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Urban Grind Coffeehouse
Rating Details »
Categories: Coffee & Tea, Beer, Wine & Spirits [Edit]
Neighborhood: Pearl District911 NW 14th Ave
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 546-5919
- Hours:
Mon-Fri. 6:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
17 reviews for Urban Grind Coffeehouse
The only old-growth coffee house in the Pearl, and a key stitch in the neighborhood's delicate cultural fabric, Urban Grind has all the makings of the best social cafe in town. Plenty of outlets, late hours, leather couches, and house-roasted coffee and eclectic music create a nice ambiance in a beautiful reclaimed warehouse.
But, the amount of dust on the ceiling fixtures costs them a star. If you've seen it, you know I'm not overreacting. When the fans turn on, it creates a storm of particles reminiscent of Winter Blast '08. It doesn't inspire a lot of confidence that the rest of the cafe is kept clean.
Urban Grind is a long feather duster away from perfection.
Before I begin, allow me to give you some background - I live less than a block away from this coffee shop; and have visited there several dozen times in the past 6 mos. This review is not the bitter rantings of a lone bad experience - but rather a thoughtful reflection based on many many visits.
As I said have been to UG at least 50 times in the past six months - I don't particularly like the place, but it is so damned close to my house. It is a nice location, tons of seating (though it is often occupied freakishly early by the laptop brigade) and a nice, open feel to it.
I have mild complaint about the quality of beverages - they are for the most part just fine, occasionally excellent, and with equal regularity, poor. The place looks pretty dingy behind the counter near the food prep, so I usually avoid eating anything from there; when I have dared to the result were predictably mediocre.
What really gets under my skin about this place is the lackadaisical service - and inept management. The process behind the counter just defies reason, as if it were a contest to do simple tasks the most complicated way possible. Order more than one item/drink and in my experience, 75% of the time they complete the first item, and come back with a blank slate: "what else?"; then repeat the process for each item. It seems like a minor issue - but have that experience over and over, or god-forbid there is a line - and even the most placid Buddhist monk would be muttering curses under his breath.
Some other tips: A NY Times is $2.00 by the way - it says so right on the cover. When I hand you a bill - look at it, it has numbers which indicates the denomination; so you can give the correct change. When I pour part of my drink out into your garbage, it is not because I wish to make your life difficult - but because you ignored my "please leave some room" request. Try making a new pot of coffee before you run out of it - this saves time: yours and mine; you are after all if nothing else, a coffee shop.
Sure my review is a tad obnoxious - but snap out of it Urban Grind! You have a lot going for you: a great space, a nice location - I offer my opinion only because I wish you success!
I like the coffee here and I wish i liked more about UG cause its a very convenient location for me. However, not my kind of atmosphere. To be honest I feel grimy when I'm there. My clothes always smell bad when I leave, the green paint on the walls is kind of stressful, most of the servers look like they haven't showered recently and the whole place just feels grungy. I guess it's a little too Urban for my taste.
"Coffee should be served hot as hell, black as night, and strong as love."
They are not effing joking. Their coffee is black and strong . . . and strangely thick. I feel bad for those sensitive to the peristalsis-inducing effects of coffee because Urban Grind coffee in pretty much a cup of E-lax for them. Despite all that, I can't seem to stop drinking the stuff. Is there such thing as coffee-drunk? Decent place to study with the free WiFi, seemingly quiet when toddlers are not roaming around off-leash (Seriously, people. . .handle your children.). Service is kind of a crapshoot . . . it took about five minutes to be noticed to take my order, and then it took about 15-20 minutes for them to heat up a pre-made panini. Albeit, the turkey panini was pretty flippin good, but seriously. . .20 minutes.
Plus, it's walls are green and doors are orange. And they have cool lanterns.
Remember I always write reviews from the "you can take (me) out of Gresham, but you can't take (said town) out of me" perspective. With that. I felt very comfy at UG. It did not have that stuffy-puffy Pearl feel. (Although I did get a smerk look while parking my truck from the Pearl Jogger Chick dressed head-to-toe in matching Pastel Purple Nike gear.) Staff at UG made me laugh, was fast, and the Mocha was hot and delish. I loved the sunlight beaming through the high windows as I read the paper. Perfect way to kick the morning in the butt.
There are many, many choices for lunch within walking distance of my workplace, but it is Urban Grind that gets the majority of my business. For one thing, the layout and decor are as far removed from my work as possible, being a very informal cafe with comfortable sofas, delicious coffee and tea, grapefruit soda (which is a huge plus for me!) and the most amazingly eye-opening paninis in town.
Let's not forget the service: the staff here are always awesome, friendly beyond words and more than willing to make special order paninis a beautiful reality. I don't think I have ever seen a'one of them in a bad mood or in any way expressing anything less than the desire to make sure their guests are comfy and happy.
So, after you grab your sandwich (with a side of their delicious curry, when they have it...if they have it...man I want some right now...!) settle on down with a book, your MP3s, or a copy of the Mercury and just let the stress seep from your feet. It is usually calm, and a welcome oasis from anyone's workday.
Now, what would make this a 5-star score? Well, bringing back the Greek panini would go a long way towards making the Urban Grind perfect in my eyes. You can't just make the world's most "ZOMGood!" sandwich, serve it to me a few times, and then pull it away! Still, I do not begrudge them my business, and am more than willing to make alternative orders...
...but wow...that was one tasty panini.
In actuality, I give this place a 4 1/2 star rating. The only reason being what my fiance calls the feeling of "being trapped inside a green Skittle." Referring to the wall to wall bright green paint that inhabits this coffee house.
Aside from that, we also call the place, "the office". We do all our studying, working, etc. at Urban Grind because it's comfortable for hours. There's the free Wi-Fi (always a strong signal too-bonus points!), good coffee, cozy seats and friendly waitstaff.
The soups are delicious! Paired with a panini, you can't go wrong.
Yes, we love this place!
I would have to agree that Urban Grind *does* have more of an Eastside vibe than a Pearl vibe, that's for sure. The interior is cool and hip, yet funky and eclectic.
The music is awesome. The couches and bench seats by the window are comfy and cushy. The coffee is really good, in my opinion. The staff was extra friendly.
There is only ONE bad thing about UG, and it isn't even the fault of UG at all, but that would be the parking in the area. It's such a BITCH to get a spot anywhere around here. If you live in the neighborhood and are within walking distance, you're set - UG is a great place to spend several hours soaking up the (really fast) wifi and enjoying the music, coffee and overall very cool vibes.
Free Wi-Fi! Great drinks! Service can be hit of miss. We'd had service by one barista who didn't know the meaning of happy or smile, but we've had other baristas who are so pleasant that you want to spend all morning and afternoon on the couch. I recommend the iced tea with sassafras. It taste like root beer. Yummy.
These guys got it right for the most part.
The interior is great. It's your typical industrial-chic space, but with very playful pistachio green and chocolate-purple walls and sherbet-orange doors.
The layout includes something for everyone: big, sturdy tables near numerous outlets for business/school activity; window seating, again near numerous outlets, for more casual pursuits; and comfy leather couches for chillaxation.
Patrons tend to be Pearlites, business folk, and the occasional art student. Lots of coffee and tea drinks to choose from. The coffee drinks aren't Portland-great, but they're pretty good. There's also beer/wine, bottled beverages, and blended icy things. Food isn't given as much attention as it probably deserves in this location, but it's all fairly quick, no-nonsense stuff like muffins, tarts, and sandwiches.
Other than the short-of-perfect status for the coffee drinks and food, I've left off a star mainly due to the female barista that is often behind the counter. Really, really bad customer service skills. But they tall guy, who I think owns or manages the place, almost makes up for that.
One of my mobile offices around town. Great coffee and snacks (you can even get some good sandwiches if you're really hungry) and the staff are always welcoming. There is plenty of seating space and a large back table if you need to meet with a big group of people (8-10 people).
Amazing place to relax and bring your kids. Large area for kids to play and free WiFi and Internet.
Excellent coffee, friendly people, cool environment and lots of comfortable seating. I didn't have any food and for once I didn't have my laptop with me (I think they have free wi-fi) but it's the kind of place you can hunker in and work/read for a long time.
This is my backup coffee shop (coffeehouse northwest being my absolute favorite). Everything here is good, just not great. The coffee is good, but not great. The sandwiches are good, but not great. They get points for being fairly large and having lots of seating options (comfy leather chairs and couches, regular tables and chairs, a huge table and chairs), sandwiches, and beer and wine (i've only taken advantage of this once, but it's comforting to know it's there).
Tasty coffee, good folk, and a really nice space in general. It's a great place to work from, with solid wifi and bits of food to tide you over. In fact, it's probably a bit too good of a place to work from, since I often lose track of time and stay too long.
Located in the heart of the Pearl District, Urban Grind Coffee adds a little grunge to this stuffy stretch of NW. Urban Grind feels more Eastside than Pearl, so it's an inviting place to sip some coffee or tea and rest your feet after strolling through the snooty patootie boutiques.
i liked the interior very spacey and nice sitting areas....not a "pearl" sort of nice...a real people nice.....and when I say "real" people i mean cool people.....maybe I would even say trendy people cool......anyhoo the guy who made the drinks was super nice and we chatted about his tattoos and he was even sporting a local tattoo shop t-shirt!!! I love local businesses supporting each other!!!! Go team! Ok on to the coffee.......uhmmm i was excited about the concept of a mocha with a twist of orange but I was slightly disappointed :( It was nothing special.....though I do have to say that I think the guy was new and maybe is still in training?? I will go back to see and if you ever happen to be stuck in the pearl and need a breath of fresh air and not air tainted with the whiff of armani/fake tan head here....and if I offended anyone from the pearl....i am sorry but you know its true...
