one of our party ordered gluten free french toast and it did not come until we were half way finished with our meal. also we had to flag down wait staff to get coffee refills. they should have the bus staff doing this vigilantly. other than that food was great all had a good time.
Brandon Ford
You would think with the arm and leg they charge you they would at least give you a full serving of gravy for the biscuits and gravy, but every time I've gone and gotten this meal I've been disappoint on how much they skimp on the gravy. And I'm not a big eater.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
DaveInBallard
Besides cost, we love Portage Bay. We just had our toddler's birthday breakfast there, really like the food, and everyone is always welcoming and pleasant. Its a really solid spot. But after-tip, it's easily $60-80 for 2.5 people. Compared to other places, most items should be $12-15 instead of $18-21.
Judy Hoffman
The food has always been outstanding previously this time everything was up to par except potatoes were burned. There were four of us at our booth and we all left the potatoes. We will try again as this was out of the ordinary.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Breakfast Bar
Elliot Smith
There is a video on youtube of the employees of Portage Bay Cafe on South Lake Union st repeatedly harassing, intimidating, threatening, and physically assaulting a photographer on the sidewalk. These employees are violent and dangerous. See attached pictures of only a couple of the many employees involved in the mob attack.
Elrob
Our family of six so looked forward to an Easter Sunday brunch here. We were so disappointed. We were seated next to the breakfast fixings bar which is situated way too close— people were constantly hitting the back of our chairs as they helped themselves to the bar. Our meals all came out at different times— the kids finished their meals before the adults received theirs. When my omelet which I asked for to be cooked soft arrived it was cold. My daughter's eggs Benedict had eggs that were almost hard boiled. An avocado toast that finally arrived was great though. I understand that going out for a meal during a holiday has its risks but Portage Bay could have done better.
colette
Amazing food, fun service, and a really good fruit and topping bar. The whipped cream was so good. They even have outdoor seating with heaters. Open kitchen which is cool. If you have visitors I would recommend this place. If you have not been you must try!
Grace Huang
get the banana foster pancakes
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eddie
Terrible food and the servers were even worse than the food ??Parking: Take an UberKid-friendliness: Kids screaming and crying all throughout our brunch
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: The Breakfast Bar
Tammy L Todd
I've never seen EMPLOYEES be able to get away with attacking a man on the "PUBLIC SIDEWALK" for video taping, however I hope your business has suffered for their actions! Where was the manager and why did he/she allow those "THUGS" to act like unprofessional jerks! It's a good thing I wasn't there, things would've gotten real bad, real quick! Every employee on duty that day should have been ARRESTED and FIRED! I hope it was worth it!
Busy place but absolutely great brunch with amazing service. I honestly could have married our server, Andrew. He was so incredibly friendly, helpful, attentive, and witty!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Chiltown Chilton
very unfriendly staff, I hope this staff is reprimanded and fired. The way this Staff acted is very unbecoming of your business and should be dealt with accordingly.
Mari Kim
Friends came from South Carolina. Decided they should enjoy the brunch experience at Portage Bay Café. Across the street from the beloved dive bar The Sloop in Ballard was the closest.First and foremost: at this (and every) Portage Bay location reservations are absolutely necessary. Open Table app is a much easier option than trying to get someone on the phone especially if you're actually doing the same-day reservation. You'll always get voicemail. They're just that busy.Went an hour and a half before our reservation time to request a table for eight at 1:30PM. We arrived 10 minutes before our reservation and checked in to make sure everything was tracking. Fast-forward: it would actually be another 35 minutes before we would get to sit down. I share this because as I was leaving I heard another couple say they were 25 minutes behind their reservation. If you regularly go to Portage Bay Cafés across the city, you know that a longer wait is not unusual (but it's helpful to know if you aren't accustomed). But here's how we managed that time delay in that neighborhood.We had four kids between the ages of four and 11 so we decided to take a walk down the block to visit the Danbo troll in front of the Nordic Heritage museum. A great place to pause for photos. Then, what is not as well known is that there is a cool full-size labyrinth behind back. So we went around back through the parking lot to the back entrance to explore another great PNW tradition: the walking labyrinth.We and the kids walked the labyrinth -- turned out to be a super cool experience that the kids took to right away. They had never done one before. We had a hard time pulling them away and had to suggest we return maybe after our lunch. At 90 minutes on the dot we went back to the restaurant and we were told they were waiting for one table to get up so that we could be seated together.Due to no fault of the staff another 25 minutes passed. At that point a couple in our party indicated they might have to leave... because they were not sure there would be time to for them to sit and eat their meal once they had ordered bc they had to get to their next commitment.I mentioned this to the host/hostess team and they sincerely apologized because they realized it had been quite a while. Luckily with fresh turnover they were able to offered us the option to sit outside. That actually suited us well because it gets pretty loud inside, and when kids are hungry and overstimulated it's nice to be in the open air.We indicated we were happy to sit in the fresh air. We were offered blankets to help with warmth. The outside seats have umbrellas to keep you dry which was helpful since it was drizzling a bit bit today.We had our orders all ready to go and placed them immediately. And they came out with in 10 minutes! The kitchen was very prompt; our server Erin understood our situation and was great about taking our orders immediately and bringing everything out as quickly as possible.What was also great was the kids took to climbing on the squid bike rack that is in front of the restaurant and that kept them occupied for the 25 minute delay. Then they had a field day visiting the breakfast bar with their pancakes. They came back with their plates loaded: fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, chocolate chips, fresh whip cream… It was like heaven. The pancakes came out as Mickey Mouse w/ the ears, and the kids appreciated that because they had been to Disney World earlier in the year. That pancake is a great excuse to get kids to eat fresh berries.With the adults the grapefruit and orange mimosas were very popular. Two of us ordered Seattle Benedict because the base is crab meat. The Huevos Rancheros came out tasting great with chorizo. We ordered some bacon and sausages on the side, maple pork sausages. The bacon had some nice pepper on it which I loved. The kids inhaled the pork sausages.Dietary restrictions: Excellent options for vegetarians, and vegans.Parking: Parking is the worst thing about this dining experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dungeness Crab Cake Benedict
LisaD
We were celebrating my mom's 94th birthday with brunch at Portage Bay Cafe, which is one of our favorite restaurants. The staff were so accommodating since she had a walker to deal with and everyone was so friendly to her. Since she is celiac we so appreciate the menu and attention to food allergies. And as always the food was fresh and delicious! Thank you to the staff who make the experience so positive. Lisa Dabek
Asher Seibel
Came for the first time ever this Saturday for a late brunch. Patiently awaiting, I checked in early seeing the line and was told a wait of 35minutes. Walked around the locks for 40 min. When I came back, an extremely passive aggressive front of house mouthed me off stating another 15. The same front of house host (named Estelle) obviously had a personal problem with my group and I. As we ended up waiting over an hour, we witnessed extreme unprofessionalism by staff member Estelle including blatant stares, unpleasant remarks and obvious moving down the reservation list.Beyond this experience.The food was amazing. The avocado toast with poached egg was great and the rest of the service staff were absolutely amazing.This is an amazing restaurant yet I hesitate to recommend until the host staff are changed.
one of our party ordered gluten free french toast and it did not come until we were half way finished with our meal. also we had to flag down wait staff to get coffee refills. they should have the bus staff doing this vigilantly. other than that food was great all had a good time.
You would think with the arm and leg they charge you they would at least give you a full serving of gravy for the biscuits and gravy, but every time I've gone and gotten this meal I've been disappoint on how much they skimp on the gravy. And I'm not a big eater.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Besides cost, we love Portage Bay. We just had our toddler's birthday breakfast there, really like the food, and everyone is always welcoming and pleasant. Its a really solid spot. But after-tip, it's easily $60-80 for 2.5 people. Compared to other places, most items should be $12-15 instead of $18-21.
The food has always been outstanding previously this time everything was up to par except potatoes were burned. There were four of us at our booth and we all left the potatoes. We will try again as this was out of the ordinary.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Breakfast Bar
There is a video on youtube of the employees of Portage Bay Cafe on South Lake Union st repeatedly harassing, intimidating, threatening, and physically assaulting a photographer on the sidewalk. These employees are violent and dangerous. See attached pictures of only a couple of the many employees involved in the mob attack.
Our family of six so looked forward to an Easter Sunday brunch here. We were so disappointed. We were seated next to the breakfast fixings bar which is situated way too close— people were constantly hitting the back of our chairs as they helped themselves to the bar. Our meals all came out at different times— the kids finished their meals before the adults received theirs. When my omelet which I asked for to be cooked soft arrived it was cold. My daughter's eggs Benedict had eggs that were almost hard boiled. An avocado toast that finally arrived was great though. I understand that going out for a meal during a holiday has its risks but Portage Bay could have done better.
Amazing food, fun service, and a really good fruit and topping bar. The whipped cream was so good. They even have outdoor seating with heaters. Open kitchen which is cool. If you have visitors I would recommend this place. If you have not been you must try!
get the banana foster pancakes
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Terrible food and the servers were even worse than the food ??Parking: Take an UberKid-friendliness: Kids screaming and crying all throughout our brunch
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: The Breakfast Bar
I've never seen EMPLOYEES be able to get away with attacking a man on the "PUBLIC SIDEWALK" for video taping, however I hope your business has suffered for their actions! Where was the manager and why did he/she allow those "THUGS" to act like unprofessional jerks! It's a good thing I wasn't there, things would've gotten real bad, real quick! Every employee on duty that day should have been ARRESTED and FIRED! I hope it was worth it!
Restaurantji Recommends
Busy place but absolutely great brunch with amazing service. I honestly could have married our server, Andrew. He was so incredibly friendly, helpful, attentive, and witty!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
very unfriendly staff, I hope this staff is reprimanded and fired. The way this Staff acted is very unbecoming of your business and should be dealt with accordingly.
Friends came from South Carolina. Decided they should enjoy the brunch experience at Portage Bay Café. Across the street from the beloved dive bar The Sloop in Ballard was the closest.First and foremost: at this (and every) Portage Bay location reservations are absolutely necessary. Open Table app is a much easier option than trying to get someone on the phone especially if you're actually doing the same-day reservation. You'll always get voicemail. They're just that busy.Went an hour and a half before our reservation time to request a table for eight at 1:30PM. We arrived 10 minutes before our reservation and checked in to make sure everything was tracking. Fast-forward: it would actually be another 35 minutes before we would get to sit down. I share this because as I was leaving I heard another couple say they were 25 minutes behind their reservation. If you regularly go to Portage Bay Cafés across the city, you know that a longer wait is not unusual (but it's helpful to know if you aren't accustomed). But here's how we managed that time delay in that neighborhood.We had four kids between the ages of four and 11 so we decided to take a walk down the block to visit the Danbo troll in front of the Nordic Heritage museum. A great place to pause for photos. Then, what is not as well known is that there is a cool full-size labyrinth behind back. So we went around back through the parking lot to the back entrance to explore another great PNW tradition: the walking labyrinth.We and the kids walked the labyrinth -- turned out to be a super cool experience that the kids took to right away. They had never done one before. We had a hard time pulling them away and had to suggest we return maybe after our lunch. At 90 minutes on the dot we went back to the restaurant and we were told they were waiting for one table to get up so that we could be seated together.Due to no fault of the staff another 25 minutes passed. At that point a couple in our party indicated they might have to leave... because they were not sure there would be time to for them to sit and eat their meal once they had ordered bc they had to get to their next commitment.I mentioned this to the host/hostess team and they sincerely apologized because they realized it had been quite a while. Luckily with fresh turnover they were able to offered us the option to sit outside. That actually suited us well because it gets pretty loud inside, and when kids are hungry and overstimulated it's nice to be in the open air.We indicated we were happy to sit in the fresh air. We were offered blankets to help with warmth. The outside seats have umbrellas to keep you dry which was helpful since it was drizzling a bit bit today.We had our orders all ready to go and placed them immediately. And they came out with in 10 minutes! The kitchen was very prompt; our server Erin understood our situation and was great about taking our orders immediately and bringing everything out as quickly as possible.What was also great was the kids took to climbing on the squid bike rack that is in front of the restaurant and that kept them occupied for the 25 minute delay. Then they had a field day visiting the breakfast bar with their pancakes. They came back with their plates loaded: fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, chocolate chips, fresh whip cream… It was like heaven. The pancakes came out as Mickey Mouse w/ the ears, and the kids appreciated that because they had been to Disney World earlier in the year. That pancake is a great excuse to get kids to eat fresh berries.With the adults the grapefruit and orange mimosas were very popular. Two of us ordered Seattle Benedict because the base is crab meat. The Huevos Rancheros came out tasting great with chorizo. We ordered some bacon and sausages on the side, maple pork sausages. The bacon had some nice pepper on it which I loved. The kids inhaled the pork sausages.Dietary restrictions: Excellent options for vegetarians, and vegans.Parking: Parking is the worst thing about this dining experience.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dungeness Crab Cake Benedict
We were celebrating my mom's 94th birthday with brunch at Portage Bay Cafe, which is one of our favorite restaurants. The staff were so accommodating since she had a walker to deal with and everyone was so friendly to her. Since she is celiac we so appreciate the menu and attention to food allergies. And as always the food was fresh and delicious! Thank you to the staff who make the experience so positive. Lisa Dabek
Came for the first time ever this Saturday for a late brunch. Patiently awaiting, I checked in early seeing the line and was told a wait of 35minutes. Walked around the locks for 40 min. When I came back, an extremely passive aggressive front of house mouthed me off stating another 15. The same front of house host (named Estelle) obviously had a personal problem with my group and I. As we ended up waiting over an hour, we witnessed extreme unprofessionalism by staff member Estelle including blatant stares, unpleasant remarks and obvious moving down the reservation list.Beyond this experience.The food was amazing. The avocado toast with poached egg was great and the rest of the service staff were absolutely amazing.This is an amazing restaurant yet I hesitate to recommend until the host staff are changed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2