Grendel’s Coffee House

The place is low key; cozy interior; large windows with a view of Burnside; excellent prices on espresso drinks –by far the lowest I’ve encountered; custom made sandwiches and a daily soup (I didn’t try either one).

Just moved into the neighborhood and was excited to try this place. Went a few times but was disappointed to find that every time I got a bagel with cream cheese… they only put a very, very thin layer of cream cheese on the bagel, and with parts of the bagel without any cream cheese at all.

Duuude. Wtf. This place is so good. Artichoke bisque soup with bagel and a filthy ass chai

ATMOSPHERE:
Casual, cozy, with local flare and info.
SERVICE:
Quick when you need it, but you never feel rushed when you sit and eat. Staff and owner are always smiling.
FOOD:
Super yummy sandwiches and the made from scratch soups are the best! A real winter treat. And the espresso drinks are great, I particularly love Grendel’s Ghost because the white espresso has extra caffeine: D

Hip, se coffee shop. Treated with that forced politeness when I walked in… it felt like I was not quite wanted. More employees than customers and they still forgot my order. Coffee was ok but not any better than any of the surrounding shops. I’d tell you how the food tasted, but, I only got to pay for it.
Two stars for ambience, but that’s it.
I’ll just head over to their competition next time. Sadly, I’d have been been off going to Starbucks: at least I’d have gotten my breakfast.

Sweet little joint a stones throw away from our hotel where we could stumble over to grab a quick breakfast sandwich to start the day.
I got the bacon sandwich on an english muffin and it was ok… took longer than I thought it would take, but the very nice girls that work here kept us in conversation so the wait wasn’t too painful. We sat outside on their front patio and ate. Very basic sandwich but did what it was supposed to do; soak up last night’s liquor.

Based on prices and product this place is a solid 4. However, there is too many druggies hanging around the place and I felt super uncomfortable. I went in at 10 am and I sat down inside because there was like 3 men who were passing out in the outdoor seating area, physically swollowing pills from a pill bottle and just super high. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese and a medium tea for $ 4 and the staff was super nice. I just wish they would kick out people that are clearly intoxicated.

If you’re into witches, witchcraft, coffee, and Portland, this is the place for you! If you’re scared of the occult, stay away! There’s witchy art on the wall, and it it lives up to its name, Grendel!
Coffee’s not bad.

BEST BREAKFAST SANDWICH ON THE PLANET. I highly recommend a jalapeño bagel with bacon, egg, cucumber, avocado, tomato, provolone cheese, and a dash of hot sauce. I dream about this on the daily now. Plus the lavender mocha is pretty damn good too. They stop serving breakfast at 11:30 so don’t miss out. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

I like this place, nice and quiet. They’re not blasting the a/​c like a lot of places do, which makes me need a jacket in 80° weather.
The coffee is good too, plenty of independent places like this burn their coffee and the mochas have no flavour but not Grendel’s!
Plus you gotta love the literary reference.

Great coffee… also bagel w/​egg bacon. All good :)

Thank you for not charging me $ 5 for GOOD coffee. I live in N/​S PDX and the hipster struggle is real when it comes to foofy coffee shops — I live right above one. I’ve been to Grendel’s (across from Doug Fir) several times and every time I’m so grateful that it’s ‘normal’. It reminds me of my old neighborhood fave — Dragonfly, where it feels more quaint, rustic and more of a neighborhood coffee shop that isn’t trying to sell this big brand. Oh, and the coffee is amazing — after a taste test of the $ 5ish coffee at Ristretto Roasters and Grendel’s, it blew RR out of the water. Super happy about this spot. Outdoor seating as well, plus pastries + sandwiches!

Cute, cozy little coffee house, offers a nice, quiet place to sit and unwind with some coffee, read a book, do some work, or have a nice intimate chat with a friend. I came in around closing time, but they were still super nice and friendly. I ordered a specialty latte and it was skillfully made and equally delicious! They were nice to not kick us out right when it closed, but just gave us gentle reminders that they were already closed. He let us stay until we wanted to leave, which is very kind of him. Since it was closing time, most of bakery items and some of the drinks were not available anymore. I wouldn’t mind coming back to try more items on the menu.

What once used to be quite a dumpy place now seems to be quite nice. Maybe there’s new management. Good coffee, nice folks.

Loved the vibe of this place. Good coffee. They also have some interesting coffee based drinks on the menu.

Lots of options. Americano was perfect. Everyone in my group got something different. And we come here whenever we play a show in Portland.

Food:
I only ordered a Ginger Peach Iced Tea so this will be short. It comes in an appropriately-​sized cup and there’s enough steeped tea that you can let the ice in your cup doesn’t take away too much flavour. I was looking forward to some baked treats to go with the tea but at the time I came they only had cookies and plain croissants in their treats tray which was a little disappointing. Thankfully you don’t run out of tea bags.
Features:
Quiet, comfy, and bright is how I would describe the interior. Quiet chatter flows through the café and there’s a welcoming feeling throughout the space. Despite the mythological relation, there is nothing fearsome about this café. The view includes East Burnside which is a cute commercial neighbourhood similar to the East Village neighborhood in Vancouver.
Service:
Not much in the way of service for me since all I ordered was tea. The barista was friendly to me despite my small order and nothing felt as mechanical as Starbucks.
One-​liner: A comfort café
Highlight: The quiet chatter of productivity and relationships
Recommended for: A weekend afternoon to focus
Would I go back? Yes.

I found that the iced coffee was a bit weak, but a $ 0.50 espresso shot helps give it some kick. it is in a good location on Burnside & is close to a few hotels, bars, clubs, & other businesses. Perfect if you’re trying to nurse a hangover!

Salty Dog and Grendel’s Ghost.
That is all you need to know.

My mocha was pretty and tasted good. While the staff were not bright sunshine friendly they got my order right and in a quick manner. I thought it was nice that they have a public computer.
Overall when I’m in the area I won’t pass up a chance to stop in for my mocha fix!
I had a bagel and it was alright. I saw they serve breakfast so maybe I will check it out.