Maplewood Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in Portland

An overall increadibly chaotic experience.

Walking in there was an indistinguishable mess of people. When I came to the realization this was the line to order I shuffled through the crowd to get to my place in it.

Having gotten into the line now I am realizing that there is not access to the food menu from where I am standing. There was a list of drinks they served on the wall but no food menu. My thoughts scatter trying to figure out where the menu could be. Then realizing that it is upon a small lamenated sheet resting at the front of the line. I am faced with a decision do I quickly step to the front to grab the menu but risk an awkward encounter attempting to return to my place in the line or do I stay put in this stagnant queue and try to quickly read over the menu once I arrive to order. I chose the latter. And not a moment later than than an elderly women scurries to where I was standing and attempts to box me out as a returned. She succeeded.

Left uneasy by the experience but not given time to contemplate it another women ran up behind me effectively sandwhiching me in this new position in the line.

While now jockeying for position with the women to my aft, her husband comes lumbering over bumps into then coughs into his hand. Which if not already assumed by my inclusion of it here is vile to me.

Once the unspoken dispute was settled and there was slightly more definition to the line. We slowly stepped one foot in front of another before arriving to the cashier. There was a chorus of oohing and awing over the pastries by the to couple to my rear which in turn was accompanied by them continuing to cough and bump into me.

When speaking to cashier I was attempting to understand the system in which they operated. I wanted to order a capuccino and a sandwich. Basic, easy, fine. I asked her. She said that I would be given a number that the sandwich would be associated with my order and that the cappuccino would be associated with my name as they call it out. Annoying as the seating area was not in the same room as the barista. Fine.

I waited in the cafe standing. As my name was called, I took my drink. Which then became a balancing act as in one hand I was still holding my number while in the other I was holding a saucer upon which was a cup filled to the brim with the cappuccino. In normal circumstances this would still be fine. But as the cafe was still as busy as it wss as I entered each step I took gave me the feeling the rickety tower cobbled together of my saucer, cup, and cappucino was not a structure that would stand without coaxing.

I made it to the seating area with my accessories. Noticing that each tabled was dotted with crumbs I chose the cleanest and gracefully slided the saucer on it being mindful of what it was carrying. In that moment a waitress rushed it slammed my sandwich down and took my number. She was gone just as fast. No silverware, no napkin, the table is still dirty.

The tasted the food and drink wiping my face with my hands in this sad existence where I was forced to mimic that cattle as if the shuffling and butting and bumping and oohing and awwing had prepared me for this moment.

The food was fine. Not great but edible. And I would subject myself or give the suggestion to submit to this ordeal...

REVIEW EDIT 10/2022: Under new ownership. I wasn’t blown away on our first visit but will give it another shot in a couple months. Oh how I so so so miss the friendly workers, the amazing unique food, and the specialty drinks from the former owners reign. I appreciate the sense of community the new owners are trying to bring to the place and the remodel looks great. Here are the things I’d do differently and what I miss from the old Maplewood: food portion sizes are too big and expensive. I couldn’t even finish the cheese slipper cheese slipper eggs and sausage needed more flavor. The bun was greasy. cashier was not very out going or friendly. drink menu that listed the flavors was on an easel to the right of the cashier and not next to the food menu so n the other easel. Should be placed together with larger text. out of hummus and pumpkin pie spice flavoring…how does one run out of hummus when one of the main food items has hummus? indicate flavorings that are made in house. I don’t drink the fake non-homemade flavorings but couldn’t tell from your menu which ones are which. The old owner took pride in making all flavorings in house. put up a seasonal flavoring board. I asked if there were any seasonal flavors, and she was clueless. The old owner listed them on the chalkboard and it was so fun showing up to check out their new creative seasonal flavor. water glass was super dirty…lots of coffee granules in it. bagel was mushy inside and had a very weird flavor. The previous owner and chef nailed the menu…the bagels were thin and crispy, they had vegan cheese, the cucumbers were sliced perfectly thin. Now the new owners offer a veggie open faced bagel sandwich. Come one now…who likes toppings flying everywhere while you’re trying to eat an open faced sandwich?! And where is the vegan cream cheese?! bring back the congee for a non bread menu item. cookies are sitting by the cashier out in the open without being in a case or having a cover. That seems kinda gross.

I hope the wrinkles get ironed out and Maplewood becomes my favorite coffee shop again. Until then, I’ll make coffee and a healthy appropriate portion sized breakfast at home. And maybe I can track down the former chef for the congee and bagel recipes! Yummmm

2021: Love this place! Cozy and historic vibe, with delicious food and drinks (alcoholic ones too!). Love the homemade syrups and drinks that are not too sweet. My go-to is the congee bowl and the homemade bagel sandwich with veggies. The bagels are thinner which is perfect for a bagel sandwich and I love the thinly sliced cucumbers on the sandwich! Details make the difference! Thanks for creating a cozy place to...

The good - Great atmosphere and aesethic. Thoughtfully and ethically curated food and menu inclusive to all needs. Great ingredients, higher prices for the quality. So much so, this cafe was word of mouth. I drove over half an hour to scope it out. Hole in the wall coffee shops are my thing. I arrived 2.25 hours before it was to close, 2:45pm. Grabbed my laptop and set out to do work in a beautiful space. Ended up a dissatisfied.

The bad - customer service. Inconsiderate, impatient, and rude.

I have been in the food service industry for over a decade. This is my first time leaving a negative review. I understand it is not an easy job, and dealing with the public can be exhausting.

I bought a brunch bowl, a coffee, and a vegan pastry the tip came to over $25. That's okay. I like to think I spend money wisely towards good business.

They ran out of water. I got up to ask for more. They told me to go to the other water station. I mentioned it was out as well. They shrugged their shoulders and continued to chat in the kitchen.

Then they came up to me after I switched seats (battery was dying, needed to be by an outlet). A server came up to me and told me they would be closing an hour earlier than normal. The cafe had over a dozen people in it.

Wasted my time making such a trek and spending money.

I did not feel welcomed or accepted. There are many coffee shops with great food. Only go to this one if it is your neighborhood. It is a beautiful space, but...