Cup & Saucer Cafe

09/05/07

YUM, YUM, YUM!!!

by sushiduck

This cafe has impressed me each time I have dined here while shopping/killing time in the Hawthorne district. This is the place for you if you enjoy unique specials, eating breakfast at 7:00 pm, enjoying EXCELLENT baked goods, savoring the diner/cafe experience, or just enjoying a very reasonably priced, vegetarian friendly menu! The service has always been pleasant and I haven't found any reason not to return!

• Pros: Meal prices, seating availability, convenient location
• Cons: Parking may be an issue (try the side streets if you have troubles, it worked for me!)

09/13/09

i pay to sit where i want to

by decernment

I was there on Friday September 11th for lunch. The place was less than half full at eleven thirty. We asked to sit in the inner room and at the window. The rude man doing the seating was clearly irritated that we didn't want to sit next to people in the outer room. He took us to a far table in the corner away from the window and said "you will have to sit here".

We had requested a table that sat four by the window as it was the only one open in the inner room. He gave us a small two person table. Later, he seated two people at a four person table.

There are too many good restaurants in Portland who, especially given the economic climate here, will be glad to see me and treat me as if i am the one paying to eat there.

• Pros: food is good.
• Cons: person seating was rude

04/12/09

blueberry pancakes are good

by kanino

the original c&s is the better one. blueberry pancakes are good, as are most of the breakfast items.

my gripes 1)service can be slow, 2) cost. breakfast should not be noticably expensive. why should i pay 9-10 bucks for something i can make at home for about 2 bucks, even after paying retail for raw materials?

also, the expansion c&s over on whatever street just is not as good.

• Pros: good pancakes
• Cons: somewhat expensive

03/29/09

Best Club Sandwiches on Earth

by CoffeeMaster

Cup and saucer has the best club sandwich on the face of the earth, period! It's huge, full of fresh ingredients, and comes with their amazing house potatoes. If I could eat there every day, I would. they also make amazing hot chocolate. The food is only made better by the brisk and professional staff. Many of the waiters have the tattoos, scars, and emaciation of former heroin addicts, but they are friendly, and they do a great job. It just adds color. Add some AC in the summer and a few fly strips, and I would never leave.

• Pros: Great food, good service
• Cons: flies in the summer, no air conditioning

01/21/09

My girlfriend and I have gone to a few of their locations a bunch of times, and it's always fantastic

by MechaXian

The only problem I have is deciding on which of my menu favorites to order. I loved the regular reuben before I became a vegetarian, but the vegetarian reuben does not disappoint or leave me wishing I still ate meat. The high quality of the ingredients makes a good reuben easy, but the delicious local jam and fantastic, baked to order, doughy and crispy scones are testament to an impressive culinary artistry that doesn't usually come at these lowish prices. The omelets and scrambles (my favorite is the spanish!) are good but not too heavy or oily and the portions are large enough to leave all but competitive eaters asking for a box. My girlfriend and I always either share or wish we did, and I'm certainly a "lover of food" (yes, a euphemism for "fatty"). Specials are often great, as are the soups, and though a better quiche is very easy to find, their specials often include a quiche with an interesting flavor combination. And their other sandwiches are only just a little better than what you expect for the price. Peak hours are just as crazy as they are at the other great breakfast places (genies, cricket, fat alberts), but a recent large expansion makes the list move a lot faster. The laid-back atmosphere off the peak hours, with comfy booths, a fun view of one of Portland's most interesting streets, good music, and sometimes great art, make for a good place to take a date, some friends, or even the family.

The company has a low turnover, which means you can count on becoming familiar with the staff over the years and enjoying a "regular status" but the flip side is you should be prepared for servers who won't go out of their way to hide the fact that their day has been especially bad (or good). Their kitchen appears to be quite streamlined, so you will usually get your food quickly, but otherwise your speed/quantity of service depends greatly on how busy the place is. i.e., if you judge a place by your number of refills, you may prefer some place else.

12/28/08

"Cup and Saucer"?

by blastik

More like "Cup and Hipsters". This place is more of a haven for young people to spend their trust fund dollars as they try to look more cool than the people at the table next to them. It's in a trendy location, so it attracts the same in its people. The food is mediocre at best. They only have whole food items, and certainly do not have more traditional breakfast offerings like waffles, pancakes, etc. The food itself is greasy spoon style, really not that great. There is almost constantly a line waiting to get in to the place, so sitting around for 30 minutes before you get a decent table is standard practice. I'm not sure why this place has such a good reputation. I'm guessing the good rap was created by the hipsters who flock there.

• Pros: the staff is friendly
• Cons: everything else

12/03/08

no way

by untoherselfalone

i really think you can do better for breakfast. walk to 36th and hawthorne and go to the waffle window. you will thank me.

10/03/08

nothing to eat

by newbie43202

When I think of breakfast I imagine pancakes, waffles, toast, biscuts and gravy, eggs, omlets, and all the rest of your traditional breakfast food. Well if your looking for your big filling breakfast this is not the place for you. Since I was under the impression it was a great breakfast place I had my hopes up only to get let down by the horrible selection. I had to order potato cakes and a salad because for us traditional breakfast lovers their is nothing to eat. Not everyone wants a whole foods breakfast if so we could cook it at home.

• Pros: fast seating
• Cons: the food

09/13/08

Best omelets! Great Value!

by mtkendell

First off let me just say I have eaten here numerous times and have always enjoyed the food. I have only eaten their omelets and have not had any of their "lunch" items. Hands down these are the best omelets I have ever eaten. Very creative and delicious. Another big bonus is that they have many very healthy options.I must say the the whole meal deal with omelet, potatoes, and a scone or toast is a real value. I push myself to eat everything on the plate when I go because it is just so darn good! They have great coffee too! I don't go out for breakfast very often but when I do I always go to Cup And Saucer. They are a very busy place and you may have to wait a bit, but it has always been worth the wait. Regardless of how busy they are my water glass and coffee cup always stay full. There customer service is excellent.

They also serve the best cornmeal pancakes I have ever eaten. ( ok, I have only ever had cornmeal pancakes at Cup and Saucer, but they are absolutely terrific!) I truly believe that everyone must try the cornmeal pancakes at least once. I would actually go there just for the cornmeal pancakes! MMM!

• Pros: Delicious!
• Cons: parking

06/28/08

very slow service-- so so food, think--tats manditory for job?

by luvkona

We waited for 50 minutes for a table, many other customers left. We ordered and there was only 3 other tables of people b/4 us, total of 7 breakfast, it took 45 minutes for our breakfast to arrive. Once it did arrive they never did check back to see how things were going, just dropped off the bill and took the plates. Breakfast was just so-so. Won't be going back, this is the second time for bad service.

• Pros: none
• Cons: horrible service, marginal food

04/08/08

I'm surprised...

by copprandstars

that nobody mentioned the obscene amount of fruit flies swarming above the tables. Also, twice in a row, we didn't receive the correct meal. Our pancakes were uncooked, there were vegetables on our plates that we specifically requested to NOT have, and our servers were inattentive. However, the food was decent.