Byways Cafe

Great atmosphere service is awesome! Everything is great and Melissa was phenomenal! Love it and absolutely recommend it to all you hungry folks out there! Get in and get some eats and check out their dessert counter whoa the peanut butter fudge cake is intense!

This food and service was beyond amazing. The Meg Scramble was divine, get tillamook cheddar instead of the Monterey Jack!!! The ambience here is fun and relaxed. They have an array of interesting coffee cups and servers. The décor is fun and interesting. With sparkle red bar stools what more could you ask for!?! Our server was Melissa and she helped us decide our amazing meals and made sure we had the most delightful experience of all ! She’s nice and sweet!

I love this diner. I especially love it for breakfast. They have great scrambles, Stumptown coffee, and when I’m eating carbs, there are blue cornmeal pancakes. Often there are some tasty bakery items for sale behind the counter. I recall a pumpkin cinnamon roll one day. WOW.
Let’s see… it’s an old-​school diner atmosphere with mismatched chairs, a counter with vinyl built-​in stools, a bunch of two-​tops, and some booths. Plenty to look at in the glass cases and on the walls. In the most complimentary way, this is the Fat City of the Pearl. DID I MENTION I LOVE THE SCRAMBLES? I do. And they’ll customize them.
Oh, bonus for the vegans: Eggs can be replaced with tofu. I hear that’s a popular choice. COME FOR THE BREAKFAST. Visit for the lunch. Dinner is not gonna happen.

Great service. Great diner food; wish the space was bigger! I highly recommend the French toast. They always cook my eggs perfectly over medium and their bacon is perfection as well.

This is diner food. And nothing more. Thats what makes this place great. You already know what to expect and that is exactly what they give you.
This place is not huge so the wait times can be long at times. This is a place to go when you have nothing to do and you can spend some time waiting for breakfast!
The staff is very welcoming and extremely happy to be working !
My personal favorite is to order 2 eggs from the sides menu and a fresh made biscuit. Literally the best way to start my day!

A true Portland gem, I come here often with my daughter and the food is amazing. Best place in town for breakfast and very consistent service. Always crowded and worth the wait, my daughter treated me to Mother’s Day breakfast here and it was awesome. They also have cocktails now, I am sipping on a Bailey’s coffee drink as I type. I can’t say enough good things about this place.

This place has just a great staff and outstanding food.
The corned beef hash was just amazing and the blue corn pancakes were just delicious.

Mimosa? I say YES please.
I love mimosas for breakfast/​brunch
but, at this place they have a different
presentation. They bring you a
mini bottle of champagne (sparkling
wine) and a mason jar with a glass of
orange juice on the side. They let
you put it all together your
bad self. I didn’t mind
the «do it yourself» thing but the
mason jar didn’t work for me… ya
I’m a mimosa snob… I’m seeing someone
about it…
I ordered the Mingas, it was very good.
Just enough green peppers, egg onions and
tortilla all mixed together with a side of
salsa (didn’t seem house made),
sour cream and choice of home made
potatoes or fruit, I had the fruit.
Service was relaxed and nice.
No line at 930am on a Friday.
I would definitely return here for breakfast.

WTF !!! 3 eggs and red B and pice of bread for $ 18.75 !!! Oh Waite and a cup of coffee .
COME ON
One person breakfast for $ 18.75 what a joke
Don’t go there

Sat right away (only the boyfriend and I) on a semi busy Saturday. The food took a bit of time to arrive, but judging by the size of the place, there isn’t much room for a kitchen. The service was great! Everyone was very helpful.
So delicious! We shared the sunrise special, where we upgraded to the french toast, and the biscuits and gravy. Definitely worth the wait.
We were stuffed and the total came to only about twenty bucks! Coming back in the future for sure.

If I could give zero stars I would. This review is for service only. Never got a
Chance to try the food, we walked out before we got a chance. Too bad because the food looked really good. They have a policy of everyone must be present before being seated. Unfortunately I didn’t realize this while my girlfriend was trying on a dress around the corner. After waiting about 30 minutes I was seated then forced to get up when she realized my girlfriend was not there. I understand them place is small and popular with people waiting but how f***ing rude can you be. To stand there and watch people just stroll in and take your table. F YOU Portland hippie slackers. I’ll eat somewhere else.

Delicious brunch… very nice service. Good coffee.
I had the pesto and veggie egg scramble plus potatoes and an english muffin. The eggs were amazing — lots of pesto and veggies. The potatoes were good (maybe not the most amazing breakfast potatoes ever) and the muffin was toasted perfectly.
Husband had the special which was a Latin inspired egg dish which was also delicious and large.
Will definitely go back. lots to try!

This place is TINY!
Went on Saturday around 11. Waited about an hour. Staff are very friendly and nice.
This place has great reviews and I wanted to be wowed… but honestly, this place is just like any old diner.
My friend and I got 2 dishes and shared:
The Redwood Omelet — 3 eggs, Spinach, bacon, cheddar and tomato. Served with potatoes and a biscuit — The best thing about this dish was the homemade biscuit and homemade jam! Both were DELISH!
French Toast — Amaretto-​infused brioche. The amaretto flavor was actually quite good, but the slices of bread are huge. One order is enough for 4 people!
Lastly, I ordered a hot chocolate which was made right before my eyes in the microwave stationed on the table next to our booth. I found this to be a little funny… only because I happened to be seated right next to the station. LOL

Five stars for the excellent customer service, atmosphere and food. I was really impressed with my mediterranean scramble, and subbed the chicken sausage for broccoli… I LOVE that they don’t charge you extra for fruit if you choose that over bread/​potatoes like the majority of restaurants do, and on top of that the fruit was fresh and there was a good variety. The bloody mary was delicious too! I highly recommend you check this spot out, it’s great for breakfast or brunch and they do a good job of turning tables quickly — so put your name on the list even if the line seems long!
I will be back on my next visit to OR for sure!

Had a great breakfast here on a recent vacation in Portland. Byways is a really funky café full of really interesting pieces such as postcards, old car number plates and other collectables.
The menu is quite different, offering a refreshing change from your regular café breakfast menu. Servings are very generous — we even got the fruit salad to take away and ate it much later in the day.
Friendly staff amd really efficient service.

I’m glad we discovered this place on our trip to Portland! Stopped by a little after 9am on a Saturday morning, we waited perhaps 25ish minutes for a seat for 2. Tiny little place, they decorate the café with porcelain plates and various license plates from different states.
I got the Mike’s scramble (with apple sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, greens) and my boyfriend got the 3-​day weekend (biscuits and gravy with scrambled egg on top). oh my goodness, I don’t know if it’s an Oregon thing, but they did it again with their fluffy eggs! So light, so easy to eat, so healthy tasting. Mmm! The flavors were excellent, and blended well together with a hint of cheese gluing the ingredients to each other. They don’t skimp at all either with the filling, so you don’t get a scramble with more egg than the stuffing. I tried a little of my bf’s biscuits and gravy and it was tasty as well! I’m not a huge fan of biscuits and gravy but I liked these! The biscuits were not dry at all!
I’d recommend this little café to anyone stopping through Portland!

Very tasty. The Mt Rushmore Hash is a delicious way to get both protein and veggies in one hot breakfast. This place is in the $ 10 and under category, but unless you keep it really simple by getting just toast of something like that, you’ll end up over $ 10 after tip, but the food is good and the staff is delightful so it’s well worth it.

Everything a diner should be. Nothing more, nothing less.
We came here on a weekday, so there wasn’t a line and we were seated right away. The ladies running the diner are super friendly, very accommodating, and make you feel right at home. They also do a FANTASTIC job at making sure your coffee mug is never empty — I had so many refills I was shaking when we left. It was fabulous.
The décor is quirky and retro-​style with lots of knickknacks. I also loved that their coffee was served in a variety of fun grab bag mugs!
The food here is hearty and perfect for a morning when you want to just crush some good ol’ american breakfast food. Nothing fancy — just honest to good breakfast staples that are made with fresh ingredients and love. The portions are plentiful and the food is on the cheaper side for Portland…
What more could you ask for in a diner? I can’t wait to come back!

WOW I was beyond impressed with breakfast this morning! If you’re looking for a traditional breakfast, great coffee (a la Stumptown), and the best biscuits this side of the river, Byways Café has a seat at the counter with your name on it.
I’ve attempted to visit Byways before, but made the amateur mistake of showing up after 10 a.m. with the rest of the first-​timers. Don’t repeat my mistake (or if you do then pony up your name on the wait list inside the door to the right and crowd around outside with the rest of the n00bs because it’ll be worth it). I showed up at 9:25ish to what looked like a packed house and a waitress stepping outside for a moment was kind enough to let me know there was a spot at the end of the counter where I could squeeze in. I chained up my bike and stepped inside, and she ushered me on over to a menu and glass of water she’d prepped while I was securing my ride.
As I was sat down impressed by the already stellar service, another waitress swung by to let me know she’d be right with me. As she lapped back and asked if I’d like coffee, I also mentioned I was looking for biscuits and she offered to put in order while I decided what else looked good. The coffee came quickly, in a charming mug from a Colorado National Park, accompanied by fresh cream in a cute individual server. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but it was easily the best diner coffee I’ve ever had. I guess this shouldn’t surprise me since the Stumptown coffee decals were proudly displayed behind the counter.
When you come here, someone has to get a biscuit; when they ask if you want honey, the answer is yes. It will be huge, flakey, and perfectly sweet from the honey you’ll pour over it. The pancakes are also fluffy and sweet, the bacon as baconey as you could like, and the eggs looked to be local (as well as poached nicely).
If you sit at the counter, one of the servers or patrons (likely regulars) will be more than happy to strike up conversation with you. Put your phone away, and let the ambiance and friendliness that this diner captures so well take you back to a simpler time. And please, try the biscuits.

Tried this place with a friend from out of town. We both got the sunrise special: 3 pancakes, two strips of bacon and one egg. Inside tip: they will let you get two pancakes and two eggs inside of three and one. I got the blueberry pancakes — very good! But the best part was the bacon — thick and cooked just right: perfectly crispy!
No wait on a Friday around 10:30am, might be a different story on the weekend, as this is a very small restaurant. Cool décor and a retro diner feel. Service was quick and friendly. Overall I had a great brunch experience. While nothing was crazy outstanding and inventive, everything was good. A nice place for brunch in the Pearl.