Citizen Baker

Came in for lunch since it is close to my office. Place is clean and staff is friendly. The food was ok but here’s the rub — nine bucks for a «bowl» of soup? I put that in quotes because the bowl holds as much liquid as a cup. Quite shallow. That would be ok if the soup knocked me off my feet, and it was good, but no, not nine dollars good. Also, no soup sandwich combo. A cup of soup and a sandwich would run you 13 — 15 dollars.
If you’re here for a conference and are expensing your meals and this is convenient, sure, why not? But if you’re a local looking for a decent lunch at a decent price, there are much better options in the area.

Love this place! Their coffee is great, and they’re more than happy to make specialty drinks not on the menu. The breakfast sandwich is the best I’ve ever had. And, they sell their bread by the loaf, so this is my go to place for local bread. All in all, this is a phenomenal spot for coffee, breakfast, or lunch.

I met a friend for breakfast here while in town for a recent conference, and I thought it was really great and actually kinda fun in a way! It’s a lively, bustling little spot, tastefully done up in modern-​minimalist décor. The folks working here were very friendly and welcoming, and there were lots of good breakfast options ranging from grab-​n-​go pastries to sit-​down stuff. I quite liked the yogurt-​granola-​fruit situation that I ordered, along with a fine hot tea.
There is a bit of a do-​it-​yourself-​y vibe here – walking up to order, busing your own table, etc. – but that actually seems far more common in Portland than in other places… that may throw out-​of-​towners off for a while, but I’ve gotten used to it after a few back-​to-​back-​to-​back visits.
(This review is brought to you by the hyphen: connecting words – and people – in all sorts of I-hadn’t-thought-of-that-until-now kinds of ways.)

Friendly people and a nice location if you are in walking distance. Coffee was good, food was hot, but I was hoping for a little more yum in my egg and bacon breakfast plate. The bacon was ok, the bead for the toast, YUM, and the potatoes blew it. Cook up some spuds people and give it some flavor, it is very easy to do.
The bakery goods looks great and the clientele seem very happy to be here. The background music is nice. Good way to start the day.

Very good latte, nice folks, very clean, even austere setting. Very handy location to Convention Center hotels. But … when your menu has things like bacon and eggs, you have to be a real grown-​up restaurant. That means things like salt and pepper on the table, ketchup offered for the hash browns, maybe butter and jam for the toast? Water with your meal. These things aren’t needed for the scone-​and-​coffee crowd, but if you’re gonna do eggs, all that comes with it. Nothing that can’t be corrected.

My full salad looked like it could fit on a single spoon. Kind of crazy expensive for the good I got. Service was below par. Not coming back.

I just started working nearby, in what is a bizarre black hole of decent coffee in an otherwise fully saturated coffee market. I was pretty disappointed with the local selection until I finally wandered into Citizen Bakery. Since my initial discovery, I’ve made Citizen a daily (or more) habit. My afternoon coffee break has dramatically improved with their tasty espressos (the autumn spice latte is amazing) and drip coffee. I’ve also had the kale salad for at least half of my lunches since arriving — because it’s delicious and I’m just not that interested in «branching out» for a mid-​week lunch. The service is always friendly, and I’m always happier after I stop by.

I was on the MAX and had to take a conference call, so I hopped off and stopped in here.
It is a nice and flashy space. It is clean, and well presented. The food ranges from casual coffee shop fair (including plenty of to-​go options) to mid-​tier café (think omelettes for breakfast, or a fresh sandwich at lunch).
I grabbed a latte and a pastry. The pastry was good — maybe ⁸⁄₁₀. Not the most amazing, but it beat starbucks. The latte was fine — maybe ⁷⁄₁₀.
I would go 4 stars, except that the music was too loud to really hold much of a conversation (I even sat outside on their patio, and they had music blasting out there, which was annoying. The service was fine, but kind of a bit holier-​than-​though portland hipster special. An honestly, this place isn’t stumptown or barista, so it was unnecessary.
All things considered, I would stop by again. It is convenient and the food was fine. But probably not a favorite.

I’m giving a 5 star review as it would appear that some of the early review may have been growing pains, and I think it deserves a bump based on my experience. We had a very flavorful breakfast, nice service, and great coffee. Don’t mistake it for your typical hotel restaurant — it is apparently independently owned and operated. I’m speaking as a frequent business traveler who frequents Hiltons and Marriotts for perspective.
I had the Red Flannel Hash — beets, corned beef, post potatoes, and poached eggs. While I’m not a huge fan of corned beef, it worked quite well together!

I have only had one experience so far with the bakery/​hotel/​restaurant, but it was a very good one. I had a last minute (less than 2 weeks notice) reception that needed to be near the convention center. Lucky for me, Citizen Baker was available that evening to be rented out for a private event. I worked with the Director of Catering for all of the details, and she was very responsive and helpful. The food (I’m pretty sure the catering is done by Altabira vs. the bakery) was excellent. We had some passed appetizers and some at stations. They re-​arranged the space so it felt more like an event space. Pricing and the order minimum was comparable to other high quality hotels I’ve worked with. I look forward to returning to Altabira for the happy hour sometime!

Don’t forget to go to citizen café for the best healthy/​scratch foods in the area. I don’t care for trade show food and this place was perfect. A stones throw away from the convention center with the personality of a laid back and contemporary restoration hardware meets orange.
The kale salad was amazing and mouthwatering. Bread baked fresh everyday. Lattes were perfect, sorry Starbucks. Really the best place to grab a breakfast bite, lunch or croissant.
Put it this way. I ate lunch here every day, had coffee here every morning for 4 days in a row!
Thank you!

Ordered the Tuscan kale salad and a ciabatta roll. The salad has farro, cherries and aged ricotta in it, really nice contrast of textures and flavors. The roll is soft and chewy (in the good way). Good stuff!
Polite and friendly service too.

Enjoyed a delicious turkey BLT and salad. It was made with a hefty survi get of turkey and fresh thin sliced tomatoes and thick bacon. Very filling. I’ll be back.

I came here for lunch Saturday 8÷8÷15, 12:30ish, with a friend. We were taking a workshop at the convention center. I have eaten at Altabira Tavern at the top of Eastlund Hotel, having had very good food and service.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have a similar experience at Citizen Baker.
We ordered identical meals, Caesar salads with chicken. My friend’s salad came out quickly from the kitchen, but was quite small and lightly dressed.
The woman nearby who had ordered before us watched the server deliver my friend’s food before hers (she had ordered soup). I mentioned to the server that the woman nearby didn’t have her food.
I waited, and waited and waited for my salad to come out. It was not busy in the restaurant and there were plenty of staff standing around.
15 minutes went by and. i went to the counter, saw my salad sitting on the pass under heat lamps & asked if that was my salad. Yup.
The woman who brought it out appeared to be the manager. My salad was twice my friends salad ’ s size. I pointed it out to the young woman who served it (I think the manager), she agreed & asked my friend if she wanted more salad. No apologies.
Food was ok, not great. Need some work on front of the house service and kitchen portins.
Hopefully that will happen.

I was hoping for a new lunch spot in the neighborhood, but this is not the place. There aren’t many menu options, and the prices are high for very small portions. I got a caesar salad with chicken, which was $ 11. It was ok, but nothing special. (I think it’s $ 9 without chicken, but then there really isn’t much to it at all…) On another visit I had an iced coffee and brownie, and both were pretty tasty. I think this place is better for a quick coffee than an actual meal, so keep that in mind.
The atmosphere is clean and modern, like the hotel. I like that there is outdoor seating, but it doesn’t have a view or really anything interesting to look at at all.
So, overall, a-​ok. Definitely not worth going out of your way for, but if you’re staying in the area and want to grab a quick coffee it’s not a terrible option.

Located on the bottom floor of the Hotel Eastlund, Citizen Baker was an easy choice for breakfast since we’d be staying at the hotel.
I was mildly hesitant about the breakfast because of the price point ($ 8 for a breakfast sandwich?), but that worry was assuaged handily once I faced down my breakfast. My sandwich was presented on a freshly baked roll, with fluffy egg, thick sliced bacon, and what tasted like a delicious white cheddar cheese. The sandwich was also quite large, giving sufficient fuel for a day of cavorting about the city. The iced mocha was quite flavorful as well, using a local coffee that didn’t taste burnt (you know who you are chain coffee place). While I did not buy any, the variety of breads and pastries looked like great options to pack around for an afternoon snack.
If you’re looking for a little higher class of lighter breakfast, this is a great place to grab a table and enjoy some rustic cuisine.

Poor service and attitude. Ordered a double espresso. Handed a cold single shot and was told by server i was wrong. Won’t go back

I was staying in the attached hotel, and was happy to see a little bakery attached to it. I hit it up on Sunday morning before heading out for the day.
I stood in «line» (really a small group of people standing around because no one seemed to know where to order) for at least 15 – 20 minutes before I was able to talk to the girl at the register. There was a barista literally moving muffins back and worth between plates and completely ignoring all of the customers who were very obviously confused about where to order. After watching both her and the girl at the counter move and talk so slow that I’m convinced they were both tripping on something hard, I finally got a chance to order. There wasnt a very big selection of non-​coffee options nor iced options, so I got a scone and a bottled (ugh) tea.
The guy I was with sat down and patiently watched the barista walk around the room aimlessly moving things and organizing. It took the poor guy 20+ minutes of waiting before he got up and asked her to please make him the latte we asked for. After trying to give him a mocha, she then gave him the wrong latte, and he just accepted in so that we could leave.
The actual scone (asparagus + goat cheese) was ironically pretty tasty. At least the bakers in the back know what they’re doing. I’ll write it up as maybe new bakery growing pains?

Ordered a pre-​made scone and an iced coffee. It took 30min to finally get my order… The sad thing is that the bakery was basically empty. Oh and they gave me the wrong order. Unless the 2 girls at the counter were stoned out of their minds I don’t know how this happens.

Stopped in for lunch on their third day open in the Hotel Eastlund and was very impressed. Nice staff, clean well designed interior and the food was very tasty. I had a Pastrami Reuben and it was a little messy like all Reubens are. Very fresh bread! Went back the next day for breakfast and had a simple eggs with bacon and hash browns. The hash browns were a little oily but still nice.
Great addition to the Lloyd District.