CAFE NELL

I walked by Cafe Nell this morning as a visitor to Portland. It looks adorable from the outside. Everything else was BAD. The service was almost non existant, I sat at my table and was completely ignored for a long time. The food was almost inedible. I had poached eggs with spinach and artichoke. Nothing was fresh on the plate. The "vegetables" were a slimey spread on a bun. The whole plate was beige. Potatoes looked like they came out of a frozen bag. I spent $50 on a plate of sludge and a very average drink (not what I'm used to in Portland). The whole restaurant was very dirty too. VERY DISAPPOINTING.

While visiting Portland, I went to Cafe Nell to try another breakfast place. The waitress suggested the shrimp and grits, being a local favorite that usually runs out. I have to say it was amazing flavors and matched what my palate was looking for. Great service and good atmosphere. You have to stop by

Great space but one of the more disappointing experiences I've had. The menu looks solid and food presentation was great. But its execution and the price it comes at with the slow service makes this a pass.

Puffed scallop pastry was really good. Best thing we ate. Pesto pasta was also pretty good. But the chicken was over salted, the $4 shrimp (each) were also underwhelming, vegan risotto was over salted as well. Crab butter salad was portioned as a side salad but was fresh and vibrant. Side bread was cold, tough and not worth serving other than to fill a belly after a $190 dinner.

What an utter fail. This was just a money grab. Ended up here for Mother's Day. This was not our choice, but, I should have known, when we arrived, they told us to help ourselves. I asked if we could order off their regular menu. I was told it was buffet only 😖☹️. With an automatic 20% gratuity, it was $60 per person for just food. It was a bunch of slop. The place needs a total refresh. Everything from the food and the build out was tired. This place is way past its prime. We left hungry and felt robbed.

We had a reservation here for Mother’s Day for 5 people for 11am for a buffet brunch, and we did not get seated until 11:22a. The food is not worth $50 per person they are charging. They couldn’t keep up with the demand. They seemed very unprepared.

They ran out of waffle batter and they had to send someone to the store to get more. It took an hour and half for the waffles we ordered. The food is cold. Max and cheese and the pesto pasta is dry. Took them an hour to refill the bacon. I overheard staff that they don’t want to bring out the bacon until the sausage is almost gone as the refill of bacon comes with the sausage on the same tray.

The server is nice but she forgot to bring our beverages for about 40 minutes. I’m disappointed in this brunch as we heard great things about nell cafe. She brought our check out at 12:20p after only being there for an hour. It wasn’t enough time for us to enjoy the food as many of the food are out or cold.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE.

Went her today for Mother’s Day and would not wish that upon any mother. It was a buffet with a great menu but the food was never stocked. We were there for 2 hours and there was items that were empty when we got there and never got restocked. Our reservations were at 11 so there was no reason things should have been out when they were serving till 5. They ran out of waffle batter for over an hour! The food that was there seemed like it was just to get something out there. I mean they knew how many people would be eating as they were only serving reservations.

Service had a 20% gratuity already added and service showed that they knew that. Meaning that the server never came by and seemed like we were a bother if we asked for anything.

DO NOT RECOMMEND

Delicious! Beautiful restaurant, good food and good service. I got the omelette and it was perfect. It’s great to have this spot in the neighborhood, will definitely be back

Dinner update:
Wonderful happy hour! We got a salad, two entrees, appetizer, 3 cocktails and decaf coffee for the mean price of $71, this is a perfect spot for a date night. Relaxing atmosphere with the fire, especially in the winter, and everything was delicious again! The bolognese is amazing, I recommend it for sure. Once again we’ll be back 🫶🏼

Or visit to Café Nell was fortuitous, as the nearby restaurant we'd planned on checking out was unceremoniously closed during their posted operating hours (both online and terrestrial), for some unknown reason. We looked for something similar in the neighborhood, and this classy little bistro jumped out at us, having both an intriguing brunch menu and an adorable aesthetic.

Upon arrival, and lacking a reservation, we were informed that the only available tables were inside (awesome!), and were seated immediately. Pleasantly surprised to see a variant of one of my favorite cocktails (the Rusty Nail) on the drink menu, I ordered the Kentucky Nail to go with my chicken paillard, while my wife ordered the French 75, a sort of sparkling lemon gimlet, along with the shrimp and grits; I'm still flabbergasted that she didn't order the Dungeness crab mac & cheese!

In both cases, the entrées were incredible; the shrimp and grits, an elevated home-cookin' comfort classic, hit all the right notes. Meanwhile, the chicken paillard was a complex amalgam of savory, sweet and sour, unified by the acerbic mustard vinaigrette dressing drizzled over both greens and fowl, it's only weakness being there wasn't enough of it. This would be my only complaint about our dining experience here: without the presence of an included side dish, this otherwise exemplary dish seemed a little exorbitantly priced for the size of the portion, yet not enough to be a detraction. Still, those with larger appetites should plan, and order, accordingly.

As gorgeous as the covered outdoor seating is, especially as it was on the warm Sunday morning in which we visited, the interior décor is no slouch, with its upscale-diner-meets-Parisian-boutique vibe. It's cute, cozy, and intimate, particularly after sunset, when the lighting manifests a moodier, duskier, more sultry ambiance. Perfect for a date night!

Portioning and pricing taken into consideration, a meal at Café Nell is still a worthwhile experience. They do things differently enough to stand out among their competitors, offering some truly incredible dishes, uncommonly great (and uncommonly encountered) cocktails, and stellar service, all packaged together in a charming little corner space that wouldn't seem out of place in any of the 20 Parisian arrondissements...which is saying something, because this is ostensibly an American café. When you can stand toe-to-toe with the culinary colossus that is French cuisine and culture, you're doing something VERY right.