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Categories: Coffee & Tea, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Southeast Portland, HawthorneMon-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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It's getting gray out there. I don't have a lot of windows in my tiny apartment so I go window shopping looking for the best spot to read/work/drink/see/be seen. Do you want bright cheery colors and a view of the traffic moving, scooting, biking along the heart of Hawthorne? I do.
What I really liked about this place, besides the So-Trendy-I-Feel-Cool-Just -Ordering-from-You staff, and besides the full spectrum menu (carnivorous-cruelty to cruelty-free) is that when I told them I just wanted to sit and drink coffee they gave me my space and let me feel at home.
Would be heaven if there were more comfy seats, but then they would never get rid of people like me.
"Vegetarian sausage? Yes, please - but could you just pour gravy all over that? Better yet, better go with the hollandaise."
I hate that this place has too many yummy options to choose from, but love that you really can't go wrong with any choice. You could essentially just make a delicious morning meal out of the sides they have listed - i highly recommend smothering the hollandaise over everything.
My only gripe is that is that we were told the wait was 20 minutes for almost an hour - I mean, this place is really good, but it's not line-forming-blow-your-mind good. Then again, I'm from DC and we wait in line for 20 minutes at 3am for hotdogs. What do I know.
Cup & Saucer has evolved into our no-brainer, go-to spot for breakfast with some frequency. When we head out the front door for breakfast, we inevitably end up here, without communication. "Want to grab some breakfast?" has taken on the meaning of "Cup & Saucer?"
Every time I try to find a new spot (variety is the spice of life and all that), their awesome little breakfast scones keep pulling me back in. I can't get enough of this tasty breakfast treat with raspberry jam.
They have a rotating "special" pancake menu. Their cakes are massive and fluffy. One is all anyone really needs, especially if you're ordering other food.
Hell, even their fruit cup is pretty yummy. Just be sure to order it without blueberries (for some unknown reason they occasionally bastardize a beautiful, all-fresh fruit cup with previously frozen blueberries, even during the height of blueberry season). There is no reason for this because their fruit cup is great, especially when the random circle of kiwi appears on top. Fresh kiwi - I love that!
The kitchen here is usually crazy quick. Though, as I've mentioned previously on Yelp, we're early risers, so we have our pick of the city at 7 a.m., and most kitchens aren't backed up at that hour.
They have your classic egg fare, lots of omelet combos, or build-your-own. Their bacon is good, and they know what "extra crispy" means. There are usually 2 daily quiche options as well, which The Bud has often enjoyed.
Coffee is decent. Refills are often but can be sparse later in the morning when the place really gets hopping. But the scones...mmmm....mmm...the scones. They keep me coming back every time.
I believe it's called Northwest Benedict? Yep, it's bomb. Eggs benedict with salmon. They make it good here.
Friendly staff. Good vibe. Good food. I eat eggs benedict every time and I'm always happy. And my vegan friend loves it here!
This is one of my favorite breakfast places and I have ten extra pounds to prove it! They have great food from eggs benedict to Vegan options (they are very kind to Vegans). The staff is always friendly and recognizes my husband and me whenever we go in.
The wait can be long on the weekends, go for brunch around 2:00 PM for faster service. The atmosphere is great with local artist being featured on their walls. Sometimes it does get a little loud in there though.
we have discovered if you are really hungry you can get a side of potatoes really fast. And I love their scones! Don't go in groups of more than four.
The corn/spelt pancake is Fantastic but the potatoes taste like the oil they use to fry them might have been changed last year.
Nothing fancy, but always delicious and fresh tasting.
Simply, a safe bet.
I've lived down the street from this place for over two years and had never made it down until the other morning, after seeing the huge crowd already assembled down at Jam. We got in without a wait, but the server was pretty slow to come by and acknowledge us.
The food was okay, I got the Super Saucer: eggs, side of meat, and a pancake bigger than my head. All very filling and pretty tasty. The hubby got a breakfast sandwich that he said was also decent, though the biscuit that came on the side was hard as a rock, and the potatoes were not that great. the side of fruit I ordered was a pleasant surprise: blueberries, cranberries, kiwi, melon, grapes, banana, pineapple, and sliced apple. A little small for $3, but since there was so much variety, can't really fault them too much.
Overall, it was just okay, the server never checked back with us until we were already done eating. Kind of surprising, considering the place was half empty. I would go back again, the food was solid, but not outstanding, service was typical Portland "ehhh". I wouldn't wait for it, but if you see empty seats, head on in.
More vegan breakfast! It's taken me over a week to write up all the places I visited while in Portland, and now that it's been a while I'm starting to get intense nostalgia and hunger pains as I finish up my last few reviews.
Apparently there are two locations of C&S, but my friend Sarah recommended this location as it's closer and slightly better (her opinion). Even though we had a bit of a wait, we were seated within a reasonable amount of time, and while the service was friendly enough it wasn't stellar. What was stellar was the food, and that's really what's most important, no? I had the Garden Scramble with non-dairy cheese (and it was vegan too!) plus a side of breakfast 'tatoes. I loved my breakfast and while I was bummed that they didn't have vegan sausage (only vegetarian), I was pleased with my meal, and thankfully the potatoes were better here than they were at Juniors. Oh, and delicious coffee!
If I lived in the area I could see going there once a week for Sunday breffie.
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat - I am a pancake fiend. I love pancakes, and have loved them since I first ate a pancake. This place has the best pancakes I've ever eaten. Ever. In my years of experience, never has a pancake so delicious passed my lips.
Also, the coffee is amazing, and so are the breakfast options - I had a wonderful Spinach and Havarti omelet, and it started my day off right. It's a little pricey (not hugely so, though), but the food is so good I'm sure I'll be a regular in no time.
Yummy!
Seriously, this place hit the spot while staying in Portland. Incredibly cute space, with lots of windows and skylights, friendly and FAST service, great coffee, and my breakfast potatoes were delish.
Plus it's located in a great neighborhood, next to a cool record store. Lots of fun shops to browse after you've filled your tummy.
I usually am a fan of Cup and Saucer because it's a great place to get breakfast so early in the morning. I'm a fan of their potatoes and scones. However, this last time I had breakfast there, I was not impressed, it was okay. The service was great and readily got refills on my water and coffee.
I ordered the Ham Benedict because anytime I can get hollandaise and poached eggs, I take advantage of the situation. I've had Eggs Benedict here before but this last time was just kind of okay. I thought it had lacked some flavor and my potatoes also lacked flavor and were slightly underdone. I try not to have dress up my food with hot sauce or ketchup because laking flavors, but I unfortunately had to do both. I'll still return there for breakfast because I like the atmosphere and this was the only time where I left unsatisfied with my meal there. Overall, still a favorite.
Good, straightforward fare, delicious scone, and super service.
I recommend the Cup & Saucer anytime you need (or even just want!) a no-frills type of breakfast. Next time I'll get the biscuits and gravy, what will you get?
Yesterday I had a horrible experience. There were 2 of us, the wait was over an hour, with at least 20 minutes of visable open tables. We then waited over 45 minutes for our food, with no apologies or updates.
Also, from our seats, we could see into the kitchen, and any breakfast place that MICROwaves their bacon gets a low score from me.
They also do not make an effort to get local, organic ingredients, minus a star for that one too.
They do have good scones and pancakes, and decent portion sizes. The coffee's subpar, as well as the service.
The Cup & Saucer saved my last trip to Portland from disaster! We often come here on our way through town (from Seattle) but decided to check out a new joint. Well, they were CLOSED, and we found ourselves running back to our tried and true.
The tofu scrambles and vegetarian biscuits and gravy were great and kept me energized all day.
This place hasn't changed a whole lot over the 20 plus years I've been dropping in to eat and I am happy for it. I can't find the perfect breakfast place in Portland, but this spot is very good and has a decent breakfast burrito and enough other variety (including daily specials) to make most everyone happy. They have recently expanded, but there is still a line down the block on weekends.
I went back and enjoyed it more. I still don't think it's a 4 star kind of place, but the service was less chaotic and the food was better. The potatoes remain greasy and even a little burned, and my bacon was super greasy. It's ok to run a paper towel over the cooked bacon to get off the excess fat. While it was waiting to be served and eaten, the oil was thick enough to form a congealed pool on top of the bacon pieces. Have you ever seen that before? The eggs were fine, as was the toast. The best part is the coffee cake, it's delicious. We went here because we were too lazy to look for other places, and it was good enough.
Now, what is with the towels in the bathroom? I know, eco-conscious business, etc., but I never will use those revolving towel things to dry my hands. Most people don't wash their hands long enough anyway (two rounds of happy birthday to me or 20 seconds, whichever comes first), so then they dry their not very clean hands on the roll that I'm supposed to use? Hell no! I opened the door with my shirt and then found paper towels on a rack outside the door to use. Get one of those cool Japanese hand driers if you feel paper towels are going to destroy the universe, but please get rid of the gross germ infested revolving cloth towel.
Thoroughly mediocre. There is nothing about this place that screams you MUST go there. The wait… Read more »
It was all right. Nothing particularly fancy or spectacular, but a solid place to go for breakfast or lunch or whatever meal of the day.
My food was all right. I wasn't blown away, but would come back to give it another try.
Service was amazing and the place was real kid friendly in the sense that it was loud enough that others weren't bothered by some background baby noise.
Dude refilled our coffee at the table an unbelievable amount of times in a little over an hour. Freakin' solid when your jonesing on a Sunday morning for a caffeine kick. No problems accomodating a group of 7 at peak rush, much appreciated.
I left a star off because my biscuits and gravy was a bit bland (it was a vegie gravy so I can't be too mad at them). They rocked the Ardvark Hot Sauce on the table though and that provided more than enough flavor kick.
I came back for breakfast.
The food comes out so freakin fast! I thought it was a freak occurrence the first time, but have come to believe it's just how they do.
Had the vegan cornmeal pancake with real maple syrup (a buck extra. worth it, always.) and some veggie sausage. The veggie sausage was only lukewarm, but that's the beauty of eating soy products--it's not like I'm eating a rare burger when I ordered a well-done one. You know? So, yeah, I would have liked my soy sausage patty to be heated up all the way, but when food comes out that fast, I'll take it.
Solidly decent again, though the waitress seemed a bit surly.
Oh! And this guy came in around 8:30 (a.m.!) and ordered a beer, asked if he could smoke, wolfed down his breakfast, then took off. Weird!
For being so very close to my work, I come here surprisingly little.
So little, in fact, that I…
Read more »
Overall, it's the food at breakfast that keeps me coming back. From omelettes to scrambles to sandwiches--one will find something to satisfy one's breakfast cravings. And everything seems to always be better when paired with one of their signature scones--lightly sweetened, just the right constistency, the perfect starch to organic, free-range grub. Vegetarians and PETA-conscious diners, in particular, will find a happy home within the confines of this relaxed, laidback 'diner' amid the bustling Hawthorne area.
Yet, relaxed and laidback also seem to describe the service that one sometimes receives--a bit of a hit-or-miss. When they're "on", they're "on". But when they're "off", the lousy, diner coffee is the least of your complaints. It would seem, at times, that the waitstaff have the mental capacity to adequately service only two tables at a time. If you're unlucky enough to be that third, it's a sad day for you indeed. And, dare I repeat, there IS that lousy diner coffee.
But, this neighborhood eatery remains a popular treat to both the locals and visitors alike, that, if you arrive later than 9:00 a.m. on any Saturday or Sunday, good luck finding a table. In terms of price, the Cup & Saucer is comparable to other popular breakfast places in the city. Breakfast for two would run you between $16 to $24, depending on what you get and what you ultimately decide to tip your server, even if s/he doesn't deserve to receive any.
If you haven't tried the Cup & Saucer before, I'd say give it a try but leave your expectations at the door. Just enjoy it for what it is: a simple, unassuming neighborhood restaurant that happens to do its eggs (and scones) very right.
God damnit. I really, really wanted to rate this place better.
I really do love diners and neat-o breakfast/brunch/lunch spots with eclectic menus such as the Cup & Saucer. In fact, 5 stars to their menu.
They have a good selection of carnivorous and veggie options available, which I think that in this day and age is crucial to cater to your customers.
The wait on the weekends is a bit, well, wait-ish. It's long. The first time I went here was with my dad, and it was on a Saturday around noon. We only waited for about 15 minutes, but the place was jam-packed.
My first experience was decent enough; good company, good coffee. I like that you can get soy milk for your coffee instead of cream. I'm not vegetarian but I prefer soy in my coffee.
The first time, I ordered breakfast - veggie sausage (because I like it, damnit), egg whites, potatoes, toast.
This is where our problems begiiiiiiiiiiiin...
Now, if I had WANTED to eat a salt rock, I would have probably opted to order a salt rock instead. However, the salt rock manifested itself in the shape of veggie sausage, egg whites, potatoes, and toast. Are they having streaks of bad luck in the kitchen? Throwing salt over their shoulders and having it land in the food? I usually put ketchup on my whatever-form-of-potatoes that I get, and I couldn't use any due to the abuse it would cause my body.
The toast was over-toasted. The potatoes had obviously been sitting for quite some time- they were very dry and mealy. The veggie sausage was actually GREASY... something I'd never experienced with veggie sausage.
My dad's club sandwich, though, looked fantastic.
The second time around, I was wandering around Hawthorne, and was hungry, so I thought I would give them another shot.
This time, instead of a salt-rock-manifestation, I do believe I got what was to be an entire salt lake.
I ordered the veggie reuben sandwich with a salad.
The tofu 'meat' bit was BLACK. I mean, like, pitch black. Is it supposed to be that way? I believe it was the result of soaking in the soy, er, salt lake sauce. Inedible. The bread it was on had seemingly been soaking in a bowl of oil and salt. Added onto that was sauerkraut, which isn't exactly a low-sodium food.
The salad was meh. A few slices of cucumber and tomato on some lettuce. Woo-fucking-hoo.
So, sorry guys.. I REALLY want to like this place because it has a nice vibe, and the staff is really friendly. But the food is just terrible. And that, sadly, and not-sadly, is the reason why I go out to eat.
Great service, yes it was weekday and slow. They went out of their way for substitutions in my breakfast burrito. They have Sweet Aardvark Hot Sauce, which is SUPER :)
I'm totally breaking up with you. I used to live on Alberta and visit your sister - the Cup and Saucer over there. the staff were great. The food was nothing to rave about but it was decent. I thought it would be the same with you. Not so. I've tried over and over again to make it work - hoping it was just me. But it's not. It's you.
What's so bad? Your staff. H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. Seriously. I sometimes wonder if your staff are having a competition to see who can be the worst server ever. Well guess what - it's a tie and they all win. They're all a bunch of hipsters that act like they're at a club, you're bothering them by talking to them and not cool enough to being do so - as opposed to being at their job and doing it well. I hate to break it to you this way in a Yelp but seriously - I'm just so shocked at how rude some of them are every time I go there and this last time pushed me over the edge.
I'm not picky, I don't expect much, but one thing I can't stand it's having Portland toocoolforschooolers wait on me with an attitude like they are too cool to be doing this job and they're not their for any reason other than to get paid. This, I have to say, is a phenomena I've only seen in Portland.
Further, your tofu maker. Please replace him/her. Seriously. It's so bad I have to ask if it's this way on purpose - to discourage people from ordering it. It's all watery and has no flavor. The reason I go out to breakfast is to eat food that is better than I can make at home and I can cook a better tofu scramble without even trying very hard.
I go out to eat a lot and there are few things that I enjoy more than supporting local businesses. However, I can't give my money or support to places where simple rules of politeness and common courtesy aren't being followed and if there serving food I can make better at home.
Good bye Cup & Saucer. You've broken my heart.
Every Thursday morning whether I've worked all night before or not, I take my sons out to breakfast & it's kind of our "check in" time...we talk, catch up with each other, discuss all sorts of things...anyway, all of us look forward to this time and with that said, this morning I was too tired to get creative about where to go. We walked over to Cup & Saucer, & as my son said,
"We could have eaten a lot better at home."
When a 12 year old says this, it's good to listen. This place just isn't very good & the service is lackluster, at best. No friendly chatter, no smiles, just rancid looking faces taking food orders. No thanks...
I had the worst breakfast sandwich I can remember having in years...eggs+cheddar+bacon=something tasty, usually. Nope, they managed to screw this up. I added some Chipotle sauce which made it kind of edible.
Desmond ordered the buttermilk pancakes. We had to ask for syrup. Are you kidding me?! Anyway, they were glue-y, dough-y gut bombs and the syrup wasn't maple.
Owen & Holden each ordered the biscuits & gravy which were also glue-y, dough-y, and resembled globs of slop on the plate. Very unappetizing, to say the least.
The fresh OJ & grapefruit juice made the meal passable. Would I stop here again?? Noooooo, I would not. Aside from crappy food, rancid service, & butt-ugly artwork on the walls, one table was filled with older neighborhood guys who all, apparently, suffered from hearing loss. They were talking so loudly & one had a cell phone he was yelling into. At another table sat an oblivious Portland mom with her screeching toddler. Apparently she doesn't realize that continuous screaming & screeching noises are not conducive to others' enjoyment of mealtime.
I'd give 1 star or less even, if I could, but this seems to be some sort of institution around here. We won't be dropping any more dough here.
Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about! Diner food at it's best! My friends and I were hella hungover, so we needed some food that would take away the pain.
I LOVE this place! They have an extensive menu that makes it difficult to decide - cause I want it all! They have fun paintings on the walls, and big windows for people watching. There is a second doorway that a lot of people try to walk through, but then realize they can't! (pretty entertaining, I must say!)
Everything from French toast to scrambles to burgers to biscuits n gravy to healthy stuff that I won't touch! This was one of the few casual places in Portland that I went to where the service was pretty good.
I'll be back!
Ok! This morning i had the bomb breakfast at C'n'S! I think I am now hooked for good. Help! Someone tell me somewhere else to eat my breakfast!
Home fries with veggies, sourcream, and bacon add ons! Black Tea! Yum factor of 9!
Always a good stand by for a healthy breakfast. Close to what I make at home. Back when I drank… Read more »
It is OK. Nothing to scream about. With so many better breakfast places in Portland I cannot see making a point of coming here. I like the feel inside, and the food has always been consistently edible. I cannot recall having any issue with the coffee, but again... it must not have stood out in any way.
I am currently frustrated that a friend of mine insists we meet at the one in NE tonight as we meet up with a mutual friend from CA. I would MUCH prefer Tin Shed if we are going to NE from SE...I guess I will try the lunch and dinner food out. Judging by the reviews on both the SE and the NE locations, it seems there is nothing super standout yummo too chose. That is too bad.
OK. We went for dinner. Meh. It was OK. The veggie reuben wasnt bad (but I couldnt help but contemplating in my head how "if we only went to Vita Cafe....cause there veggie reuben is GUUUD")...the $1 extra to substitute regular french fries- sweet potato fries were nothing to scream about. They were skinny and nearly no flavor.
The Porter beer was good though!
Cup & Saucer has great soup, vegitarian sandwiches, and yummy breakfast! Don't forget the servers are awesome. I did, one afternoon, wish there was something along the lines of a bloody mary to sip on with my breakfast food though...
Cup and Saucer, the only reason i go to you is you serve breakfast in the evenings. Your fare is standard hawthorne reformed hippie food, it's on the better side of ok. I've never gone here and thought "damn this is delicious, some care went into making this food" and that makes me sad for how busy i see you get on the weekends.
Not my cup tea.
Crowded and popular at brunch time on weekends.
I can recommend the turkey club and bacon with avocado sandwich.
I cannot recommend the home fries: greazzy, greazzy, greazzy.
I really love this place, it's been an every week outing for me since January.
Recently they renovated and added a whole new section! It's very eclectic and reminds me of being at home. Plus, the people watching is totally bomb, I swear, I've been eating pancakes when I have seen the weirdest stuff happening outside (thanks to their giant windows)
They show a different local artist every few months, so the décor even changes!
What I really like is originality in a business. One day, they had some cookies sitting out- right? To EAT. For free!! So the dialogue went:
Waitress: So. You like the cookie?
Me (mouthful): ohhugmammmggerhbg.
(swallow)
Me: Oh my gawd it's delicious!
Waitress: Now you have to try a chocolate chip cookie pancake..
Oh my. You must try the chocolate chip cookie pancake. It's not on the menu, it's special order. Do it. Just do it.
All in all? Prices - good. Food - flexible, a lot of vegan options. Service - they know my name, which means I'm happy, and they make chocolate chip pancake recommendations.
Pretty good food. Nothing to knock my socks off, but still yet - good. I have to say, in my week in Portland - we didnt eat a bad meal once.
The service wasn't stellar and sometimes that really does just make all the difference.
I've ever had to pay for real maple syrup before, but my ex did and yum. That was amazing. I'd eat here again for sure. Would I go out of my way to get there? Nah.
When I first moved to Southeast, this was my favorite breakfast place. However, as new breakfast discoveries have been made, the food just doesn't stand out much. My scrambled eggs, ham, toast, and potatoes do the trick. There just wasn't any "oohing and awing" heard. The home fries are anywhere from mediocre to sub-par.
As others have mentioned, you'll have to take your place in line on the weekend. You could wait... or you could drive to any of the wonderful nearby alternatives. Oh, that's right. You had to park 5 blocks away.
This is another great place for breakfast for those who want it all times of the day. Naturally if you go there during the weekends, especially in the morning, then you'll have long waits for a table. Best time to go is during the week, maybe around dinner time to try it out for the first time. The food was freshly cooked and I loved the breakfast burrito. The service is adequate, nothing too spectacular. It's not everyday I can have a breakfast meal with a draft beer in hand. I had my first Hopworks Urban Brewery beer there which totally complimented the breakfast I had. It is definitely worth checking out!
Nice atmosphere and great music being played at this location. i had a salad which was good, but not great. The server was aloof. We split a grilled cheese that was done just right.
Good, simple food and a tad over-priced, am in no hurry to go back
Lots to choose from here, the veggie burger was alright, but I think I probably didn't make the best menu choice. I'd definitely come back and try it again. Hip indie interior, and nice tattooed hippie staff.
Any meal here is excellent! The breakfasts are tasty, I love their "mexican" food for lunch or dinner, and service is pretty good. The only downside is finding parking on Hawthorne.
I'm always on the fence with this place. Sometimes it's good but I've never had anything that I totally loved from here.
Serviceable. I got the huevos rancheros w/ poached eggs, and coffee. Bro got the garden scramble. Waitress didn't seem stoked to be working, but haven't we all been there? At one point she came over and asked my brother and me if "everything tasted alright". Frankly that made me a little nervous. Totally satisfactory coffee and H2O refills, although to be fair I think the water boy had a crush on my bro. Cheerful interior, decent homefries and eggs, and windows large enough to make me feel like I am taunting the homeless people who walk by as I shove more sour cream into my maw. Ouch.
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Neighborhood: Southeast Portland
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