It;s a bakery. Go for the bread, if nothing else. Their daily loaf is fabulous for everything from sandwiches to garlic bread. Their baguette is toothy, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and delicious. Eat it fast though or else plan to use it for french toast.
Their Challah is to die for but only made for that special occasion.
All the cookies cakes and pastries are delicious, especially their chocolate shortbread cookes.
The coffees, teas and lunches are always delish. Great neighborhood place to nosh and read or talk.

This is the best bakery this side of Paris (France). Bread, cookies, pies, croissants, sandwiches coffee....all are amazing. The Hillsdale Sourdough bread is very much like the Poillainer Bread made in France. The coconut cream tart is and sweet and melts in your mouth. Parking is a little tight during peak hours...but that is the only possible drawback.

I love going to this bakery! The coffee is delicious and when you walk in you're greeted with the most wonderful scents of baked goods. The pastries, breads, etc are all incredibly good and even though Baker & Spice is super busy on the weekends it is well worth the wait. The service is great too, and it really seems that the people working at Baker & Spice enjoy their jobs.

visiting Baker & Spice I can only wonder how they can do it all: luscious cakes (try the flourless or the pink!), artisan breads (some of the best ciabatta in portland), pies on the weekends, homemade super-rich hot chocolate, and a pastry case that would put many of portland's bakeries to shame. plus its all made on site, from scratch, from locally grown and/or organic products. (its nice to buy food and know what its made of!) of course, take one look behind the counter and you will see a dozen or so employee's working like crazy in the bustling bakery (they do look like they are enjoying it)-------so that must be it.

its not only busy behind the counter. it gets pretty busy out front too, so if you know exactly what you want i definitely reccommend calling ahead and having them set it aside for you (which they do so gladly.) if you have time to stick aroung, it has a nice seating area which is even nicer when the weather is good and they can open the windows!

I've gone to baker and spice a few times by now, and while I have enjoyed some of their pastries, oftentimes whether in the beginning of day or afternoon, when I request a menu item such as soup, they have already run out and don't seem to offer to make any more. Same with the sandwiches. It's generally hard to find seating because it's so busy in a small (homestyle setting). When I had once asked with kindess if I could speak with the owner/baker she was not very polite back and stated that she did not have the time to speak with me. So some of the staff can be rude at times. But most of the counter service people have been friendlier than that. Try one of their croissants or danishes.