Juniors Cafe

Juniors is an A-​OK SE breakfast spot. I had THE VEGAN SMOTHERED SPUDS WITH GREEN CHILES, SAUTEED SPINACH, MUSHROOMS, FRESH HERBS & SPICY TOFU SAUCE and it was a real pile of breakfast. Sheer vegan comfort food. Tasty and really heavy. Ended up eating the whole thing and needed a nap. We arrived at opening so service was very good. The restaurant filled up fast with people and the smell of bacon. Then the music (while excellent selections) got real loud so conversation at our table got difficult. Small space. One hole bathroom had patrons standing in line in the dishwashing area; awkward. Would go back again to try the tofu scramble.

Service was awesome, food was great and music keeping us awake was fun. Crowded little place with smells of moms cooking! Coffee shop around the corner recommended us for eggs and they were spot on. Looking forward to more of the same throughout Portland!

Fantastic … Late bunch Sunday’s 5−10pm
The food is too good… Be careful… You might get high off the energy… Amy rocks!

Forever on the quest for a new brunch spot, I’m sorry to say Juniors will not be on my go to list. My first thought at the end of brunch was– bummer I just wasted a bunch of calories on mediocre food. Its a smallish café with no wait on weekdays. Kind of cold inside (wish they would turn up the heat– its 40 something outside– I know not super cold –but I would have gladly left my jacket on during the meal). Service was decent, although once we were served we were left to our own devices and sat with cold coffee for awhile. The menu is tasty looking with lots of veggie/​vegan options. I ordered 2 pieces of french toast with veggie sausage and a scrambled egg white– all terrible. The french toast was undercooked and soggy. The veggie sausage had a weird chemical taste to it and was only palatable once it was drowned in hot sauce, and my soggy egg white was pretty sad looking, and equally as inedible. My friend wasn’t too excited about her migas as well. Coffee and OJ were good, the rest forgettable.

Food is decent and it looks cool. But… it’s kinda cold and feels like a war zone in there. Plan on a long wait. Service is good. Serve weird smashed potatoes that I don’t like much. They have some interesting food to try though. Like waffles with honey brie and pepper. Also you can get a pork medelian that feels like a prize when you eat it. I have been going here for years and always forget they don’t have mustard. Odd not to have mustard at a place that has potatoes and sausages and pork medelians.

Went here yesterday (New Years Day) with two friends. Sure there was a bit of a wait but the three of us are all managers/​server leads at one of the top brunch spots here in Portland and our waits can be up to 2 hours! So we didn’t care much. If there’s a wait, it must be good! Juniors Café DEFINITELY did not disappoint! We ordered the Yummy French toast, my friend had the Texan scramble I believe it was called, we had the biscuits and sausage gravy of the day and I had the smash potatoes with bacon, cheddar, scallions and I added jalapeños because I’m ridiculously pregnant and love and want all things spicy! Everything was fantastic! From the raspberry apple cider to the hot cocoa and my friends each had a BFK cocktail.
Service was PHENOMENAL! The ladies were so sweet and very kind and attentive. Even made sure I was able to get in and out of the bathroom without having to squeeze between people! Again, being very pregnant makes tight spaces difficult to maneuver!
Would absolutely be back again, I would love to bring my husband here, his eyes would bug out over the delicious menu options!
Thanks again ladies and gent! You were amazing and we can’t wait to be back!

The rudest waitress or waiter I honestly couldn’t tell. I’m adding to the many others who say the same exact thing here. The food is not good. This place is dirty.
Go to Trinket instead. This place is GROSS.

This place knows how to make a tofu scramble! Finally a place that doesn’t undercook the tofu!
! My veggie mama loves their eggs, too. Best brunch I’ve had in Portland! So happy to have discovered this place!

Worst service I have had in a while. After waiting 30 minutes for a table the busboy skipped us and we had to wait another 10 to be seated. No «sorry about that» given.
Coffee refill was slow, had empty cups for a while.
Finished our food and sat for 15 minutes without anyone checking on us. I had to walk across the restaurant to hand my card to the waitress.
WTF Juniors… Being busy is nothing new for you. This is the last time I will be going here.
Two stars because the food tasted good… But I had waited so long I would have eaten anything.

Been a few times, vegan friendly for sure, love a place that has lots of vegan breakfast/​brunch options when I dont just want fruit/​oatmeal. Love it every time I come, staff is great, coffee they get is excellent (name of brewer evades me)… but its a cute little spot. Definitely have to wait if its busy as it is small inside, but they do a wonderful job. I will bring lots of friends that visit here… since it accommodates veggie and non-​veggie alike! A bit of a wait for the food but I think there is only one cook back there, and I like to not rush meals with friends.
Have yet to hit the cocktail menu! Looks good though.

This place used to be great, our go to for breakfast, right down the street from our house. Now, it takes an hour to get your breakfast and 10 – 15 minutes to even get our order taken. After politely asking for our food to go, as I had to be somewhere on a particular morning, I was informed by the not so nice server: «this isn’t a fast food place.» She was very rude, after I was kind. We will never go back, though we used to be loyal customers.

Initially, I just decided to never go again and leave it at that.
But, since my wife and I are now forced to be toilet-​adjacent for the next few hours…
I’ll start by saying the Sourdough toast was pretty good.
The one star is based on:
* The cockroach that ran across the table.
* The fact that we waited 36 minutes between ordering and getting our food. (If they advertised as a Slow Food place, it’d be fine.)
* The fact that it took 11 minutes between «your food is almost up» and the food arriving. (The only interaction we got.)
* The odd smell that wasn’t a food smell.
I’m glad that the people who love it, love it. But it’s not a good place for us.

After some recon, I decided to stop here very early one saturday morning. I was rewarded with a seat at the front bar and direct contact with the cook, which, in my experience, is better than anything else. I inquired directly about the biscuits and gravy, and the chef responded that his was the best in town. Well, he implied it, and I would agree after getting my order handed to me by the cook just a few minutes later. Idon’t know how often this would work, as I was by myself and as such can be quite charming (wink) but he put my order on before anybody else had gotten theirs in simply by saying good morning to the man with the spatula.
It got busy fast, but Ihad a great plate in front of me. I’m told the biscuits are delivered daily from a place down the street, and he makes the sausage gravy from scratch, which I can believe. It was simply delicious, and just the right portion size. The bisuits were just the right flaky/​buttery combination. I cleaned the plate in a flurry of appreciative grunts and the kind of noise that might startle some people. I resisted the urge to lick my plate, but only just.
The coffee was hot and stayed topped once the wait staff got into motion, no complaints there. Nobody that morning seemed anything but plesant and cheerful, so it was a great start to my day.
I suggest showing up at 8am sharp for best results. If the rest of the menu is as good as the B&G, it’ll be worth the effort.

My husband and I are visiting from California for an extended weekend. We don’t have time to waste by waiting OVER AN HOUR to get seated here or at any other restaurant. If you’re not a local or a regular of Juniors don’t expect to be seated right away. They seat and serve the locals before anyone else. Terrible experience. We left without eating because my husband and I were starving and there was another place down the street that could seat us right away. Wish we had a better experience but unfortunately you must be a local to get good service at this place.

This used to be a place I raved about– but after today’s experience I will not be returning.
I had two friends fly into Portland visiting from Texas, one of which carries around a certified service animal due to severe anxiety and stress due to multiple open heart surgeries and other operations. I had to convince them to try something new and come to this «great» café, but once we arrived and wrote our name on the waiting list, a woman (who we later found out is the manager and possibly the owner of the restaurant) came and told my friend that her dog couldn’t be inside. My friend apologized as she looked for the service dog license and explained that she was a service animal. The lady checked and rudely replied «Who keeps handing out these fake certificates for these dogs?» My friend was taken back and extremely offended, but replied (nicer than I would have) that she didn’t know what she’d been through or her reasons for the companion. The lady scoffed and walked away with no response, when my friend turned to me and said under her breath, «What a bitch!» (Do you blame her?) The woman immediately turned back around and told us we needed to leave. When asked why, she told us that it’s «not her fault we couldn’t take a joke» and that we needed to go. We gladly walked out, but the girl followed us outside for one last remark, sarcastically yelling at my friend as we were walking away that she needed «emotional support».
I was so embarrassed to have brought my friends to this place to be treated in such a horrible way.
Not only that, but when I later called to hopefully speak to somebody about the situation, it was unfortunately, the same bitch as before who cut me off and said, «If you’re calling to tattle on me, I am the manager. I made a joke because we had three service animals in earlier that day, you didn’t have to be a rude little twat.» (Yeah she said that) «If you’re looking for a place to vent, do it on Unilocal like everybody else» and hung up on me. I’m here taking her advice. I also told all of my friends who (unfortunately) care for this place, and none of us will be returning.
I feel there is no justice and the way she treats people is absolutely despicable. Sure, the food is great, and a nice place for vegans to enjoy brunch, but it isn’t worth the way this «twat» treats her customers. What an embarrassment.

LOVE LOVE LOVE JUNIORS!
Great service and I’m always treated like family.
The BEST Bloody Marias in PDX and tofu scramble!
Ps. The owner Amy is a total babe with a heart of GOLD

Great food! We went here the morning after a 200 mile bike ride so good food was very appreciated.
Very vegan friendly (their vegan scrambles and French toast are amazing!!).
I loved their tofu scramble with caramelized onions. Comes with a side of smashed up red potatoes that are almost fried :) mine was a bit raw in the middle but my friends’ came out fine.
I’d highly recommend juniors for brunch! Can’t wait to go back.

Let’s start out with the good stuff, the food. It was fresh and delicious and once you order the wait time is minimal for a small breakfast joint. My sister and I both had the Wrangling Roys which I would recommend. The gluten free toast was ok as long as you dont eat the crust. The crust leaves an odd and unpleasant taste in your mouth. Thankfully the jam was delicious and covered it up, for the most part. Second, the décor was cute and odd in a comforting sort of way.
Now, to the not so good stuff… when my sister and I walked up and put our name on the list, there were two people ahead of us, both two tops. There were two tables and then a third that had not been cleared off yet and lay empty. So, I thought, no biggy, wont be a long wait at all. Yeah, I was wrong. I know this is a small place with only two wait staff, but clear the tables and at least sit people so they can feel like they are welcome. One table sat empty for about 40 minutes, the whole time we were waiting to be sat. Made me extremely frustrated. Then, when the waitress finally calls our name, she asks if we would mind being sat with another patron that we do not know. Now, family style seating, fine, I get it, but making us wait 40 minutes then telling us we had to sit with some stranger when no one else had to deal with that. No, just not cool. The waitress that sat us was not super pleasant and sat down a few times to chat with I can only imagine were friends of hers. All the while the other waitress was serving and busing.
Overall, the food was good, but due to the way they dealt with the seating of people, I wont go back nor will I recommend this place to any of my friends. Which saddens me, because it could be something great…

Juniors is my top 1 or 2 brunch spots in southeast. Food is great and the servers know you by name. I recommend the Migas scramble if you like southwest fare and the French toast if you have a sweet tooth for breakfast. If you don’t like waits, make sure you get there before 9:00, otherwise you be in a holding pattern for 30 – 60 minutes.

Best part about my brunch was not only the food but the sassy and nice waitress. She was so great with getting all the things I need for my tea!
I got The Jean, which was a bacon and brie sandwhich with smash brown on the side. It was so good — just the right amount of crispyness and gooeyness. It was Heaven (even more so compared to the dorm food I’ve been having). My friends all enjoyed their meals as well.
Definitely coming back to try more things on the menu!