Desperately seeking espresso in Portland, Oregon

You'd think finding espresso in Portland, Oregon—the current coffee capital of the world—would be easy. Not so. I had lunch with a friend at Green Dragon today. After our meal we asked for a couple of Americanos. A few minutes later our waitress came back to tell us that someone had turned off the espresso machine, putting it out of commission for "quite a while." So off we went to grab some somewhere else.

We drove to the Bakery Bar. They had closed at 2pm. From there we drove to Redwing. They had just closed at 3pm. Growing frustrated, we headed to Genie's where they opened a coffee shop next to the restaurant a while back. They'd just closed—both the restaurant and the coffee shop! (Their website wishes me a happy Thanksgiving and helpfully informs me that they'll be open on Thanksgiving Day, but won't be serving espresso...). We walked over to a new cafe where Ramekin's Cafe used to be—and they were closing. All just after 3pm on a Saturday afternoon! What town am I in?!?!?

Just as I was starting to think we were going to have to drive to Seattle for espresso we remembered jáce gáce over on Belmont. And they were open! So that's where I'm going first from now on. Sheesh!

Comments

[b!X]

Or any of the plethora of Stumptown locations. Or for that matter Floyd's on 15th and Morrison.

[Samuel John Klein]

If you want the drive-through option, any Dutch Bros. will do. Surprisingly, when you just ask for straight-up coffee, what you get is a Dutch Bros americano (I asked one of their preternatually-chipper baristas recently)

The Dutch blend is surprisingly good. Strong but really smooth. About as far away from Charbucks as a good roadside brew can get.

[Sonia]

I agree there is a dearth of coffeehouses open past early evening hours on weekends. (or past 10pm on weekdays!).

I used to think it was a coffeehouse owner's well-thought-out financial decision to close their coffeeshops early, but clearly there is a demand!

Next time you can travel a little further down division to Tandem, the newest coffee hot spot. Or in Ladd's circle for Palio. They both have decent hours and better quality coffee than Genie's (in my opinion).

[Rbpdx]

Palio is open till 11:pm every night of the week. I don't think its been closed a single day for the last 3 years.

[A little bird]

I forgot about Palio! We were trying to find a shop somewhere around lower Hawthorne, Belmont, or Division because that's where we had lunch and we thought it would be nice to go someplace outside our normal Stumptown, Fresh Pot, Kaiju, Muddy Waters circuit. Now we know better! I'm glad it was a nice, sunny day!