This is an establishment of the area! Clam chowder is a bit too creamy but pizza is superb. The Vista Combo is one of the best. Thai Peanut Chicken is fairly solid but a bit too saucy. Love this place! read more

Vista Spring Cafe - Thai Peanut - New American Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Delicious dinner! My husband and I have been in once before and with no dinner plans for Valentines night we decided to give it a shot and got lucky with not wait at all. I ordered the pasta special which was phenomenal and my husband ordered the lasagna which did not disappoint with a salad to start. We both had some wine and total was $54. Service was fantastic and the vibe was relaxing and truly perfect. We will definitely be back again and again. read more

Vista Spring Cafe - Lasagna - New American Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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We love the neighborhood location, the old building, bar, and decor. We always appreciate the ambiance, friendly staff, and unique homemade pizzas! read more

Excellent food in a great neighborhood location. Server was very helpful with great suggestions. The pizza was perfect, ravioli excellent, and the meatballs marvelous. Definitely worth another trip. read more

Love this place. The food is great, the atmosphere is inviting, and the staff is nice.

Evelina is the best!! We love this place, best pizza in Portland. A great environment to eat and relax.

The location is nicely removed from downtown l, but still local. The food overall is pretty good, I would describe it as "comfort food." It's consistently good and pretty tasty, but nothing too special. Ambiance is dark, dated, and a little cold; this is where they lose most their points. However, the menu is solid and you can find a lot of good, simple meals that you'll enjoy. read more

I am writing a review for my parents because they aren't on this thing. They ordered a pizza online about 30mins before Vista Spring Cafe closed. Something went wrong with the order, no fault of either party. I don't recall the details, but my mom said she spoke with them on the phone right before they were closing and Vista offered to make their pizza if they could be there in ten minutes. That was on Christmas Eve. I work in the industry and know that so many places are finished serving food ten minutes or more before their stated closing hours. To go above and beyond on what many view a holiday, during a PANDEMIC deserves a huge thank you!!! I had a cold piece when I got into town later in the evening. My parents have been going there for over 25 years. Makes sense. Thank you to all of their employees who have continued to provide wonderful service. read more

A local bar and restaurant in a neighborhood with many beautiful homes. The food is simple, fresh, and primarily with an Italian bent. There is a full-service bar. The service is friendly and knowledgeable. Overall a great experience for a local restaurant. read more

Believe the reviews: this cute little place up in the hills has warm and lovely service, solid food and a strong if limited local beer selection. The wife's food was fine (Cesar Salad and Turkey Sandwich with cranberry cream cheese) and mine was good ( chowder and grilled cheese). The kids meal for the kiddo was as needed. The wife's cider was really lovely. Added bonus for those with kids. There is a playground across the street at an elementary school. Open on the weekends. read more

Love this place. No nonsense good food and great pizza. Warm rustic room with caring service. A feel good place with consistently good service and high quality food. read more

Our appetizer was the baked brie and it was delightful! I usually don't like brie at all and scooped up the last bites to not waste a taste. The pizza is outstanding and the service was too. We will return! read more

Great food and social distancing in place. Staff were all wearing masks. I'd feel safe ordering food to pick up again.

It's been about 20 years since I have been to Vista Spring Cafe. We ate there once and the food was unexceptional and we never went back. I thought that maybe the restaurant had changed in 20 years and I should try again. I read some decent reviews, so it seemed like a reasonable thing to do. Bad idea. It was still pretty blah. My husband ordered the lasagne and I had the Chicken Crunch Salad. When asked how the lasagne was, his answer was, 'meh'...As for me, the salad had almost no chicken in it, so that was disappointing. It was all bland. There were not even any onions. Onions would have gone a long way to improve it...that and more chicken. If the bitty bits of chicken had any seasoning, that would have been nice, too. Our server was great and attentive. 5 stars to her. Otherwise, I guess we'll try again in 20 years. read more

Last night we came here for an earlyish dinner. The Warriors were playing Game 7 against the Thunder and we'd rather eat early than miss the end of the game. Vista Spring was recommended by our AirBnB hosts. We walked in just before 6:00. There was a sign-in sheet so I dutifully put down my name, as did several subsequent arrivals. A staff member saw us and directed us toward a table w/o referring to the sheet. I'm sure it would be needed later in the evening as it got busier, but not yet. The place looks like a neighborhood joint that has been here for decades and I mean that in the best possible way. It's woodsy and attractive w/ booths and tables. While not full when we arrived, there were tables w/ families and tables of older folks eating together. A fabulous looking routed wood system was attached to ceiling fans to move them when the weather is warm enough. We looked at the menu and decided to start w/ a hummus plate as an appetizer. I ordered a red blend by Charles & Charles and Alan ordered iced tea. I considered a pizza, then decided on a hamburger as my main after our server assured me the kitchen would do their best to cook it rare. Alan ordered a salmon burger, substituting salad for the kettle chips that came w/ it. I followed suit. The salad was $2.50 extra but was well worth it, as it was a generous portion. I ordered blue cheese dressing and Alan ordered Italian. The hummus plate was marvelous, w/ warm triangles of pita, a good serving of well made hummus, crumbles of feta, slices of kalamata olives, halved cherry tomatoes and chunks of cucumber. Because Alan couldn't eat the feta or the olives due to their sodium content, he focused on the hummus, cucumber and tomato w/ the pita. I enjoyed the feta, olives, hummus and tomatoes w/ the pita. It was an excellent start. The burgers were brought w/ large, sharp knives to cut them in half. Mine was nicely rare. It came w/ pickle chips, sliced onion, tomato and lettuce. I requested catsup and mustard. It was a very good burger. I liked the salad too, although there was something about their blue cheese dressing I didn't care for. I should have ordered the balsamic vinaigrette. The wine was very tasty. Alan was pleased w/ his meal. We were both wearing Warriors shirts and when we paid and got ready to leave our server wished us good luck in the game, which we appreciated. We got back just after halftime and the Warriors won the game. read more

Have you ever watched the movie "Pretty Woman"? I'm referring to the scene where Julia Roberts walks into the store and was snubbed by the sales lady. That was what my family experienced last night with our server, I believe her name was Erin and she was being shadowed by another girl. I don't know whether or not her boyfriend broke up with her, and if he did, I can excuse this incident, but if he didn't, why the rude attitude. We ordered drinks and left. I've lived in SW hills for 14 years and have never eaten at this establishment. It looks like I never will. read more

The pasta was great here. And the pizza was good although we didn't like how the fat settled in the center. Besides the food being good, the service I'd say wasn't. We got seated by Sam and he was not the least bit "approachable" after we got our food, We were down a fork and asked him for one and I kid you not he rolled his eyes without commenting and came back and brought us the fork. It was supper odd. As if he just hated his job and did not want to be there. read more

Vista Springs Cafe is our local neighborhood restaurant serving lunch and dinner. I have always enjoyed the food, adult beverages, and service at Vista Springs but wow - tonight's salad was soooo good I just had to write a review. Smoked salmon Ceasar salad! Unbelievably delicious. The salmon Ceasar is a special but they always have a chicken Ceasars which is also wonderfil. But oh the salmon ceasar! read more

Vista Spring Cafe - Smoked Salmon Ceasar. Delicious! - New American Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Great little neighborhood restaurant. We came as a family of four and tried a few of their evening entrees. We had the meatloaf sandwich the Spaghetti and meatballs and also tried the Hawaiian pizza, all of it was delicious. The service was 5 stars. Definitely will return. read more

Vista Spring Cafe - New American Near Me - Portland, Oregon

My family has been going to the Vista Spring Cafe for years and have always had great service. It has been of our favorite places to eat. Yesterday, one of the servers, (I believe her name was Annie) was extremely rude to me and my friend. She seemed upset that we only ordered drinks. When I asked for water, she slammed it on the table without any eye contact. We couldn't believe she did that! We felt uncomfortable and unwelcome the whole time read more

An entirely enjoyable and welcoming neighborhood establishment. It's a bit out of the way so it took a concerted specific effort to walk up the hills from the PSU campus, but it was very worthwhile. It doesn't hurt that the walk, though steep, is through some of the nicest, most opulent residential areas in town. On a Thursday night around 8pm my girlfriend and I were the only two customers. A few people came quickly in and our to get take-out orders, but no one else sat. This certainly made for attentive service. I wouldn't take the lack of customers as a slight to the food or Vista Spring in general; it was surely just a slow night along a street that doesn't get a whole lot of drive-by traffic. I had the Chicken Caesar Salad, which was well-portioned and dressed just right, and my girlfriend designed her own pizza, which she rated as surprisingly good. The food came quickly but seemed un-rushed and freshly made. The restaurant is tucked in a corner lot and the interior is mostly wood finished, with large booths next to big windows, an inviting bar, and high beamed ceilings. Generally quite inviting and warm. To top it off, we accidentally forgot our leftover pizza on the table as we left. The waitress spotted it and chased us down from a block away to make sure we didn't leave empty-handed. Quite good service, that. All in all, I suspect I'll be back the next time I wish to trek up the hill to get there. read more

A Haiku Review of Vista Spring Cafe: Under the radar Flies a homey pizza joint. A nice change of pace. read more

I'm a little torn. While I love the location, neighborhood and overall feel of the restaurant, the food was just mediocre to me. By looking at the menu, the theme seemed to be Italian. However; I was all pizza'd out so we went for splitting a cobb salad and the mac and cheese. I'm all about presentation, but I hate when a you have to toss your own salad. While the Cobb salad was huge and the toppings fresh, it's always a pain to get the ingredients mixed without making a mess. The mac and cheese was mediocre. It wasn't straight from Kraft box, but it was bland and only tasted of cheddar. For $9 I'd have expected another cheese flavor or at least some garlic. The inside of the restaurant is rustic dark wood and dim lighting, which made it cozy and warm and I really enjoyed the ambiance. Most seats are along the window, so we had a view of the spectacular homes in the neighborhood. Our female server (ID 7 working on 10/19/12) was really nice and did a great job. While this restaurant has the makings of being great, the food was just a little lackluster. That's not to say I won't be back...but I will be trying the lasagna or meatloaf sandwich next time. read more

This place is ok, cute. But my Blt came out with bread so over-toasted and then cold that it hurt my gums to eat it. And they didn't have soup because they thought it was too hot out for soup. But I had brought my grandmother because their menu online said they had soup. The server did bring me new bread, but generally the service was very slow considering there was hardly anyone there. I'd skip it unless you really need a place in that neighborhood. read more

The Veg Lasagna was delicious the cheese and the ingredients felt very fresh. It would just melt in your mouth. Goat cheese pizza was good too. Located on Portland Heights, this restaurent is tucked in a warm and cozy neighbourhood. Parking isnt much of a problem either. I will come back when i crave italian again. read more

I really, REAlly wanted to give this place a 5 star review. We had just hiked about 5 miles from the Pittock Mansion, and I was really looking forward to a beer and a good lunch idea. It could be that at 1 pm on a Saturday they weren't anticipating a large lunch crowd, and therefore, did not staff accordingly. Service was painfully slow. I ordered the turkey sandwich on sourdough. A simple sandwich, but it was so dry, the one beer I got could not adequately wash it down. Again, I wanted so much to enjoy this restaurant, for the location alone, but I was extremely disappointed. read more

Another delicious dinner at VS - our neighborhood restaurant. Hummus plate is so good. Meatballs starter for me and meatballs and spaghetti for my husband. Deeelicious! Plus the atmosphere is nice. The tables need to be refinished badly but we suspect that they are supposed to be "rustic". Anyway, we really like this place. read more

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-They have the best Club Sandwich in town and really good Clam Chowder. -Their Tropical Iced Tea is delicious. -Quality ingredients and is consistent every time. -Attentive waitstaff and they are good with beverage refills read more

This is one of our favorite pizza places (side note I have yet to go to any of the eastside, pizza havens everyone keeps raving about but Vista Spring is nearly as good as our current favorite Hot Lips. Great Pizza's and salads. Wine and beer selection is pretty good and prices are not too high. I would have to say that service here can be very slow and inattentive. Something to stay on top off if you are needing to eat with in an hour or two time frame. Our last waitress seemed to beam off to outerspace then back every 1/2 hour or so whether it was to retrive our drinks, salads or pizza there was a lenghty time in between. Maybe that is where they store everything.......outerspace. Of course you could just get the pizza to go, maybe they could beam it to you. Now that would earn a 5th star! read more

If you're looking for that great neighborhood place for a bite that just screams comfortable, this place is it. The good stuff is the pizzas, sandwiches and big salads. They have a full menu of Italian/American fare but I haven't really gotten past the killer pizza. For sandwiches, it's got to be the reuben. Always a favorite and my measure of character and their's stacks up favorably. Really lean meat, lots of sauerkraut, good sauce and just plain yummy. Wish I had one in my hand right now! The pizzas don't try and overwhelm you with a million different ingredients, just a few of the right ones. They have some usual combinations and a few that you probably won't see elsewhere (anything with pancetta always rises to the top of my list!) Everything's better with bacon. As others said, it's not as swanky as Ken's or a couple other pizza joints but dollar for dollar, Vista Spring holds up very well. And it's way more mellow and they don't rush you out the door to turn the table over! The service is serviceable but I don't go there to get in and get out. Neighborhood places are there to grab a good pint (or glass o wine) and just enjoy some good food. Now, go get some! read more

We are from out of town and can not find a place for dinner. We saw the review and thought, sure let's try this. Vista Spring is a gem! Great food, great service! Even though we were stying at downtown Portland, we will be back again!!! read more

I wouldn't say this place was bad at all it was just average. The food portions and price were good but the overall was just okay. It took about 30 minutes to pay our bill but the server was very friendly. For a family of 4 we spent around $60 with one appetizer and four entrees. It's in a great area but I didn't enjoy it enough to come back. read more

Vista Spring Cafe - New American Near Me - Portland, Oregon

We go here often because my kids go to school across the street. The food is always good and fresh and we can count on pretty swift service. Our go-to orders are the southwest chicken salad and the chicken poppy seed salad. My husband loves their soups and the kids swear by their balsalmic salad dressing. We'll continue to go back. Maybe even tonight! read more

Hidden away, ambiance of the place is awesome. Ordered a pizza which was delicious and there was a nice selection at the bar.

I had a great time here, great food service and a full bar. We had Meatballs and Caesar salad for an appetizer and shared a smaller pizza. It made a great dinner and we were quite happy with the service food and atmosphere. We are happy it is in the neighborhood. They also have a full bar with great local beer on draft. read more

I am a regular and it's a cool neighborhood haunt. Not sure I'd drive too far for the food but it's a good place for noisy kids. I didn't know it was Italian! My son in-law loves the pizza, kids love the Mac and cheese, burgers and dips are good. Wish they had zuppa every day instead of turkey vegetable Fries would be great instead of just chips. Staff can be bitchy, depending on who. Most are super nice and patient with the kids. Haven't had a bad meal there yet. But, it could always be better read more

Awesome pizza. It's what pizza tastes like when I think of pizza. Don't have the French cheeseburger or whatever it was, the one that's kind of plain. read more

First off the food was good. I had sausage ravioli and tiramisu and chianti. Yum. It came with some bread. The place is cozy and cute, dimly lit, kinda romantic. Service was just ok read more

I had never heard of this place, and it is tucked way up in the West Hills and the only reason I go up there is to enjoy a day at the zoo with the kiddies, but I have a friend/former co-worker who works here and was asked to meet one of our regulars there for a little bite to eat. I came in on a rainy night, hugged my friends hello and ordered a glass of the house chianti. It was delicious and warmed me right up. I had shown up a little later than my 2 other friends who had both had and italian dish, so I took my gentleman friend's recommendation and ordered the lasagna. I was expecting a big square of pasta in the middle of the plate, but much to my surprise when my friend brought it out and placed it in front of me it was a cheesy, saucy, gooey boat of lovelyness...seriously, it was a healthy chunk of lasagne topped with god knows how many kinds of cheese and had the most amazingly soft, delicious garlic bread to sop in all the melty cheese and sauce. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for dessert, not that I had room, but will definately make a little stop in for dinner the next time we head up to the zoo for some zoolight action. By the way, I'm biased, but the server (Kelly) is one of the best in town.... read more

Our food was so good. I had a delicious spinach tortellini. The salads were also really good. I loved the atmosphere, decor, music and lighting. Good service too. My friends had the pizza which they said was really good. read more

Vista Spring Cafe - Our spinach tortellini and pizzas. - New American Near Me - Portland, Oregon