Morning Star Espresso

i do not know how this place manages to stay in business. their service is very slow - don't come here on your lunch hour from work if you expect to get back to the office on time - the owner spends more time trying to engage you in pointless conversation than serving your needs. The dimwit working the register doesnt pay attention, and also handles food, AFTER she handles money, and doesn't wash her hands! This place is in need a a health inspection. the last time i went there, i ordered a grilled cheese. the cashier told me it would take a :""couple of minutes"". it took 20 minutes, and when i got the sandwich, the cheese wasnt melted - it was still in sliced! i complained to the owner, and she gave me this half assed schmiel about how they are sooo busy during lunch, so orders take longer. Ive work in the restaurant biz for 20 years, and that excuse just does not wash. A good establishment is prepared and properly staffed for the busy shifts. This place is not. I'll never go there again. more

Found this darling cafe quite by accident. Had an awesome breakfast and decided to go back the next day. The waiter even remembered what my husband and I had ordered!! The egg scrambles we each had were quite tasty. The staff were able to keep up with a ""full house"" as far as our food coming a a very timely manner. I would definitely return the next time we're in town. Pros: great food; reasonable prices; attentive service more

So, got breakfast to go one time, it was rotten, but needed to kill some time and thought I'd go IN and eat and maybe it would be better. So. $3.50 for ONE piece of BURNT sausage patty, I don't care if its freakin ostrich, you've got to be kidding me. ONE piece. $3.50. BURNT. Asked for Hashbrowns well done. ONE side was BARELY brown. Not to mention you walk in and the owner stands in front of the register for four minutes having a conversation and doesn't have the consideration to MOVE so somebody can order. Waited a full 25 minutes to get the burnt food, (even the french toast was burnt lol) but couldn't manage to get the hash browns BROWN. Go figure. Horrible customer service. Horrible OVERPRICED food, Do you get one piece of bacon too for $3.50? They conveniently don't have an email address or comment form on the website, or I would have loved to let them know what I think without blasting them, but since they don't provide that option, and the meal was such a joke, I think its only fair to share my experience with others! Pros: newly remodeled - which is why their prices are a joke. Cons: terrible service, WAY overpriced, and the food's not good! more

Excuse me. . .but am I missing something? I've lived in Portland for 9 1/2 years and have frequented many great, average, and bad places to eat - and this is definitely below average. The servers are nice and the coffee keeps coming and that's great. . .but the food is really not that great. Perhaps I should give this a second try? I ate here with a friend on a Saturday morning and he wasn't impressed either. In addition, they were all out of every pastry or buscuit they had listed on the menu as well as oatmeal. My ""Morning Star Bowl"" was very small (however it did fill me up but I don't eat much), the garden sasusage (aka meatless) was tasty but they poured some kind of green tomatillo salsa on the top and this was not indicated in the menu. Pros: servers attentive, big windows Cons: wait a long time for table, food below average, noisy more

Morning Star recently moved into a new space, next door to their old digs. The new shop is much nicer, very open and polished - but it's not just the atmosphere that has changed. The staff is different and very friendly. I don't remember what pastries they had at the old location, but I had a raspberry scone this morning that was to die for. And my to-go chai latte came in a biodegradable cup and lid, which gets high marks in my book. All in all, I think this place has definitely come up in the world. I'm glad, because it's right on my way when I walk to work - I will definitly be stopping by more often! Pros: Convenience, atmosphere, attentive service more

Where to start. The service is EXTREMELY POOR!! Every person that works there acts like its the worst thing in the world to serve you. There is no effort to make the customer happy. They could take you or leave you. I dont understand the concept of treating your customers like they are bothering you! Cons: Price, Service, Food more

Coworkers recommended this place so I tried it. I ordered a grilled sandwich, and after my friend got her ungrilled sandwich and several people left with their sandwiches, I finally asked where mine was. The guy brought it over to me, already wrapped in foil and said (and I quote), ""it may be a little extra crispy - I left it on the grill too long"". I thought, crispy is good, so I took it back to my office. Well, let's just say this sandwich was inedible - he should have told me that it was blackened and burned!!! I took a bite of a corner that wasn't burned and it tasted like dijon mustard and not much else. I opened the sandwich to see what he put in there, and it was turkey and mustard...with a little mustard...and then some more mustard...and 1 sad slice of tomato and what looked like 2 tiny tiny leaves of basil maybe? The sandwich was mushy and gloppy with mustard. I was so disgusted, I had to throw it away. My friend said I should call and complain, but I doubt the next sandwich would really taste much better. I enjoyed the Tim's Cascade chips, however! Another coworker says her old company used to order lunches for meetings from here all the time and they've always been extremely inconsistent, so I guess my first experience caught them on a bad day. BUYER BEWARE! Pros: Has potential Cons: Inconsistent quality of the food and service more

I'd walked past the Morning Star Cafe many times I'm sure, and never ventured inside. A few weeks ago I ducked inside because I was running late, I was famished and I had a meeting nearby. It's now my favorite lunch spot. The atmosphere is friendly, a cozy neighborhood cafe. Now that I'm a regular I recognize other neighborhood regulars; moms, business men, bike messengers, etc. It's a very eclectic mix. The staff are super friendly, service is fast and gracious, and the food is fresh and delicious. I highly recommend their delicious sandwiches! more

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any way for me to post this without giving a rating, so I'll put 8 out of 10, even though I'm biased. Anyway, the crunchy bit here is that The Morning Star Cafe is under new ownership. My wife Jennifer and I purchased the cafe from ACG Holdings (the aforementioned Arnaldo) on September 1. We aren't planning any radical changes to an already fun place to be, though some minor menu changes are in the works. Also, the web site at morningstarcafe (dot) com will undergo a few changes to add functionality. more

the review titled ""unique and very cool!"" was written by the OWNER of the Morning Star Cafe - nice try, Arnaldo! more