Bella Espresso

I maybe writing this review for all the wrong reason but here goes #1. The people are TOTALLY AWESOME! It took me a while to remember everyone’s name (all except one who’s name I remember right away because he’s a fox and I like fox’s) but eventually I got it. #2. They have coffee. #3. They make breakfast sandwhiches. I have to say that the only thing that I don’t like about this place is that when I work and thats usually 3pm– 11pm they are just getting ready to close at 4pm. Besides that I like going to Rilassi for the bearded eye candy and the really cool people.

Change is… different. Bella Espresso in South Waterfront is now Rilassi Coffee House and Tea. For the most part not much seems to have changed; the interior and menu offerings are mostly the same. They still offer gelato, paninis, salads, and other various pastries and desserts. They still have the same «specialty» latte’s and mocha’s that Bella previously offered, like my beloved French Kiss Latte.
But it’s not Bella anymore! No more of the awesomely smooth Bella custom roast espresso. They have Longbottom now. It’s just strange. It doesn’t taste bad or anything, just… different. Hm.

Great smoothie, pretty location, nice staff, and POWER OUTLETS! Yay. For a road warrior like me whose laptop battery is perennially getting de-​charged, close by power is a must and Bella Espresso has it. Also has cute décor and swanky loungy couches.

Located in Hillsboro’s trendiest outdoor shopping center, Bella Espresso sets the pace for coffee shop aesthetics. With all of the statues and columns, murals and tile, furniture and accents in this shop you feel as if you’re in a very wealthy 1800’s Italian home. To add to the Italian feel the owner has genuine Italian Gelato ice cream imported from the streets of Milan. In addition to great Gelato they also roast their own beans and serve a variety of fruit smoothies and desserts. I’ve heard (wink) that the «French Kiss» mocha is better than the real thing! Between the fireplace, comfy couches, amazing art and free wi-​fi I’d say Bella has little room for improvement.

Okay, so let me be clear. I don’t drink caffeine. But I love coffee. What I love more about coffee is how it goes so well with pastries. Nothing better on a gloomy, half-​raining, fall Portland day than a good coffee and pastry combo.
So I decided to give the closest coffee joint to my apartment a try. Bella Espresso has been serving up java in the South Waterfront neighborhood for many months, first operating out of a trailer, then out of their beautiful new building down here. It’s very red and romantic inside, with some comfy couches for chilling, regular tables and chairs for laptop-​toters, and an amazing upper mezzanine complete with spiral staircase.
I give Bella Espresso only 3 stars for the following reasons. Their servers are super friendly = 1 star. The building is beautifully decorated and has a cool upstairs = 1 star. Their proximity to my apartment cannot be beat = 1 star. They lose 1 star for having a pretty terrible pastry selection, consisting mostly of generic, once-​frozen pastries that are chewy and overly sweet. They lose 1 more star for serving me a to-​go latte that weighed less than the cheese danish I got to go with it. The barista needs to learn a better foam/​milk balance.