The Alameda Cafe

The new owners are doing it right. The food is excellent and the servers are wonderful.
I had the Chicken & Waffle which rivals any of the «cool» places in town.
A must stop eatery once again on Fremont in Beaumont Village.

I’m making this post late. I actually had the pleasure of visiting Alameda last month, but they definitely deserve taking some time to write a good review.
They had some of the best chicken & waffles I’ve ever had in Portland. They were happy to sub out their agave syrup for pure maple. The chicken came with a slab of well cured ham on top.
Unhealthy, porky goodness!

To start, the service was great. Prompt and friendly, just how I like it. We started with the risotto bites which were not just tasty, but much larger than I expected. The spicy sauce wasn’t too spicy, so I was actually able to enjoy it. Then we shared the Pork Porterhouse and the Steak Frites. The sauce on the pork was delicious and we enjoyed the white beans on the side. The steak was cooked perfectly (medium), tasty fries with an aioli sauce, and even the kale was pretty good (had garlic). All in all, one of the better meals we’ve had lately. Solid food and service.

Redemption!!! :)
Second chances are always worthwhile & I’m happy to report my family & I had a very nice dinner the other night vs. our first experience. The new bread baked on site is fabulous (even asked to take some home!) and the turkey club was loaded with tender moist turkey & crisp bacon. Really delicious & matched with fries to die for! I had the pork at the suggestion of the wait staff & that too was delicious. We finished with the lemon olive oil cake with strawberries & cream to make a perfect night! Kudos to you! And we look forward to visiting again.

Alameda Café is a charming neighborhood spot. We went there on a weekday for brunch. No wait! We parked on the street right in front of the restaurant. The crowd is a mix of young, middle-​aged, and older with more in the middle-​aged range. The staff is friendly and efficient. It seems like a place where you would get to know your servers and feel at home.
Spotlessly clean with pretty flowers on each table. The food was excellent! I had eggs Benedict with kale and butternut squash. It came with a side of tender fried potatoes. Very yummy!
The serve Smith’s teas and I like that they bring a nice selection of them to the table.
Even their customers are friendly! We struck up a conversation with a lovely lady who gave us info about the neighborhood and even went to her car to get a book about breakfasts in bridgetown. She gave it to us along with a local paper and magazine. This is another reason I love Portland!
I’m hoping we become regulars at this sweet restaurant.

So sad, went about a month ago and the menu was excellent with many choices including the wonderful Chicken fried steak with a corn chili gravy. We thought finally, they have new owners that understand why so many of us were sad when this restaurant failed and closed last year.
Went back yesterday morning for breakfast, they are now down to 8 items on the breakfast menu, all of them are items you could get at any restaurant in Portland. When I asked the waiter why the change, she said new cook. I told her with a menu like this we would not be back again, and I would expect the restaurant to be out of business in a matter of a few months.
So sad, they were looking promising and have now gone back to mediocrity.

Lackluster. My biscuits and gravy were tasty but everything else my group ordered was very mediocre. Less flavor than one would expect for the price.

I had the Denver Omelette and A Mimosa. Inside of the Denver they had Pablano chilies and I love those chillies, but I was hoping they would have been roasted. (more flavor that way) the potatoes are huge but needed some spices like smoked paprika, garlic or rosemary. The food was good but lacked flavor. I will return for dinner or happy hour. Oh the mimosa was very generous and service was very nice and engaging.

This place has friendly service, a nice atmosphere, and reasonable prices that one might consider a bargain given the quality of ingredients they use. The roll my burger was served on tasted like it had been out of the oven only a few hours– the grass fed beef patty was as juicy and sweet as the cow’s diet would suggest (and grass fed=no e. coli in undercooked meat!). I came in around lunchtime on a weekday and was out in under an hour with a group of 4. My husband had French toast– flavourful and crafted of thoughtfully chosen local ingridients, like the burger. I can’t wait to come back and try something else!

It’s great to have the Alameda Café back as a brunch destination under new owners. I’ve been back a few times since the re-​opening but felt compelled to write a review today because of the outstanding meal I had this morning.
Eggs Benedict is not something I would normally order but on a previous visit I saw someone with the smoked ham and mustard greens Benedict at a nearby table. I made my mind up then to try it on my next visit. It was expertly crafted and great flavor all around. Very glad I went outside my comfort zone and tried something new.
The staff always gives me great service and the reborn Alameda Café is well worth a visit if you’ve never been or stopped going under the previous owner.

So nice to have Alameda Café open with the new owners (didn’t know previous owners). My needs are different I have a health condition and have to have take out foods. I’m limited in what I can eat/​swallow so viewed the menu and for my needs found a treasure in homemade foods that work for me.
Best Chicken Noodle soup ever any place complete with homemade noodle, veggies and a rich stock broth I live on it. Recently tried the Denver omelet with ham generous size, breakfast potatoes soft inside not fried hard perfect for me very tasty, and the french custard toast comes with 2 slices choice of meat I had the 2 homemade sausage patties all delicious perfectly cooked. The Kale salad, croutons, parmesan, creamy garlic dressing is a wonderful salad just enough for a salad and the kale leaves nicely cut to bit size. Prices reasonable for homemade food, service and presentation.
I’m looking forward to the Turkey & Dumplings next on my list.
When I call no matter time or which day the staff is always courteous in helping me with selections and what needs to be set to the side for me never rushed and so pleasant on the phone plus the order is always ready for us to pick up.
Thank you Alameda Staff I appreciated YOU!

Trust me. I eat out a lot. This place is excellent. Great menu, good prices. Check it out.

Love the new owners! Great tasty food once again, at a wonderful neighborhood restaurant. So tasty, kale salad, meatballs & great roasted Brussel sprouts. Fun atmosphere & wonderful photos on the walls from the original owners! You must come enjoy a drink at the fun copper bar. Good music too! Friendly helpful owners, great service with a genuine smile!

I never went to the «old» Alameda Café, but ate brunch here last Sunday 2÷1÷15.
Our server was Darcy (I think, Darby? sorry), she was very nice and happy to talk to us a bit about the opening. There was no wait but then again, we didn’t show up until after 1PM.
The coffee was quite good, with brown sugar lumps, no packets.
The bloody was tasty and when the second bloody was requested thicker they absolutely obliged.
Everything we ordered was very good. The kale in the benny was surprisingly tender, biscuits and gravy were hearty not too salty, the omelet was fluffy and generous, and the quiche’s crust was nice and flaky. All flavorful and hot. The fruit in my fruit cup was ripe too.
The star were the potatoes which were perfectly brown and crispy, and they had Aardvark to go with them which is important to us.
All in all I’m very glad we ventured to this new old spot, and we will certainly be back again.
If your looking for a «pdx brunch no wait» hidden gem, look no further. Until this summer at least when everyone will have figured it out and there will be a wait.

The NYE dinner deserves a blow-​by-​blow account — so that’s what I’m doing.
Arrival: my party of four showed up at 7:30 on the dot as I am a very punctual person. We were greeted at the door by a charming woman who wished us a happy New Year’s Eve. I really appreciated this temporally correct greeting. She led us to our table and gave us the menu to peruse. This gave me time to look around.
Setting: The Alameda Café is a place with character. The baby deer statues that were by the front door were a clear indication of a lighthearted establishment. I really appreciated the amount of space between tables. Space is crucial for me as I tend to get far too caught up in internal commentary on nearby conversations when I can hear them. The pictures on the wall were gorgeous and clearly from a local artist — kudos for supporting locals! The lighting was a little bright for an intimate New Year’s Eve dinner and the music was a little loud. I got the feeling that this was intentional and the plan for the night was more of a party than an intimate couples dinner. That worked for me though since I didn’t want an intimate dinner with my girlfriend, her sister, and brother-​in-​law.
Drinks: The waitress came over to our table as soon as we looked ready to order, asked if there were any questions then took our drink order. We ordered two glasses of wine and two «New Money’s». The wine was excellent but the «New Money’s» were ridiculously good. This drink was perfect! Just the right amount of whiskey flavor, but be warned, this is a «sneaky drink». That is a direct quote from my girlfriend’s brother-​in-​law who is a whiskey drinker and thought the drink was a little light — only to have it sneak up on him and smack him with awesome. I thought the drink was a perfect balance between all of the components. If you are looking for a place to get an amazing cocktail, go here!
Food: The first course gave me some insight as to how the rest of the meal would go. The bite consisted of an amazingly flavorful beef tartar with a lovely smokiness throughout served on a potato chip. I could tell this was an irreverent and playful chef we were dealing with — how else do you explain the use a potato chip in a New Year’s Eve dinner? That being said the crispiness of the chip perfectly complemented the sensuously soft tartar. I’m drooling a little right now thinking of it.
The second course consisted of the most flavorful and well crafted crab bisque I have ever tasted. Incredible! The flavor of the crab really came though and was perfectly complemented by the trout roe and soft herbs. So good! I would probably have paid $ 30 for a large bowl of this bisque alone. Of course being a prixe fixe menu this was not a large bowl, which meant I had to eat slowly and savor every bite. The bisque was served at room temperature — I’m not sure if that was intentional but I was really able to taste the more subtle flavors and I’m not sure if I would have if it were hot. Either way it was awesome!
The third course was a well-​balanced and excellent beet salad with creamy avocados, a sprinkle of cashews, a hint of chilies and a zinfandel vinegar. The beets were prepared expertly and the flavors combined for a wonderful taste experience. The salad also served to break up the richness of the bisque and the entrée course. If you don’t like beets then you obviously wouldn’t have liked this salad — but seriously, grow up already! Beets are great!
The fourth course was a delicious espresso rubbed short rib with a side of potato gratin. The ribs were cooked perfectly and simply melted in your mouth when you bit into them. They had a delightful crunch from the espresso and wonderful flavor. The potato gratin was a tad underdone for my liking but my girlfriend’s brother-​in-​law was flummoxed as to how they had made the gratin so damn well. I’m not a big gratin fan so I didn’t contemplate that question too deeply. Fortunately for me my girlfriend is awesome and let me have some of her scallops. Not surprisingly they were cooked very well and perfectly seasoned. The combination of the scallops and the roasted sunchoke purée was excellent. The portions were the right size for me as I left the restaurant feeling satisfied.
The final course was a chocolate mousse with salted peanut crumble. The flavor and the texture of the mousse where good but the plating was awful. Fortunately the flavor of the mousse itself made up for the plating and the complementary glass of champagne the waitress brought us helped a good deal as well.
I am simply amazed at how good the overall experience was considering that this place has only been open for a little over a month! This is the time when a restaurant is supposed to be figuring everything out and making mistakes not making awesomely flavored dishes and incredible drinks! Service throughout the night was prompt, pleasant and efficient. When I come back to Portland I will definitely be coming back to The Alameda Café!

We went to the Alameda Café for New Year’s Eve hoping for a memorable and festive evening. We’re new to the area and wanted to try a neighborhood spot, and support a new restaurant that had a special offering for NYE.
The experience left much to be desired.
— The service was lackluster at best. The servers seemed annoyed or frustrated… it was hard to figure out really what was going on. There was zero engagement with the customer and we were never actually wished a Happy New Year. We were shown to a table, asked what we wanted, asked if we were OK, and that was about it. We even had to request the bubbly that was supposed to be part of the meal. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice but everyone was seated at a four-​top table, which felt awkward since it was nearly all couples.
— The food… everything was quite nicely prepared and tasty. However, the portion sizes were laughable. Literally, people around us were laughing at their plates as they were delivered. One single chip with a dollop of tartare for the appetizer, a tiny bowl of soup that was half filled, and entrees that seemed to have been cut in half (I ordered the scallops and there were just two scallops on the plate; my husband ordered the short rib (s) and there was one three-​bite piece). The salad was a sizable portion but was just a plate of unappetizing and uninspired cubes of beets… blah. And finally, the dessert. wow… one of the more bizarre platings I’ve seen — a smear of chocolate on a small plate with some nuts crumbled over. I truly don’t know what the chef was thinking with that presentation.
— One high point… the cocktails. Creative and delicious.
The portion sizes continue to confound me. Did they run out of food at the earlier seating? We paid a good amount for this meal and left hungry. Needless to say, we were thoroughly disappointed by the experience overall and will not be returning. I understand this is new ownership, but they have a long way to go. This was a great opportunity to make a renewed first impression to the neighborhood but it just didn’t seem like anyone on staff actually wanted to be there — why have a special New Year’s Eve meal if there’s no passion or heart behind it? I can only hope that this was an «off» night for the restaurant and their regular offerings provide a better dining experience.

The food was really great. I had the risotto and it was delicious. We ordered almost all the starters and entres. And the entire dessert menu. The cocktails and wine list were weaker but the food was worth it.

We enjoyed the Pork Fried Steak off the Weekend Brunch menu, the portion was ample, the gravy flavorable.
It’s difficult to get too excited about a Basic Breakfast (2 eggs, sausage, toast, potatoes) at any restaurant; here it was up to par, but the toast was very tough (not burnt though.)
They don’t offer espresso which is a bummer, but the drip coffee was ample and good.
Service was friendly and attentive, delivery a bit on the slow side.
Here you get standard fare at cute location by owners who seem to care. Three Stars means «A-​Ok», I’d go back, and no problems. It’s not the kind of place that quickly comes to mind for a recommendation, but certainly one to visit if you’re in the area.

BEFORE READING OTHER REVIEWS READ THIS! The Old Alameda café is closed. This version of the NEW Alameda café is opened for dinner only Wednesday –Sunday a couple of weeks ago. The review about the bad brunch food on here is totally absurd since they have NEVER served brunch and it should be taken down. I went in the week they opened and loved everything from the food to the service. The beef dumpling entrée was bursting with flavor and the ambiance was cozy and warm. They also have a daily primetime special that runs from 7pm until it sells out, love that idea! I suggest you try this place out for yourself before you post an inaccurate review that does not reflect the establishment.

The Alameda Café is open and under new ownership! I repeat, The Alameda Café is open! I came here for dinner a few nights ago and had the most wonderfully cozy and savory meal among friends and fine spirits.
We started with a couple of appetizers – roasted chickpeas over toast and cheesesticks. I know what you’re thinking and these cheesesticks are NOT the typical deep fried bar food you’d expect. No, these are grown up, tallegio cheesesticks dusted with a light breading and served with apple butter. Something my post-​collegiate tastebuds should’ve graduated to a loooong time ago. So good!
For dinner, I ordered the barley risotto, which was luciously creamed with chanterelles (my favorite), leeks, squash and then topped with crispy shallots. It was heaven in a bowl for you like-​minded vegetarians out there…
The café is small, but very cozy. The bar is a great destinaton for singles. I can’t wait to come back for another meal on a chilly night! From what the lovely owners explained, the menu IS seasonal so it’s one of those places you can visit over and over, but still try something new.
Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to dinner at The Alameda Café. You can thank me later!