Guild’s Lake Inn

CLOSED PERMANENTLY
This is so sad. They had the best food, nicest service, and the nicest owner. Prices were moderate, food was from scratch, often with local ingredients. It’s a shame. I will miss Brian and everyone there.

I was the owner and unfortunately we lost our lease and are no longer in business. Thank you Brian

Kinda Nice clean atmosphere, looks very much like a tavern. Nice selection of sandwiches, the prices are a bit steep, beaverton sub station has sandwiches for 5.50 and they’re amazing and big portions for the price. The people are old tim-​y and friendly.

I’ve been coming here for about 12 years. The menu is large and everything I’ve ever got from it was quite tasty. The wait time to get your food is so short you’ll be amazed. The service has always been very friendly as well. I dig it. You will too.

What a delight this nondescript place is! I’ve been by many times, and from the street it doesn’t appear to be much at all, but once inside, i realized there was more to meet the eye. It has an old school cafeteria vibe, but is clean and the food is pretty decent — a decent BLT and a sizable side salad. Even better, though, are all of the historic photos of the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition which took place on and around this site over a hundred years ago. Staff was friendly, there is a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and games to boot!

OK — lets face it this is a diner style deli. But their food is great and staff friendly and happy. Just had the special — bbq’ed pork with coleslaw and melted cheese on brioche — so yummy and a cup of Hungarian mushroom soup — so fresh the mushrooms are still tender and not mushy. We have been coming in here for years and it just gets better all the time.

Every time I come in I get great service and the food is always amazing.
Highly recommend this place. You can’t go wrong here.

I work just down the road from this place; It consistently has really good food, and the service is top notch. I eat here at least 2 – 3 times /​week. Simple breakfast & lunch fare; try the homemade corned beef hash for breakfast; pesto turkey is excellent; good fresh salads, different homemade soups daily. I have never had a bad meal there.

My Pesto Chicken salad was fresh but… In no way would I have called this a PESTO chicken salad. To me Pesto Chicken would have pesto sauce seared into the chicken breast and this only looked like it was seasoned with pepper. The «creamy pesto» salad dressing was tasty, but again unless you told me it was «pesto» I would have just called it ranch with a bit of seasoning in it. Had my taste buds all set for a nice pesto flavor, so I was a bit underwhelmed as it really was a bland salad. All this being said, the salad was very fresh and the chicken was all white meat cut into nice bite size pieces. My office gets to go orders from Guild’s and they do have wonderful sandwiches. This was my first salad and I liked it, but I think I will go with a Greek next time.

The old cafeteria of Portland’s industrial northwest district.
When I first started working the NW I was confounded on where to eat. I headed up 26^th a few blocks to Acapulco Gold and Slabtown Ribs. Both are fine establishments but neither were inexpensive or quick enough to be my go-​to lunch place. Plus, the parking there is awful. I even gave Grand Central Bakery a shot (pretty sandwiches, but not great.)
So it was with some reluctance that I went into the Guild Lake. Situated in a business park behind Starbucks it’s not a very welcoming place. Going in, it looks like it’s been there since the late 60s, maybe longer. The carpet and light fixtures and tables all look pretty dated. At some point, I suspect, it was a full service restaurant but now it’s more of a deli, and even that is a generous description. Honestly, it’s probably best described as a cafeteria.
It’d be easy to get down on a place like this. Frequently such places haven’t dusted the tops of their light fixtures, the bathrooms are falling apart, and it’s scuzzy. But the Guild Lake, despite a lack of a remodel, is insanely clean. You can pick on the dated décor all you want, but the place is scrubbed.
The owner is one of those weird touchy types, he’ll shake your hand or put his arm on your shoulder. I’m reminded of that episode of Friends where Chandler’s boss smacks all of the employees on the ass. At first it’s weird, then you kind of appreciate it.
They make a lot of their stuff in house. Of note is the oft available Dill Macaroni Salad. I also usually get a tuna or chicken salad sandwich, both of which are exactly what you’d expect and then some. The service is pretty quick, the atmosphere is great for a few quick bites but also I never seem to feel rushed if I’m with others. I’ll gladly sit here for an hour or longer and watch the people come and go.
In short, the place is the real deal for a real deal. It’s pretty inexpensive for this neighborhood, the food is top notch for what it is (I’ll put it up against a Panera any day of the week), and the service is decent. There’s something here for everyone. But, again, it’s a cafeteria.

My take on Guild’s Lake is that it’s sort of a classier cafeteria for the local businesses. This is a friendly place, with good food, and lots of choices. I usually go for the special or one of the hot sandwiches. The staff is friendly, and sometimes remember your name. Also, there’s lots of history on the wall. Pictures are all over the place from long ago. There’s a giant mural above the food service area, and binoculars hanging from a pole to view it with.
Not a bad spot to get lunch once a week. Only slightly above average prices.

I had their veggie burger and creamy cauliflower soup with salsa on my most recent trip. The veggie burger was hearty and delicious. I need to find out where they get their breads because the bun they used was awesome. The creamy cauliflower soup was one of the best soups I’ve had in a while. I thought the addition of the salsa was weird at first, but it totally works. The tangy-​ness of the salsa balances with the creaminess of the soup.
Definitely excited to try out more of their items!

We’ve never eaten in that part of town before. Every time we go there to shop for tiles, or flooring, it’s always the hottest days of summer! Today, we went shopping for flooring again, but it was pretty much time for lunch, and right across from one of the stops, we saw this cozy Inn we thought we’d try it. We were 1^st in line, behind us was a group of people who wore orange security vest — flaggers maybe? But we were lucky to have our meals in less than 5 mins. as soon as we sat down.
I ordered Tuna salad sandwich on wheat, and it was packed with lots of tuna and I had the small Spinach with Hazelnut salad on Raspberry dressing. I mean the food was HUGE, I could only half of each. I asked to have tomato slices with my sandwich, but she forgot so I walked over to tell her about it, and she added 2 slices for each half sandwich. Hubby ordered Tomato Bisque with his Cheeseburger & Dill Macaroni salad. All are excellent portions.
I was talking to the cashier, who passed by our table wiping them down, how I’ll write them a good review, I told him this is our first time to come here. When he found this out, he said: «Oh, this was your first visit, did you know you also get free homemade cookies?» He brought us 5 choices of individually wrapped cookies. That, to me was a bonus, since I was craving for something with chocolate! I picked the peanut butter & hubby picked the chocolate chips cookies. He also brought us a glass of ice water.. .. what service!
Photos on my profile.

Guild’s Lake Inn is a diner/​café located in the heart of NW industrial Portland. Near to the establishment I am currently spending my days at, it’s a favorite of colleagues for both a quick lunch or take out.
Guild’s prides themselves on locally-​sourced artisan breads from Marsee and Grand Central, produce, as well as burger patties from Fulton Provisions.
Today was quick bite day with Portland organic garden consultant extraordinaire Sara Pool. In case you were wondering, yes, she manages the set-​up of Burgerdogboy’s annual effort at a condiment garden at home. Almost time to plant the seeds!
I went with the bacon/​blue burger @ 7.95, which comes with a side, the choices include Homemade Pesto Pasta, Dill Macaroni, Potato Salad, Coleslaw, Green Salad, Chips, or a Piece of Fruit. Pool opted for the chicken Caesar. The burger patty was great, the bun was over the top, and I went with the dill macaroni (cold), which I surprisingly enjoyed.
Menu and take out order forms are online. They also do catering.

Great place to grab lunch during work. Nice size menu, and friendly staff. Like this place a lot.