Portlanders — regularly recognized for their love of coffee, booze, and eggs — prioritize brunch, which in the past has resulted in hour-plus waits for bacon and Benedicts. But, fortunately, the brunch landscape has dramatically changed in recent years. Many restaurants now offer brunch reservations, making the potential line a non-issue; some restaurants primarily known for dinner service have launched weekend brunch menus, diversifying the scene. Food carts have even gotten in on the brunch action. Here’s where you can find the places slinging pancakes and hashes on the weekends, as well as more inventive brunch dishes like zesty hot fried chicken served over waffles.
Portland’s Best Brunch Restaurants
From aebleskiver to chicken and waffles with okra-garnished bloody marys, here’s where to fill up on brunch
Zoe Baillargeon is an award-winning writer and journalist currently based in Portland, Oregon. She loves writing about the intersection of sustainability and food, trends, and overlooked culinary destinations and traditions.
This map is dedicated to restaurants with weekend brunch menus, with a few memorable weekday spots mixed in — for more breakfast and brunch offerings mid-week, check out Eater Portland’s breakfast map.
In the latest update, for August 25, Fair Weather (which closed), Cafe Olli, and Navarre came off the list while Grits and Gravy, Jade Rabbit, and Mi Familia Cafe joined the ranks.
— Additional reporting by Paolo Bicchieri.
Portland’s Best Brunch Restaurants
From aebleskiver to chicken and waffles with okra-garnished bloody marys, here’s where to fill up on brunch
Zoe Baillargeon is an award-winning writer and journalist currently based in Portland, Oregon. She loves writing about the intersection of sustainability and food, trends, and overlooked culinary destinations and traditions.
Portlanders — regularly recognized for their love of coffee, booze, and eggs — prioritize brunch, which in the past has resulted in hour-plus waits for bacon and Benedicts. But, fortunately, the brunch landscape has dramatically changed in recent years. Many restaurants now offer brunch reservations, making the potential line a non-issue; some restaurants primarily known for dinner service have launched weekend brunch menus, diversifying the scene. Food carts have even gotten in on the brunch action. Here’s where you can find the places slinging pancakes and hashes on the weekends, as well as more inventive brunch dishes like zesty hot fried chicken served over waffles.
This map is dedicated to restaurants with weekend brunch menus, with a few memorable weekday spots mixed in — for more breakfast and brunch offerings mid-week, check out Eater Portland’s breakfast map.
In the latest update, for August 25, Fair Weather (which closed), Cafe Olli, and Navarre came off the list while Grits and Gravy, Jade Rabbit, and Mi Familia Cafe joined the ranks.
— Additional reporting by Paolo Bicchieri.
Bar West
This sleek restaurant and cocktail bar in Northwest Portland tops Sicilian chickpea fritters with hot honey, pours brown butter bourbon apples over brioche French toast, and piles Benedicts with sweetheart ham from Olympia Provisions or vegetarian-friendly chanterelles. The bar handles the typical marys and mimosas with aplomb, but the West Palmer — a bourbon and black tea cocktail with apricot and Montenegro — is a fun alternative.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Bar West
Jojo
Named after the eponymous jojos, a crispy potato wedge dusted with salt and seasonings, this brunch spot in Pearl is an easy crowd-pleaser. The weekend-only brunch includes dishes like chicken and waffles; a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwich; and French toast. For vegans, the restaurant also offers a vegan bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, as well as a spicy breakfast burger with vegan cheddar and bacon.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays
Molly J. Smith
Dolly Olive
Sesame Collective’s downtown Portland Italian restaurant has fun during its brunch service, topping ricotta donuts with rainbow sprinkles and serving affogatos with fernet ice cream. Go lighter with dishes like poached egg-topped polenta or yogurt with orange blossom honey, or dive into a full-on Italian roast beef hash or a creamy Italian take on a croque-monsieur. Visitors can commit to the bit and eat a bowl of pasta for brunch, with cannolis for dessert.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays
Dolly Olive
Broder Nord
Every day of the week can be brunch day at this Nordic brunch spot on North Mississippi, part of the broader Broder chain with locations across Portland, as well as Astoria and Hood River. Diners can find a Scandi-influenced spread of sweet and savory breakfast and lunch options. Tuck into lefse potato crepes with soft-baked eggs and rounded aebleskiver pancakes paired with lingonberry jam for breakfast fare or gravlax-laden smørrebrød open-faced sandwiches and Swedish meatballs from the lunch list. The drinks menu also leaves no stone unturned, from coffees and teas to mimosas, hot and cold breakfast cocktails, and aquavit flights.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Broder
Hey Love
This lush, tropical bar within the Jupiter Next hotel is the spot for a boozy brunch: Bartenders spike coffee with Golden Graham bourbon, pour bloody marys with a heady mix of Old Bay and mushroom bouillon-spiced tomato, tamarind, and Valentina hot sauce, and mix choose-your-own-adventure mimosas with orange, grapefruit, or pineapple juice. The food is far from an afterthought, however, with cochinita pibil chilaquiles, scallion pancake hash, and sweet chile shrimp and grits.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Podnah’s BBQ
Longstanding barbecue spot Podnah’s offers a Southern breakfast on Sundays. Breakfast tacos like potato, egg, and cheese, and migas featured heavily on the menu, plus biscuits, and chips and salsa. For something heartier, go for a breakfast plate like the smoked brisket hash with potatoes and poblano peppers, or the Podnah’s breakfast with eggs, potatoes, grits, and biscuits.
Hours: 9 a.m. until noon on Sundays
Podnah’s BBQ
Screen Door
This is one of Portland’s most beloved brunch spots, where it’s not uncommon to have a lengthy walk-in wait (limited reservation slots are available). But it’s worth it for Screen Door’s Southern comfort food. The buttermilk-battered fried chicken and waffles is the star of the show but far from the only highlight. The Cajun scramble is worth consideration, and house-smoked pork shoulder Benedict accompanied by cheesy cheddar grits, is a weekends-only treat. Fill out the spread with side orders and add-ons like buttermilk biscuits and pork sausages, housemade sauces (especially the hot sauce), and the pickled okra-garnished Creole bloody mary.
Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily
Screen Door
Holman’s Bar & Grill
Build-your-own bloody marys are not for the faint of heart. They are awesome, however. This restaurant with surly servers and a spin-to-win menu (literally, there’s a wheel) has been around since 1933. It’s only a brunch place insofar as the unfussy breakfast menu is served on the weekends. That doesn’t make it any less destination-worthy. Grab a seat on the patio on warm days.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays
Holman’s Bar & Grill
Canard Oregon City
Portland French destination Canard offers a weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday at its Oregon City location. The signature steam burger is available, plus steak and eggs, Tokyo hot chicken and waffles with miso butter, and foie gras dumplings. There’s a whole menu for kids, too, with options like chicken tenders, macaroni and cheese, and a kid-sized version of its iconic steam burger. Wash it all down with a foie-washed rye cocktail or glasses or bottles from the restaurant’s renowned wine selection.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Canard
Mi Familia Cafe
Que Pasa Cantina has been a regular in Portland’s Mexican food game for about 20 years. But Mi Familia Cafe, the breakfast and brunch pop-up inside the restaurant, is brand new. The operation comes from the family behind Dos Hermanos Bakery, and the dishes here are loving riffs on Yucatán fare. Think cheesy bombazos on sourdough English muffins and arroz con leche. Make sure to get a coffee, courtesy of local Mexico City-born roaster Adriana Lopez’s Tostado Coffee.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Sarah Drain
Jade Rabbit at The Emerald Room
This all-vegan dim sum parlor is just one of three serving the plant-based breakfast fare in the United States. Chef Cyrus Ichiza’s handiwork has been a staple in Portland, and his newest outpost on SE Belmont Avenue feels just like any other Chinese restaurant, as his dumplings and mung bean pancakes taste like any other dumpling and pancake, meat-filled or not.
Hours: Brunch starts at noon on Fridays and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday
Paolo Bicchieri
Grits N’ Gravy
This Southern restaurant tucked away on Sixth Avenue in downtown serves a laundry list of breakfast dishes fitting to the diner genre — pancakes, chicken and waffles, fried trout, and biscuits and gravy. Sides include options like buttered or fried grits with molasses. The coffee is bottomless and there’s a Chicory option for a New Orleans experience. The restaurant, owned by Mumbo Gumbo founder Brandon Stevens, gets packed during brunch hours, so book a table, arrive early, or expect a bit of a wait.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily
Brenna Houck
