Proper Eats

Live across the street from Proper Eats and I love everything I’ve tried. The desserts from a out sourced bakery are really really good none vegan eaters will enjoy. Sometimes the staff has a little bit of sassy attitude but doesn’t matter to me as long as the food still comes out good. Just a listed a few of the must try’s
*raw collard wraps come with Delicious sauce
*the proper plate great healthy meal
*Caesar wrap
*sesame peanut noodle

What a great concept: hippie food served with a strong dose of urban attitude. Don’t be fooled: even vegans can be pricks who smoke cigarettes.
Besides occasional gruff service, the vibe here is welcoming and the food stellar. I mean it. This is the vegan food of dreams, especially if your dreams take place in the ‘90s, a decade we all know lives on in Portland.
If you lived through the ‘90s, you’ll recognize all the comforting flavors of nostalgic nutritional yeast and steamed crucifers from your stoned days listening to Buffalo Tom and Natalie Merchant in college, except taken to the next level. For Millenials hoping to experience the ‘90s in deeper ways than Urban Outfitters can provide, Proper Eats is your Nirvana. Order the everything and drizzle it with Propeller Sauce even if you can’t handle the heat. This food is a model of what vegan food can be, and it can be both nostalgically ‘90s and future forward and gruff. Just because they don’t eat meat here doesn’t mean they won’t cut you down and chop your self-​esteem into tempeh-​sized bits to bury with your blood.
One suggestion: for the love of god, turn up the heat. Your dining room is arctic. Not everyone has as much body hair to insulate them as you do.
PS: To the Unilocaler who didn’t like the service here because they had to move to a smaller table to make room for a group of people: try doing your laptop craptop work somewhere other than at a six-​person table. This is a restaurant. Your dying laptop battery isn’t their problem. Portland’s many coffee shops have enough outlets to power a fleet of freelance coders and Rainbow Burners in RVs. Go there. And don’t let the door hit you and your boxed food in the ass!

Love this place! So flavorful with a great variety. It’s great to know everything is good for you and they are generous portions. There are multiple specials (usually 3) to choose from which is a pleasant departure from only one. The only thing is it’s a bit chilly inside during the winter so hang on to the coat.

Fantastic places in NOPO for veggies (vegan and vegetarian). Even if you’re in a rush, run in and grab a pre made sandwich or nori wrap! So delish, just a little pricey.

Closing early because of an inch of snow? Pretty typical for these stoned out hippies, who when open can’t remember to put orders in. Why do I even try to go here?

Yummy yummy !!! The neighborhood is fun and we always walk across the St. Johns bridge to work our dinner off. The service is okay, very Portland approach.

Proper Eats has several choices for meatless meals. There are often two specials daily and a happy hour menu as well. My favorite part are the desserts! Come here for amazing vegan cheesecake. If a sweet tooth isn’t what you seek, I recommend the tempeh reuben.

I’ve been wanting to come here since I moved into the neighborhood 1.5 years ago. Finally made it happen Monday night. I stopped in and ordered a naked burrito with black beans and tofu. I LOVED the flavors and quality of the ingredients. I want to come back now and try the peanut noodles, the bowls, breakfasts, desserts out of their amazing dessert case… so much to try. And they have beer and a little seating area. The place is much bigger than I thought it would be. Can’t wait to bring my husband!

I placed a to go order for the Pesto Veggie Bowl. I substituted walnut meat & sautéed spinach Tempah & quinoa brown rice with no pushback over the phone. When I arrived I was told that substitution would not be allowed on future because of the cost difference. When I arrived back at work, I found very few vegetables in my veggie bowl. There was however, too much pesto and Walnut meat a plenty. I tried this place because I needed a veggie fix; unfortunately I found a greasy mess and poor service. Not sure if I’ll be back.

I love this place SO MUCH. It’s my favorite vegan in Portland, and I came here three times on my most recent trip to Portland, proving just how much. I mean, St. John’s is definitely out of the way in the city of vegan that is Portland. And still worth it!
I had to force myself to try new things this time and work my way around the menu, so I tried the sea salad, the shepherd’s pie, and the biscuits and gravy. ALL SO GOOD.
Comfort food meets healthy. I think that’s the trick. It’s healthy and not fried junk food. Just flavor. Lots of greens. You seriously cannot go wrong getting anything on this menu. Another fave is the tempeh reuben.
Good chai, decent selection of wine and beer too. PERFECT little casual café. Nice no-​frills atmosphere and nice folks.
As I complain about nearly every place, I wish the portion sizes and prices would be lower… How ’bout 30% less food and 20% less cost? You still make money; there’s less waste.

Unlike some of my fellow Unilocalers, I hate to write a bad review and try to limit my input to business I love, or at least those I enjoy.
I’m violating that code of reviews as today I had an experience worse than any before. Somehow Proper Eats managed to not only be incredibly rude, but also unethical and humiliating. I will never return to this restaurant.
Often I seek out little cafes with outlets, fast wifi, good food and coffee so I can get some work done and be outside my house. Sometimes it’s much harder to be efficient at home. I can get distracted. For this reason, I keep several of these little gems on my usual rotation.
Proper Eats has been on this list since I moved to Portland a few years ago. It’s near my house and fits my requirements nicely. I should say I also go with groups sometimes.
Today, I walked into a pretty quite Sunday brunch, asked, «do I sit anywhere?» And was told that was fine. I settled myself at a four seat table right next to an outlet, plugged in, ordered coffee and shepherds pie and set to work.
Two sips into my coffee, the waitress (a surly brunette in a hoody) asked me to move.
«We have a six-​top coming in and you have to move to a smaller table,» she said.
I agreed, but told her I need an outlet. «I have to replace my laptop battery and it won’t work without an outlet,» I said.
She looked around doubtfully, as did I. None of the smaller tables had an accessible outlet.
«You could move to the kids table,» she offered, looking annoyed. (The kids table is a foot high, two feet wide, bright blue, and squeezed into the back corner.)
A couple at another four person table offered to move if it would help. The group seated at the large round table nearby told her they were about to leave. She didn’t accept either offer.
«You have to move to a smaller table or the bar,» she told me.
«Hmm, is there an outlet by the bar?» I asked. She just glanced doubtfully in the direction of their bar in response.
Finally, I suggested reluctantly, «I guess I could just leave and go somewhere else, you could box up my food to go.»
She accepted this solution, of all the other solutions offered and disappeared back behind the counter.
As I repacked my stuff, so recently unpacked, I realized I hadn’t been able drink any if my coffee, I’d have to take my food box into a different café and order coffee and food there. I’d have to pay for coffee and a meal I wouldn’t even get to enjoy, but would lug around with me instead. And I’d lost valuable work time.
So, I left. Maybe not my finest moment, but I felt it was fair given the circumstances.
Get this: the waitress chased me down in the street, dragged me back, and made me pay for the meal i didn’t get to enjoy.
She actually made me cry, which has definitely never happened to me as a result of service at a restaurant before. The whole thing was so humiliating and abusive.
While it can’t possibly be the policy of Proper Eats to remove customers when larger, more lucrative parties come in, this experience was so terrible I felt I had to share it.
I will NEVER be back, and i suggest you steer clear as well.

I love the concept of the place, the independent nature, and the values of having local and organic. It’s ok that they seem to be vegetarian or vegan and have mostly gluten free stuff (although sometimes I wish I could find bacon!) love that it’s convenient and that they have a restaurant inside.
What I don’t love is that the staff isn’t very friendly and the restaurant food isn’t very good. I keep going back hoping I just ordered the wrong thing on a wrong night. But I think I’ll stick to just produce.

I love this place! Lot’s of local desserts delivered regularly, grocery options and gluten free/​vegan food! The service is always on point too.

I have been incredibly pleased every time I have visited Proper Eats! They have amazing produce selection. Their cashews are to die for and make the best vegan ice cream. I have enjoyed the biscuits and gravy, pad Thai, and tabouli salad. Service is great and the staff are all friendly and very informative!

I came here on a beautiful day, so the outdoor seating was a huge plus. Our server was really nice, but forgot to give our table water until we asked after watching surrounding tables get carafes. Didn’t have a huge appetite so I got the quesadilla on the appetizer menu and it turned out to be really refreshing and filling. I think it could have used something to dip it in like pico de gallo or vegan sour cream but other than that, it was really good. The hot sauce selection was on point, though. Aardvark, sriracha, and a habanero sauce, I believe. I’ll definitely be back to try the biscuits and gravy.

While visiting Portland, I was struck with a sudden emergency warning from my brain which said «IMPENDING MIGRAINE, eat food and hydrate immediately or hide in a dark hole vomiting your brains out.» After dodging cigarette smokers who were clouding a promising diner, my fiancé guided me into Proper Eats, a healthy grocer /​restaurant. Blind with pain, I grabbed a coconut water, and approached the register and barely read the «pay for grocery items before sitting down» sign so it made sense that I pay for the coconut water and I also ordered a soup and hot tea and proceeded to sit down.
Well apparently I broke several important laws. We were «greeted» by a rude woman working there who simply could not understand my stupidity that I would dare order «to go» and then sit down. I had no idea I was ordering to go. Guess she’s never been somewhere that allows counter ordering and sitting down with the food being run out to you, though we had just eaten at several such establishments nearby setup this way. After glares and grumbling, and a lecture on how it works in Naziville, soup and water arrived. My fiancé left and ordered food somewhere else. If I wasn’t so sick I could barely stand I would’ve left as well.
Soup of white bean and tomatoes was decent though reminiscent of ketchup on beans in flavor, but in my current condition, any hot liquid was a blessing. No one checked on me. No one talked to me.
After sufficiently recovering, I walked my tip up to the counter and explained to the woman that I felt very un-​welcome there. She informed me that «they are a full service restaurant and my presence was very distracting as I ordered to go» I explained I didn’t order to go, I was never informed it was to go… She told me there was sufficient signage and that it wasn’t personal but they were very busy. Yeah, sorry your 4 employees standing around can’t handle 4 tables…
Very bad experience.

I haven’t been here in a few years, but I was a lunchtime regular for about 18 months when I worked in St. Johns. My standard was the Tempeh Reuben. Crispy toasted rye bread, fresh flavorful tempeh, delicious sauce, and topped with caramelized onions and sauerkraut. They always add a slice of fruit (eg apples) and top it with shaved beet. Everything else I’ve had here is great and the owner is one of the kindest shopkeepers I’ve met. Plus, they have fresh produce and grocery items if you need to stock up.
It’s true that at times, the service is slow but the quality of the food more than made up for it. The décor is a little piecemealed together and it’s definitely got a hippy vibe. But don’t let that dissuade you from going.
I’m not a vegan, but Proper Eats is Top in my book.

I’ve only been once but it was so so delicious. I got the raw fajitas which were full of mushrooms, walnut «meat», and beets. The dipping sauce was super tangy and delicious. The staff was friendly and the menu was large with lots of yummy options. I really wanted to try their tomato fennel orange soup but I was just too full. It is a pretty relaxed environment with families. I would definitely suggest this place to people, you won’t be disappointed.

Love, love, love this place! I either get the Bad Brains burrito or, the item I’ve definitely eaten the most, the biscuits and gravy. There are other great options too, like the NoPo burrito. Also, they have delicious snacks, desserts, and a cool little store that sells organic products. Best food in St. Johns! And great staff!

I have been here three times and each time I felt like the servers were lost/​spaced out. The service is friendly, but far from prompt.
With that said, the food is some of the most tasteful in the city IMO. My favorite was the daily special, which was tempeh tacos with pickled veggies. I still think about it from time to time and my mouth starts watering. They should put it on the menu permanently. The avocado pâté is a good appetizer. The house lemonade is so sweet it’s almost like dessert. I had to water it down a little. But overall I have very much enjoyed dining at Proper Eats.