Barista

I have been going here for years and keep going because I am always satisfied. Love there hot chocolate now and there

Great atmosphere! Wonderful ambience. I ordered the vanilla latte but thought it was a bit on the mild side. After a day and a half to observe in Portland i totally needed something stronger! Not their fault. Should’ve ordered a macchiatto! Great location though, close to so many amazing places to try!

This is a review for all of the Barista cafes since I’ve been to them all. I’ve played the coffee game in a number of places: LA, New York, Seattle, Phoenix, Vancouver, list goes on. I’ve been particularly impressed by Barista because the people who work know what they’re talking about and are willing to explain the fine details of roasting/​brewing.
They don’t roast their own beans, but have a variety mostly from roasters in Pac NW and some from California. On one occasion, I asked about two brands I hadn’t seen before, and on another, I asked what paired well with an Americano; both times they were helpful explained it well. Way better than the standard «.It’s good.» answer that some of the other hipster cafes might give.
Their space is nice, the people are friendly, and the coffee is fucking good.

I laughed when I came here because there was just a long line of Macbooks and dark rimmed glasses. Oh, Portland hipsters, you know where to find good coffee.
The coffee is good and the space is open. The service isn’t particularly friendly nor disgruntled — that standard hipster Portland vibe is what you’ll get at Barista.
I came here to chat with a friend and wished we’d picked another location since most people here were solo and working. I felt a bit loud talking with my friend in the corner while a girl in plaid with white headphones glared up at me. I’ll take my social affairs elsewhere, but will come back here when I need to get some biznass done.
The Christmas tree is adorbs right now.

Let’s just say this place is not my cup of tea. or coffee. I read thru a few reviews while looking for a place to grab a chai tea for myslef and an Americano for a friend.
Walking up to this place, I could tell I might have been out of my element. It seemed quite trendy/​hipster from the outside. Once inside I noticed it’s set up like a bar, which is a cute idea. The whole place was packed with people who seemed like they had all the time and money in the world.
The gentleman who took my order was nice enough, but seemed like my order was weird. My friend likes her americano with milk or cream. As far as the gentleman behind the counter was concerned this was an odd request. I don’t typically drink fancy coffee, so I had no clue.
Next time I’m in the market for coffee, I will skip this place.

Coffee is good, but the place is creepy in that it’s a living charicature of PDX pretentious douchebaggery (a living episode of Portlandia). Baristas with big beards dressed like effeminate lumberjacks with attitudes and the whole 9 yards reign over a packed house of hipsters. Sensing I and my friend were not cool enough to hang, we were given to go cups without asking and our pastries bagged (so we decided to stay and drink it all in).

Great place to stop by and have a great coffee. Location is right in the middle of the Alberta district. You can come in here and find people reading their books, chatting it up with friends or the baristas, or peeps on their laptop. I enjoy this place for getting personal admin work done.
If you’re a people watcher as I am this is great place.

Came here on Saturday afternoon. Ordered their chai tea latte ($ 3.50 for 12oz), which is pleasantly spicy and interestingly has lemon juice in the ingredients (first time I’ve seen that!), although you can’t taste it. Of note, they just have their chai tea in a big glass bottle and then they heat it up before pouring it into a large teacup. It doesn’t seem like they make it on site. Not exactly an impressive process, but that’s fine.
Plenty of room to sit at the counters, small tables, or long picnic style bench tables. Not a bad place to people watch. Clean. Low lighting makes it not ideal for reading. They do have seating outside as well, if you’re so inclined. Also, they do take all credit cards, including Amex.

Barista brewed me the best cappuccino I have ever had in my life. There, I said it.
I drink an exorbitant amount of coffee, and I am but a neophyte in the complex world of coffee tasting, but I know delicious coffee when I drink it. Barista, with Coava’s Flor de Concepcion, brewed me the smoothest, most flavorful and delicious cappuccinos I have ever had, beating out even my favorite spot in the Bay Area, CA.
Yes, the workers here sport a hip vibe, from tattoos to the boots-​jeans combo, beanies, beards, and of course a plaid shirt. I quite liked the ambiance of the shop and found it eclectic but cool, perhaps because I myself was dressed in said plaid-​jeans-​boots combination and have oft frequented San Francisco coffee shops where this hipster vibe is a standard.
I bought myself a bag of freshly roasted Coava beans and a diner mug to complement, but it isn’t quite the same as getting a perfect capp from Barista. I will visit you again when I’m in town, mark my words!

Best cup of Coffee I’ve ever had! If I still lived in Portland, I’d become an avid coffee drinker and customer here. It was amazing! Quaint atmosphere, clean, open and prefect for great convo with a friend! The cashier was bright and cheering and helped to make my morning brighter by cracking a few jokes and walking me through my coffee preferences until I ended up holding a little cup of heaven in my hands. When I’m back in Portland, I’ll surely be back here again.

This location was better than the one in 23^rd, although the Alberta neighborhood is a bit twee and presh to me. I had an Americano since Barista does not make pour over cups.
i want to be impressed by the coffee, but Barista seems more interested in décor.

It’s been awhile since I visited, but I distinctly remember having a formidable experience. The décor is warm, interesting, and I bit like an old gentleman’s club. The baristas are knowledgable and skilled, therefore you’ll end up with a great drink. They also face their cash-​and-​carry license, so that can be fun I’m sure!

This was one of the three major coffee shops on my coffee tour, and unfortunately, my coffee experience could have been better. I ordered the Americano with just a little bit of water (in a similar fashion to all three coffee shops, Stumptown, Courier) and it came to me lukewarm, as it had been sitting on the counter, right adjacent to my GF’s iced coffee for a long time before I was aware that my coffee was ready. My Americano was a bit on the sour side and I had a lot of reservation finishing up the reminder of the cup. My girlfriend, on the other hand, loved the iced coffee, and she’s someone who normally drinks hot coffee, laced with enough milk and sugar to make a Rhody proud.
Overall, I think I just had a bad experience, considering we were tired and walking for almost the entire day. Maybe I will return again and retry a regular cup-​o-​joe.

Coffee and beer being served in the same place? Yea, I’d become an alcoholic. I had the decaf which was okay and then I was craving a beer… then two… then I had to leave.
The décor was nice with deep mahogany wood all throughout, the workers were nice, and the clients seemed… pretty much the definition of Portlandia. Maybe that’s why San Francisco can’t have nice places like these.

My coworkers and I stopped in here to cut the dust on a hot evening. I liked the drinks, though I wasn’t as crazy about the atmosphere.
Iced coffee can be hard to do right. Sometimes, it’s watery. Other times, it’s overly bitter and not at all what’s called for on a hot day. Baristas’s was the goldilocks cup – light and refreshing, while still fortifying the way a good coffee of any kind should be.
I was also impressed with the fact that they have a few taps with microbrew beer and cider. I liked the hopped cider that some of our group opted for – it was smooth, crisp, well-​balanced between the apple and hops flavors. The session saison they had wasn’t quite as good (a little one-​dimensional), but still, good for them for having beer as well as coffee. I was also impressed by the price – $ 3 for a pint of microbrew at 6:00 is pretty damn good anywhere, let alone at a place that isn’t exclusively a bar.
I wasn’t as crazy about Barista’s layout. Some people fault the obnoxious hipster vibe, which is understandable, but it could be worse. This is Portland, after all. That said, it’s simply not that inviting. Way too spacious, not at all cozy, and the seating isn’t particularly comfortable. That’s not good for a coffee shop or for a bar. Going here alone would be an oppressive experience, with the huge tables that dominate the place. In groups, it’s a bit better, but still, there’s not much in the way of privacy with which to better enjoy the company.
I’d come back to Barista, but I wouldn’t stay long. They serve a number of fine products, but their atmosphere leaves much to be desired.

My last stop for coffee during my weekend stay in Portland, and I can say with certainty that this was the most warm and welcoming shop I visited over the weekend. Prior to stopping in I had a delicious breakfast down the street at Pine State Biscuits, had other options for coffee in the area, but I felt Barista was the way to go because it’s a well-​known and respected local chain.
The baristas were friendly and the ambience calm. So I didn’t feel rushed or unwelcomed.
I dropped in to grab a cup of their 12-​hour cold brew and drizzled a little simple syrup with a splash of milk. It was just total bliss.
Also bought an awesome Barista shirt to show off back home!
Overall, the staff seemed skillful and well equipped to make good drinks. The interior design of the shop is trendy with a slight vintage feel, almost bar like. It’s located in the Alberta Arts District which is filled with lots of places to eat, grab desserts, get a haircut, or do some shopping; basically you’re bound to find something to do there. One final highlight is, they serve some of the best coffee from local and non-​local roasteries.

Why turn off your wifi on the weekends…
It’s 2015. Most places offer free wireless or a password protected one that you can usually ask for. When I went up to ask for the password on Saturday I was told «we turn off the wifi on weekends.» That’s odd.
I imagine they are trying to keep the flow of customers high on weekends and people who will stay for a few hours with their laptops don’t produce business or a person with papers and books and a laptop may mar the pretentious coffee barista shop veneer they promote.
Also. If you need to use the restroom there’s a keypad. I understand the need for these in areas where you may have issues with people using it irresponsibly. But seems very unnecessary for a place and location like this.
There’s coffee. It’s good coffee for sure. And they offer beer as well. The service was friendly too.
It may seem a little petty to complain about WiFi and the restrooms but it’s Portland and there are tons of wonderful coffee shops at arms reach who will probably let you use their wifi on the weekend and won’t lock you out of the potty.
This place is beautiful, the coffee is spectacular, and the atmosphere… unwelcoming

This is one of those places where I walk into and immediately want to walk out because it feels like a hipster joint and everyone will judge me. But Barista is different. Seriously. Hipsters are here, definitely, but the baristas don’t talk down to you, they know their coffee, and they aren’t snobbish about it. I tried the dark chocolate coffee. Maybe it was a mocha? All I know was that it was good.
Unpretentious is the word I was searching for this whole review. Go here for a nice, tasty cup of joe. The décor is fantastic, and I loved sitting at the bar watching the baristas do their thing.

This location of Barista is rapidly rising to the top tier of my go-​to coffee shops. It’s a wonderfully cozy space, where good coffee is poured by friendly people, to a soundtrack of agreeable tunes.
Prices here are definitely reasonable. A good cup of coffee will set you back $ 2, with refills an additional $ 1. They don’t have much in the way of food, with nothing outside of the typical baked-​goods category. I do wish that they served some sort of fruit (I, I, I love apples and bananas), but alas they do not. Still, if you’re wanting a muffin or something, they’ve got you covered.
The group table in the back is where you’ll usually find me. Plug-​ins are limited but thankfully there’s one to be found at the farthest end of the table. If you don’t make it to the communal table, I can see this spot being somewhat difficult for any sort of meetings. The other tables are small and not near plugins. This could very well be by design.
While none of this is particularly insightful, I also have nothing really negative to say about this space. They do a great job creating a warm and welcoming environment while serving a good product. Good job, baristas at Barista!

Great vibe. Beautiful space. Want to come back and spend more time here. A little intimidating at first… but you’ll get over it. It’s Portland for God’s sake.
Superior taste. The quality is obvious. I’m not well-​versed in anything coffee related, but I can tell the difference. Simple yet bold flavor. Was dope watching them make drinks as well.