Crema Bakery & Cafe
(503) 234-0206
2728 SE Ankeny St
Portland,
OR
97214
45.522
-122.638
Neighborhoods: Buckman, Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program
Reviews & Ratings for Crema Bakery & Cafe
40 reviews
What users are saying:
Showing 1-10 of 40 reviews
Crema is great. Best coffee shop in Portland. The art though, its not so great lately.
by snobster
December 15, 2007
First off I would like to say that I have been coming to Crema for a long time. What keeps me coming back is the amazing level of care that goes into everything there. The regular coffee is only Stumptown and is never anything less than french pressed. Don't even get me started on the espresso drinks. If you think a honey vanilla latte sounds good, you would be wrong. It's actually amazing. Do yourself a favor and get one. Like now. The baked goods are to die for with things like pear and brie cheese bread pudding and orange ginger scones. The music is always good (Iron & Wine, Postal Service, Ryan Adams), but is never too loud. The baristas are really friendly, but not in a forced kind of Starbucks way (Maybe they are actually glad to be there?). Also very knowledgeable about what they are doing. The only drawback though is the art. The first time I came in there was some of the coolest art on the walls. I always used it in my description of the place... "Great coffee, great music, great local art, free wi-fi etc. etc." but now that "great art" rave has been omitted from my description of late. There has been a severe lack of original or inspiring art on the walls of my favorite coffee shop in the last few months. I want to put a challenge to whomever picks the art, put as much effort into the art on the walls that you put into the art in the cup of coffee you serve. Notice I still put a "Recommended" rating on Crema. It will always be near and dear to my heart. It is still my favorite. But I want to give it five stars. Come on Crema. Don't let me down.
- Pros: Everything but the art.
- Cons: The art.
excellent pastries and coffee
by martiansonmaui
July 03, 2009
Wow! coffee that doesn't taste like turpentine? how do they do it? discovered this place by accident, and bought a Red Velvet cupcake for a friend that needed cheering up. Excellent food.
i'm probably guilty of hanging out too long on the internet, but hey, there are outlets under just about every table, and to me that screams out "please plug in your laptop here". hello? ever heard of an internet cafe?
- Pros: great espresso drinks
- Cons: could open earlier, stay open later
Thanks a lot!
by DeadFrog
May 18, 2009
I am very picky when it comes to my Latte. Victor was totally cool about it and it was if he could read my mind. A friend of mine and I went in looking very dodgy on 05/18/2009. We decided to get some coffee after a long day of work before we took our evening stroll.
Victor took our order. He pulled some very lovely shots which he showed us. He was fun, friendly and fantastic!
If you want to have a quality drink then come to Crema. The staff is awesome, treats are yummy and they have awesome windows for babe watching!
- Pros: Nice shots!
- Cons: They stole my heart and my business from other local shops.
Love the pastries
by Dede
April 05, 2009
The food is great whether you're in the mood for pastries, a sandwich or soup. Coffee lovers paradise, good orange juice, tea and hot chocolate too. Nice variety. Have found everyone there to be friendly, love the open atmosphere with the wifi.
- Pros: Food, coffee. location
- Cons: Can't really think of any
The best
by rachelbachel44
March 30, 2009
Crema is my favorite favorite place to go to meet up with friends for coffee, read a book, do homework, relax with the paper, etc. It's the best of southeast
- Pros: Coffee, service, atmosphere, location
- Cons: What are the drawbacks?
Crema is (mostly) terrible
by arthurthethird
January 26, 2009
Crema's coffee is good but not the best. Their pastries are better than most. I've had some bad coffee and pastries though. Some girl who really needed to brush her teeth put like half a cup of cream (?!) in my Vietnamese coffee. I really didn't like seeing her crusty yellow teeth while she was making my coffee. And there's this real pretentious hipster (who wears really tight shirts though he is fat. It's not becoming, guy...) who always screws up the orders. Once, I saw him get rude to a pregnant girl because she needed her Americano iced. Um, look guy, she's pregnant and can't have a 150 degree beverage-- so don't roll your eyes. I also saw him at a bar one night calling some girl some really nasty things, for which there might be an excuse, except they weren't arguing. I think he just talks to her that way. Sad.
Look I don't really mind hipsters, but this place is filled with juvenile nastiness from the staff. One time this guy was supposed to bring me an iced Americano, but it was made wrong. For some reason he walked around the whole shop looking for me though I was sitting next to the espresso machine the whole time. When he found me he nearly shoved the drink in my hands and rolled his eyes, then waved up his arms as if I had run into his car or something. It really angered me and that piping hot drink spilled a little on my hands. I almost went over and beat the tar out of him, but instead calmed myself down and emailed the manager. Mr. Fortune was very nice and apologetic and gave me a couple gift certificates. Cool. But guess who was there when I returned! You guessed right. I can't believe that guy wasn't fired! Pretentious hipster *%&*$#@&*^.
Sometimes, the place is fairly dirty and it's hard to find a clean table. They often grab a pastry for you after handling money. Dirty! It's a cool space but it's being ruined by a bad staff, lack of cleanliness and mishandled orders. Get a new staff! Clean up a little! Do this and they will come...back.
- Pros: meh. Pastries are usually good.
- Cons: Everything else.
Yummy! by Ashley K. at InsiderPages
Contributor
January 06, 2009
Crema is awesome, they have great food and coffee and a nice atmosphere. Nice place to grab a quick light lunch or a bowl of soup. They are great! I fully recommend them!
Perfect cappuccinos!
by stumptownlover
August 09, 2008
The first time I came in here was for a quick coffee stop and just had a cup of their house coffee, which was good stumptown but just as good as any other place. The next time I came I had a cappuccino and I've gone back every time I'm in the mood for one since. They're the best I've had anywhere, and I've had a lot of cappuccinos. The espresso is rich and smooth and the foam is thick and delicious. Their toddy and iced lattes, and iced mochas are delicious too, but the cappuccino remains my favorite. And if you're looking for dessert be sure to try the red velvet cupcakes, the frosting is delicious!
- Pros: Cappucinos and award winning baristas.
Going down fast
by ElConquistador
July 09, 2008
The good:
Crema is a wonderful location with great drinks and food. It's normally a very lively place in a hip neighborhood and a great place to hang if it's not too crowded.
And the bad,
I've lived in the same neighborhood as Crema for the last few years. I've noticed a steep price increase and deterioration of their customer service and environment. I go there at least once a week and as of the last few months, I've been served a lot of attitude with my coffee. This bothers me much more than the increasing prices, and it is ultimately the reason I'll stop going to Crema. You'll see other posts around local foodie boards and I'm clearly not the only one who is feeling their customer counter needs a fresh overhaul in personnel.
A year ago, I would have given them 4.5 or even 5 stars. Now, it's barely 3. More importantly, my money is going to other shops in the area. I hope the owners are reading their reviews, because i'd hate to lose this once great shop.
Great pastries, good coffee, slow service
by mzwong
May 06, 2008
Love so many things about Crema! The pastries are wonderful, as are the more savory items. The espresso drinks are really good but take far too long to get. The french press coffee I find a little muddy and not as good as the espresso, but others seem to like it. The big complaint is the service/setup. The counter is run very inefficiently and it takes forever to get your order. I will only go if the line is 4 people or less, because it takes so long per person. If they worked on this it would be a truly stellar place.
- Pros: pastries, soups & sandwiches, espresso drinks
- Cons: slow service
Great Sandwiches by Toni F. at InsiderPages
Contributor
April 12, 2008
This is a nice local bakery, good pastries and great sandwiches. Not your standard ham and cheese, their sandwiches are made with artisan breads and grilled to perfection.
This place can get crowded on weekend mornings, so you may want to get your sandwich to go. They do have a little bit of outdoor seating, but not much.
