Barista — Restaurant in Portland

Barista on 23rd gets heavy tourist traffic, which makes their great customer service that much more appreciated, not to mention the consistently great espresso drinks. My fave is the macchiato, and theirs is one of the best in town. As for the space it is light filled and has a variety of seating: for groups, singles, and spaces at the bar and facing 23rd looking out the window, which I love. My laptop is always charged when I go so I don't know what the outlet situation is. I've never had a crazy long wait but I don't get there at super early o'clock so I can't speak to the morning rush but my guess is it's the same as anywhere else: bustlin. The place doesn't seem to be totally full of laptop folks/readers/lingerers when I go and there seems to be a pretty steady turnover rate so I've always been able to find a place to sit. Some coffee shops have a high percentage of what I call "parkers," so you go in and there's just no seating open, and won't be for a while. Perhaps this is the upside to this location being in a part of town where there are perhaps more commuters, office folks, and visitors, and other factors I'm not...

I absolutely love coming to this location! The employees are so friendly and always full of energy, which truly uplifts my entire day. My go-to drink is the vanilla latte, and they make the BEST one. The staff at 23rd is just a bit more welcoming and genuinely strives to make every visit special vs other barista locations.

I also highly recommend the matcha freak with vanilla syrup to tone down the milk flavor—it’s delicious! The flat whites, cortados, and pretty much everything on the menu is always amazing. And let’s not forget the coffee beans—so good, and I love picking up a bag on my way out (great prices too!).

Their fresh-baked goods are a treat as well, especially the cookies. A big thank you to the staff for always serving up the perfect lattes with beautiful latte art! Plus, they’re not shy about letting us snap pics for our Instagram, which we totally appreciate as insta bloggers. Keep up the great work—you all make every visit an...

The split shot, iced, soy, cortado is delicious and refreshing. The bean burrito with red sauce is tasty, the service is friendly and accommodating.

Updated: Air conditioner is fixed, so it’s no longer infernally hot inside.

No longer relevant: My only complaint is the environment, which is infernally hot (about 90 inside, while it was 64 outside), even at 7am. The AC has been out since at least spring. I can’t imagine how the staff suffers in this heatstroke inducing environment. Seems like the business owner(s), and property owner(s), have a serious lack of consideration for human welfare. I’m a "regular", and this is a constant, not one-off, incident. Seems like an OSHA workplace safety violation, or some Portland ordinance violation. There were also no high capacity fans in the doorway to facilitate heat transfer. Hopefully, this lack of compassion for human suffering will be...