Gravy

We went for the first time this weekend (9/18/11). The food and service was great! The wait was a little long (30+min) but it was a really nice day so standing outside for a while wasnt too bad. Overall, it was great food and well worth it. more

Based on a friend's recommendation, I decided to try Gravy with the family. Wait wasn't too bad for a Sunday - about half an hour wait around 1pm. Menu looked typical breakfast fare with lots of extra choices to please vegetarians, which we are not, but do appreciate. When our food arrived the portions were large and I especially enjoyed the use of herbs in dishes (rosemary, thyme, etc) from sauces to eggs and sausage. It's the only true difference between Gravy and other breakfast joints IMO. Food was good enough. Problem is, the service is the exact opposite. Our waitress (also working the bar) had attitude from the start, came to the table 3 times total and didn't bring my toast for at least 15 minutes after I asked if she had forgotten. Before that I had tried to get the attention of another waitress (short haired spiky blond). She looked straight at me and completely ignored me. Yep! Not your hometown diner service by any means. Food is good but with that kind of staff running tables, I doubt I will ever go back. more

My wife and I cross the state border at least twice a month to eat breakfast at Gravy. We've tried most items on the menu and the quality of the food has always been exceptional. We contribute this to the fact that most everything is made from scratch with fresh ingredients, right down to the owner's own hot sauce. The staff is always friendly and welcoming. Some of our favorite items include the Oatmeal Brulee, French Toast, the Bacato, the Greco scramble with tofu, and the Smoked Salmon Hash. In addition, you can create your own favorite omelet/scramble by choosing from an assortment of ingredients. Portions are large and prices are reasonable. This is a place you do not want to miss! more

Food sorta, bland... They decided what I ordered instead of bringing what I asked for... Anyone one who's been to an authentic mid western breakfast place will know that gravy is missing ""IT"". I'm not gonna say don't go here, but I'm sure there must be better in portland. And no waffles? If you miss the gravy train you won't be missing much... more

NO BUT SERIOUSLY RELAX AND ENJOY THE RIDE. Gravy in a little whole in the wall breakfast joint. No Frills.....But they have everything that counts. Fantastic Coffee.....which I was sure must be S.T. but it wasn't it was even better. Cellar Door Coffee Is fantastic!! Your going to wait, no doubt about it. But they keep the coffee coming. I grabbed a Mercury and had a seat outside. I was really surprised as to how uptight people get while waiting for breakfast in Portland. Keep in mind people......it's a little place, with a little kitchen, and a few waitstaff. That is why everyone fell in love with the ""Gravy"" in the first place. The waitstaff is efficient. They expect their customers to be efficient too, I personally see nothing wrong with that. I was seated after about 20 minutes.....Brought my coffee and Merc in and was promptly greeted with fresh coffee. The waitress offered me a shot of baileys for my coffee and I took her up on it! Ordered my usual Banana Oatmeal Burlee, side of Bacon Crisp with 1 egg poached. I do find that at times it's more fun to people watch at Gravy than to do any real reading. This place is a machine. The oatmeal is sooo good. Always perfectly moist with the crunchy layer of sugar, bananas almost goo! Pecans for texture! And my eggs are always poached proper...(the cooks are pros). This place is not for everyone, that's for sure. I like Gravy and always go ready to hang for a while. People trying to catch a plane?! stay away. My check was dropped and I was on my way. Another solid experience, good music,good vibes(besides the stress cases) and most importantly good food.Thanks again Gravy. more

We purposely went to Gravy during non peak hours because of the reviews here about the heavy crowds. They seated us promptly and took our order in just the right amount of time. I was not treated too poorly but I could tell that the wait service was used to being less than rosey towards their customers. That's ok because the food was worth it. The decorations on the wall were well thought of and had an authentic style. And most of all, again, we just loved the hash, buscuits and gravy. ahh. Just do not go during the weekends or right at peak hours when everybody else is feeling hungry or else I am sure the wait staff may turn to be less helpful. more

In regards to Debbie Party of 4 - more

Strolled into Gravy this morning with my GFF and a good friend and were cheerfully greeted and promptly seated. Looked around and was treated to a wonderful decor, smiling faces, happy eaters and OMG the plates of good looking food in every direction. I am a corned beef hash fanatic so thats what I ordered along with a side of savory homemade sausage. ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIC, PERIOD. Ya gotta try it ! And whatever ya do, don't dare miss the oatmeal and fruit brouille. Heaven !!! Also the biscuit in sausage gravy was the best EVER. Scored a perfect 10 for breakfast. Can't wait to get back for more of their yummy goodness. Richard more

Normally, you can take it to the bank that when you see a 30-deep line of hipsters outside a food trough or watering hole in PDX, that the experience is going to underwhelm. In this case, Gravy delivers the goods. After an inappropriately long wait, My Wife had The Corned Beef Hash, which had massive, tender chunks of well-seasoned corned beef, and a side of Hash Browns the size of a Condor Nest. Break a runny fried egg over this and it's heaven on a plate. I ordered a custom Scramble with the house home made sausage and ""double wide"" bacon, which was fan-frickin-tastic. In place of the potatoes (which I already had plenty of from the hash plate) I ordered a side of the challah french toast. This is where the breakfast went from five stars to out of this solar system delicious. Point blank, it's the best French Toast I've ever had in my life, by a wide margin. Slight crispiness outside, slightly gooey inside, with just enough vanilla and cinnamon to achieve perfection. If a human being could mate with french toast, I would have 12 fat little syrup covered kids. Here's how good the food was: I was straight-up dissed TWICE by two different waitresses when I asked for coffee, and the food was so good I stll gave the place five stars. In a city filled with overrated eateries with endless lines of bearded indie artist cyclist lame-os, Gravy stands alone in my book as the only one worth waiting for. Pros: Insanely Good and Plentiful Food Cons: Ridiculous Crowds, Hurried Servers more

I LOVE this place. Gravy has my favorite Bloody Mary in town with the homemade mix and i cant resist the sweet rolls! And it's one of my favorite Bfast joints in town. I took my fiancee here for his birthday and they went out of their way to make certain his experience was wonderful. Thanks. During the week is my favorite time to go because of the big crowds on the weekends. For those who wake up hungry, dont go to Gravy. The wait to get seated and then get food just might kill you. I dont find this a big deal, i know PDX is a town of brunches and long lines for excellent food... That being said, I was appalled to read the ""Debbie-Party of Four"" posting. Debbie- Obviously you have never worked in the service industry. Stop feeling sorry for your hungry tummy and think about this logically: your server is the only person who receives the tip. Your server does not seat you or make your food. Their job is to promptly deliver your food and take care of the table to the best of their ability. Your passive aggressive behavior has not only slighted her but it has cost you the privilage of being able to show your face (let alone eat) at this establishment. Think logically. Handle this situation like an adult and address your disatisfaction by politely speaking to the server, manager or person in charge. Explain your perspective. Don't place blame or become snippy to one person in particular. 9 of 10 times your meal will either be compensated or part of your bill taken care of. If your server did the best they could, you should still tip on what would have been the full amount. This is standard practice. Good job poor server who had this table. Good job cook for sticking up for your employees. Debbie, I hope you read this. More importantly, I hope you never visit my place of business. Pros: heaping places of goodness Cons: popularity of the restaruant more

Dear Server, more

"Debbie-Party of Four " Sunday, October 4, 2009 - we arrive at Gravy and put our name on the list @ approx.... more

""Debbie-Party of Four "" Pros: Excellent Food Cons: Service Non-Existent on this Day! more

"Debbie-Party of Four " Sunday, October 4, 2009 - we arrive at Gravy and put our name on the list @ approx. 1:14pm - party of 4. Having bee... more

Sorry you had a bad experience LizBelle. This was my first time going to Gravy but I had been warned the wait on a Sunday morning could be long. We put our name in, walked up the street and shopped a bit and came back just in time to hear it called. The service was super friendly. They kept the coffee coming. Cheap! Yummy! Pros: Food, ambiance, service Cons: Be prepared to wait more

I guess if you are into waiting for 2 hours to get a table on the weekend this is your place. The real treat comes once you are seated, and your server ignores you for another 20 minutes. Then if you are really lucky they will bring you tea, without a tea bag, or a seive, and tell you that is how it is supposed to be served, while another server looks on in horror. By the time your food arrives it is cold, and you would have to walk yourself back to the kitchen micorwave to get it heated up, because you know they aren't interested in helping in anyway. Luckily they are prompt when it comes to the bill. Pros: Try another restaurant like Muddy's or Francis's. Cons: 2 hour wait for bad service, worse food more

We had breakfast today at Gravy and it was great. But the best part was our witress - Jessica. She was totally fantastic - fun, friendly, and attentive. We have been going to gravy for a long time and she is the best waitress we have ever had. Keep it up! more

We ate here about a week ago. It was not at all crowded and we got seated immediately. Our waitress was terrific and the atmosphere is warm and homey. I love the vintage glasswear they use to decorate the restaurant. The omelettes are monstrous and filled with loads of whatever you want on the inside. The B & G is good but a little bland, I like mine with more sausage flavor. But the biscuits are fluffy and huge and well smothered with the gravy....no skimping here! I had the oatmeal brulee with berries. It was also a very large portion, the oats cooked perfectly, not at all mushy and the caramelized sugar on top was such a treat...yummy! The french toast is made with challah giving it a nice texture and sweeter taste. Overall, a great experience and reasonably priced. Pros: Great atmosphere. Excellent food. Good prices. Cons: Gravy a little bland more

waited for an hour after being told it would be about 25 min. went to check how far down the list we were and noticed my name was crossed off and five people had been seated since. waited another 15 min for the server/hostess to show up and she insisted she had called us several times (though we were sitting in the lobby the whole time - perhaps she had called us outside as she had been doing earlier?). when we informed her we had been sitting in the lobby the whole time and must not have heard her, she rudely snapped ""I don't want to argue with you."" my friend who also serves at a very busy breakfast restaurant assured her the we did not want to argue either and that we would not be needing the table after all. spoke to a friend later that morning and he said the previous week he had been skipped over also with no apology and walked out without eating too!! seems the same had happened to the guy listed below us as he pointed out to her as we were leaving that he was still waiting. wow, will NEVER go here again. more

At a time this was my favorite morning restaurant I use to recommend to everyone until today. I would order the corn beef and hash and instead of a side of pancakes that it comes with, swap it for a biscuit and gravy. Both items are the same price so this would seem like a simple swap and was in fact initially introduced to me by a friendly server here. However this superb breakfast was ruined today by a server, her bad energy and her inability to accept a simple sub on the menu. She refused to make any substitutions and put up a fight . When she finally agreed to accommodate this simple request my morning had been ruined by her attitude. Whose heard of a place that calls themselves gravy and then makes it so difficult to order what it. i use to dream about this breakfast combo and thanked the original server who suggested it to me, but found my service today totally distasteful. more