Kerns Kitchen

Food and Conversation
I had Friday off work so I thought
I would check out a new breakfast
spot. Unlike the Portlandia scene
where the line is around the block
and people are basically camped
out for brunch. This place was
not as busy and I was able to
walk right in and sit at the bar.
When I dine alone, I love sitting
at the bar because I can get a real
feel of the energy behind the counter
and even though I’m not in the restaurant
business, I am fascinated by it. My
gut agrees.
I asked what they recommend for
breakfast and they said the
brisket hash, so it was.
It came with potatoes on the side and
a horseradish garlic sauce on top. Not
a huge fan of horseradish but this one
was really well balanced. It also comes
with onion, peppers and
2 eggs over easy on top, it was plenty.
I would definitely get this again but
would go lite on the sauce or on the side.
Can ya say Bloody Mary? I did
and it was spicy, just the way it needs
to be for my taste.
Service was personable and cool. I think
I spoke with the Chef and owner about everything
from Ceviche — BBQ. It was fun and
I felt welcomed and never rushed,
like breakfast places tend to do.
Definitely a return location.

No line for weekend brunch!
This is definitely a Portland secret!
Deeeeelicious potato waffles!!!
Has a outdoor area where pets are allowed

I had the biscuits and gravy and it was delicious. The eggs on top were a nice touch. I’m giving 4 stars instead of 5 because it’s pretty pricy even for the quality. $ 11.50 for biscuits & gravy is a bit much. The whole menu is pretty expensive. It was $ 33 (before tip) for two of us and I didn’t even get a drink.

This place has a very cozy feel about it. The service was very good. I ordered the breakfast burrito and while not very authentic was good for what it was. My party did feel a little judged by the waiter for choosing the meat dishes but he was fine otherwise. I would recommend this place for breakfast but maybe try the brisket dish. My friend said that was very good.

Kerns Kitchen is kind of a secret that I don’t want people to know about that’s why I haven’t reviewed it, but now that the powers that be have given me another gold badge I have to keep up with the reviews. That was a long sentence I know.
Here’s the beauty of KK:
Breakfast.
They offer espresso drinks that are exceptional. Every menu item is delicious and cooked perfectly to order. Even though the potatoes are cooked perfectly crisp, they offer a salad greens alternative, and I have to say that I actually prefer the greens as they balance the heaviness of the scrambles. Which brings me to their scrambles, they get it. Scrambles are not chopped up omelets, they’re intentional egg dishes with lots of other ingredients.
Blah Blah Blah…
By the way, their biscuits are super f’ing good. Which means their biscuits n gravy are super f’ing good too.
So there you go, KK is f’ing great.
Please stay in your Q at Screen Door, thanks!

Absolutely fantastic fare! We discovered this cozy nook type restaurant tucked behind a relaxing patio just off the main street. We’ve only had breakfast, but have discovered a place not too wildly visited (yet) that has very original, and exceptional traditional, items on its menu. Great coffee, full-​bar, and good service.
Love this place – hate for it to get too busy, because we’ve rarely waited for a table, but it’s just too good to keep to ourselves. :)

Delicious Spicy Bloody Mary’s, excellent service and amazing breakfast make this place a must-​go!

Cute barn-​like place in the middle of a random neighbourhood. When it’s warm, they have a bunch of picnic tables you could eat your brunch at. So it’s great for groups.
They had plenty of savoury and sweet options to choose from, which all sounded delicious, so it might be best for you and a friend to get 2 different things and share if you’re indecisive. I ordered the brisket hash. It was so satisfying, savoury, and flavourful, just as a brunch should be. Potatoes were cooked perfectly with the perfect amount of crisp on the outside and softness in the inside. The brisket melted in my mouth. I wouldn’t be surprised if any of their other menu items were this good.

I’m lovin’ this cozy breakfast joint. For one, I’ve never waited for a table which as we all know is the unicorn of the brunch world.
I’ve enjoyed the waffles twice because much like my kindred spirit Leslie Knope, I love me some waffles. They are cornbread batter which is a nice treat and served with fresh fruit. They pour the honey on a little thick making it so you don’t have to use the syrup, although it is offered. For my taste they could ease up a bit and just let the diner decide how sticky sweet they want to get. If you just like a little sweet, maybe ask for honey on the side.
I’ve had a few breakfast biscuit sandwiches. The biscuits are tasty without being a buttery overload. The breakfast potatoes are on point, and I am normally not a breakfast potato person. The omelet plates feature the amount of food a down home diner would affectionately name The Lumberjack of something. It’s a ton of food! The sausage omelet has big hunks of local sausage and is spices up just right.
If you come on a nice day you can enjoy the spacious outdoor patio. If you come on a gloomy day there is plenty of seating inside. It’s a great place to meet a friend and not feel rushed through your meal by the swarms of people waiting. They serve Stumptown coffee and have an impressive list of breakfast cocktails. Enough said right?

Got to experience this place by a fluke! Glad we found it off the beaten path. Good food and atmosphere is great. Our servers were prompt and friendly! Hope to come back.

The food here is normally either subpar or just on par. It’s nothing special. The menu is very small, limited and, dare I say, «basic» — I sat down to eat here before looking at the menu and sort of wanted to leave once I had. They were also out of biscuits at 11 am on a Tuesday… and the only interesting menu items happen to be on a biscuit. Oh.
The coffee I had wasn’t even very good (perhaps badly brewed Stumptown?) and I had to ask for sugar three times. My server was very nice but simply not efficient. It was overall a very forgettable meal. I guess that’s my main knock– every single thing on this menu is a little less delicious than if I had made it at home… and I definitely already had it all in my fridge.

Ugh! The worst part was the service. I know this doesn’t tend to be a big expectation in Portland but for me, it’s a big deal. Even the most tolerant person would have been frustrated. Only 5 minutes to get a seat. 15 minutes later we finally saw a server so we took the opportunity to place both our drink and breakfast order. Nearly an hour after that before we got our food. Never once did we get recognition and/​or apology.
Food was good but not worth it. First and last time for us.

Unilocalers, I love you! Thanks to the Unilocal reviews, my family and I tried this for breakfast one day. I tried the brisket hash, as others had recommended it, and it was absolutely delicious! The servers were so friendly and attentive, greeting us as soon as we came in the door, and filling our coffee cups regularly. The warmth of the staff and scrumptious food made me wish I could move to this neighborhood immediately! I have no reservations about giving this great place five stars!

My first and so far only visit to Kerns kitchen was on the brunchiest Portland morning — a drizzly, cool, and overcast Saturday. We were welcomed into the warm space and immediately offered a seat at the bar, which we happily took. The rest of the dining area was pretty full, which makes sense for a weekend morning when outdoor seating would be rather soggy, but it wasn’t a mosh pit. The waitstaff and bar staff were friendly and bubbly, and we had fun joking around with them while waiting for our food.
It was my boyfriend’s birthday, so he had a mimosa. I stole just a sip, and gave a thumbs up. The coffee was a total miss — how did Kerns manage to obtain mediocre coffee in a town like this? Boyfriend had the egg benedict, which I imagine must have been delicious as he wolfed it down. My veggie scramble was spot-​on, savory and filling. We never felt rushed even as the place was busy. Prices were also pretty reasonable.
We eyed the selection of fresh baked goods but decided to save our piggy capacity for birthday cake later. I’d like to come back here for dinner sometime as the dinner menu looked pretty delicious too. Add some really good PDX coffee, and this place would be 5 stars. Overall, I’m a fan!

First time in, came for lunch.
I had the Breakfast fried rice with fried egg. Very flavorful, egg just right. Only critique was could have had a little more veggies.
Wife had Brisket Hash. Again super flavorful, nice crunch on potatoes. Horseradish cream sauce was yummy.
Day manager Josh? Was very attentive and checked on us often. Told us about things happening there.
Will be back.

Went on a Saturday morning at 9:45 and was really surprised when there was no brunch wait! I mean it was Saturday in Portland… I was thinking at least a 20 minute wait. But we were seated right away. The inside is very cute and eclectic with lots of mirrors and jars/​canteens on the walls. All of the servers were very polite and attentive. Perhaps a little too attentive; I hadn’t even sat down yet and they were taking my drink order and within moments of getting our drinks he was back to take our food order. It was all very face paced, which made me think that was the reason for no line. It felt a little rushed.
The coffee was great, which is very important for me! And the food was pretty good, too. I ordered the Breakfast Burrito with sausage. For charging $ 2 extra for sausage, there was hardly any in the burrito. That was pretty disappointing. However everything else was fantastic. My friend ordered the Salmon Hash and she was really pleased – plenty of salmon in that dish! It also had a great smokey flavor and very potent horseradish sauce on top. Yum!
I would go back, especially because it is so close to my house. It is a very nice neighborhood spot! I’m also curious to try something off their extensive mimosa list!

randomly Unilocaled breakfast food near my work and due to good reviews, I picked this place. I ordered the Brisket hash and wow… amazing! Better than what I expected. the brisket was so tender and perfect. i LOVE horseradish so that was a plus and the potatoes were on point. Lots of flavor. Also, customer service was superb! Even though I was only there for a few minutes, everyone was extremely friendly & welcoming… this is why i love Portland :) Definitely coming back here! Apparently they have good pasta for dinner and homemade bloody mary’s!

I wandered in on a Saturday hoping for a bite for lunch. The other day, when I passed by it was sunny and the beer garden/​patio out front was full of happy diners, today it was a rainy Saturday. I chose to sit inside. According to the host I arrived at a transition time between Brunch and Dinner. I said I was hoping for a spot of lunch, but was a little disappointed in the initial menu. Since I’d seen rave reviews on their brunch — I thought, they’ve got to have a good sandwich for lunch. I was there at 3pm and from 3p-​5p, they offer a Happy Hour Menu with an assortment of fare. Pizzas, Deviled Eggs, and some other unique snacks. I chose a Margherita Pizza. I was delighted with my pizza — it was a personal Neapolitan style pie with good flavors and texture.
I enjoyed talking with one of the managers. The décor and space is stylish and warm. Their carry 4 draft beers and offer some unique cocktails, too. I had a delicious cup of Steve Smith Herbal Tea. Even though my mealtime timing was off, I had a good visit and enjoyed my food and beverage. I’d like to try some beers and brunch outside soon.

It never ceases to amaze me that Portland, though smaller than Seattle, has so many more viable breakfast options. Include Kerns Kitchen on that list.
Kerns has a typical industrial look and feel — exposed joists and ventilation ductwork — coupled with decent music played at an unobtrusive level. It looks like they have outdoor picnic tables for the summer season. Yet even today, they had self-​serve coffee on one of the tables, leading me to believe it gets crowded late mornings on the weekends.
But at 10:00am on a Saturday, the restaurant was full, but little or no wait for a table. I chose to sit at the bar, where I had a close-​up view of the liquor shelves. With ingredients on display such as Lillet, Aviation gin and Campari I could rustle up a pretty decent martini, but where was the Cointreau?
Anyway, setting that topic aside, I went for a cornmeal waffle with bacon and a side of potatoes. While waiting for breakfast, I was provided a most excellent drip coffee (taken with cream) and a big bottle of chilled water. So far so good!
Service was friendly and competent. My order appeared quickly. I really liked my cornmeal waffle. It was lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar and came with blueberries and a honey-​maple syrup. The potatoes had more of a steamed than fried texture, though there was some nice crunchy pieces in there too. What I particularly liked is that the potatoes were simply seasoned with salt, no blaring spices like rosemary or thyme.
Kerns Kitchen’s menu comes with a healthy selection of breakfast sandwiches, which I plan to select from on my next visit.

I’d be a regular if I was from the area.
The Bloody Mary was too spicy and somewhat lackluster (I couldn’t taste all the notes in the food through the burn afterwards) so I would probably pass on it here. However, the food, THE FOOD was fantastic!
I just had the brisket hash and I am still in foodie heaven! The portion is huge and could easily be a filling meal for 2. The horseradish sauce isn’t really hot but compliments the perfectly cooked thin slices of potato and tender brisket chunks perfectly. It is an unusual yet very decadent entrée. The hash was topped with two runny eggs — perfection!
My beau had the salad with poached eggs, It was tangy and zesty and had an interesting mustard seed dressing. A good option for a lighter meal.
The service was very unpretentious and quick. I would have appreciated a little bit of enthusiasm from our waitress, but we all have our bad days.
Overall, a great brunch spot!