Had a much tastier brunch experience recently involving banana bread and extra-extra-crispy bacon, and so I have to bump them up that final star. Also since service is always awesome, and they have a table big enough for a board game with friends. Bare Bones is awesome. I just wish I could bring myself to stop ordering the pulled pork and try the rest of the menu ... read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Grilled Banana Bread - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I very much appreciate the owner and staff, who provide a safe and welcoming environment. Highly recommend the rotating soup options!

Gluten-Free Options: Heck yes! Sammies are on Udi's bread, and they have several tasty gf options available. Vegan Options: Yep! Bathrooms: Non-gendered single occupancy The Bare Bones Bar is my new favorite late-night place. Getting gluten-free food past ten pm in this town is challenging, and getting it with a tasty drink is almost impossible. Not so at the Bare Bones Bar. They offer a full menu until 9 pm, but even their "bar food" is tasty and filling, with none of the usual fried-till-dead suspects. I highly recommend the banana peanut butter bacon (bpbb?) sandwich on gluten free bread; couple it with an adult beverage from the slurpie machine, and you've got a tasty guilty pleasure that'll keep you coming back for more. read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Bacon, Pb and banana on Gluten Free bread. It doesn't get any better than this. - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Kristen is just so awesome !!!! She one of the bartenders and she's quick And hands down best playlist to hit the bar holy smokes!!!!

Bare Bones is a wonderful cafe with yummy breakfast and lunch on one side with booze and snacks on the other. This place is super relaxed and feels really welcoming to all. Perfect for working on a 10 page paper or meeting for a hot date :) read more

As promised, updating after I went over for breakfast. Really fantastic biscuits and gravy, it's not super heavy and the rosemary in the gravy is great. Also got some bacon as a side, managed to be crispy and thick at once which satisfied both me and my wife. read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Biscuits and rosemary gravy - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Generous cocktails and yummy food! Lots of vegan options and always willing to adjust menu items to be made vegan. Staff is always fun and accommodating. read more

Came for brunch. It was acceptable, nothing outstanding. Felt like something I could make at home in 10 minutes. Pros: - house made veggie sausage was great - toast (with breakfast) wad made with above average bread - decent price Cons: - portions felt small - hash browns were frozen, big box products. - grapefruit juice from concentrate read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Two eggs, hash browns, veggie sausage and toast. - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Stopped by here for breakfast and had a very enjoyable experience. Lots of people were stopping in and hanging out. It seemed to be a local spot that welcomed everyone, which isn't a bad thing. I ordered their chicken fried steak and was not disappointed. The sausage gravy was plentiful and the steak itself tasted as though it was hand breaded and fried, not pulled frozen out of a freezer. I dislike places that don't offer fountain sodas with refills, so I can't do a 5 star review...but there was plenty of water. The food, however, was beyond fabulous. I would have no problem stopping in here again. read more

No frills, no bullshit service. Order and pay at the counter, food is delivered when ready. Delicious breakfast and philly sandwiches. Decor is proletariat, with lots of local art. Good bar with pool, pinball and shuffleboard. read more

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At first impression, the owner emitted a certain stand-offish vibe. The kind that implies, "I'm tired of this business, so don't give me any sass". However, after some pleasantries, all was okay. Conversely, there was an older man talking loudly on his phone, it would have appropriate for the owner to have said something. The place has been relatively empty during my three visits. I created a grilled cheese sandwich using the extensive ingredient choices, but it was just so-so. Size in relation to portion was small. Belmont is great, so it makes for a good people watching spot; the seats by the window are nice. Maybe something magical happens during the times when I'm not there, maybe I've missed some killer dish on the menu (can't remember what I ate the other two times.) read more

Absolutely loved the food and environment. The setting was super chill and quiet. I'm glad my son wasnt to to loud for others around us. I will most DEFINITELY be coming back and trying other things. Thanks to my work Silver Cloud Inn in Portland!! read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Out to lunch with Christian mom and Madison!! Thanks to my work Silver Cloud Inn and the where to eat guide for gift card! - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

The girl with the Mickey Mouse PJs and green hair is pretty rude my friend asked for a Long Island and once she received it it tasted like lime juice. After asking the bartender for a remake she said no and rolled her eyes then asked to add more coke. read more

Hi! Your bartender tonight, 11/11 is a joke. So rude. So unprofessional. Threw a customer's card at them and told them to leave for having the audacity to ask for a drink he forgot to bring. Said he had other people to deal with. Place was practically empty and we had already waited an exorbitant amount of time. So we bailed. I like this bar and will be back but if I see a manbun behind the bar I will about face and spend my money elsewhere. read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

I wish you could give half stars for Yelp because this place deserves 3.5 starts but not 4. It's a cute place and they have a great music selection playing. I got the turkey sandwich. It was good but it wasn't anything exciting. My friend Matt got the kielbasa on a bun with sauerkraut and a side of German potato salad. He said that it was alright but nothing special and That the sauerkraut was weak in flavor. The potatoes were slightly undercooked in the German potato salad and still had a little bit of a raw taste to them. There was only tiny nuggets of bacon where as he expected large chunks of bacon to be present. My friend Tracy had the pepperoni pizza, which she said was pretty good and finished it all. Happy hour beers were 3.50 but 4.50 normally so still pretty cheap. The lady who worked there wasn't mean but wasn't the friendliest. She kind of seemed overwhelmed. Overall it was just okay. read more

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Breakfast burger was phenomenal. Gluten free bread also tasted really good. Additionally the wait staff was kind and followed COVID sanitization protocol. read more

I can't comment on the prices of drinks because I literally just signed my copy without looking at a total but I came here for trivia most recently (uh, Thursday nights? Was that Thursday?) and it was fun! Cool bar with a couple of pinball machines and a few tvs. There were SIXTEEN teams of trivia when we were there. I've been to Bare Bones a few times in the past because I used to live over here but it's not the kind of place I'd go out of my way for. They do have other events, Bingo, off the top of my head but yeah, just kind of a regular bar. Not too noisy, not too divey or cheap. Just a nice Bell Curve bar. I had a few Old Fashioneds (weird word) and the tuna deviled eggs. They were awfully fishy, I wouldn't get them again but I LOVE deviled eggs. Just no tuna. I did find their menu kind of limited. It was okay though, a nice evening spent with friends doing trivia. read more

HORRIBLE avocado sandwich... HORRIBLE! How do you mess up an avocado sandwich and it take you 20 minutes to get out?! The bread was cold and soggy, the avocado was BROWN and hard and not spread but just huge hard brown chunks tossed on the cold soggy bread with absolutely zero fixings of any kind... no salt/pepper nothing and this garbage of a sandwich cost $4. Don't waist your money. It went straight to the garbage. read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Avocado sandwich - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We shared a brunch bagel and waffle sandwich along with coffee and mimosas. The mimosas were huge! The drip coffee was out of this world, the food was great, and service was friendly and fast. 4 out of 5 bc the bathrooms were sub-par to everything else--- watered down soap(which is a huge personal pet peeve) and non working paper towel dispenser. Cute. read more

Bare Bones Cafe & Bar - Brunch Bagel and Waffle Breakfast Sandwich - Bars Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Stopped in for breakfast. Great iced coffee, and had the two egg breakfast. Great amount of food which included bacon, hash browns, and toast with the eggs. Cool spot and I liked the chill ambience. Really nice people working too. I'll be back! read more

I haven't even gotten my food yet and this place is a flop. The service is crap. The cashier is rude. And my food is taking forever. It's a freakin breakfast sandwich y'all come on! Update: the sandwich was alright but then I found the blonde cashiers hair in it and my hair ain't blonde. EW! This place sucks. read more

Delicious breakfast sandwiches, good coffee and friendly service. We'll be back. Cool game room with pinball and pool

Literally so disappointed. Was super psyched to take my friend for a birthday brunch today since neither of us had ever been but unfortunately within 5 minutes it was clear we didn't want to support the business. There were two workers on site...one was extremely unnecessarily rude and the other just acted like we weren't there. It was very unprofessional and off-putting to say the least. The atmosphere and menu looked great though. read more

Cheep beer prices! 5 dollar most of the time and 3.50 for happy hour which is great! The fusebol table and other games make it fun! The music isn't always the best and can be loud read more

This review is mainly for the cafe side. It's absolutely my favorite place to work in Portland. I love brining my laptop and sitting for a few hours with either a coffee or adult beverage and get shit done. The employees are always super nice and helpful. I see the owner in there most times and she is sweet as well. The food is amazing. Lots of sandwiches, bagels, different salads, etc. I know the bar side has other options which include lots of vegetarian stuff, all of which have been delicious. It's cozy, never too packed, fun music and relaxed. I love it because they have many options for food, coffee as well as alcohol! I highly highly recommend this place. read more

It's in the neighborhood & I was starved so I thought "what the heck, give it a try". I'm so thrilled that I did. I ordered the spicy pecan & blue cheese salad & a bbq pork slider. The food was fantastic. I would've taken pictures but I ate it without thinking. Anywho back to my review. You get a whole lot of salad for 6 something & the slider was generous in size. I know where I'm going when craving a huge delish salad again. read more

Friendly, fast service. Food was alright. $14.50 + tip for breakfast sandwich, hash browns and a mimosa. My friend found a hair in her salad. Don't think I'd come back. read more

Delicious! Happy hour prices are awesome. I got a grilled cheese, tomato soup, drink and side of potatoes for $13. It was also incredibly tasty. Definitely recommend!! read more

Most of the staff at the bar is cool and nice. Certain bartenders should decide if they want to work there or not. Don't be a dick to customers just because they are placing an order. And when you bring said order to their table don't slam it down. Not asking you to kiss ass, but just be decent at customer service. It's not difficult. read more

excellent food, great drinks, friendly staff & low drama atmosphere. perfect for a work day in the cafe or a first date in the bar. kitchen is consistently delicious. specials vary from gourmet to feel good. also pinball & pool on the back! it's hard to find a flaw! did i mention the great patio? even trivia is tolerable read more

Worst breakfast of my life. Absolutely horrible. Please, please don't eat a meal here. I ordered their two egg breakfast which advertised two eggs any style, hashbrowns, rustic toast, & choice of meat (bacon, veggie or pork sausage patty, or slice of ham). Here's what I got: two rubbery, over cooked & bland eggs, scrambled; one mushy-beyond-recognition veggie sausage patty that tasted like it came straight from the microwave, two freezer-burned potato patties (NOT hashbrowns!), & one piece of toast (the only decent thing on my plate). My partner, who got the smoked salmon scramble, subbing the bagel for "hashbrowns", said of the experience: "Whoever cooked this meal had little investment in the outcome. My scramble tasted like plastic, like something in it had been sitting in a plastic container for too long. It was salty, had way too many capers, & the salmon was petrified dry. This meal was a giant letdown, a complete betrayal to my senses. I really don't feel like they have any business selling food there." --Jonathan Mead We should've asked for our money back. I am ashamed that we didn't; even more so that we wasted $25 (for the meals that weren't eaten, two coffees + tip) without any kind of retribution. My only hope (in addition to not dying tonight of food poisoning) is that this review does some kind of justice. That's why I'm writing it. So please, for the love of all that is holy & true: Don't come here to eat a meal. I am scarred for life, my stomach hurts, & this place doesn't even deserve the one star that I am forced to give them. read more

We went in yesterday just to have a little drink, and we saw a Hurricane on the drink menu. At first, the blue-haired bar tender said she didn't know what a Hurricane was. After one of us pointed to the menu where it was featured as one of the main cocktails , it revived her memory, so we ordered two Hurricanes. She only had enough ingrediants to make one. Therefore, we gathered up our stuff and headed out the door. She evidently wasn't doing the math well or listening because she started to make a Hurricane even though we specified we wanted two. She caught us on the way out and after we told her we were leaving made a very nasty face while shaking her head and sputtering. Her attitude and incompetence will keep me away from this place. read more

Before visiting for the first time a few months ago, I read the reviews that were rather mixed. People loved it, others hated it. My first visit was nothing spectacular...the food is nothing to rave about. I had read that the owner was a dick, but found him to be ok on my first visit. Well, I recently went back for a second visit, which was another story. Those reviews about the owner being a dick are true. I will never give my money and support this guy again. I had ordered a breakfast sandwich with a scrambled egg. He told me that the cook couldn't make a scrambled egg because they didn't have a bowl in the restaurant. (WTF--as I watch a guy eat soup at the counter IN A BOWL). He said that they only have a skillet. Ok so scramble those bits on the skillet. Everyone else does. If you don't want to sell your sandwich with a "scrambled" egg, just say so. Don't lie about it with some lame reason. Nevertheless, I was kind and made no complaints. However, his pompous attitude about everything else was really disgusting...from giving me the hot water for my tea to having to ring up my order. And this coming from me, an east coaster, where most people have an attitude. Never again. There are plenty of awesome restaurants just within 2 blocks with friendlier staff. I recommend those over this place any day. read more

Rude and fake owner. I have spent quite a bit of time here lately and by the looks of it, you'd think they would be grateful for any business. I will not be returning. Usually the owner is just rude, but today, the owner didn't address me, ignored my conversation, rang me up, laid my change on the counter and didn't even say thank you- even after i handed him my money. I've also seen the owner tell a paying customer that they couldn't finish eating their food outside. She was obviously homeless, but she wasn't dirty or causing any trouble and she was a paying customer. All customers are not created equal I guess. i don't know what his problem with me is. I was spending close to $40. a week at some point. Why did I go here you ask? it was the location and that's it. It definitely wasn't for the rude service or crappy coffee. I would never touch any of the disgusting looking donuts in the place either. If the service wasn't so rude, I would give it another half star for it's relatively sizable bathroom, which you will be spending some time in if you happen to eat any of the food. read more

The place is nice, and so it has been before the current owner has set up shop there. I have never been kicked out of a cafe before, and am very surprised that I was rudely told that I had to leave immediately. I sat with two classmates who both ordered drinks. When asked if I wanted to order anything I replied "no." That is not grounds for being kicked out and insulted... Yes, the owner through out insults and insisted I leave immediately all because I didn't order a drink! It was an unfriendly environment, and as long as he is around, I will not be. Also noteworthy, my first impression of the place is that for a coffee shop, it smelled way too strongly of bacon. I was also wearing a PETA shirt, and he could have very well been discriminating against me for publicly displaying the title of a group he does not support. The teacher I was visiting with, even used to work there! That was before this guy took over. He too felt that it was an uncomfortable environment as well. I am stating this tastefully and holding back how I really feel with hopes of staying constructive. Place is nice, service is nothing to rave about. Not a friendly environment, and the values of the owner are not in line with the social norm of the north west. read more

When someone piles freshly whipped cream, topped with a thick goo of chocolate sauce atop a thickly fiendish mocha... somehow I can only give 5 stars. It is an easy place to miss, hidden next to some construction a few blocks from the Pied Cow- "bare bone" is exactly the décor... no frills. Simple service with simple decoration but divine creations- plus it was very very quiet when we arrived so it allowed us to sit and enjoy the Belmont atmosphere and people watch out a giant window. Belmont-ese people are oh so interesting, especially over a mocha that resembled a small mountain of whipped cream. It's fun to venture off the beaten path- try it... you'll see. read more

Totally solid. I had a tasty, large, reasonably priced cocktail. It was a bit heavy-handed on the St Germain, but, you know, there's worse things to be heavy-handed on. The thoughtful cocktails on their list all start with local spirits and run in the super reasonable $6-7 range. Sandwiches are offered on gluten-free bread, and they're using Udi's, which is the only GF bread worth making a sandwich out of. They even made me essentially 3 half sandwiches, as the GF bread does run a bit on the smaller side. Nice. touch. It was staggeringly loud when my buddy and I arrived, even though there were only a few people there. It was the jukebox. We shouted back and forth across the table for a song or two before one of the patrons at the bar headed out the door and the bartender came over and turned the tunes down. We thanked her and she explained that the other patron that had just exited just really wanted to rock out when she was the only one there a bit earlier. I can respect that. It's a bit dark, but in an inviting sort of way. The server was really nice and totally attentive. Sammich hit the spot. Only odd/off thing that I noticed was that there's no HH here, in spite of the fact that there's HH offered from 3-6 at the adjoining Cafe. I'd like to see the same HH grub and drink specials offered in the bar as well. read more

Great option for coffee or cocktails on trendy Belmont. Why is it that more coffee shops don't also serve beer and cocktails? Yeah, I don't know either. What I do know is that Bare Bones Cafe does serve both and they do so very well. The ambiance leans more toward cafe than bar, which is a good thing (especially given that the Bar Bones Bar, just next door, can certainly fill that void). There are plenty of tables and free wifi for the typicaly cafe patron to have a seat, sip a coffee (Kobo's beans, which are excellent) and surf the web. Or....OR!...if you're in the mood for something more adult, just mosey on up to the bar, grab yourself a National Geographic (Yes! They still make magazines!) and order yourself a beer or one of their unique cocktails. My personal favorite was the Blood Orange & Jalepeno margarita. Only $5 during their happy hour from 3pm to 6pm. This is a great place to take your straight-edge friends who just want to indulge in caffeine (or one of their amazing sandwiches!) when you are more in the mood to sin. read more

First time in Portland! Came here for breakfast since our air bnb was near by! Breakfast was great!! Curly hair fellow was the only one working and got slammed but still managed to do a great job on our food and drinks! So happy to try this place! Definitely will be back! read more

This place has such an ugly aura about it. I work down the street from Bare Bones and this location is in a good spot to pick up lunch. I should've known better than to place an order when I called due to the lack customer service on the phone. The owner didn't state the name of the business and just said "hello?" Puzzled I responded "is this Bare Bones?" The owner retorted with a childish "you called me." I honestly didn't think much of it at the time and proceeded to place my order. I have a total of 30 minutes on my lunch and waited to pick up my order when the owner said it would be done. I made my way down to the café and when I went inside there were no patrons there, just the owner speaking to a man behind the counter. I stood in front of the cash register with my money in hand ready to pay for the food I'd ordered. The owner is standing less than 2 feet in front of me and never acknowledges my presence. It felt like I was standing there for a really long time. It was so awkward and uncomfortable. Finally I turned around and walked out. As the door shuts behind me I hear the owner say to "ma'am your orders ready." That was the only time I was acknowledged by the owner while I was there. Needless to say I will never give this establishment my business again. read more