Smith Teamaker — Restaurant in Portland

There are two aspects I'm rating Smith on, the atmosphere and the tea itself. The store is a little too small to allow for any good seating. I've tried sitting inside the store a couple of times and have been left uninspired and not feeling good about the space itself. I'd like to have some character and the sense that I can have a good conversation. Both of these are lacking here. The tea... it was actually pretty bad. I'm going to compare my experience with Tao of Tea located on the east side. At Tao, I can ask for a chai tea and they will have a long list of points they check off, then spend 5 minutes making a five star cup of Chai. At Smith, I was not asked if I wanted sweetener, they added so much sugar it was like going to Starbucks, ordering a Chai, and then adding sugar. The tea was served like a latte, with frothed heated milk. I honestly didn't want to finish it, but since I spent $7... I live a block away. So I'm sad that this place isn't that good. They have nice tea pots, but that...

I got the Ice Cream Royale Latte based on the recommendations of another reviewer and they were right; it was so good. I would definitely get that latte again. I also got the Forager's Noodles and wow, that soup bowl was jam packed- squash, shiitake mushrooms, mint, basil, other greens (lol, idk exactly what they are but they were so good), bok choy, buckwheat noodles -so delicious- and the broth. I think the description said it was a smoked tea based broth; so so so good. It made for a very delicious bowl. Also, the broth has some chili oil and I think there were some slices of jalapeños(?) I'm not exactly sure, but fearing that they were jalapeños, I took them off (not a spicy food lover). That being said, I did find there to be a little heat, but I still thought it was great. At the time when I ate this, it was raining so it was...

You guys, we need more shops in Portland that allow public seating on the public sidewalk where they put their chairs. This place is directly next to my work and they told me I can’t have a seat without buying something. I had to get to downtown Portland early today to get to the clinic a few blocks away for my PT appointment before work. I had an hour to spare I can’t exactly arrive to work that early, especially not to hang out before clocking in. I am receiving treatment for chronic hip pain, hence the PT. Let people sit in the chairs you leave outside. Let them rest their bags on your tables. It’s wet, you have a canopy, and nobody else is out there. I was born and raised here, 32 years of age. My city is a disappointment these days, the transplants are an epidemic, and the...