Caffè Viale

Yesterday was a busy, busy day, so I had to hit the ground running. I was so on a mission that I forgot to stop to get coffee, so it was with real relief that I stopped at Caffe Viale to pick up an iced Americano and scone. The barista was pleasant and professional and had everything out quickly. The scone was perfect, lemon poppyseed, with a great texture and very fresh. The coffee was great (can’t remember the brand, but very good), and the shop itself (which used to be a TriMet 1970s-​era bus stop and shelter) is clean, attractive, and looks comfortable enough for the barista to move around easily. Kudos to TriMet and the owner of this shop for maintaining a bit of Portland Transit Mall history and help us bus riders and other city folk stay awake in the morning.

We stopped here during our walking tour. The coffee shop is inside an old bus stop turned into a kiosk. I had the Mocha and it was great. The service was fast. It was fun to visit this site as we learned the reason from the old to the current bus stop kiosk.

The coffee and espresso drinks here are above average. On my visit, they were out of the ingredients needed to make the drink I ordered (never a good sign), but at least they gave me a dollar off of my 2^nd choice order.
The staff are a bit aloof. They were so pre-​occupied in talking with a «regular» that I didn’t even get acknowledged for a couple of minutes. A simple «we’ll be right with you» would have been nice.
I try to visit small local spots like this versus Starbucks, but sometimes I see why they are still a small local spot.

Great customer service on the daily, quality and quick! Whenever they have the Chili soup, DO NOT miss out! It’s AMAZING and sooo delicious! Good sandwich/​pastry/​cookie variety too for those on the go. My vanilla latte’s are always on point as well and served with a smile. Great Umbria coffee in general. Keep up the good work!

My good friend works in this building and seems to be better friends with the employees at Caffè Viale than at his office! They are all super friendly and chipper. We got breakfast pastries and coffee. I’ve heard from others who work in this building that their coffee isn’t the best — I didn’t try it and am by no means a coffee expert. I had a bite of this sweet potato/​bread pastry and I did like it! Good flavor, good texture, moist bread with a bit of crisp.

First time I got coffee from here was really enjoyable. The barista lady was really nice, had big smile on even though it was 7am. That is why I decide to go in again. Second time huge dissapoitment. The barista wasn’t very happy to be there this morning, I ordered Americano with milk (he didn’t even ask me if I want steamed or cold) and I got regular coffee with no milk… Not looking forward to go back

Tasty Quiche and they actually have amoretto latte’s here which put a huge smile on my face. Back to the quiche, it had eggplant, orange peppers and spinach with a perfect seasoning. My stomach thanks you Caffé Viale!

Caffè Viale is a coffee shop located inside the Congress Center building in downtown Portland. There is another location of this coffee shop just right outside the building in a streetside kiosk.
As it is located in a commercial building, it draws many customers from workers in the same building needing their java fix. I was waiting to take the BoltBus to head back to Seattle so I visited Viale for a drink before my trip.
There is a Starbucks across the street from the BoltBus stop, but this is not too far if you are looking for a local alternative. It is inside the building where the BoltBus stops in front of, though on the other side.
The coffee shop is small and nookish. There are a couple of chairs by the counter to the side if you want to sit inside the shop. But it would be more comfortable to sit outside in one of the chairs in the lobby instead.
Viale uses Caffe Umbria coffee which is roasted in Seattle. I had an 16 ounce café au lait ($ 2.60) which was alright. Umbria isn’t my favorite Seattle roaster. I prefer Caffé Vita and Caffé D’arte, but it was satisfactory. In addition to coffee drinks, Viale offers baked goods and sandwiches.
If you are looking for a place to grab a quality coffee drink in the downtown Portland business district, Caffè Viale is worth considering. Though if you are looking for a place to get some work done and a drink, go elsewhere as this place is more of a to go coffee shop.

What a great find! I’m only in town for a few days for a conference, but I’ve made a couple of trips a day here.
The coffee is fantastic, the workers are incredibly friendly, and I was pretty excited by the option of a slice of goat cheese and mushroom quiche for breakfast.
My only disappointment is that they’re not open on Saturday, my last day in Portland.

Seriously great service here. My Americano and breakfast quesadilla were delicious as well. Definitely a good stop for a quick coffee and breakfast in the am.

Great latte. I had a spicy maya and it was perfectly foamed and yes it was spicy.
It makes met kink I am sipping coffee outdoors in Paris.
PS this is located in an old bus shelter on the transit mall. It is the last one and was converted to a coffee kiosk. Very nice.

Not the greatest latte I’ve ever had, but still 5 stars for this little converted bus shelter!
First, it’s cute! It’s a converted bus shelter. I love Portland.
Second, they’re so friendly! I need that in the mornings, thank you.
Third, they are priced far below what Starbucks (and every other coffee shop in Portland) charges, for just as good of a product. Definitely as good as Starbucks, I know some fancier coffee shops here can get away with murder because their roasts are just so damn delicious.
Finally, they’re so quick! Usually, Starbucks is my main haunt in the mornings, because while the lines are long, they move fairly quickly, I can pay with my phone, and I pass 2 – 4 on my way from my apartment to my bus stop, depending which route I walk. I was happy I took the gamble on Caffe Viale this morning (I am always almost late for the bus) because the friendly employee handed me my $ 2.80 latte in practically no time.
Support this place! I’d be sad if it went away.

I stopped at the outside location on a whim this morning; I didn’t even know there was one inside. The outside shop is really charming because it’s in an converted old-​style bus shelter. The barista was super friendly, which I thought amazing because it was early in the morning and he must have been really cold! I got a caramel and vanilla latte. It’s great — not too sweet, not too bitter. The price is comparable to the Starbucks down the street, but there aren’t crazy long lines and overworked baristas, and the coffee is better!

Five stars for the coffee and house-​made pastries, three stars for the setting; overall I heartily recommend it. Enter off of Sixth Street.

I still get great service and good food from Café Viale. They pull a smooth shot of espresso and I even converted my boss, who lived in Italy for a time. Using Caffe Umbria Coffees is another plus. After recent price hikes on food and even «simple» beverages at the chain coffeehouses nearby, prices are even more reasonable.

I work in the building where Café Vialle is located. They’re my go to stop for coffee. There’s a Starbucks a block away, but who would ever go there when we have such a better place to go to? A personal favorite, although if I drank it every day I think I would gain 45 pounds, is the cardamom honey latte. The staff is always awesome. Tip well!

A friend suggested that we meet here for lunch. I’m so glad that she did. This café is tucked inside a building without much street presence. I wouldn’t have known that this tiny café offered such a variety of lunch items (soups and sandwiches). I had a vegetarian sandwich with tomatoes, spinach, and fresh mozzarella on wheat bread. I’m happy to have found a new lunch spot. This is mainly a take-​out spot, but there are a few seats in the building lobby to sit and eat.

I work downtown and unless it’s really pouring down rain, I’ll walk the four blocks from my building past Roses, SBUX, etc to get my coffee here. The coffee is tasty but not bitter, and so much more flavorful than the chains. The staff is adorable and pleasant, and the baked goods are better than any others around.
Great place!

I feel like lemon poppyseed muffins get looked down on. With no nuts or berries or chocolate chips, there aren’t any exciting morsels to discover inside them. No surprises, nothing to look forward to. But at the same time, you know exactly what you’re getting with this muffin. We’ve all had the disappointment of muffins that look so good on the outside, but one bite in and you realize that there’s nothing going on on the inside (a la the blueberry muffin scene in Casino).
Maybe it’s because of their inferior status in the muffin world that the lemon poppyseed ones are my favorite. I used to gravitate towards blueberry or chocolate muffins but constantly found that they didn’t live up to my expectations. But not so with lemon poppyseed: in their simplicity, I found truth.
I hopped on the bus one morning last week without eating breakfast. But I was going downtown, and I knew Caffe Viale was right there. I had been there plenty of times before. The sandwiches were good — tasty, though a tad pricey — and the baked goods were better. Everything I tried — chocolate chip cookie, apple cake, coffee crumb cake, whatever — restored my faith in baked goods that didn’t come from my own oven. And that day, I was dead-​set on a muffin.
I walked inside and looked at the glass display case. Wouldn’t you know, the only muffin left was lemon poppyseed. So I paid for the muffin and walked out and took a bite into this simple pleasure.
But this muffin wasn’t simple. The poppyseed flavor was strong and the lemon was intense. Seriously intense. The muffin even smelled like lemons. Are you kidding?! Muffins never smell like lemons. Hell, there was lemon peel baked in. After eating this, there was no going back.
Dammit, Caffe Viale, you have completely ruined my appreciation for mediocre baked goods.

* A solid four stars coffee shop and it’s not ****bucks.
* They have more pastries than you can imagine for breakfast, Chocolate Croissant anyone?
* I think they held an audition for their baristas because they all mighty fine and they even have Orlando Bloom look alike works here. Would you like some Legolas with your Café Au Lait this morning? ;-)