Recommended Coffee Shops in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon boasts hundreds of coffee shops, as well as its own coffee roasteries! It's not hard to find a cup of coffee in Portland, but where is the best place to get it? You've got to consider not only the coffee, but the location, service, ambience, and wi-fi availability (for those ubiquitous laptops). Here are a few good coffee shops to choose from in Portland, Oregon.

Sacred Grounds
Sacred Grounds is in the Parkrose neighborhood on the outer east side of Portland. It's located in the Quality Inn and Suites hotel near the Portland airport (9727 NE Sandy Blvd.). The hotel and coffee shop are both owned by Eastside Church, which even holds its services in the building.

This coffee shop features Tully's coffee (a Seattle company), and serves soups and sandwiches in addition to the usual pastries. The space is fairly small, but never feels over-crowded; there are regular tables and a seating area with a sofa and chairs. Free wi-fi is available. Since this is a church-run business, they do play Christian contemporary music, and sometimes you'll hear a church service going on in the background, but you certainly never get hassled or preached at. It's really just a quiet, peaceful atmosphere.

Urban Grind - Pearl
Located at 911 NW 14th in the Pearl District of Portland, Urban Grind Pearl (also known as Urban Grind NW) is a favorite of the Portland tech community (among others). With free wi-fi and plenty of comfy chairs, it's a great place for co-working. Co-working? Well, people who are self-employed or otherwise don't work in an office often enjoy working around others, and a coffee shop is a great place to do this. Almost every day you'll see people here working with laptops.

However, this coffee shop can also get noisy at times, either from customers or from the baristas turning the music up. If you're looking for a very quiet atmosphere, this might not be the place.

Urban Grind roasts their own coffee, and the coffee is good. However, it can take a while to get the drinks made, especially if they're busy.

Starbucks/Gateway Fred Meyer
Horrors! Did I just recommend Starbucks to Portlanders? That's blasphemy. But what draws me here is convenience. Starbucks delivers decent-tasting coffee drinks, frappucinos, etc., and you can have them while you're grocery shopping. Or, if you have toddler or preschooler and need a few minutes of adult time, you can put your child in the Fred Meyer day care (free) and sit down with your coffee in the deli area.

This location is inside the Gateway Fred Meyer store at 1111 NE 102nd. There's no wi-fi, and nothing here is comfy or quiet, but if you just need something NOW, this is the place to go.

Starbucks can also be found in the Johnson Creek Fred Meyer, in the Mall 205 Target, and in various Safeway stores around the Portland area.