Urban Grind Coffeehouse

Popped in here for a coffee and thought this place was super cute. Friendly waitstaff and plenty of spots to sit and hang out. The breve I ordered was made beautifully.

The first time I went in, I experienced rude, snotty service. I ordered a medium hazelnut latte and the barista responding snidely with «we have 8, 12, or 16 ounces [or whatever], which do you want?» um, THE MIDDLE ONE? Why is this even a conversation? And then, seven minutes later (I was the only person there…) I was presented with a no-​sugar hazelnut soy latte… what? One customer with a very simple order, and it’s completely wrong?
A few months later, tired of walking the several extra blocks to get coffee every morning before work, I decided to give them another chance. The service was fine, not friendly but not rude, which is an upgrade. But a medium latte and a piece of freezing cold, bland coffee cake came to $ 8 and it’s hard to say which tasted more terrible. The latte tasted like three day old coffee poured through a sour towel and though sweet, didn’t taste like hazelnut in the least.
Not sure how an overpriced coffee place with bad service and bad coffee is still around, but my guess is sheer convenience for many people. Personally I’ll be walking the 4 extra blocks to Sisters who have amazing coffee and great staff, and even the Starbucks in Safeway has better coffee and MUCH better service.

I don’t understand the negative reviews. The coffee here is good. Not great, but then 99% of most coffee places in the United States are overhyped in their ability to stew bean juice.
This place has tons of comfortable and clean couches, chairs near the window if that’s your preference, tables, a beautiful interior with high roofs, lots of light, but not too much. Music that plays quietly and is not distracting. Free wi-​fi (though you have to request a login/​password, good for twelve hours).
This is a great place to meet friends, or do work, or just hang out. The customers who frequent this place are civilized, polite, and drama free.
The baked goods are reasonably priced, not exceptional, but as good as any other place. The neighborhood is great, tons of opportunities for food, shopping.
I mean what more do you need in a coffee shop?
I don’t give many five star reviews and certainly not to coffee shops, which all too often have a ridiculously over-​bloated opinion of themselves just because some 20-​something hipster slowly pours hot water onto beans, but this place is five stars.

Friendly staff, but I’m currently eating the worst breakfast sandwich I have ever had.
Edit: wrote this review after a bad morning. I’ll stick to it that the sandwich was not good (soggy, poor choice of bread), but the coffee was excellent. And the atmosphere was nice.
Of note: I’m not editing this because of the offer of free coffee. In fact, if I go back (which I probably will since its next to my office), I will gladly pay for coffee.

Solid cup of coffee. Friendly staff. Good beans. Nice space. Check check check check. No cold brew, though, if that’s yer thing.

Really bad tasting coffee. Good bagel. Bad coffee. Service was fine. But I ultimate threw away my latte after three forced sips. Way below expectations for any locally owned Portland coffee shop.

Very nice barista, but the service was excruciatingly slow for a morning that was not busy. I would not recommend stopping in before work, unless your day has a flexible start time:(

Wandered by this coffee shop and stopped in for a smoothie. The lady at the counter was friendly and relaxed and the place had plenty of seating. The menu was a little small, and it would have been nice to have some better scenery out the windows.

This place is my favorite coffee shop in Portland. It’s very spacious, has the fastest wifi in town as far as I can see, the staff is friendly. It’s in a great neighborhood.
They roast their own beans and I have yet to find a better tasting expresso in the city. Their morning brew is amazing. Love this place. Couldn’t recommend it more!

This place is my jam.
Setting: Unassuming exterior (actually didn’t find it the first time I went looking). Open, cozy interior with lots of great windows. Clean. Tables everywhere. Various seating options. Outlets are also pretty accessible.
Menu: I’ve only ordered the same couple of things (creature of habit). The americano WORKS and it’s all I’ll ever need. They also have gluten free cookies/​snacks from time to time, and they have all been delicious. One of the super helpful staff was eager to let me know about the café’s association with the deli on the other corner (Urban Green — Veg/​Terranean Deli: Will be trying soon).
Staff: They’re perfect. Laid back, helpful, hard working. They do their job, I do mine. We get along fantastically :)
Other perks: This place has 2 different reward programs: standard punch card and a national card, Belly. The music varies, but isn’t overly blasted or anything. It’s always a nice level with the speakers coming from their high ceilings.
So yeah, this place has been a dream for this student. Seriously, I don’t get work done like this anywhere else. I almost don’t want to hype it so I can continue keeping it to myself ;)

While visiting Portland I thought it would be cool to do a tour of the locations used in Portlandia, and tried out Urban Grind. The coffee is fine, but the barista was downright rude to me.
Also: Indigo Girls playing in the background? Wow.

This establishment is really nice, we find them to be very hospitable for meet ups. The food and coffee is wonderful. The staff is hospitable and helpful.

Staff is very friendly, especially the nice new young man who is there at night during the week. What a sweetheart! He made me the best coffee drink I ever had and had a conversation with me that was great (and cute too). You don’t see that everywhere. I see new faces there everyday which is too bad, what’s with the overturn? Hope you keep the good ones.
Place is very clean, but the music is so boring and slightly repetitive. Just because its a coffee shop doesnt mean yoi have to play the typical stuff. If you want more people to come in, play some more recent upbeat stuff. Can you change it???
Prices are fair, which is nice compared to other places in the area. The staff also keep it very clean! I always see them hard at work.
Why is the TV always off? I’m not saying put on the Disney channel but what about some local news? At least on mute.

Today was my first time here. I ordered a ½ caf coffee with almond milk and vanilla flavoring. It was fine; it was coffee. The staff seemed friendly enough.
The reason I came here was because I read online that there was plenty of space for virtual workers to set up shop and work. Upon arrival there wasn’t any seating… which is probably a good sign for the business! There is also 2 hour maximum paid street parking.
I will probably try to find another place to work from before I return.

Nice:
Soft chairs. Outlets. Happy music. 300 mbit/​s.
Not Nice:
Took a minute to figure out the internet, but once we did, it was productivity time.

I haven’t spent much time here other than for my in and out morning fixings, so I can’t comment on the food/​wifi/​music. That being said:
The coffee is pretty good.
Prices are reasonable.
The service can be slow.
One moody/​rude barista (on multiple occasions)

Workers are cool, owner is just as cool, atmosphere is Clean, comfortable and luxurious. The coffee is strong and quality. I love this local shop. Great place to meet, snack, eat, drink coffee and just chill. #bestcafeintown #doneright #nuthinnegative

Great coffee, good food & staff but background music sucks.

Great coffee shop. Plenty of tables and comfy seating. Free wifi, bottomless coffee for $ 3, and clean bathrooms. Staff is always friendly. Never had a bad experience here in coming 3 to 4 times a week for the last 4 months.
Nice non-​dairy milk and excellent food options.

Service was indeed slow here with only one guy to man everyone’s needs from taking orders, making drinks or food, even making change.
The breakfast sammy wasn’t very good. Microwave egg that was already made beforehand.
The mocha wasn’t exciting either. No real taste to it, very middle of the road.
They do have a lot of seating and I could see people working on laptops and such. I can only wonder if I came on an off day…