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Portage Bay Cafe - 65th

3.8 (608 reviews)
Closed 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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Portage Bay Cafe - 65th Photos

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PORTAGE BAY CAFE - 65TH ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Loud
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Portage Bay Cafe - 65th

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Crab Bennie and Lemon Ricotta Pancakes (gf)
Linh N.

Had brunch here with my gfs. [[HIGHLIGHT]]This location is fairly large and honestly not reasonable for me but it was the middle point for all of us.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Unless you live within the area. Parking around here is nonexistent. Service was great. Our server was pretty nice. Ordering was quick and food came out rather quick. I ordered the crab Benedict and a small stack of lemon ricotta pancakes to try ( I originally just wanted fruits and whipped lol). The crab bennies were so good! Lots of crab meat and I loved that the hollandaise wasn't too rich. I ended up saving half of my Benedict so I could try the pancakes. I usually don't order pancakes or sweeet breakfast for that matter but lemon ricotta sound so good and I didn't realize they were gluten free. The cakes were so fluffy and the lemon sauce was delicious! I ended up saving half because I did get super full towards the end of my meal. My friends and I also ordered a pitcher of mimosa that contribute to that. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Anywho portage bay is great for brunch and they are a good place to catch up with your friends.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]

bananas foster french toast
Daniel K.

I come to this place at least once a month and every single time, I am impressed about their consistency. Today, I took my daughters for breakfast right before I headed to work, we got some banana French toast and pancakes; they loved it. Our server Bryce was awesome, he was attentive, suggested a few things but ultimately, my daughters picked their usual favorite. Thank you Bryce and Portage bay, you are still our favorite breakfast place.

corned beef hash
Charley B.

[[HIGHLIGHT]]This is a great breakfast/brunch spot.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Tons of seating, but it fills up fast on the weekends, so I recommend going early or having a reservation.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The food is pricey, but worth it - quality ingredients, good portions, good food overall. The berry bar is a hit, but all their dishes are honestly really fresh and good!! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great spot.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]

Yucatán Benedict

Great service. The march special Yucatán Benedict was delicious. However. the potatoes were not good. They needed seasoning. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It was fairly quiet on a Thursday morning.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I walked here and it didn't seem like there was a parking lot.

Their menu as of October 29th, 2022
Sarah S.

We came here on a Friday afternoon for some brunch! I love that they have so many seasonal options. On this occasion, I opted to order the Smoked Salmon Benedict. This was so good and satisfying. I really like the freshness of their ingredients and the quality of their service we were in and out within 45 minutes. This was definitely a splurge, but very well made.

A bit chilly but these heaters are helpful
Mary W.

Friendly service, took about 25 min for 4 of us to get seated around 11/1130 on a Sunday. They tended the heaters on which was nice since it was a bit breezy for a June day. Food is delicious - thought the biscuits came with 2 eggs but only got one... lingon berry Swedish pancakes were yummy

Luke L.

I've lived in Seattle for several years now and have patronized Portage Bay several times as well, but this is the first time leaving a review. I love it! The food is always delicious and generously portioned. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant is always lively but not crowded, and the hostesses always somehow accommodate every last-minute request we have (this time it was a spot for our stroller).[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] One thing I will say is, I was not the biggest fan of the mole. Though I cannot fault them because I know I don't like mole, yet I ordered the mole burrito, just because it looked so gosh dang delicious. That's how great Portage Bay is. It'll make you order things you don't typically eat, just because everything looks so good!

Signature
Marielle J.

One of my FAVE brunch spots! It's a treat to come here if you have not. Came here for Mother's Day. The BEST French toast ever -- along with topping it all off with fruits and nuts etc at the breakfast bar! When you can't decide between savory and a hint of sweet, you get the Rancher's breakfast, along with pancakes or French toast (and topping it off at the breakfast bar). They ran out of cold brew when I was here BUT they have the BEST iced tea I've ever had! Unsweetened but a little minty -- the brand is Barnes & Watkins I believe. Always a delight coming here, I'd love to try the Yucatán and Dungeness crab Benedict's next time! Our server was nice! I love this location since you can park at green lake park n ride (:

Goat Cheese Omelette (veg)
Alison B.

I went to Portage Bay in the U District 10 years when I was in Seattle for a summer. My memories and Yelp review were overwhelmingly positive so I was excited to try it again many years later. There was a line but the wait was quick. My previous review mentioned a toppings bar, that didn't exist. Maybe that went away due to covid or never existed, not sure. Overall, food and service was great. Prices are high but everything in Seattle is more expensive than Portland and the Seattle of 10 years ago. I'd recommend this spot and will be back.

French toast
Tiffany A.

So many people had recommended these restaurants and finally made it to this location. Wow, can't believe I waited so long it was delicious! Make a reservation or you'll likely be waiting a while on a weekend and be sure to show up at the right location. (Saw others who didn't) We tried the Seattle Benedict and French toast which were both sooo good. With the French toast you get to walk up and put your own toppings on - everything was super fresh and tasty. Can't wait to come back and try more of the menu.

Huevos rancheros
Fidela F.

10 Stars if I could... Guys in the kitchen are fast and food was delicious. Service was great also fast and very attentive. I got the huevos rancheros.... Very delicious

b.l.t. ( maybe a.)
Maggie W.

I came here with my boyfriend since it's down the street from where he lives. He made a reservation for the both of us since he knows how hectic Sunday brunch can be, especially at this location! However, we scheduled our reservation for around 10:30 AM, and we weren't seated for around 20 minutes. Made me wonder what the point of having a reservation system is if they don't actually hold tables for the explicit purpose of handing over to patrons who bothered to make reservations... I have no doubt that we would've had to wait even longer if we didn't make a reservation, though. The self serve fruit bar is the most appealing thing about this brunch spot, but it doesn't come with most of this restaurant's items and neither of us decided to spend extra money to go up and grab fruit for ourselves. My BLTA sandwich was alright, some of the breakfast potatoes didn't seem fully cooked through but they were seasoned very well. My boyfriend ordered the Dungeness Crab Cake Eggs Benedict, and he liked it (even though this location is on the pricey side). This place gets pretty hectic and the interior is cramped/has little space in between the chairs so service wasn't super personalized or stellar, but we did get our waters topped off pretty frequently which I appreciated. This location is likely up the alley for typical Seattle hipsters, but I don't think I would order a sandwich the next time I come here. I'd probably try to split one of their specialty items (the Swedish pancakes, for example...?)

Seasonal salmon Benedict and house seasoned potatoes

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Ask the Community - Portage Bay Cafe - 65th

Is this location dog friendly on the patio?

Yes! We saw a few pretty dogs seated with their families outside!

A/C air conditioning in the 65th or Roosevelt location?

No A/C at 65th, but YES to A/C at our South Lake Union location. Thanks Nikki!

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Restaurant Christine was on my list for quite some time, for years actually. But alas, I just…read moreforgot about it. Then someone suggested Restaurant Christine for my birthday. I didn't even remember where it was located but was intrigued when I learned it was in a micro-hood named Tanglewood. Salmon was very good, not dry but succulent; as well as the vegetables. The Hanger Steak was amazing. Almost everything was locally sourced and you can taste it. It all just seemed to work together in a uniquely Pacific Northwest kinda way. It's as though you were eating the outdoors. The owner met with us and gave us a history of the place, followed by his chef's cuisine philosophy. Just a really pleasant conversation. My only personal gripe is that some of the elevated presentations of the cuisine itself did not meld well with some of the rustic dishes; I think their presentation should appear slightly more 'nouvelle cuisine française' and less road-side diner in some dishes. Overall however, R Christine reminds me of the wonderful little hidden locovore spots throughout France that oftentime prove to be borderline Michelin star operations. This place is just like that, lovely.

We are regulars, so the staff know us by name. We come every week for lunch, and have been here for…read moredinner before so can vouch that both options are consistently excellent. If you're looking for a delicious Italian style restaurant in the green lake area, this is the place to go. It can get pretty busy, crowded, and loud, but there are plenty of tables and has a rotating seasonal menu so there's always something new to try.

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The taste of the food here is on average pretty good, but the overall experienced is sabotaged by…read morehigh prices and some poor presentation. The worst offender is the NW black cod. The black cod was not the center of the dish literally or figuratively: it should have been labeled a black cod salad because for 35 dollars it was a giant pile of salad with a tiny sliver of cod served on the side. It is offensive to call this a main course with how the dish is plated and portioned. The rest of the menu suffers from similar compromises: the lobster rolls are pretty good but very small for 33 dollars. Some of the other menu items were a lot better in presentation and value. The mushroom risotto and the cheeseburger were some of the better items on the menu. The oysters were also very good. There's some bright spots here but the overall experience is very compromised by some landmines on the menu. I would come here specifically to sample a few oysters and for the cheeseburger but not for any other items if you are expecting an actual meal. You can easily drop 80+ dollars and leave feeling like something was missing.

Went here for happy hour with a friend this week. Definitely won't be coming back anytime soon. I…read morehate to say that but it's the truth. We came mostly for happy hour but there wasn't much that intrigued us on the menu. We did split half a dozen oysters that were served with the most boring and basic mignonette and no lemon. The texture on the oysters was off enough to the point we hoped we wouldn't get sick later. The side salad on the happy hour menu we did enjoy, along with the burger. I'd come back for the burger and salad and that's it. The server left much to be desired and really impacted our experience. I know it's hard for restaurants to survive in Seattle with how expensive everything is. It's also expensive for people to go out to eat in this city. Definitely would prefer to spend my time and money elsewhere.

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Great food and great experience. The appetizers: diable…read moreshrimp was excellent. 5 pieces, cooked to perfection and presented well, Jalapeño hummus was innovative with a good hunt of Jalapeño but not over powering. Mac and cheese was really goos and we reordered it, and the burrata was great, though I don't remember much about it. For the brunch, the main meals were good. I had their breakfast sandwich and it was tasty and of the right size. Their bread pudding was tasty though it was more of a French toast in a sweet gravy vs a gooey pudding. Interesting twist and it worked. Overall a great place. The service was exceptional and 2 people that took care of us were outstanding. I've been adopting a lower tip approach in Seattle owing the increase in minimum wage, and would like us to get to a European low tip or tip optional situation. This restaurant owing their amazing service made it hard to tip low, but I still had to to stick with my principle. Highly recommend this place for a nice sit down meal.

The guru finds himself in Seattle looking for local fare. This is another place you yelpers said…read morewas good but I have some reservations. I came in super curious about this scallop dish they had. Now I've had scallops every which way possible. Scallops are so yummy they are next to impossible to ruin. But this dish called "oven fired bay scallops" changed my mind. It's basically scallops baked in cheese sauce. I took one bite of this thing and spit it out. I never thought I would hate a scallop dish but this is it. This is an absolute hot mess of a dish that should be taken off the menu and never be made again. The baking basically overcooked the scallops to the point that they are like rubber balls. On top of that all that cheese overpowered the subtle taste of the scallops to such a degree that I couldn't even taste the scallops. Then I tried their prawn appetizer. the chef made this one spicy. There was so much spice on it I could barely taste the prawn. I had to scoop it off the prawn before I could eat it. Those prawn were actually tasty and fresh and perfectly cooked. It really needed nothing more than some lemon juice. Then I had their rigatoni which was ok but the sausage that was in it was also a little spicy. What is this chef's obsession with spice? another thing I noticed was I was trying to find something light but they don't really have anything light. all of their pasta has a traditional tomato sauce or a cream sauce. All their salads are bit and full of cheese. Their pizzas are sizeable and full of toppings. This menu seriously needs to be redone. add a few light dishes and ditch some of the heavy ones. Overall food is decent enough for 4 stars but I am deducting a star for those two terrible appetizers. This is clearly the result of a young chef trying too hard. This chef needs to learn that sometimes less is more.

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Portage Bay Cafe - 65th - breakfast_brunch - Updated July 2026

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