me and other recovering post evangelicals spending time in a church or church sponsored thing can be triggering and you have to weigh that feeling against the really good space that they’ve built. There’s nothing about the space that says “it’s a church!” but the knowledge that it’s connected to/sponsored by is enough to at least linger in my mind.
Chairs/Tables
Chairs are standard issue formed Tolix replica sheetmetal chairs in black. A few side chairs in vegan leather and Tolix inspired barstools as well. Tables are also typical black pedestal tables with natural maple tops. A fir built in bar along the side and a corian type bar for drinks. As you can see the furniture doesn’t really do the heavy lifting here.
Feng Shui
It’s a fairly long meandering space that’s filled with tables and chairs and thankfully has a bussing cart in the middle of the walk to break it up. Like many places, this would benefit from having a tall partition that breaks up the space better but it still works because of how high the ceiling is. The unusual stepped ceiling is cove backlit and serves as a focal point and distracts the eye nicely. You enter on the far side, and then proceed to the bar, then over to the main seating area but there’s really areas all around to sit. In fact the seating nooks are so numerous that it feels unusually private and pleasant. Some of the nookieness is made by the two zoom boxes which are private spaces with glass doors and a stool inside. They look amazing but I haven’t had the reason to use them.
Last thoughts
I love glass brick and setting it with trailing houseplants like pothos is just really wonderful. The cozy atmosphere coupled with all the spaces to sit and good lighting plus private phonebooths, they’ve done a great job. Like I mentioned earlier the church connection is irksome but it’s not stopping me from making it a regular spot. PDX has a hundred places to get coffee and so you don’t have to come here if the religious affiliation is a dealbreaker but you’ll be missing out on a truly great spot to sit and work in the morning.
Maybe it’s the proximity to the water, but this style is modern industrial nautical? It’s not even that with certainty, but it’s clearly more than boilerplate modern industrial. Located in the underbelly of a high rise it does feel cavernish and dark because of all the huge concrete supports and dark wood.
This is my first venture over to the west side after hitting most of the coffee on the eastside that is within biking distance. The people already, are different. More young people in suits, and more retired aged persons. I’m enjoying the change of scenery even if the vibe isn’t as laid back as I’m used to.
Back to the nautical feel. There’s sort of a raised sitting area that has huge wide-plank wood backing for the built in seating. The bar has an A-frame shelving system filled with alcohol (for night time) which has a series of outrigger type joists spreading out supported by rope or cable. On the end of each is a light. Many of the metal chairs have leather wrapping the top of each. Houseplants. A large living moss artwork hanging off one wall.
Seating
Sheetmetal stools but not common in style. Rather they are three legged designer pieces with lots of segments and leather wrapping the top. Then there’s more four legged more common sheetmetal stools which are also leather wrapped. Finally some Tolix model A chairs.
Tables
Mostly live edge. A little different than usual in they are matt finished with soft edges. There’s a complex variety of stainless surfaces on the bar area that are made from both new and recycled materials. It’s cool.
Feng Shui
Pretty good. Door over at one corner and another exit far at the other corner. It also has a entry to a hotel lobby right near the bar. Lots of little cozy spots to tuck yourself into. The raised seating area in the back has a herringbone wood floor and is polygon shaped with more little nooks. I love the variety.
Final thoughts
This is a nice bar. It feels like a classy downtown bar, less so a coffee shop. I’ve often felt that having a coffee shop and a bar are such similar businesses that owners of those businesses should seriously consider whether they can do both in order to leverage their interior space for more hours every day. But in this case it’s so obviously a bar that it makes coffee house more of a stretch. It’s too dark and polished and fancy like a bar. Nothing cheers me up or makes me want to be here before 6 or 7 at night. I can see myself here at 10:30PM for sure but the dark cavern isn’t really my ideal for waking up with coffee.
In one sense, it’s amazing because the interior is a showroom for a woodworking company, Bamboo Revolution. That company has made an extraordinary effort to cover everything in bamboo laminate and has bamboo furniture everywhere. It’s a very unusual setting for a coffee shop because it does feel like a high end showroom.
Maybe the inevitable conclusion but the space isn’t really going for a cohesive style. The bamboo company is more about the material than it is a specific style and so everything is a mix of mostly modern and traditional styles. I’d consider the furniture to be gaudy and overly ornate, and perhaps that’s what they want to show bamboo is capable of.
There’s a huge drill press table, an homage to the craft of the adjoining business, as well as a bunch of ample side bar seating. The bar itself is also covered in bamboo like everything else and also conspicuously overly fancy.
A couple nitpicks I have are that the spaces feels vacant because it’s so big and all the dark wood and sparse lighting means it feels dark and cavern like inside.
As always, Coava’s coffee flavor is so good and it almost makes up for the off-vibe that the space has. From a feng shui perspective it’s not great. Huge open room without enough furniture for the space and sparsely populated. One of the most interested things is a huge slider at the back that’s an entrance to the shop. People are always peeking at the people working back there. Would be cool to have a big window so you can see the bamboo woodshop workers.
Something I do appreciate in my coffee shop visits is a place with unusual character. This has that. It’s quite interesting to see the pieces that Bamboo Revolution has built and for those who want to stretch out and work for a few hours it’s a pretty good spot as it has the room.
This shop is located in a busy area on Milwaukie and somehow are the only coffee shop in the area. Luckily it’s a pretty large space and they are indeed full. Inside it’s a large box with a community cafeteria atrium type vibe. What I love about spaces like this is that it’s easy to attend and feel like you’re part of something. So often when I go to get coffee I’m planning on working on something on my laptop. But I don’t actually want to be alone, right, or I’d just go to my shop and work there. I want the feeling of being in community and Rose City gives that feeling.
Here in Portland it’s so normal to have an exposed interior brick wall but it’s appreciated nonetheless. A row of cafe type benches and tables. Nothing really remarkable about the furniture style it’s all pretty common. If you just went to any restaurant supply company and bought the basic basic tables and chairs that would probably get you here. It's hard for me to hang on anything style wise about this place. The basic thing they offer is a big cheerful community buzz, and that's special in itself. They also love love love their houseplants and they have just everywhere. I like that pleasant chaos and indoor plants always improve my mood.
The front glass is adorned with a swooping color ribbon mural. It would be easy to say that without it the place would be classier, but these touches are what gives locations personality so I’m fine with it, even if I don’t like it personally.
One last note on the branding. I think it’s really good! Leaning into the Rose identity of Portland, using a large rose on the logo coupled in a circular style with the wording grabs onto instant city identity and tourist legibility. I like this space for what it is a buzzy community space, even if it isn't a design inspiration.
When I visited the Heart Coffee on Burnside I was surprised that they don't offer wifi. A woman sitting near me had a zoom call she needed to hit and couldn't believe there was no way to access the internet at the one place that has become synonymous with internet use, a coffee shop. She ended up leaving to find somewhere else. The barista explained that it was currently not working. I passed it off as a weird glitch and moved on with life. To my surprise when visiting the Heart Coffee at Woodstock the same problem persisted. That location didn't have internet available either. The barista stumbled that "they hadn't got it going yet". What? Every other coffee shop in America has figured out how to offer free wifi, and this one brand hasn't made it a priority. If this is a business strategy I'm curious to hear the merit. Given how many conversations I've had with other people inside the locations, none of the customers understand it either. Anyways, I can end this rant but clearly this subject overshadows any goodness their design aesthetic has.
And their coffee shop does have good design! You can argue that it's just the usual NW coffee shop uniform - glass/concrete/steel/oak modern design. That's true, but they do it better than most. I've been in enough coffee shops to be able to tell when someone has done the minimum and when they really dig in. Heart really cares, and spends the money for a high end version of it.
Airport style bentwood plywood chairs with metal frames. Oak pedestal tables that are more delicate, they match the chairs better than buying the usual thick base would have done. Some huge chunks of maple used as side tables look amazing, and they've paired it all with a good mix of indoor tropical houseplants that look in place. They have a large bench that has a planter built onto it and it's very well done. The way it meanders sideways gives the place a modern casual vibe that's inviting and unusual. Lighting is all semi-transparent globes, a choice that's easy to finish out a space with.
Look, I like the space. I like the Heart brand, I think their coffee is great. I don't understand why they allow the wifi condition to persist, marring their otherwise spot on coffee shop execution. Why allow that tiny amount of friction to persist when there are so many other coffee shops to choose from? With one small change they could be nearly flawless.