Rambler Cafe — Restaurant in Portland

Black Cat Coffee is now a neighborhood institution for Deering, Libbytown, and beyond residents of Portland, ME. Owned and operated by a local family, this cozy little coffee shop (and ice cream parlour!) is a favorite place to visit. They serve terrific, locally roasted coffee (Matt's Wood Roasted Coffee); many wonderful pastries made in-house by Jenny; Little Bee Ice Cream (also made in-house by Jenny, with locally sourced honey as a prime ingredient); and soups from Karmasouptra (another Portland institution).

In addition to traditional drip coffee (decaf, mid/light roast, and dark roast), they operate a full espresso bar. You can get your traditional espresso, latte, or chai, or--if you've the need to indulge your sweet-tooth-- you can sample one of their many tasty, flavored lattes. The Nutella Latte is a personal favorite, but I also really love the Sock Saunders dark roast coffee.

Beyond the regular coffee shop nuance, Black Cat also boasts its very own "Little Free Library," where you can borrow or deposit books of your own for sharing within the community. This is in addition to the very full bookshelf for on-site reading, and the many games for kids and adults alike to borrow while they're enjoying their snacks and beverages.

Simply put, Jenny and Keith have brought a real gem to the neighborhood. Stop by, say hello, grab a coffee and a treat. You won't be...

Black Cat Coffee is EXACTLY what Deering Center needed! Great for kids with its couches, toys and mini-library (what do you expect with an author and poet for owners!). BC uses Matt's coffee as its (strong) foundation for espresso drinks and does a great cold-brewed iced coffee as well. An unexpected twist are the Cuban Batidos, a fruity, icy, blended refreshment using sweetened condensed milk in flavors like Mango and Tamarind.

Also unexpected but destined to garner other 5-star reviews are baked goods from Portland's finest shops: Donuts from Holy Donut, Bagels from Munjoy Hill's Union Bagel (yes they toast them too), Gluten-free treats from Bam-Bam, and other good stuff from Standard Baking Co.!

Topping off the aforementioned is a smattering of local art (and currently a drawing contest for kids). Who knows, maybe even local acoustic music someday?

I appreciate the tech-savviness here too: iPad POS, a Sonos Play:3 streaming (really good) Pandora stations, free Wi-Fi, and hey, a Google Plus page (and FB & Twitter)! A great place to go to hang out and catch up on neighborhood gossip (even if you are just listening in), Black Cat is destined to join Jet Video as a Deering institution because of its family-friendliness (and regular old friendliness), top quality goods, and accessibility to the work-from-home...

Rambler cafe is my absolute favorite coffee shop in Portland (or anywhere, actually)! I am a regular there and have loved every drink I have ever gotten over the years - my favs are an iced oatmilk latte (you can taste how good their coffee is) and an iced cortado with vanilla cold foam - so good! I love the atmosphere and how welcoming and friendly all of the baristas are - it feels like they truly care about their customers, and I consider them friends. If you're looking for a cozy place to sit and read, work, talk, or just relax with a great cup of coffee (or tea), Rambler cafe...