We decided to try Upper Left on a Sunday afternoon and were elated to find such a bright and open space. The large windows allowed a lot of sunlight to enter the establishment as well. There was plenty of seating available inside and outside on their patio. The service was delightful when taking our drink orders. The raspberry danish latte on their seasonal menu sounded scrumptious but the raspberry and the acidity of the coffee tasted a bit too sweet and tart for our liking. The black sesame matcha latte was also met with disappointment; the matcha tasted more like a steeped green tea with no earthy or umami notes. The black sesame helped deepen the flavor profile but I would not order it again. My friend's iced latte was my favorite out of the drinks that I sampled so perhaps I should order one of their classic coffees next time instead. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Upper Left is probably my favorite cafe in Portland. Not only are the workers some of the most pleasant and kind service workers I have met, the coffee is divine and don't even get me started on the bomb avocado toast! Cant start my sunday without this cafe. Whether I am there for a study date, first date or catch up with a friend there is always warmth and kindness oozing out their doors! read more

I was meeting an old friend to catch up, and he suggested Upper Left. I hadn't been in a while, so enthusiastically agreed. In a world where all coffee joints more or less run together, it was refreshing to see something that has more of a distinctly local flavor. The building is light and airy with a very large patio, extremely well laid out both on the exterior and interior, with plenty of places to sit and chat, eat, or work. The food menu, Weill, not expensive, offers a little bit of something for everyone. My friend opted for toast with butter and honey and a small hot chocolate made with almond milk. I, having just come from a lunch meeting, just had a large mocha. Placing the order was fast and accurate, and when the drinks were prepared, we were called up to retrieve them. While we were fetching them, a mere feet away, somebody delivered the toast to the table! We were quite surprised by that and a bit delighted. Definitely not expected. Sadly, no pictures of either food or drink this time - the toast evaporated before I had a chance, and to be honest, I find pictures of plain white paper cups pretty boring. Perhaps next time. The location is right on the edge of Ladd's Edition, just south of Hawthorne at the intersection of 12th and Clay. It's a delightful neighborhood, one that I often aspired to live in before I settled in where I am currently. Highly recommended, I'll definitely be back soon read more

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Definitely one of my regular spots in SE. I really love that you can watch the coffee being roasted here in the shop. The drinks are definitely above average and I appreciate that we have more than one choice for espresso based drinks. I usually opt for the single origin choice. The bathrooms are clean and don't require a code. Always a plus! My main challenges with the shop are that their prices are higher than average for the area and street parking can often be a challenge. When I have the disposable income to enjoy a cup here and when I can find a place to park, I really love the hip atmosphere and the amazing outdoor patio they have available. Definitely check it out and savor that single origin for all it's worth. read more

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I am a visiter in town and who doesn't love a new coffee spot to check out. Street parking is the only thing I can find but it's free since it's in a nice neighborhood. I wanted their popular breakfast sandwich but it was sold out so I tried their turkish breakfast. Man that was super yummy! I love the greek yogurt aspect of the dish. It was a chilly march so i got me a hot vanilla latte. Smooooooth espresso to say the least. I enjoyed reading a book and a great time there. Bookmarked and saved. read more

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Used to be such a favorite of mine. The vibes of the employees is NOT it. Acting as if it is a chore for them to serve. God forbid someone expects you to do your job Kindness would serve so much harder! Latte art and drink were halfway decent though. read more

Coffee is fine great place- SOoo expensive for a tiny cup of coffee they're small is a tiny baby cup. We're not in Europe, friends and your coffee is not that exquisite. Sorry. read more

Another great breakfast at Upper Left! The avo toast was perfect & my almond milk cappuccino really hit the spot. Yum! read more

Upper Left Roasters - Almond Capp - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The drip coffee was good. But $16 for the thinnest piece of lox on tiny piece of bread is RIDICULOUS! I've had more lox an a single piece of sushi then I did on that "lox and toast" Definitely will not go back. read more

Upper Left Roasters is the perfect neighborhood coffee shop. Plenty of seating, welcoming staff and delicious coffee and food. I cozied up with the Maple Brown Sugar Latte and a book and had a great hour to myself. I would love to come back and try some food because everything I saw looked amazing- especially their Romesco Toast! read more

Upper Left Roasters - Maple Brown Sugar Latte w Almond Milk - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Should become your new local coffee shop! Came here a few days in a row while visiting a friend because it was so good. Food was unique and tasty and coffee was good. Plenty of seating on both weekends and weekdays, though does fill up. Indoor and outdoor seating available. Worked from here one morning and WiFi was good. Lots of windows and good lighting. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Turkish Eggs Nut Butter and Banana - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Excellent Coffee, great food. Try the breakfast BLT! Also, very nice seating, inside and out.

Very cute spot with lots of light inside. Good mix of people working (big work tables) and meeting friends. Love all of their coffee and match. They have some very creative seasonal beverages. Never been disappointed read more

Pros: friendly service, delicious hojicha iced coffee, great aesthetic, indoor and outdoor seating, free street parking in neighborhood, roasted whole beans for sale Con: Saturday morning around 9:30am expect to wait 30min + for a breakfast sandwich. Drinks they can make quickly but you'll be waiting for your food! read more

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Nice working cafe with great coffee and food! Came here on a Friday morning and the place is pretty busy but people come and go. There are plenty of tables and the place is clean. The background music is loud so not ideal for any virtual meetings. The drinks are very smooth and there are alternative milk options. The food is superb and made to order. Staff here are friendly and service is quick. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Ube Latte and Latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Cool spot that fills up quickly with people from the neighborhood but if you can grab a table, you've got an excellent place for coffee and great for getting some work done. The coffee is smooth and delicious, pastries on point, and the location cannot be beat especially for walkability. read more

nice little coffee and light food spot! very chill and casual ambiance! first spot i stopped by after arriving portland bc in need of a coffeeee. cold brew was pretty good and i ordered turkish egg (?) which was decent also. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Turkish Eggs, Lox Toast, Croissant with Ham and Egg - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I met up with a friend for lunch here so I could take a virtual meeting before and after seeing her. I picked this place from Googling "places to work," and was a little disappointed because of the noise and crowd. They are BUSY! I had to keep myself muted throughout my meeting. If you're looking for just a place to hang out and eat/get some Chai, I do recommend this place though! The lox toast was delish! The service was alright, nothing to call home about. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Lox Toast - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

To be sure, this is a special place for coffee. Warm, welcoming and a casual ambiance. Fantastic service. My go-to coffee to brew at home is the Ethiopian Abyssinian, but I've never had a bad brew or bag of beans from this place. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Ethiopia Abyssinian 285 gram bag of whole beans - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I came here with a friend to catch up over some brunch and coffee and it was such a cute spot! Located in a neighborhood and somewhat near a busy street, it has a perfect mix of both bustle and peace. The shop was a lot more spacious than I thought it would be, with both inside and outside seating (outside seating would be beautiful on a warmer day). There was also plenty of inside seating for groups and individuals to chat or study. The only thing I would note though, is that although there is a lot of seating, it was also pretty busy when I went so most of it was taken. My friend and I each got a drink and their food, out of the many options that they had. Everything that we had was delicious. Typically, I reach for an avocado toast, but I tried the Turkish eggs here and they were DELICIOUS. It was the first time I had them and I would 100% come back just to have them again. I highly highly recommend trying this place out. :) read more

Upper Left Roasters - Classic Avocado Toast, Matcha Latte, and Turkish Eggs - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

TL;DR - Top 3, if not top, coffee shop in Portland, and I've tried them all. More info - I lived in Portland for a month and am a pour over coffee and cappuccino addict. Portland has the country's best coffee in my opinion (and I also lived in Seattle), and Upper Left is at the top of the list. Their anaerobic processed pour over was out of this world, ALL of their espresso drinks are outstanding (even the decaf), and the service is very friendly (unlike many Portland coffee shops). Their roasted beans are light/medium roasted for the most part, adding to the flavor of the coffee. When I lived here I tried over 20 coffee shops - mainly for cappuccino- and Upper Left was consistently one of the best. Water Ave and Heart were the other top shops. We were traveling from Seattle to California and opted to buy beans here instead of Seattle. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Cappuccino - so good - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

A great cafe for getting some work done and enjoying some fine, loose leaf tea! Always friendly service and and a great selection of teas to choose from. Haven't tried any food yet, but I'm sure it's just as good as everything else that they serve. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Herbal Hot Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Came in on a weekday morning and enjoyed a drip coffee. A nice ambiance in a fun section of the city. I found the coffee to taste a tad on the bitter side, but I still enjoyed it. Staff were friendly and the service was prompt. read more

Came here to do some work. Only the side tables have outlets. The music was veryyyy loud. For the cold brew with sweet cream foam and I'm pretty sure the cream foam was just whipped cream. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Cold brew with sweet cream foam (just tastes like whipped cream) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

The price listed for my drink was $7, but they charged $8.50. It was on me to say but the sign says $7 not $8.50. Then they informed me an auto tip was added. That's not a "tip", that's a hidden fee if I don't know about it. Happy to pay the $8.50 cost, but don't slide in the fee like I've agreed to it as a tip for good service. Just weird and not returning. read more

Ube lattes here are amazing! Would recommend. Has a strong ube flavor. It's a bit loud here, so I wouldn't recommend it if you have to focus. Even with noise cancellation on my headphones, their music still bleeds through. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Ube latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Mmm no whip cream for a mocha ? This must be a new thing... the wait was too long, especially considering the number of people working, and there wasn't a long line or anything... Pricey, especially for such a small mocha, it was good tho.. Just not really my jam. It was clean and airy, it's just not a place I'd go out of my way to go to. read more

a cute little coffee shop for getting work done or catching up with friends! My friend and I stopped by for a quick bite before going on a hike. We were surprised to find how busy the shop was! I can't remember what drink my friend ordered, but I got the matcha latte. Oh, it was so pretty! the matcha flavor is very strong, but it was not bitter at all. It was almost creamy/milky and smelled amazing. I also ordered their signature Croissant Sandwich. The croissant was so flakey; the texture and taste is perfect. The poached egg, ham and cheese make it a classic! My friend's Turkish eggs were also heavenly. It is served with the perfect amount of eggs and toast. read more

Out of towners excited for the Portland coffee scene distracted by an Ube Latte and Vegan Adobo Avocado Toast (that we then made not vegan by adding a poached egg ). It was...awesome. The foods and drinks were awesome and just like described. The Ube syrup is made in house with a house condensed coconut milk. The baristas were cool AF, helpful, honest to point us in a direction we would be pleased with. Daughter was able to enjoy a couple poached eggs herself and thoroughly enjoyed them. And the venue is great vibing with great music for this child of the 80s. Would recommend to visitors and townies alike! read more

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Loved their shaded outdoor seating area. Not sure about service since my friend grabbed our coffees. I'd check it out again. read more

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First stop on our Bike Food Tour: quintessential, iconic, everyday coffee roasted in-house! WW2 showed our soldiers what coffee should taste like and that made quite the impression and influenced cities like Portland how to roast and drink coffee. When you walk in here, smell the rich and complex aromas, when you drink your first sip, when you have a deep satisfaction of drinking Java gold, life is good as it should be. A must try if you're visiting. A must on your list of you're local. The only thing I would recommend is to ask for EXTRA hot if you like your drinks scalding like me. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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I came here for the first time early Sunday morning with my boyfriend & family. The smell of coffee roasting infiltrated us as we walked up which was mouthwatering! There's a very modern feel to the coffee shop and it overlooks a street with beautiful autumn trees. You can sit inside, but only if you have proof of vaccination, otherwise you must sit outside or take the coffee to go (yes they enforce this!). The americano was good, but had a slightly bitter aftertaste, so I'm assuming they use a light roast. I tried some of the maple turmeric latte and it was subtle with mostly maple hints; I did not really taste the turmeric. Beautiful coffee art! The baked goods looked dangerous and I hope to try one soon. Overall good coffee, trendy coffee shop, and pretty expensive. It is worth checking out if you're looking for a new coffee shop to try! read more

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One of my most favorite places to drink coffee mainly because they make their own plant based milk and it's very important to me because the store bought ones have lots of additives. The latte is always smooth and perfect temperature. Oh, and their Turkish eggs dish is to die for. The sauce and yogurt with garlic and spices make it super delicious and creamy. The bread that comes with it is always fresh as well as all the pastries they have there. Service is fast and friendly and though it's often crowded I can always find a place to sit. read more

Upper Left Roasters - Matcha Latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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I appreciate that they make their own plant based milk - it's so hard to find especially because the regular Oatly and other alternatives have so many preservatives and additives that are toxic. They also have GF options if you come earlier in the day. I tried their seasonal maple drink (for some reason I thought it was coffee latte I was wrong lol), GF pastry, and matcha. Matcha was the best I've tried so far because the milk was perfectly steamed - it's hard to do with plant mills. Also matcha wasn't bitter which means they're using ceremonial grade and high quality matcha :) highly recommend coming here for both coffee and tea drinks! read more

Parking was easy, service was so sweet and friendly, and the drinks were so good we came back for another about an hour later. We tried quite a few coffee shops on our visit to Portland, and this one topped my list. read more

My husband received a pretty bag of holiday blend for Christmas and noticed on the bottom label the tags had a Best By date marked 02/18. We also usually buy single origin or marked Organic. I called the company and they said they doesn't mean anything. They say that they don't put a Best By date on there bags of coffee. Never heard that before. Everything I've ever bought food wise has an expiration date or best used by. Coffee does get rancid and even taste bad after stored awhile. Anyone have an opinion? Use it or not? read more

I was staying in the Hawthorne area while on a weekend trip in Portland. I was looking for a good roastery to get some coffee beans. I used to work as a barista at a specialty coffee shop and overall I was impressed with this place. They have a good selection of blends and single origin coffee. I ended up getting one of their seasonal specials, which was the maple brown sugar latte. I asked the guy working if it was really sweet and he said it wasn't, but I should've went with my gut instinct to get half sweet. The drink was way too sweet for my preference, but the espresso flavor was interesting and fruity. read more

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It was good. Wouldn't say it's anything special, but prefer this to going to Starbucks (or similar).

Maybe my favorite PDX coffeehouse though there is a lot of wonderful competition. An uplifting place to sit with lots of light. The lattes and cappuccinos are consistently great. They do a good job with oat milk. I thought a toast with bananas and nut butter would be ordinary but it was anything but. I love how they put the shine on the everyday, as a great writer once said. read more

I'm a nomad & am always in search of a city's best GF avocado toast. Upper Left's did not disappoint! The ingredients were fresh, & the gluten free bread was delicious. My partner enjoyed his croissant & vanilla latte with the cafe's own hazelnut & cashew milk. I went mid morning on a Saturday, so I did have to wait about 15 minutes for my take away order. There appeared to be plenty of indoor & outdoor seating options, & proof of vaccination was required for indoor seating. All in all, I will definitely be back to try more of the gluten free toasts! read more

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