The 17 Best Breakfast Spots In Portland, Oregon - Portland, OR - The Infatuation (2024)

There’s no shortage of lackluster eggy breakfast sandwiches and biscuits overflowing with gravy in Portland, but finding morning meal options worth getting out of bed for is another story. Here’s our list of the best, whether you’re into dimly lit dive bars serving breakfast, mimosas and photo-worthy lobster benedicts, æbleskivers, or dutch babies at the original Original Pancake House.

THE SPOTS

My Fathers Place is the city’s classic dive bar breakfast experience. The long-standing Central Eastside staple is beloved, whether you’re nursing a hangover or fueling up for a midday hike—Bloody Marys and video poker optional. Grab a brown vinyl booth, let your eyes adjust to the Tiffany lamp glow, and soak in vestiges of Old Portland, preferably with an appropriately hearty plate. If it comes smothered in gravy, all the better, like the chunky corned beef hash or chicken fried steak, and opt for the potatoes o’brien (hash browns with peppers and onions) as a side. My Father’s Place serves breakfast all day and into the night, so even if you’re a late riser you can get your steak and eggs fix.

This Roseway diner is a bonafide crowd-pleaser. You could bring your Shari’s-loving grandma or chef-obsessed coworker and they’d feel at home. It’s hard to resist the generous portions, reasonable prices, cottagecore aesthetic (think floral wallpaper and shelves crowded with teapots), and hybrid menu you won’t find anywhere else in the city. The ham and cheese omelets and pancakes the size of dinner plates seem typical, but look closer and there’s kimchi hash. The bindaetteok, a thick crepe of ground mung beans and rice, is served American diner-style with eggs and bacon. The Korean touches are thanks to longtime owner, Sue Gee, who even sells bottled sauces with her face on them.

When pancakes or eggs just won’t do, go for a Vietnamese noodle soup at Rose VL. Save your phở cravings for later, because this family-run Foster-Powell restaurant in a tiny strip mall is all about the deep cuts that feel rare for this town. Instead, order the cao lȃ̀u noodles, a Saturday-only special that’s an explosion of textures and flavors due to thick, chewy noodles, slightly sweet Chinese bbq pork, and herbs, plus peanuts and fried shallots for crunch. Light pork broth is served on the side for sipping between bites. Rose VL serves different soups every day, so diehards know the day of the week to go for the shrimp cake noodle soup with sliced pork meatloaf (Friday) or the red chicken curry served with a crusty baguette (Thursday).

Portland lacks a robust deli culture, but it does have legit bagels. Henry Higgins’ is among the best—and that’s why they often sell out by 11am. The original Foster-Powell location with limited seats sells breakfast sandwiches and gooey reubens. But we suggest going the purist route and ordering a simple bagel with cream cheese to appreciate the shiny, chewy crust and dense interior that separates a great bagel from a dinner roll with a hole in it. Lightly sweet pumpernickel and lox cream cheese or the one with nutty sesame and scallion are great combos. The beauty of being 2,500 miles from NYC is that you can order a blueberry bagel or a seasonal apple walnut schmear and no one will care. If you prefer bialys, which are extremely scarce in town, this spot bakes a limited amount on weekends.

Mississippi’s Gravy has glorious excess down pat, and their Southern food is compelling enough to justify waiting for a table, even on a weekday. If you gravitate towards sweet and savory dishes like chicken and waffles, try the monte cristo instead. The base of this open-face french toast sandwich is the thickest slice of brioche ever, and shaved turkey and ham, melted swiss, and two poached eggs take it over the top. Strawberry jam for dipping or dabbing, and a golden hash brown cake the size of a 45 record, come on the side. You can swap out potato accompaniments for a short stack, and this is the way to go if you want fluffy pancakes with your scramble or omelet (and you do).

If you don’t live in Mill Park, you probably wouldn’t know that this food cart exists in a parking lot on 122nd. Breakfast burrito and taco lovers know what’s up, though. This one-woman operation makes outstanding Mexican-ish eggs in tortillas, plus coffees, smoothies, and vegan-friendly options (a rarity in this neighborhood). You can go big with a steak and egg burrito stuffed with seared carne asada or up your daily fruit and fiber intake with a bowl of warm quinoa, spiked with cinnamon and vanilla, and served like oatmeal topped with nuts and berries. The brunch taco is simple perfection with thick-cut applewood bacon, melted Tillamook pepper jack, and a still-yolky fried egg tucked into a corn tortilla.

Sure, Original Pancake Houses have sprouted up from Ohio to Osaka, but this Southwest Portland colonial-style home with a candy-cane-striped awning is the O.G. And tearing into a perfectly light and eggy dutch baby, dusted with powdered sugar and kissed with lemon, just hits different in a wood-paneled room with decorative plates lining the walls. We advise sticking to the sweet side of the menu, like that signature dutch baby, spiced pecan waffle, or the massive glazed apple pancake that’s heavy on cinnamon and sugar and tastes like an apple fritter.

Proud Mary Cafe is a local offshoot of an Australian all-day cafe, like the ones that popularized flat whites and avocado toasts in the States. You should stop into the airy, narrow space in Alberta for a meticulous pour-over made from Panamanian geisha beans (that have won awards, if you care about that kind of thing) or sit at a table with a sourdough toast slathered simply with Vegemite. For breakfast, the ricotta hotcake is a favorite for good reason: It changes with the seasons, so you’ll never eat the same version twice. You might find it topped with poached pears, coconut sesame crisp, and matcha crumble in fall, or key lime custard, whipped mascarpone, hibiscus syrup, and basil oil in the summer.

You might gravitate toward the masa-centric salbutes and panuchos topped and stuffed with succulent cochinita pibil that were popular at chef Manny Lopez’s previous restaurant, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But come on a weekend to his new Yucatecan counter-service spot on 82nd Ave. for the soups, like the stunning relleno negro, a turkey stew in a charcoal black broth darkened with charred chile paste called recado, and featuring a giant pork meatball that reveals a hard-boiled egg inside when you slice it open. The soup not only looks cool, but also has a wonderfully spicy-smoky flavor. This mom-and-pop place also does a more prim blanco version, solid menudo, plus a variety of pozoles. If it’s available, we recommend the milder green pozole that’s thickened with tomatillos.

Portland is overrun with casual restaurants doing the biscuits and gravy and overstuffed omelets thing. Boise’s Broder Nord is a welcome change-up—especially if your familiarity with Scandinavian food was formed at the Ikea cafeteria. Pancakes take the form of Danish æbleskiver, puffy golden balls served with zingy lemon curd and lingonberry jam. Get the small to share, then move on to something substantial like the lox and skagen smørrebrød, an open-face sandwich on hearty Nordic rye piled with silky gravlax, bay shrimp, and micro greens, or the Swedish hash crowned with perfectly runny soft-boiled eggs and pickled beets that cut through the richness. The scramble comes with roasted squash or smoked trout, as the menu isn’t terribly meat-heavy.

Cafe Rowan transformed a former Starbucks into a light-filled counter-service cafe where you can pop in for an Americano or stay for a leisurely weekday brunch, mimosa in hand. You won’t leave this Creston-Kenilworth spot with enough leftovers for another meal, but that’s not the point of little luxuries like the Dungeness crab benedict dressed with white truffle hollandaise and garnished with shaved purple daikon. Simple items also get an upgrade like avocado toast that’s tastefully amped up with spring peas, mint, meyer lemon tahini, spiced pumpkin seeds, and a garlic chile oil drizzle.

What if we told you there was a delicious brunch in town, with high-quality ingredients, creative twists, and no lines? Masala Lab PDX—the 100% gluten-free, weekends-only restaurant on MLK with an industrial vibe—isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s great for wowing spice-loving friends who aren’t bound by tradition. Saagshuka, an Indian take on the Middle Eastern dish that poaches two eggs in spinach curry, is a great introduction. Their version of shrimp and grits with creamy coconut polenta and tikka mole is also fusion done right. Don’t miss the chaat hash, topped with ghee-fried eggs and livened up with tart lime pickle. You can opt for butter chicken or chickpea tempeh on the side, but the meaty lardons make this fry-up a true cross-cultural masterpiece.

When a dim sum urge hits, head to Excellent Cuisine. This Jade District spot is buzzy and ’90s-era banquet-style with chandeliers, lots of round tables (no one will make you sit with strangers here), and servers pushing tiered carts so you and your group—we recommend bringing a crew—can peek at the selections before making a move. The menu is full of nothing but hits, especially the translucent har gow filled with pleasantly springy shrimp, or the visually appealing red shrimp rice rolls stuffed with prawn mousse. Excellent Cuisine also serves adorable and just-sweet-enough desserts, like wobbly coconut pudding shaped like ducks and pigs.

Yes, people still line up on Burnside for Screen Door’s local take on Southern food, served in a stylishly rustic space, bolstered by an enclosed patio. But with online reservations—and a new location in the Pearl District—getting a prime Saturday morning table is easier. Tourists and locals alike are queuing up for the autumnal cinnamon-spiced sweet potato waffles topped with as many pieces of peppery, perfectly crispy fried chicken as you’d like and served with deep amber maple syrup, plus lowcountry classics like shrimp in a smoky tomato sauce on creamy, cheddar grits. The boozy bananas foster french toast is also a calling card—all that’s missing is the tableside flambée.

This Southern-meets-Pacific Northwest spot on Alberta filled a breakfast sandwich void when it burst onto the scene over a decade ago with The Reggie: a now legendary behemoth stuffed with chicken, bacon, and cheddar, and overflowing with so much sausage gravy that you need a knife and fork. Go for unsung heroes like the Hash Ups, a thin, golden brown shredded potato cake topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, blanketed with melted cheese, and chopped meat of choice—we recommend the deliciously salty country ham. It’s worth taking a peek at the menu ahead of time to prevent holding up the line while ordering at the counter.

This old-school diner with formica counters and bolted-down chrome stools has been holding strong in the Pearl District since the ’40s, even though it’s now surrounded by art galleries and brewpubs. Prices have kept up with the times, but 10 bucks still goes pretty far at breakfast, whether you’re looking for pigs in a blanket or solid, no-nonsense eggs, bacon, and hashbrown combos. On weekdays, expect early risers, tourists from nearby hotels, and office workers grabbing a quick lunch.

Fried Egg I’m in Love recently opened spacious digs on N. Mississippi with yolk yellow accents, a full bar, and an expanded menu that includes non-eggy items like flapjacks and hashbrowns that are reminiscent of McDonald’s (in the best way, of course). Their popular breakfast sandwiches stand out thanks to toasted sourdough, which gives them more chew than a biscuit or bun, and the addition of flavored aioli or pesto for extra richness. The punny names don’t hurt either, like the signature Yolko Ono, featuring an over-medium fried egg, housemade sausage patty, pesto, and parmesan for a lush and savory combo. And because Portland is going to Portland, there’s an “egg” sandwich for herbivores, the Vegan and Sara, that employs plant-based ingredients, avocados, and pickled onions creatively.