Oui Presse? Mais oui!

Dear Readers,

I have found it. I have found the ultimate Pacific North West coffee shop and it goes by the name of 'Oui Presse'.

Frequent Readers of 'Confessions' will be well aware that my top ten list of coffee shops around London fluctuates on a relatively regular basis, well, we now need to reserve the Number One Spot for Portland's 'Oui Presse' - the most perfect coffee shop I have encountered on my American Adventures so far.

I've enjoyed coffee shops in Seattle, and I've appreciated some of the coffee houses in Portland, but I have constantly been searching for something more, something with a certain je ne sais quoi, and I finally found it after a long walk through Southeast Portland's Hawthorne District.

Whilst 'Oui Presse' is slightly further away from the main strip of Hawthorne it is well worth the detour and the wait - I urge you NOT to stop at any of the other places on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard but rather to wait until you reach Hawthorne and SE 18th and visit this most delightful, super-cute and ultra-delicious of coffee shops.

I have been thinking a lot about the art of the coffee shop on this trip and, whilst I appreciate different customers want different things from a coffee shop, I am certain there are some universal truths. And they are that a most wonderful coffee shop should contain:

• a beautiful interior
• something to distinguish it from other places
• a unique sense of self (see above) 
• friendly staff 
• a calm, super clean and comfortable layout and, above all, 
• most excellent coffee

and I am pleased to say that 'Oui Presse' has all of these things. 

Beautiful Interior: 

Something to distinguish it from other coffee shops: 

It not only has an ice cream scoop collection as shown above but also curates magazines from across the world, meaning there is no shortage of reading matter if you turn up and realise yo have forgotten your book!

A unique sense of self: 

I didn't manage to take photos of the thermos collection hanging on the wall, or the bunny slippers - see the website, believe me, you're going to want some - but I think the picture above of hand-drawn cakes as a substitute for the real thing will suffice to give you a sense of the uniqueness of 'Oui Presse'...

Friendly Staff: 

You can just about make out the completely delightful, friendly lady who made our amazing coffee in the picture above.

Calm, Clean,. Comfortable: 

This image is taken from inside the shop looking out - who doesn't want to see a silhouette of a girl with a ponytail while they're drinking coffee?

And this photo is of the door to the restrooms, because who doesn't want to be reminded to 'EAT CAKE' and 'SHOP' when they're in a coffee shop?!

Most Excellent Coffee: 

But above all, the coffee was the BEST I have had in the whole of Seattle and the whole of Portland so far. And that is saying somehting. SIBF had a cappuccino pictured above, but I had the most wonderful  confection called a 'Noisette'. It was the most perfect coffee I have ever drunk. I wish I could go there every day and drink a Noisette whilst writing in the corner. I might even eat a slice of Pistachio Cake too. 

Readers: the message is simple. When in Portland, visit 'Oui Presse' and find yourself leaving with a desire for bunny slippers and wishing that you lived in Hawthorne so that you could go everyday. 

Whimsy x