Delta Cafe

02/14/08

Southern Cuisine-Sort Of...

by LaneMeyer at Citysearch

The Delta is all over the board. I must admit I am not a "Soul Food" critic, but here goes...

I lived blocks away from the Delta a few years back. Had the fried chicken and cornbread on a take-out basis a couple of times. Average. Found the cornbread a bit sweet. Had my first dine-in experience in late December of 2007. Rolled in about 6pm with a date. Service was good, food was average. Heard many horror stories about service, can't say for sure, but the tatooed folks roaming about seemed a tad aloof. Joint was slow at the time. Who knows...Greens slightly underdone, beans and rice unremarkable, blackened catfish average, pulled pork sandwich nothing special. Would go back if I was in the old neighborhood, but wouldn't go too far out of my way. 40oz bottles of Pabst are cute and all, but no excuse for a dining experience. As far as price is concerned, not as cheap as one might expect.

• Pros: Atmosphere, Menu
• Cons: Price, Parking, Service

12/09/06

Landmark

by woodstalker at Citysearch

An absolute cornerstone of the friendly woodstock neighborhood. My family and I live there and dine at the Delta at least every other month. I prefer the ribs in mustard sauce or the selection of po' boy sandwiches, my wife prefers the catfish and my daughter generally goes for the little fishy bites. Any of the enormous sides is a meal in its' own right., The service is great, ecclectic and earthy with a distinct Portland feel. They have a great bar and a good selection of brews, PBR in a ice bucket. When you eat at the Delta you leave with a Smelta.

• Pros: food, drinks, ambience
• Cons: occasional wait

08/16/06

its ok

by ztechnon7 at Citysearch

its ok its fine its not retro or anything like that but it has good food if you like that kind of food

• Pros: none
• Cons: none

05/18/06

more gravy with your gravy?

by tattooedchef at Citysearch

Local hipster art covering walls congested to the threshold of being Kitschy. a Mack-truck of rainforest heat knocks you down and instantly makes you sweat as you cross the entryway. you probably want to eat here in the colder months only. You probably wont be lucky enough to get the one outside table so dont even try. inside, you will rarely see a server except when you order, when they bring you your food and when they give you your check. You will probably have to wade through rude hipster wait staff, long, looong wait times for food (check out Lutz Tavern during the wait), There's probably better southern food elsewhere but Delta's not bad. Stay away from the watery, limp greens. Do not leave without sampling at least one of the many home-infused liquors and specialty drinks the Delta offers.

• Pros: gravy, gravy, gravy, infused liquors, parking
• Cons: heat, HORRIBLE SERVICE, long wait

04/04/06

Take the good with the bad

by sshelby at Citysearch

A craving for pork ribs with spicy Delta red sauce brought me in this Monday. It didn't take long to recall why I hadn't been to the Delta for awhile: poor service. The waiter was eventually able to take time from his busy schedule to take my order, but our drinks sat on the bar for several minutes before the bartender realized wait-boy wasn't coming back. The food arrived promptly and was delicious, so the kitchen and servers are doing their jobs. When the waiter checked back, he glanced at our empty glasses, considered asking if we wanted another round, decided against it, turned on his heel and left. Didn't see him again until he brought the check.

09/27/05

Went downhill

by circusmonkey at Citysearch

This used to be a great place for southern food, dont know what happened, its below average now. Ive given it 3-4 chances but I had to give up.

07/14/04

Booze is all right but...

by manusamo at Citysearch

This place was better when it didn't have the extra bar addition and just concentrated on its food. The chicken fried pork chops were amazing before and now each chop is half as big as they were, the fried chicken has gone down and everything else just doesn't have the same tang to it. I wouldn't mind if the bartenders were any good but they can't mix drinks worth a lick, so go there if you want to get a bit less than what you pay for food and a lot less than you pay for the drinks-stick to the PBR forty.

05/21/03

There's better

by yazfan at Citysearch

At first you're taken back by the selection and price, then the food takes you back down to reality. You get large portions of so-so fare, nothing really stands out, but nothing is bad either. Fried chicken was average.

01/07/03

Humble but not gamble

by Melogan at Citysearch

Yes, this is not the most glamourous place to nibble on your morsels, but it's a worthy spot to catch a decent bite to eat. Some dishes I would recommend are Honey Sweet Ham, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Surry Sausage Chowder and perhaps top them off with Minced Meat Pie or Pumpkin Cheesecake. The atmosphere is cozy, but service can be improved, both in terms of timeliness and friendliness.

• Pros: good food
• Cons: so so service

11/23/02

This place is OK

by sidesomi at Citysearch

This place is fun, but the food is only OK here - if you want the best Southern food in Portland, go to Yam Yam's.

• Pros: Pabst in ice buckets
• Cons: Food not great