Cafe 232

On a quest to find a calm working space with wifi, I happened upon this little gem. Finding ample working room and soothing jazz playing in the background, I readily became a repeat customer.
Their coffee is Stumptown sourced and is of a high quality roast. Cappuccinos and lattes have been excellent and their Americano is also decent (granted it’s the simplest of the drinks to make). It comes in two sizes for the same price (always one shot of espresso regardless), so you can easily pick the strength of the coffee.
The ambiance here is indescribably delightful, and has charming quirks that about it. It’s the perfect spot for grabbing a hot drink and getting some work done.

This place uses great coffee in a not so great way. They have NO IDEA how to make a simple Americano. It’s straight up water and the espresso itself might as well just be food coloring. I believe they brew their iced coffee beforehand, which explains the watery taste. I’m sure they’re super cheap and they «get more bang for their buck» by cheating customers out of flavor. You would think that after all of the subpar product, the prices would at least be decent? Literally the opposite — THIS PLACE IS A RIP OFF. $ 4.00 for a 1-​shot gross Americano and 3.75 for their nasty iced coffee. Oh and guess what! THEY ONLY TAKE CASH! This neighborhood is full of great coffee DON’T LET THE STUMPTOWN BRANDING AROUND THE PLACE FOOL YOU! Go to Pecks or Brewklyn instead!

It’s been 2 hours since I placed an order and now they won’t answer the phone (after being assured it was on its way). I could kill a man. They also straight up lied to me on the phone, saying the order was out, before I finally got through to them again when they said it actually never went out.

This is the café upstairs from the 232 Korean restaurant (
).
I have been going here on and off since 2013, and I really like it. They do excellent Stumptown coffees at reasonable prices (I recommend the cappucino), the space is wide and pleasant, there is decent wifi and they are cool with you sitting and working for hours.
I have never seen it overcrowded, it’s always pleasantly half-​full. They have good fresh pastries and decent sandwiches, although the latter I find a little overpriced. The best thing though, is that you can order delicious and reasonably priced Korean food from the restaurant downstairs and have it served in the café.
It’s kept nice and clean and the bathroom is really good, too. I guess the only things preventing me from giving it a five-​star rating are that the selection of snacks is somewhat limited and pricey, that they are cash-​only, and that the second-​hand industrial chic of the place means that some of the tables and chairs are, ahem, less than comfortable.
The staff are super friendly. Always a cool artsy vibe as most of the clientele seem to be students from the nearby Pratt Institute.