Pattie’s Home Plate Cafe

Food was what I expected but the service sucked. I thought I would at least get a check in on how the food was or would you like a refill on your coke which I wanted. But I got none of these even after waiting for 10 minutes after I finished eating.

With all the mixed reviews, we were hoping that it would turn out to be a funky local diner that delivered the basics well. Sadly, it’s just a bad, dirty diner.

I’ve lived in St. John’s about a year and finally went into Patties. I was hesitant at first as it doesn’t look like the cleanest place… and I don’t think it is. However, the kitchen area is well kept and exposed to everyone in the restaurant.
The vibe in here is weird and I liked it. It’s a diner/​random crap store. The staff were very friendly and the waitress always there to refill your coffee.
The food was really good. I had the biscuits and gravy which was done right. LOVE me some good sausage gravy. The girlfriend had a Breakfast Burrito that was the size of my arm and it was good… I ate half because I’m a growing 29 year old boy.
When the damage came it was a womping $ 11 for two of us… so yeah. ZERO complaints on the prices.
Overall: B — I’d go back to Patties!

DON’T GO HERE! There’s no option for 0 stars, too bad for me.
Racism still lives in America, people, unfortunately, this is too close to home for me to ignore. Targeting minorities is NOT OK! This is everyone’s country, Latino, Afro-​American, Native American, White… it doesn’t matter… take your head out of your ass!
The waitress asked my friend’s family (of 12 and Latino), if they wanted to order something or take over more of our country?! WTF?!
They obviously didn’t eat there!
Businesses like this are not going to last very long in out city in this day and age.
RUDE, RUDE, RUDE!

I moved to St. John’s a year ago. This is one of the first places I went to. The food (breakfast) was ordinary at best. The place overwhelmed me, too messy and was not clean. Rule 1, if a place serves food it needs to be clean. People get caught up in its 50s ambiance. The soda fountain I went to in the 50s (Felosi’s Drug Store) was spotless. Pattie’s looks like the last time it was cleaned was in the 50s.

So unfortunately I have to update my review. Something changed at Pattie’s. It’s no longer that quirky hole in the wall place where you can get good food at a decent price. The last two times we went there were iffy but we decided to give it one more chance because we loved the place so much.
It was a pretty full house and only one server so we understood there would be a wait. After 30 minutes someone finally came over and grabbed the dirty dishes off of our table. 10 minutes after that the server asked what we would like to drink. At that point I had already gone and got menus from another table so we knew what we wanted. We ordered our food and waited. And waited. And waited.
One hour and twenty minutes later the food came. It had been sitting under the warmer for about 15 minutes. I had ordered a French Dip, my boyfriend offered chili cheese fries and we got biscuits and gravy to share. I know, weird taste we have.
So she brings us my (cold) French Dip and it’s this tiny little thing that a 2 year old could eat in one minute. There are no fries (which it comes with). She told us they were out of biscuits and gravy.
At this point we were starving so we ate it. She did give us $ 10 off our meal because of the wait but it’s just too little too late.
The prices have gone up and the quantity and quality of the food has gone down. I don’t mind paying more for my food if the quality stays the same.
So unfortunately three strikes you’re out. We will no longer be loyal customers of Pattie’s. Breaks my heart actually because of how much we loved this place.

Old.Dusty.Dingy.Gross.
Tables falling apart, flies everywhere. Looks and feels like you will get sick after eating there.
Waitresses were nice.

I was going to this place a few times here and there and each time I went it just got worse! And I actually liked this place until the last few times I went there. I honestly feel some workers there just don’t give a damn if you spend hard-​earned money there or not and that is such a disappointment because I am a full local and St. John’s supporter and I ALWAYS tip at least 20%.
Anyway, this last time my wife and I went there for a late morning/​early afternoon breakfast. I asked for the breakfast with biscuits and gravy… was told out of biscuits and gravy.Hmm.that sucked. OK. Finally, decided to go to lunch and get the fish and chip basket, instead. My wife wanted soup. some clam chowder. The waitress said we don’t have any soup… what? On a Friday and no soup, not to mention, clam chowder? This is getting ridiculous. Fine. She ordered the french toast.
When we got our order, my wife got 2 pieces of french toast (cut in four) with one piece of bacon for $ 8 and I got a fish and chip basket (for $ 12) that was so overcooked there was virtually almost no fish inside.
I didn’t complain about the fish because I got so miffed from the response I got about my wife’s plate. A total lack on waitress part in possibly offering the special. this place is weak. NEVER coming here again… they need to hire people that care for those that are coming to eat… and not buy their second-​hand junk… just saying. The waitress was the owner… she should be shot!

Decided to try this out with a voucher from
. Unfortunately even with the voucher the meal wasn’t worth it. Mediocre food at best. Service was good and cheerful but food was nothing to write home about. So the food would get this maybe 3 stars, service 4 stars, overall though just one star because the place is nasty dirty and there were an abundance of flies, yes just those black blowflies that remind me of a barn. I won’t return.

We were in the St. John’s neighborhood on Labor Day and decided on a whim to grab a late lunch. Having no destination in mind and with nothing more than a passing knowledge of the area, we ducked into Pattie’s mainly because we walked right by it. A quick glance at the menu told us all we needed to know: we could get cheap, home-​style cooking without a long wait. Sold.
I ordered half a roast beef sandwich on wheat and a cup of their soup of the day, white bean and ham. The soup was very good — seasoned perfectly, with generous chunks of ham providing a nice, salty contrast to the tender beans. The sandwich was okay; plenty of meat, but also, plenty of mayo. Too much mayo, actually. Which also proved to be the case with my wife’s club sandwich. But the food was good all around, and the iced tea — served in an old-​fashioned aluminum cup — was excellent. Service was attentive and quick, but then again, we were seated at the counter. Kind of hard to ignore us there. Lunch for three came out to less than $ 30, and that’s a bargain these days.
Others complain about the clutter, but that didn’t bother me. I was there for the food, and that lived up to expectations.

Is it a crap store, is it a horrible diner? Either way, skip the heartburn. If the owners read this, clear the crap out of that dump and turn it into a legit diner — get it together. And chase those inbred looking people from the front of the place.

I had high hopes for this little diner. We waited roughly 30 – 45 minutes (with 3 – 4 other patrons in the diner) for some bacon/​eggs. The back of the café has a store with old, weird items and some random Avon stuff. I wish this place would clean itself up, speed up the service and offer a little higher quality food. I haven’t been back since my first visit.

Have had good breakfast meals here in the past, but on June 13, 2015 my dining companion got food poisoning here and had to go to the emergency room via ambulance. My policy is to never return to a restaurant that doesn’t safeguard the health of it’s diners. Pattie’s, please clean up your act.
6÷18÷15 followup: diagnosis was viral gastroenteritis — commonly caused by food handlers not thoroughly washing hands after bathroom use. Please beware.

ESTABLISHMENT DESERVES NO STARS!! The worst service on a slow Mother’s Day morning, with only 5customers. Waited 10mins and finally had to walk up to the counter to ask for water and coffee. Waited for our food for another 30mins, had to ask for more water and silverware. received biscuits and gravy, biscuits were very burnt, Ordered a hobo omelette the bacon was under cooked. Asked four times for more water. The waitresses were too young, they sat around the whole time. The establishment looks like a hoarders house. Asked for to go container (s) received only one. I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMEND COMING HERE!

I was hesitant to eat here but I’m happy I did. The food was tasty and hearty and the staff was very friendly. Fun little place to go. Definitely feels like Oregon :)

There’s «vintage diner»… and then there’s Pattie’s.
I had a hankering for biscuits and gravy, so thought I’d give this place a try. But immediately upon walking in, I was greeted by a pleasant waitress and a strong smell of «back of grandma’s closet.» My husband and I didn’t even stay for the food, as much fun as eating in an almost-​Goodwill sounds. The fact that they sell Avon in the store is not a plus in my book.
I will say, everyone working there was extremely nice.

Great food, great service! Not a 5 star because of two reasons:
1. The iced tea is always WAY over-​brewed.
2. The flea market is really cluttered, and that bothers my OCD! But, it’s nice to have LOTS to look at while you wait for your food :-)

Great food, cheap prices, and lots of interesting people to watch. Val and I both had patty-​melts with fries. Waitress was the same one that we had wait are table last year, nice to see a person who is happy in her work, rather than complaining about everything in general. St Johns doesn’t have much to offer in the way of shopping, other than extremely expensive children’s shop featuring a lot of cloths from Europe, costing more than I pay for my own things. Used camera store, a couple of run down antique stores, a men’s clothing store, and of course Starbucks. Once a year on TriMets # 75 bus will about do it for us. By the way very nice Movie Theatre.

Visited on 11/1,Saturday, around 10:30 am
We are always looking for great breakfast places in Portland and decided to try one a bit closer to home. Now, I have eaten in and thoroughly enjoyed my share of food in hole in the wall joints. Where do I start with this place? This place was a hole in a hole.
First off, the place is FILTHY. How they manage to pass an inspection is beyond me. Everything is dusty and I don’t mean it hasn’t been dusted this week, but it hasn’t been a very very long time. Cobwebs coated with dust are actually hanging down from the ceiling and over the food warming area. Yum. The ceiling tiles themselves are disgustingly gross.
The place is full of junk. I think they think it makes it look authentic and oh so 50’s but it just looks like a bunch of dirty junk.
The dishwasher can not be cleaning dishes properly. He was washing it all by hand. Again, how does this pass inspection?
They pile up the dirty dishes on the section of counter next to the door, which also has dusty boxes filled with junk sitting on it. A cart with a trash can next to those seats completes the invitation to sit there.
The four people working there so obviously don’t want to be there. No talking between them, unhappy looking, and obviously related. No banter with the customers. The one waitress (owner perhaps) was way behind on taking orders. A kid was so so cleaning tables and also taking money but didn’t appear to really be trained on how to give change or actually run the register. Most of the tables were missing items (sugar, salt, pepper shakers etc) and the waitress was continually moving them from one table to another.
The coffee was horrible. It tasted like hot water. In a city such as Portland, there is absolutely no reason to serve crappy coffee. In fact there is a local roaster practically across the street. Getting refills of this brown hot water was like pulling teeth.
It took over an hour to get our food (Small breakfast Burrito and a Southwestern Omelette with hashbrowns and an English Muffin. They have one person doing all the cooking on a grill that is far too small. We never got silverware so I got up and helped myself. One of the sets didn’t have a fork.
On the one plus side — The food was actually pretty good. Not the best but not what we were expecting at this point.
While we were there, several people left because they had to wait so long for the waitress to even acknowledge them. This place wasn’t hopping, it wasn’t full. A bit more organization would help them tremendously. The entire atmosphere was depressing and the people working there so obviously have lost their desire. It seemed like they were slaves to the business and just trying to keep the doors open. I would imagine they are underwater on this place.
Because of the filth, the atmosphere and the entirely too long wait on food we won’t be back.

This is my breakfast joint in St. J’s. Food is good and I like the character. Random costume/​knitting shop in the back, old school street fighter arcade machine, records hanging from the ceiling, 4.50 for 3 biscuits and gravy.

How much fun is this?
It is fun for awhile. Then I became a Winnie the Pooh character and start worrying «oh dear, oh my»; wringing of the hands is optional I suppose.
Such a sweet group of people who work here. Very, very pleasant and with some good customer service. And what a great neighborhood vibe! The locals come in and hang out and it feels like the 1950s (or what I think the 1950s felt like).
However, the rest of the café causes more Winnie the Pooh characterizations and wringing of hands. It reminds me of some old drugstore in some small town in Eastern Oregon in the 1960s. All dusty and such … all that stuff. It would be funny and eccentric if it were done with some care and imagination and kept not dusty. Mostly it reminds me I’ve left behind Tigger and Pooh in the back of the dusty thrift store area and headed to Snow White’s world and become Sneezy.
Oh dear, Oh my. Tigger and Pooh and Roo and Owl and Piglet would not be happy. My dishes for lunch were very, very clean as was the table, and my sandwich was small and OK. Maybe breakfast served all day is better?
I felt like I was going to have an adventure by stopping off for my first meal in St. John’s here at Pattie’s Home Plate Café. I give Pattie and her employees a point for trying and doing a good job and a point for their genuine friendliness.
If they can clean it up and get rid of the dust … Oh hell, I’m not Gordon Ramsay and I don’t save restaurants from bottoming out, but there could be potential here and a lot of fun for customers if they could choose if they want to be a thrift store or restaurant.

Part knick/​knack gift job, part diner, Patties is nothing like you have seen before.
The service is friendly, and it seemed that everyone that walked through the door knew each other.
Prices are very cheap for breakfast, with most of your breakfast favorites on the menu. I had the small breakfast burrito, which was actually quite huge for $ 5.00. Nothing to write home about as far as ingredients go, but it hit the spot just fine and the price is right.

Just no.
A friend and I came in for lunch. The place was not that crowded.
The waitress came through and asked for our order, at that point she had seemed like our coming in was a bother to her. I had ordered a sandwich and my friend ordered an omelet. We both also asked for bottles of water.
Within 15 mins we had our food, but it was the cook that delivered it because our waitress was not to be found. She had not brought us water. My sandwich was supposed to come with chips, which was not with it.
But the thing is we could not find our waitresss anywhere, turns out she was sitting with a customer. She never came to check in on us, we did not even get to see the check, that was until I saw her standing at a cash register and she did not show me a check, she just rang me up for the meal at full price acting like nothing was wrong.
I asked her about it and she said, «You are getting charged for what you ordered»
Honey, a dry tuna sandwich for 6.95? No thanks
I am a St. Johns native and I want to support St. Johns establishments. This wont be one of them.

This place was diner type food, so nothing fancy. The good qualities about it: local mom n pop business, very welcoming staff, good portion size, good prices, the eating area seemed clean, and it didn’t have the grease/​lard feel. One thing that was disappointing was the fact the back half of this place is a thrift store type place, and so there was a dusty and cluttery atmosphere that badly needs a facelift.
I got the Spanish Omelette with hashbrowns and toast, along with a bottomless drink for only $ 7.25. That’s an awesome deal that had decent ingredients and big portions. Any other similar place, e.g. Shari’s. would have been closer to $ 12.

Lots of 45s (records) suspended over your head mixed with old diner sets below, and your record changing machine in the corner. This, and then shelves from the leftover Rexall drug store, and old discount jewelry in cases that have been pushed away from the room so they could dump their tables and chairs in their place. I walked over to look at one of the necklaces in a case they have. Behind the case the floor looked like it had not been swept since the person bought the place. The folks working there almost looked like they stepped out of the movie Grease or something. The history of this place is that it was a Rexall drug store and then Pattie bought it in 1998. Officially, this is not a diner that has been in St. Johns forever.
I decided to play the once-​upon-​a-​time game and bought an egg salad sandwich and a side of potato salad. I had my choice of white, wheat, or sourdough. I decided on wheat. Sure enough when the sandwich arrived it was in fact on that bread that is brown but is as soft as wonder bread and with same flavor. The egg salad was dripping in mayo and sweet pickled relish. I had hoped for the other nostalgic egg salad sandwich with dill pickle relish. The potato salad tasted like Resers, and not homemade to me. That actually could also be nostalgic as they were into the «convenience» foods back then.
Doug did order a strawberry malt and he received it with the extras in the steel canister.
The clientele were definitely of the «old» local persuasion which was charming in itself and added to the atmosphere.
When it all comes down to reality though I was not buying it. The place is loaded with old supplies from a drug store and even has a packrat feel to it all. The food is not as good as I remember from a different time. Maybe a mop and some recipes might bring the sparkle back to days gone by.