The Country Cat PDX

Breakfast is really good. Love the pancakes! Burgers, not so good. Service is good, staff is really friendly. They try to be as quick as possible which is good for an airport

I have been here multiple times and the breakfast is really good. I arrived for lunch this afternoon and the restaurant was empty. My server was more interested in socializing with her coworkers than taking my order. Was unfortunate as I was looking forward to trying their lunch menu.

Disappointment about our flight delay turned into a 2^nd breakfast delight. The Pastrami Hash with a side order biscuit was amazing — it seemed like the best hash I’d ever had in my life, could that be? Was it that we arrived with low expectations? Maybe it is the best hash ever — for sure our waiter Tesfay was among best I’ve met at an airport diner. She recommended the Slow Burn and Eggs Benedict as two other great dishes to try next time — and there’ll be a next time because I’ll come early to eat before my next future flight.

Duck dish mentioned in my previous review is seasonal. Make sure you see Sarah, she will take great care of you!

Amongst airport restaurants there are thieves, outright liars, places trying, places succeeding, and THOSE WHO GET IT RIGHT!
The Country Cat is among those who GET IT RIGHT!
AMBER, behind the bar? Beautiful, smiling, inviting, master mixologist of a Dr. Cosby level potion drink, makes all things best. Even when it is just a glass of wine.
Food from farm to table, locally sourced and behind you in the kitchen assembled, is well done and heaven thankfully value priced.
The hamburger is a firm meat patty within a quality bun, topped with melted cheese and accompanied by distinctly flavored onion rings and a home made ketchup.
Wines and beers are reasonably priced for a restaurant. … even more so value priced for an airport.
Eat here. Spend not a lot of money. Enjoy. Repeat.

I always like having places in PDX to eat at when I’m headed to a flight.
I’ve been to CC’s restaurant in SE, and wanted to see if the quality still stands at the PDX location. I can say that it’s still really good, and more reasonably priced so you don’t feel like you’re splurging.
I love that we have so many options in our airport, instead of being stuck eating at overpriced awful shops like other cities. (looking at you, LAX. Looking directly at you).
The breakfast is a good find, and definitely something I’ll come back for.

Menu looks amazing, and I love the idea of a «farm-​to-​table» type of restaurant in an airport!
Service was horrible, though.
It was only 7pm and you’d think they were closing up for the night. Sat in the middle of restaurant (which was only half filled), and it took about 5 mins until someone noticed me and gave me water. Checked out the menu, and took about 15 mins for someone to her my food and drink order. I give my order, and less than 2 mins later, I get my bill. What? I also took my sweet time enjoying my side of a biscuit, and then the server checked up on me promptly. Because they were being a good server, or they were trying to get rid of me?
The hot buttered rum was good, but not worth it if I have to flag down the server and get his or her attention just to order or get a drink.

Oh Country Cat, no.
The old roomie and I chose Country Cat as our «let’s kill an hour or two before our flights» restaurant, and it seemed like a cute enough spot to pass the time. While the company I had was delightful, my experience here was less-​than-​great.
THE LOW-​LIGHTS.
— Poor kitchen ventilation, meaning any and every scent from the open kitchen overwhelmed tables within a 15 foot radius
— Our cocktail order was lost, which was not realized by the server until we’d been there for ~30 minutes
— Hand-​crafted cocktails that were pretty miserably done
— Lumpy gravy and under-​cooked potatoes in our dish, along with burnt fried chicken
— Warm mugs for our beers
— Staff varies from overly helpful to extremely distant and cold
Overall, not a fantastic experience, eager to not repeat it.

What more can one say about a restaurant that just simply knows quality and service. I live a mile from the Country Cat over in Montavilla, but because it’s always busy, I’ve never been in to the place. I’m on vacation and heading to Texas for thanksgiving and a friend who works here at the airport reminded me that Country Cat has a spot over on terminal D. I’m never over there, so I forgot. I am so glad that I made it there.
I will admit it took a few minutes to get some service besides water (it wasn’t yet a busy morning for them) but once I did, everything was a-​ok. CC has a small breakfast menu and you will find something. I was looking at the Country Cat which was two eggs and a biscuit, but then I saw the three egg omelet. Three eggs with white Tillamook cheddar, potatoes and bacon cooked in butter. Yep, my picture can’t even describe how good this was. So this is how I’ll talk about this goodness. Fluffy, buttery eggs, soft, diced and well seasoned potatoes, mild cheddar weaving its way into every bite and then there was the bacon. It wasn’t just bacon strips broken up… it was huge chunks of smokey, fatty, meaty, porktacular yum. Some fatty chunks large enough that they were mistaken for the potatoes. All of this wonderful food was topped with some very nice micro greens and some dashes of cracked black pepper.
Does this sound like something that you have to eat??? If a simple egg dish was this outstanding, what can the rest of the menu be like? These people know how to do a great breakfast. I will have to visit Montavilla to try some more of what I’m sure isn’t even scratching the surface.
Quality, respect of the food, respect of the customers, and just great service. This is what it should be all the time every time.
Enjoy.

Okay, so the PDX airport location is my first introduction to The Country Cat, but I am definitely intrigued to check out the mothership on my next visit to Portland!
I was flying through PDX and, after the confusion of flying back over the international dateline had passed enough for me to speak coherently again, I wandered off in search of a substantial breakfast. Near one of the security checkpoints is The Country Cat, conveniently serving comfort breakfast food.
Now, this location affords good people watching since it’s so close to security. The service is also outstanding and really friendly, which was a little surprising given that it’s in, you know, an airport. (However, this is Portland, so I shouldn’t be too surprised.)
On top of that, dang fine mimosas! Just what I needed after a trans-​Pacific flight. The black coffee, however… well, just don’t do it. I ordered an eggs benedict, and everything was perfect and comforting on my plate.
I’d definitely stop here again when flying via this airport.

Airport version of the acclaimed Country Cat restaurant in Portland. Don’t be fooled, as this is not typical dine and dash airport food. The Cat offers high quality, scratch made, home-​style food and drinks.
I often go thru security on the opposite side of the airport just to grab a meal here.
Fried chicken with mashed potatoes and greens was exceptional. It took a little time and looks to me it appears to be fried in a cast iron skillet, with that flat, extra crunchy bit on one side. Fast food it isn’t, delicious it is.
I was surprised on one visit to find house made pastrami. Really? Had to try it. Moist, smoky, peppery, meaty, and without the excessive salt of some cited meats. My sandwich came with a side salad when it was supposed to have slaw. Maybe the order got mixed up, but no worries, all good.
Crispy fried onions are great with an Oregon IPA. Well, most everything is, but these rings are a nice starter. They come with a side of house made ketchup, not that corn syrupy bottled stuff.
How about chicken and biscuits? Not fried chicken on a biscuit, but a homey chicken soup/​stew with fresh biscuits added.
Haven’t been in for breakfast which I hear is good too. I’ll keep working my way they the menu, but this is one fine place to stop during your travels thru PDX.

I was disappointed with my experience here. Yes, it’s an airport restaurant so I wasn’t expecting the world, but I do expect a standard level of service that I felt was a bit lacking.
We popped in for a quick bite before our flight — luckily we had some time to kill as everything took a while. They had almost zero gluten free options for Bestie, which was disappointing, and we ended up getting her something from another spot that was WAY better in that regard.
Once seated service took a while, and felt hurried, constantly. Our server was always flying by the table, and I often felt like we were an inconvenience; I don’t think I was the only one as someone at a table nearby also expressed some frustration. My ginger beer arrived almost after the food did — which took quite a while despite the place being only half full at best.
My grilled cheese and soup was pretty tasty, I will say that, but I wasn’t blown away by anything, and the service left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, the server may have been new, or we might have arrived just after a rush — there are always things going on that we have no idea about, but unfortunately this wasn’t an experience that will have me hurrying back next time I’m at PDX.

Outstanding! Love the original restaurant, so I knew it would be good! But the pastrami hash was simply awesome!
Best airport meal ever!

This little restaurant is found immediately after security check by Gates A-​E. Not very crowded probably because people just want to walk to their gates. If you have time, it’s nice to dine in and watch whatever they have on at the bar. In our case, it was convenient to watch the MLB playoffs.
I enjoyed the pork roll which was seasoned well. The grilled cheese sandwich was made with tasty homemade potato bread, but the cheese they used didn’t stand out. I gave this place four stars because it’s a little too pricey, even for airport food.
I like the open space; you have view of the planes outside.
Have a safe flight!

Simply put, a 4 star meal in an airport equates to 5 stars in my book.
I ordered the slow burn and enjoyed it. I also really liked the fact that it came out 5 minutes after I ordered it. Tender chile pork, creamy grits and 2 perfect sunny side up eggs on top. I walked over here from the C terminal and I’m more than glad I did.
Friendly bartender, good view of planes from the bar, good food, quick service: make this your stop at PDX for breakfast.

The biscuits. Oh my, the biscuits. That’s all I had.
The menu did have a lot of great options, definitely not a mundane breakfast menu! Wish I had more time, because everything sounded pretty good!
As well as the the cocktail menu
Unfortunately they were out of OJ… At 8am. And they do not have a takeout option.

I’ve eaten here a few times on early morning work flights. They have a pretty decent menu and the prices aren’t terrible. Keep in mind you’re at an airport so obviously the prices will be higher.
The food is solid. I’ve had an omlette as well as the biscuits and gravy. I don’t venture to far outside of those two breakfast dishes so that’s all you’re getting from me.
If you’re looking for a good meal before you fly out swing by here!
Oh, and they sell local beer and wines to take with you should you want to surprise someone you’re visiting with a little gift.

I was psyched to see the Country Cat here in PDX last month but didn’t have time to eat/​drink that time. This trip I was extra early. PDX is one of the best airports to get to early so you can see what’s new and shop and eat — I’m a big fan.
I have always really enjoyed the main location out on Stark — never in love but always in deep like — of whatever I have had there. Feel the same about this location.
I had the bay shrimp and roasted veggie salad. Was a tad creamy and not as lemony as I was expecting based on the description but it really was a perfect pre-​flight light summer lunch. Fresh veggies and a glass of Pinot Gris and I was pretty pleased with the state of my affairs.
Other posters commented about them being slow… they are not fast I will say that and maybe they do need to quicken up a bit for the flying crowd… OR maybe we shouldn’t really expect good quality fresh cooked to order food as fast as McDonalds or a deli.

Mmm-​mmmm. That is a tasty burger. … Actually the Laney Family Farms Beef Burger at the new Country Cat bar at PDX may be the best burger I’ve ever had at an airport. A tender, juicy, and tasty medium-​rare beef bliss in a Toasted Onion Bun was mmm-​mmmm good.
He likes it. Mikey likes it.
A tasty beverage to wash it down from bartender Brett came in the form of a tall draft Double Mountain IRA (India Red Ale). It was as refreshingly cold as it was hoppy gold. At 6.5% ABV and 60 IBU, the IRA bangs like a scarlet IPA of fame.
Besides the burger and beer, the other benefit of The Country Cat at the Portland Airport is that the restaurant is after the TSA security checkpoint for Terminals D & E. Not only is the screening process always faster on this side, now you can wait for your plane with a tasty beverage and a tasty burger.

To all airport restaurant owners, purveyors, managers, «chefs» and servers, take note:
THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.
It seems to me that the winning combination, at least as seen from the outside, is this:
Step One: Give a shit about the quality of your food and service.
Step Two: Don’t compromise on Step One just because opening a restaurant inside security is hard.
The breakfast I consumed this morning at CCPDX was one of the best I’ve ever had inside security at an airport. The food is delicious, made from high quality ingredients, and cooked with care. The service is quick and on-​point. The build-​out is beautiful. And unlike pretty much every other airport restaurant I’ve visited, this is not HMSHost food dressed up in fancy clothing. This is the real deal. Anyone who is anyone in PDX (and beyond) knows how good the food at the original Country Cat location is, and Adam and Jackie have brought that quality to us travelers trapped inside the DHS cordon. And their on-​site management is great.
On top of the sit-​down joint, which offers some of the same favorites that they have at the other location — the Slow Burn, Eggs Benedict on biscuits, etc — there’s a take-​away window with sandwiches, salads, granola cups and even some gift items like Bee Local and Jacobsen Salt. Last time through, in a hurry, the wife and I grabbed some to-​go griddled sandwiches, yogurt/​granola cups, coffee and Jacobsen Salt for gifts. All in one. And it was all great.
Props for honest people bringing honest food to an environment dominated by lipstick-​clad pigs. This is serious business, and just another reason to consider getting to the airport a little early for your flight.