Oui Presse — Restaurant in Portland

I stopped into Oui Presse on a whim as I was passing by on Hawthorne. The shop looked lovely on the outside and I enjoy trying new coffee shops. The young lady at the counter was friendly and I attempted to order the toast with butter and jam on the menu. She informed me the baguettes for this had not arrived yet so I ordered the PB and J Royale instead. I was maxed out on coffee already so I just ordered the sandwich. She made the sandwich herself and I poured a glass of water and sat down.

There was a man sitting at the corner table by the bathroom who was walking behind the counter and back to the table a few times, who I thought may be the owner. This gave me a weird feeling as the shop became a bit busier and the young lady helped all the customers while the man was looking at his phone and occasionally speaking to her while she helped all the customers.

I ate my sandwich and drank a few glasses of water. The sandwich itself was not much more than a PBJ sandwich. I could not figure out what made it a royale and I didn't ask. I can see an article online that describes this sandwich and I started laughing. It tasted good but was a bit overpriced at $8. Picture included.

On the way out I tried to use their restroom but it was not in good condition and was out of multiple items.

I bet the coffee is very good considering their excellent rating. They also have some cool magazines...

i've spent a lot of time at oui presse over the last five years, first thing in the morning, mostly, so this is a weekday morning-visit review. even at 7am-ish, i always get a smile and a hello. at other times of the day? ymmv.

most of the breads, all of the soups, cakes and cookies are prepared in the little kitchen in the back. the woman who does most of the baking is a serious foodie and it shows in the consistent quality. but thing to get here is the two poached egg special: two eggs on a thick slice of lightly toasted, homemade bread. hungry? order an extra slice of bread with butter and jam. the poached eggs are perfectly done with cooked but runny yokes on bread with a just-crunchy enough crust and slightly sour crumb. and they like their butter here (their jam, too) so you'll get a generous portion of both on that extra slice.

the stumptown coffee is good. there's a nice selection of magazines, like lucky peach, you'd never subscribe to in real life but might buy on a rainy day. they make their own chocolate brew for the mocha, too, which is definitely worth a try. whatever. just make sure you get the poached...

I really love this neighborhood. We had just visited the yarn store Happy Knits and we're heading out of town when we decided to visit oui presse for hot drinks to take with us. The cafe is lovely and I admired the simple and rustic decor. My partner,children and I were not warmly received. The gentleman behind the counter couldn't even muster a smile. We ordered our drinks and as an afterthought I ordered the PB&J. The gentlemen made an effort to dissuade me from orderind,stating it was not an average PB&J. Apparently they put "butter" (shocking I know) on theirs. I took my "chances" and ordered the Peanut "Butter" and Jelly sandwich. It was delicious. Their manners needed a little butter cause dang the brioche they make...