Grendel's Coffee House
729 E. Burnside
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 595-9550
Portland is chock full of coffee houses. It takes friendly staff, a comfortable atmosphere, and good eats/drinks to make one establishment stand out from the myriad of others. Grendel's is one such spot. The name may be sinister (labeled after the infamous monster in Beowulf), but the shop isn't frightening at all.
About seven blocks east of downtown, and on the smaller side, Grendel's has a few comfortable seats, a sofa, and a handful of wooden tables and chairs. They play classical or jazz at a nice background level, and the place is well lit. Large windows compose the front of the store and allow plenty of natural light (when there is any) into the seating area. This is a great place to sit down for a few minutes and relax. They have a solid selection of coffee and tea, as well as a standard choice of bagels and sandwiches. The staff is upbeat, they get your food or drinks to you fairly quickly, and offer no trace of the "cooler than thou" vibe that can so easily infiltrate coffee shop staff (this from a former guilty offender).
Grendel's isn't out to reinvent the coffee house. There isn't much that is off the wall or revolutionary about the place, and, in Portland, that can be refreshing. Mainly, this coffee spot just does everything well and doesn't go out of the way to make sure you know it.
