Grand Central Baking Company

It’s a shame this conveniently located source of jammers and sammie’s is going to close.
I will get to other locations when I can, but this one was on my way to work.

There are very limited lunch options in the area, so I was pretty excited when I realized Grand Central is within walking distance of my office. Unfortunately, this excitement dissipated with each passing minute in line. And then each passing minute waiting by the counter to get my egg salad sandwich. What I intended to be a quick 15 — 20 minute break turned into an hour endeavor. I mentioned I ordered egg salad… no cooking involved whatsoever, so I have no idea what could have possibly required this much time. Typical Portland.
Then when I finally did get my order the cookie was missing. Luckily I checked while standing at the counter, because it probably would have taken another hour to get someone’s attention and the cookie I paid for (which was hard). The egg salad sandwich was really good though, so maaaaybe it’s worth a second chance. Maybe on a very very slow day at the office.

BAD: My wife mentioned the other day that the pastries were getting smaller. I was doubtful, but went in to see, and found that everything in the case, except for the cookies, had been sized down. Why not just add .10-.25 if costs go up? Making things smaller is a big turn-​off, don’t they know that?
WORSE: An $ 11 turkey sandwich. Are you kidding? In Portland. Why not just burn down the building and collect the insurance if you want to get out if the business? Why insult everyone? Un-​be-​lievable…

Start out with a jammer, add a cookie, and then get one of their veggie sandwiches. I find the staff at this location to be particularly nice and accommodating of my hunger induced grouchiness. Their bread is particularly good if you toast it in the morning.

Great Food.
Very backed up at mealtimes. Very loud atmosphere sure to leave your nerves all jangly.

This place is extremely family friendly. Great for out-​of-​towners too. They always have a seasonal soup and salad entrée on the menu which is what I usually get. Their U-​Bake pies are delicious. You can’t go wrong with Grand Central Bakery.

Yum! Everything thing I’ve had here has been great. I’ve had the cheese egg biscuit which was just like it sounds. Homemade flaky biscuit, can’t go wrong. For lunch I’ve had their tuna salad sandwich which was also great. I recommend checking out one of their locations.

Just plain yum. I had the grilled ham and cheese and it was fanfreakintastic. But then again, we are talking about ham and melted cheese between two slices of fresh baked bread and grilled to ooey, gooey goodness. My sister had a turkey sammich, which was made with thick slices of turkey, not pressed turkey deli meat, made to look like turkey. I was impressed with the quality and service for sure, a little less so with the price, but that is to be expected!

Holy cow, I’m not a sandwich person, but this place was awesome.
Stopped in for lunch, super busy but they kept things moving. Step up to the register, order, and then take a seat and your name is called out for you to collect your delicious noms!
Got the sack lunch with chocolate cookie, lemonade, salt and vinegar chips, and Tofuben. Holy cow, that tofuben was amazing. Very flavorful, warm, juicy. The best mock Rueben I’ve ever had in my life. I wish I could eat one right now.
The cookie was good as well, soft and chocolatey but I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like. The other two items were not made in house and thus, no comments on them.
TOFUBEN!

Great lunch or breakfast spot. Service has always been great, and they have a very loyal regular crowd, which is a good sign. They can get very busy at times, but the wait is never too bad. Lots to choose from, and the salad and sandwich specials change to keep things fresh. Also, the you-​bake stuff is great, I love the pie crusts and pizza dough.
Quality local ingredients, excellent products, great service.
Thanks!

It is not often at all that I go to a bakery. In fact, almost never. Maybe once or twice have I gone in the past year, and one of those was in Seattle.
This morning I took my hunnie to work and decide instead of driving all the way back to the couve, I’d try to find ways to kill time before I had to be at work. He was nursing quite the hangover, so I decided finding a tasty breakfast was in order. Only, it was 6:30am. The only place I could think of that would be open was McDonald’s…and…perhaps a bakery?
I am not familiar with many bakeries in town because I don’t really eat at them, but I know I remembered seeing Grand Central near Lloyd center which wasn’t too far off from where I was. I could have sworn that they had a high star rating, too (they do).
I pulled up at about 6:45am, and walk up to the door only to find out they don’t open until 7. Fair enough, I had time… I decided to wait the 15 minutes in hopes of some amazing pastries.
7am rolls around, they open their doors and I walk inside and look in the pastry case… the thought ran through my mind that they may not have everything out since they just opened. My choices were blueberry muffins, scones, coffee cake, and cinnamon rolls. I guess I was a little disappointed. For a 4 star place I was hoping they’d have a little more… something special or some signature item.
I ended up getting 2 BB muffins, a cranberry scone, and a cinnamon roll. I had one of the muffins, and it was truly delicious. I also had part of the scone, but the crust was so hard it was difficult to eat. Not really my cup ‘o tea as far as scones go.
The boyfriend had the cinnamon roll and one of the muffins… he said they were good but gave him horrible heartburn… and actually, I feel the heartburn coming on now. I NEVER get heartburn. Not even when I was pregnant. It must be something in the food?
Overall, I’d say if you live in the area or happen to be close by, grand central would be a decent place to stop… but really, don’t go out of your way!

This is our «go to» place for us to pick up a sandwich or soup on the weekend. I think we have stopped in here several dozen times. I particularly enjoy the BLT, when they are in season. I recently had hot provolone and greens; it s a special sandwich right now. It was very flavorful, even if a bit moist. Their service is generally good. If you have not stopped in here, you should.

Absolutely love their frozen whole wheat pizza dough. I buy this at least once a week. I prefer to make home made pizza rather then from a pizzeria.
Decided to stop here as I often passed the store front and thought That i had to try the coffee from any place called GC outside of NYC :)
Cute coffee shop in my neighborhood. Service is always friendly!

Chewy, flaky, deliciousness awaits at Grand Central.
I’ve only been a couple of times, and though I’m tempted to try those huge delicious looking cinnamon rolls I’ve gotten the cream cheese pastry both times. Also, both times, I’ve gotten the iced mocha and though its good, the large seems small for the price.
The staff is friendly, coffee’s good, but its the pastry that ‘ll keep me coming back. I can’t wait to try some of their bread next.

SO GOOD. I had the vegetarian grinder… the pickled red peppers… yum. I wanted an entire jar of them… and of course, the bread was AMAZING.

Grand Central has been a deliciously wonderful part of my life ever since I moved here 16 (!!) years ago. I have watched with pride as this home grown business blossomed and flourished over the years, while still retaining its neighborly attitude. Grand Central, in my opinion, is part of Portland’s DNA. Exhibit A: I once spent 20 minutes on the phone at work with a staggeringly brilliant physician and researcher listing and comparing our favorite Grand Central baked goods — before we got to the business of our conversation.
My #1 all-​time fave menu item is simple, yet powerful. I give you, for your consideration, the toasted bolo roll with butter and jam. Crisp, chewy, and delightfully filling, the bolo and a pint-​glass Americano has helped lift my Sunday blur on many occasion. The Grand Central jammer (crumbly, deep pastry filled with yummy jam) is also highly recommended. I’ve also delved into Grand Central’s egg breakfasts, and found them to be perfect in their straightforward simplicity. My husband favors their cinnamon rolls, which are displayed on a warming pan (genius!), and carry the perfect symphony of chewy, sticky, and sweet.
I’ve had my fair share of Grand Central’s sandwiches… the turkey chutney is a sweet-​meets-​savory sensation, the basil egg salad creamy in its divinity, and the hot tostis (panini) make me blush, they’re so good. Sack lunches are great… with a cookie and bag o’ chips. The one thing I miss that’s no longer on the menu: Grand Central’s PB&J sack lunch… complete with orange, cookie, chips, AND the admonition that in true PB&J sack lunch tradition, the orange may very well smash your sammy before you dive in.
The menu also offers salads, seasonal specials, and soups, so you can take a big group here and everyone will find something.
The staff at Grand Central is consistently friendly, intelligent, witty, and efficient. I offer that they are a huge reason for the continued success of this business, and I strongly suggest you tip accordingly.

I work in the Lloyd district, so I drop in here periodically for lunch. The way you can tell if a place is good is the lunch crowd — and the Grand Central Café gets crowded. I usually get the daily special, if it happens to be vegetarian, or if not, I have the vegetarian grinder.
All of the sandwiches seem to come on freshly baked bread, and I’ve never met a freshly baked bread I didn’t like.

Great sandwiches and friendly staff with minimal turnover makes for a great place to eat lunch.
This store has a crazy lunch rush, so save some time by calling your order in ahead of time. Whole wheat cinnamon rolls with a gooey caramel topping are a big draw and often sell out before noon. Prices may seem steep, but consider the local, seasonal quality ingredients GCB uses and it’s money well spent.
My only complaint is the lack of variety in muffins. I can only take so much blueberry.

I love the lack of sales tax in OR! It’s a welcome surprise compared to paying CA prices.
In my two day trip to Portland, I tried several items:
Egg + Sausage Biscuit Breakfast sandwich: Was expecting something McDonald’s like and was pleasantly surprised to see that the biscuit was drier with a more crumbly texture. Also, their egg is a real egg that has been liberally salted and peppered! A very generously portioned and hearty breakfast that deserves two thumbs up!
Turkey Deluxe Sack Lunch: Typical turkey sandwich with pepper bacon, lettuce, and Swiss on toasted whole wheat. I made the mistake of forgoing the mustard and mayo… should have asked for some pesto or ranch, because it was a REALLY dry sandwich. Some tomato would have been welcome as well. Luckily, it was saved by the gigantic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, which came in handy when we needed to barter for water later on our climbing trip. I love when oatmeal cookies contain real whole oats, which this one did. Delicious!
I also tried both the plain and chocolate croissants. Not too buttery, but definitely still perfectly flaky and delicious! I highly recommend both, depending on whether you’re feeling in a sweet tooth or a savory tooth kind of mood. Also, they do something funny with their almond croissants in that they split it in half and add almond butter in the middle.

I haven’t tried their regular food items, but I do love me some apple hand pies and jammers. My ex and I used to stop by here a couple of times a week on the way to his job.
I think the apple handpies are my favorite, but I had a mighty fine marionberry turnover the other day. It was flaky (in the good way) and buttery. It made a huge mess, but it was worth the clean up and calories. The jammer is a consistent go to item also. They are all great with milk, coffee, or both. The breads are pretty good also.