Soen

We ordered the tuna, salmon, and egg rolls. They were tasty. Definitely not a full lunch by any means, but a great snack. There is VERY limited seating (about three indoor tables and two outdoor tables). We ended up kind of awkwardly standing waiting for other people to be finished taking photos and sipping their coffee. The place doesn’t advertise as Soen and is inside the coffee shop (we had to ask for help finding it).

I saw that there was a winter porridge special for Monday, so took the bus over from SE and had some rice porridge for lunch! The porridge itself didn't taste like much apart from rice, but all of the toppings added a lot of flavor and texture. I scraped my bowl clean! Looking forward to coming back another time to try other menu items.

Soen/Courier Coffee is a small Japanese café. It's one café and one counter for ordering, so there is no functional distinction between Soen and Courier Coffee, I think the coffee menu and small baked goods selection is from Courier Coffee and the rest (norimaki, kakigori, and tea) is Soen. Kakigori is available seasonally - I was lucky that I visited during the last week of kakigori for the year. It's a pretty small space, a few tables tables inside and a few outside on the sidewalk. There's not much room for standing, but the staff will bring your food to your table so you don't have to stand around waiting after you order. The staff members were very nice! I got there 45 minutes before closing. They were out of most of the norimaki but had one ume-taku norimaki left, so that was what I ordered, along with an apple cinnamon kakigori and buckwheat tea. I really enjoyed the norimaki even though it wasn't my first choice. The pickled plum and radish gave it a big pop of flavour and the inari added some nice sweetness. Perfect interplay of sweet, savoury, and vegetal flavours. The kakigori looked huge but since kakigori is mostly ice it wasn't heavy or hard to finish. The apple cinnamon flavour came with a creamy sweet potato sauce, a shot of hojicha, and of course baked apples. It was a really interesting and unique combination of flavours. Very good. The tea was a nice warming accompaniment to my meal. I think for the high quality the prices were fair.

The shaved ice is really good!!! Their sushi roll is so good as well!!! I’m so glad I got to try them in time because last year we went they didn’t have the shaved ice (it’s a seasonal thing) not sure how much longer they’ll have it but I would recommend it!! :)))

My mother, sister and I ordered the zuni Kintoki and Strawberry Matcha shaved rice along with some Tsuna Mayo Avocado rolls, all of which were delicious!! I have a very sweet tooth and so I really enjoyed the Strawberry Matcha shaved ice but I also surprisingly enjoyed the Uji Kintoki as well. The atmosphere and people were very nice and kind and I would totally recommend this place to others 🤍

Super cozy and limited seating, but wow, this might be the best onigiri my wife (who's Japanese American) and I have ever had. I'm looking forward to coming back for coffee and some in-house baked treats!

Really cute little snack spot! Very small inside, there is additional seating outside. We got the buckwheat soba tea, the houjicha latte, and the vegetarian roll. All very good, my favorite of the 3 was the tea! Very sweet staff, just a little on the pricey side for the size. (We did not get kakigori this time, so will definitelg be back for a quaint little snack!

The onigiri Wednesday is so delicious ! And of course the shaved ice. This is a special little local spot. Good sells out so go early if you can.

Soen was on my must-try list while I'm visiting Portland! We visited on July fourth weekend and it was blazing hot this weekend. It got really crowded for this small shop. I'm assuming it's because of the weather that got this place popping this weekend, but maybe it'll be less crowded on cooler days. They have a large counter with workers making drinks, desserts, and food in the back, and a smaller seating area in the front of the shop, less than five tables. They have a few other seats outside, but not enough for the crowd today. I came to Soen to try their Kakigori dessert, specifically their Hojicha Kokuto Kinako. I'm a sucker for both Hojicha and Kinako so the combination a both was an absolute must for me! We also added mochi to Kakigori. It's like a little treasure hunt as you eat because they hide it in the shaved ice. One thing I would recommend they do is add menus somewhere for people waiting in line to look at. We weren't able to take a look at the menu until we were at the ordering counter, and some people in front of us had the same issue, which caused a long wait just to put our order in. The pressure of not holding up the line made me feel like I had to place my order fast, so being able to look at a menu beforehand would help immensely. That and they have a small number of staffs, and they're just really busy today so the wait for our dessert took a long time. We were eventually able to grab a seat before our order came. We ordered a small size, but I honestly wouldn't have mind a larger size because it was just so good! It made for the perfect dessert that's not too sweet nor too heavy! The Hojicha flavored ice was delicious and really evident, so they probably added a good amount of powder or syrup to the shaved ice. They sprinkled a good amount of Kinako powder on top of the cream so it sorta melted and blended in with the cream. Every bite was plenty flavorful. All-in-all, loved this spot and would definitely recommend. I think they're fairly new, so hopefully they're more efficient the next time I come visit Portland again. I would love to try some of their other flavors, sweets, or even small bites next time.

Small kakigori counter that shares its space with courier coffee. Close to powells bookstore but tucked away on the corner such that it is still quiet/peaceful. They do sell savory nori rolls as well if you're looking for some food items aside from sweets. Limited tables and seating, but very friendly service. Coffee and baked goods from courier coffee also pair well and a good hit.

This place has some really good shaved ice! It's a small counter located in Courier Coffee. They also have small snacks to eat. We got the Hojicha Kokuto Kinaco shaved ice, and it was pretty good. I liked the hojicha flavor and the combo with sweet adzuki beans. It's a pleasant dessert that's not too heavy. It's definitely worth a try.

Sushi rolls were big, fresh and delicious. Kaki gori was soft, sweet, refreshing and satisfying. We spent $28 and shared the 2 big rolls and the huge kaki gori. What you see in the pic is half of each roll． we had already eaten the other half! Nice place with good service, delicious food, and fair prices.

Rolls, drinks, and shaved ice were all so good. Not a lot of seating since it's a tiny pop up in an existing coffee shop, but the music was great and the service was easy going. Iced matcha latte and hojicha kakigori were both among the best I've had.