Chow

We were excited to try this place after we saw it on the 18 must try places in Oregon. We arrived shortly after it opened and it was all ready packed. It’s a cool, quirky looking place in an old house. The menu has a good variety. The food was plated beautifully, but it was bland. Very bland. It was good food, I just had to put a lot of salt and pepper on it. If you like pretty food that comes in quirky combinations and isn’t seasoned then this is your place. I’m glad I tried it, but it’s just not for us.

We have eaten at CHOW’s twice now. I love the quality of the food ingredients and flavors are really very good (creative menu too). Today we had to wait 1.5 hrs. for a table, but they don’t serve outside this time of year and are very limited in seating inside, but we live 4 hrs away and enjoyed our meal so much last time we just had to tough it out. I love that they have free coffee to keep us hydrated and there is a sweet little watering hole (bar) before you enter the front door– a tiny room w/​even a couple seats.
Our waitress was very nice, got us our drinks right away and we ordered from the brunch menu. I got side items: a crab cake, cheesy polenta and wanted to share a side of taters w/​my partner who ordered the 14 hr. marinated corned beef in a hash dish. My polenta was OH SOOO YUMMY! Super fluffy and creamy polenta. Just perfect! My crab cake was pretty disappointing. It was more like a bread cake w/​flecks of minced carrots and the crab was pretty shredded to the point of not being able to tell how much was in the cake. It tasted like crab, but I’m pretty picky about wanting a good amt. of crab in my crab cake. I won’t order that again. The taters were ok. Nice caramelized onions in cubes of roasted potatoes.
My partner got the corned beef hash w/​two eggs over the top of the hash. Super dish! Nice chunks of flavorful corned beef, the eggs were very tasty (nice orange yolks). He loved his dish.
The last time we were here I had the biscuits and gravy and recalled them being very good.
We will be back.

Every time I’m in Bend, this is a must stop!!! Delish and they never let me down– Chow

The food here was so amazing, I really wish I could give it 5 stars! Our server was also totally awesome. I’m taking off one star because the service in the bar area was pretty slow/​rude, and while i was really, really excited for my Bloody Mary, it wasn’t even just OK, it was kind of bad. I don’t know if they ran out of their house bloody mix (I saw her pouring in V8 as the mixer), but overall a pretty disappointing cocktail. In fact, all of our cocktails were no bueno. Perhaps we caught her at an off moment — not sure. Either way, that was a bummer.
But if we’re talking food — YES! I had the most amazing corned beef hash — it was beautifully presented and deliciously flavored. Everyone’s food was spectacular (although the smoked salmon benedict which was on special surprised us with a price tag of $ 19– eek!) My favorite thing I tried was the sweet potatoes. Phenomenal.
We came on a Sunday in a group of 6 and waited about 2 hours for brunch. Not surprising, but do account for time on a weekends.

Absolutely awesome… thank you Unilocalers for guiding the way. Will be back for more. Polenta with house fries and two poached eggs. And the coffee is awesome as well.

For me, Chow is worth it when there is no line. The breakfast is creative (polenta!) and delicious, and I very much appreciate that vegetables are on the menu in many forms. The service is spotty, though, and there is not a lot of seating to go around on those weekend mornings. I’m a fan — I just won’t wait in a line to partake.

We were in Bend a few months back and came here for breakfast. OMG best corn beef hash i have ever had! SO delicious! We loved their homemade sauces so much we bought a jar of each!

I know people in town love this place, but my experience has always been: sketchy service, food that is okay, and nothing really that spectacular.

Delicious! I had the local with scrambled eggs, bacon, gf toast, and fruit. My boyfriend had the Caesar and said it was «out of control good», which is a lot bc he never remarks on food other than to say something is good or not good.
The gf toast was lightly toasted and fluffy. The fruit bowl was fresh with some of the best fruits (pineapple, cantaloupe, raspberries, blueberries).
It was nice to sit out by the fire while we were waiting for our table.
Only wish they had almond or coconut milk for my coffee. Otherwise, such a great meal!

As you park and approach how can you not be delighted with the building and grounds? Lovely. Entering, the cooking smell washes over you and immediately you know you wont be able to decide. There will be too many fabulous things.
Then, you see the specials board. ah mann you can hardly make your mind up looking at the board let alone when you sit down with the menu and see the rest of the choices. What a great place.
An eggs benedict special with sausage and a stew sprinkled with micro sprouts was beautiful and warming. A work of art for the taste buds and eyes.
The warm cheesy grits– I could come back just to snuggle up to a bowl of that. It was glorious after my night of margaritas at Hola. (Im too old to drink like that anymore). A ruben to go with the grits and I was set. What a fantastic brunch.
I cant wait to go back– Ill be trying one of the amazing selection of eggs benedict.

As others have stated, there is a wait. The reason for the wait is that the food is so good and tables are limited. The host communicated well to keep us updated as to when we would be seated. Friendly staff and excellent brunch. I asked for hot sauce and received three house made flavors that were all awesome! Had the Salmon Benedict special and the Country Fried Steak. Very filling and delicious.

Health and nutrition conscious menu, with a great willingness to make thigs vegan. The tofu scramble is fantastic. Occasionally I’ve ordered a vegan locavore (scramble with in-​season items) that’s shown up with eggs instead of tofu, so there may be a few servers who don’t understand the distinction.
Fantastic fresh made hot sauces! On the weekends, unless you arrive near opening time, anticipate a long wait. It’s worth it, tho! In the summer and other warm times, they have plenty of outside seating while you wait, along with live music, coffee, and bloodies to boot!

Portland during Fall this year meant lots of flies :\
It’s not just at Chow, but many other restaurants we ate at also had those annoyingly fat black flies that wouldn’t leave us and our food alone! Sit outside if the weather allows… you’ll like it better vs wasting energy swatting away flies.
Chow was the first brunch stop we made in Portland, and the feel-​good Bob Marley welcome sign was a great first impression. Chow is a home-​y space with a open-​window cabin feel. Our server was an extremely polite white kid, and he totally OK’d my Unilocal 2 free coffees! The service here is some of the best we received. There are enough tables indoors to seat parties larger than 6, and even spacious enough for strollers.
We came on a weekday morning and although waited for about 20 minutes (WOW THIS PLACE IS POPULAR), were happy with our full stomachs. I loved their housemade fries, which are the most delicious crunchy golden potato wedge/​fries you’ll ever have! We enjoyed their traditional breakfast items that utilized farm-​to-​table style and fresh ingredients. You can tell that the chefs and food prep use local and delicious basics – that was a welcoming feeling!
As an out of towner, I’d definitely come back here again. The vibes, food, and organic feel to this place makes me feel like I’m in a quaint SF brunch spot. Props.

Fabulous local Bend breakfast and lunch eatery. Way cute old house with lots of outdoor seating.
As others have pointed out, limited parking and wait times on nice weekends can be long. Dress for the weather and enjoy the free coffee and check out metal sculptures.

Came back again… shame on me!
I don’t understand why we waited 1.5 hours when I saw lots of empty tables!!! I just don’t get it! The poor hostess takes the beating when the kitchen gets backed up too. The restaurant was almost cleared out by the time we got seated. Wish they could figure out a better system.
Finally when we got seated the waitress didn’t know the menu either. Instead of confirming with someone else to answer my question, she just said she was new and didn’t know if the potatoes offered had the spicy seasoning I had enjoyed once before or not. This on top of the long wait just added to our frustration.
Also, $ 5 for a 2 piece side of bacon is ridiculous! That would be like $ 50 bucks a pound. Talk about a mark up! We live in Bend and get screwed on high food prices along with all the tourist. Locals that can show proof of residency should get better deals. That’s what I would do it I owned a restaurant in town.
They sell sauces that taste great too but for $ 15 bucks each… really??? No buena!
On a good note, they had live music which was outstanding and the atmosphere is lovely.

One of the best sausage gravies I have ever had. The biscuit was good, but a dense crispy crust type biscuit when I like mine more light and fluffy. The roasted potatoes were a disappointment. The Bloody Mary was not! We didn’t have too long of a wait mid week and they had live music to enjoy with a self service coffee urn.

We had a great brunch here while visiting Bend, and I will definitely return. I ordered the Caesar, and it was very flavorful. It was pretty heavy on the sauces though, so that’s one thing to keep in mind. I upgraded for a fruit side, which was definitely worth it! It was fresh and delicious and not just an entire bowl of melon.
The service here was incredible. Our coffees and waters were always full, which leads me to the main negative… the coffee. It’s nice that they have some out for you while you wait, but it just is not very good. Next time I’ll also skip the mimosa — expensive and not spectacular. I splurged since I was on vacation, but it wasn’t really worth it.
Otherwise, great space, wonderful service, tasty food.

We were in Bend around lunchtime before checking into our vacation rental in Sunriver, so I Unilocaled a place to eat of course! This place came up and sounded good with vegetarian options for me. We found parking easily and walked up to a 30 – 40 minute wait… on a week day! Wow, busy. We decided to wait because we figured if we went somewhere else it would probably be around that long to get to eat elsewhere. It probably was about 30 minutes for a seat on the patio, which was super nice in the shade.
We got the menu and I decided to order a vegan black bean soup with a side of sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. I also got a pomegranate drink, which was a refreshing start to the meal. My husband ordered a burger and added a fried egg. The food took a bit to come out and by the time it did, we were starving and dug in. It was really delicious and filling. The black bean soup had a twist of lime and was so unique and flavorful! I loved it. The sweet potatoes were also delicious, though they had a greasy/​oily appearance. I liked dipping them into the soup. And finally, the brussels sprout were also super good. My husband enjoyed his as well. Service was great throughout. We’d definitely visit again if vacationing in the area!

Looking at reviews and pictures for this place, I was just super giddy about coming here. The menu looked incredible, and I really expected to love Chow. I guess I just ordered the wrong things. After waiting about half an hour or so on a middle of the week afternoon, we were finally sat. I ordered a chilled cucumber lime mint soup and the huevos rancheros, the latter per Unilocal’s suggestions. The soup was terrible. I haven’t had chilled soup in a long time, but was hoping to like this one… nope. As my girlfriend said, it tasted a bit like face wash. Definitely something I’d not have again. Thankfully, I wasn’t charged for it.
The huevos rancheros were okay, I guess. The yolk in the eggs was a little underdone though, and the flavor was a little «flat.» The house made salsas made things a little better, but it couldn’t quite save the dish.
Just a disappointment. On the plus side, the biscuits and gravy here are excellent, so maybe I was just mislead and ordered the wrong thing. I’d try Chow again, but I’ll be sure to steer clear of what I got on this visit.

Great place for breakfast in Bend!
We came here based off of a list of the Top Ten Restaurants in Bend that I found on Pinterest. The staff was very friendly! There was a 30 min wait on a Friday morning but it wasn’t bad because they had a musician outside to entertain everyone.
We were asked if we wanted to sit inside or outside. We said whichever one would be faster. It was a beautiful day in Bend so why wouldn’t we want to sit outside right? Well, when they sat us outside we were sat under this beautiful tree that rained these little bugs all over us and our table. We had bugs that fell into my coffee, in my hair and I was still finding them on me when we left the restaurant. Now, I know that this is not their fault so I will not punish them in their star rating for that. My tip for Unilocalers would be to sit inside or at least not under the trees. Unless you don’t mind little ladybug babies in your coffee!
Despite the bugs, the food was amazing and they had plenty of options. The coffee was good too and when you check in on Unilocal you get TWO free coffees! Great place!