16 cafe rooms in Portland we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Portland | Cafe across every city.
Portland takes its coffee as seriously as its food, with a roaster-driven culture spread across the peninsula. Tandem Coffee Roasters runs its roastery on Anderson Street in East Bayside, while Speckled Ax on Congress Street in the Arts District built its name on wood-fired roasting. Bard Coffee on Middle Street holds down the Old Port end of the scene.
Tandem Coffee Roasters Anderson Street ★ 4.7
east-bayside · 122 Anderson Street, Portland, ME 04101
Tandem Coffee Roasters on Anderson Street, since 2012 from Will and Kathleen Pratt, is the working East Bayside roastery and cafe with espresso and filter.
Tandem Coffee + Bakery Congress Street ★ 4.7
west-end · 742 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04102
Tandem Coffee + Bakery on Congress Street in the West End is the brunch sibling to the Anderson Street roastery, with buttermilk biscuits and pour-overs.
Bard Coffee ★ 4.6
old-port · 185 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101
Bard Coffee on Middle Street, since 2009, was Portland's first dedicated third-wave cafe, pouring espresso flights and pour-overs from rotating roasters.
Speckled Ax ★ 4.6
arts-district · 567 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Speckled Ax on Congress Street, since 2012 from Matt Bolinder (roasting since 2007), is Portland's wood-fired coffee roaster with house-roasted beans.
Coffee By Design Diamond Street ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 1 Diamond Street, Portland, ME 04101
Coffee By Design on Diamond Street is Portland's flagship coffeehouse and roastery, since 1994 from Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear. Tours by appointment.
Higher Grounds Fair Trade Coffee ★ 4.3
arts-district · 45 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Higher Grounds Coffee on Forest Avenue, since 2002, runs Fair Trade Federation single-origin coffees from a longstanding Portland third-wave cafe.
Arabica Coffee House ★ 4.3
old-port · 2 Free Street, Portland, ME 04101
Arabica Coffee House on Free Street has run since 2001 as Portland's bohemian third-wave room, with house-roasted espresso, lattes and a summer patio.
Forage Market ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 123 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Forage Market on Washington Avenue in East Bayside, a wood-fired bagel cafe with all-day Speckled Ax-roasted coffee, schmears and brunch sandwiches daily.
Moonday Coffee ★ 4.5
east-bayside · 93 Washington Avenue, Unit 1, Portland, ME 04101
Moonday Coffee at the Black Box on Washington Ave in East Bayside, a shipping-container roastery cafe pulling Speckled Ax and pouring scratch-made masala.
Speckled Ax ★ 4.2
arts-district · 567 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Speckled Ax on Congress Street in Portland is the city's wood-fired coffee roaster, roasting over open hardwood flame and vanishingly rare in the country.
Tandem Coffee Roasters ★ 4.8
east-bayside · 122 Anderson Street, Portland, ME 04101
Tandem Coffee Roasters on Anderson Street, since 2012 from Will and Kathleen Pratt, is Portland's flagship third-wave roastery and East Bayside cafe.
Coffee By Design ★ 4.6
east-bayside · 1 Diamond Street, Portland, ME 04101
Coffee By Design on Diamond Street, since 1994 from Mary Allen Lindemann and Alan Spear, is Portland's longest-running independent roastery.
Speckled Ax Wood-Fired Coffee Roasters ★ 4.7
arts-district · 567 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
Speckled Ax on Congress Street (Bolinder roasting since 2007, shop since 2012) roasts coffee over an open hardwood fire from an Arts District storefront.
Bard Coffee ★ 4.5
old-port · 185 Middle Street, Portland, ME 04101
Bard Coffee on Middle Street, since 2009, was Portland's first dedicated specialty-coffee cafe and runs a rotating multi-roaster program with no house roast.
Higher Grounds Fair Trade Coffee ★ 4.3
arts-district · 45 Forest Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Higher Grounds on Forest Avenue, since 2002, is Portland's longest-running Fair Trade Federation coffee roaster, with wholesale and cafe retail in one space.
Lay Day Roasters ★ 4.4
bayside · 150 Preble Street, Portland, ME 04101
Lay Day Roasters on Preble Street in Bayside Portland, a small-batch micro-lot specialist with a rotating single-origin program and a quiet roastery cafe.