McCormick Pier Cafe

This used to be my neighborhood bar. For the most part, it was not any different from your average neighborhood dive. One star because of the rude, mean and seemingly narcissist bartender/​manager, whose idea of fun is berating customers and playing stupid mind games…
During my last visit, he threatened me while I was on a pavement outside. Pavements are public property.

Cocktails were horrible and so was service. Tried to like this bar due to proximity to our apartment but was disappointed multiple times.

Great neighborhood bar! The pizza, calzones, and grinders are delicious. The outside seating in the front and back are great. They have big buck, pin ball, a couple TVs and a juke box. You can also buy beer to go from them or have your growler filled! The staff is friendly and entertaining. I love this bar!

I believe this place is now called the Rusty Nail. For no other reason than being a conveniently located eatery (I live across the way), I probably would never frequent this place.
We ordered a 16″ pepp, mush, pineapple pie to go and was told that it would take about 30 – 40 min to be ready. We said that would be fine, and then we ordered a Cobb salad, nachos, and a couple sodas to stay thinking we could eat a little while we waited for the pizza. Nope. So, there is one bartender/​server and one guy prepping food. I guess he makes them as the orders come in, which is fine, but the salad and nachos (which seemed like it should take 10 seconds to prepare) came out after the pizza was made. We saw them put the finished box of pizza above the oven and then almost 10 min later, the rest of our order came.
Quality-​wise: It’s nothing really special. It’s fairly cheap so I guess you get what you pay for.
Upside: We ended up getting our food right when open mic night for amateur stand up comics began, which I guess is on Fridays at 8:30 pm. Good times!

Worst service ever (you should want folks to come back a 2^nd time so you stay in business) and the pizza stinks, nasty cheese with a brown coating and tasteless sauce. Not worth $ 20 for pizza and rude bartender. I really wanted this to be a neighborhood joint for beer and eats. Sigh.

I just LOVE good service. Got here just before they turned off the oven to order a take out pizza. The bar tender/​chef was so nice and even helped us choose the cheese (say that ten times fast). The pizza is personalized, and amazing. Highly recommend this place for a chill night and friendly service.

I’m from AZ and this place is a diamond in the mist… if you are looking for a friendly neighborhood restaurant/​bar filled with super nice locals… this is the place to be! Eric and Ian were awesome and I love the atmosphere! I’ve never liked calzones due to the amount of bread and lack of filling until now! Their calzones are AMAZING and filled to the max! Plus, they make them fresh to order. They also have great salads, sandwiches, pizzas and more. I will definitely come back here the next time I’m in town. Thanks Eric, Ian and my new portland friends!

A simple, but decent establishment. The beer selection is sufficient. The pizza is right up there with the best in town. They even have their own pizza oven. Pizza is made to order and tastes marvelous.

Cold microbrews, ok pizza, and sports on the big screen (not too crowded so you can actually hear the action, the ball bouncing, pads smacking and the announcers calling a Rip City 3 from downtown-​Swish) sitting on a comfy couch down by the wet & wild Willamette River and Steel Bridge, nice River walk out back. Get the picture, a nice option off the beaten path.

I haven’t been back into this business for a long time, as the last time I went with a friend in 2013 we ordered the special at the time and both kitchen staff were so distracted they left it in the pizza oven to burn to charcoal. We were the only patrons except for one other table, so I’m not sure how this happened. At the time, we’d been waiting for the food long enough and finished our drinks so we didn’t want re-​made food. Thankfully the lady working register was gracious and fully refunded our purchase.
If you’re in the neighborhood, do yourself a favor and go to PINTS over on NW 5^th Avenue instead.

I go here when I’m at a loss for what to eat for dinner. Pizza is above average. Breakfast burrito is giant and also pretty average. I’ve had employee/​owner service range from nice to completely rude. One time during a busy rush (which is like 4 customers) the employee said «like I don’t have other things to do right now» when asked to fill their water. I’ve also been there when they were short on ingredients to make a ¼ of their menu. I tried ordering the biscuits and gravy one day and they were out of biscuits. The owner offered me donuts and gravy… If you are feeling lazy and don’t want to make dinner, grab a pizza from here.

Well, my husband returned after I wrote my previous review to see if things had improved and was met with a vulgar confrontation by the male owner of the café, regarding my review and was told to «buy his own internet.» Would he cuss out a health inspector over a failed inspection? The entire mindset of these people are skewed, if you’re under the impression that your customers are «stealing» your internet while patronizing your café then you need to find another line of work, preferably with as little human interaction as possible. In order to maintain a customer base, any business owner knows they need to be gracious to their customers.
Over time, we have noticed this café has no accountability and rarely ever opens on time. The posted hours of operation serve no purpose.
In addition, I’d like to share one of my absolute worst experiences here. I purchased a fruit and yogurt cup, walked home, opened the yogurt cup and realized the fruit was covered in mold and there was a large amount of rotten fruit juice that had collected on the top layer of yogurt. I immediately returned to the café and requested a refund. The employee had the gull to claim the mold was part of the fruit and the juice was normal. He wouldn’t refund me, but offered me one of the greek yogurts in their fridge. I took a glance at the rest of their yogurt cups and they ALL had mold. This just goes to show the negligence this café exhibits.

Bottomless mimosas
$ 3 pints
Legit Pizza
Friendly staff
Outdoor seating
Espresso
If you live in the area it’s definitely an easy walk to go grab a few inexpensive drinks and perhaps watch one of the sports games. It’s not a super large place but they have a few booths, tables, and cozy couch to sit on. Prices are rather fair. Only 1 – 2 beers on tap but they do have bottles and 22oz. Plenty of options.

Best bottomless mimosas in town.

McCormick Pier café home to bad food and the low life community. If you want sub par food along with salt of the earth company this may be the place for you. Endless drink specials keep you here but the food sure won’t. Oh and if you want to get high just step out side and some of the local loadies will likely be able to hook you up. Not so good for the property values of the condo owners there but what the heck life’s a party right!

What!!! Holy Cow this place is great! Why wasn’t is crowded? I’d be here every weekend if I could, but alas I don’t live in Portland. My husband and I love bottomless mimosa Sundays and this place was awesome. Bottomless mimosas all day Sat. and Sun. and they were delish! We also had biscuits and gravy since the pizza was going to take a while (we were there too early 1130; pizza starts at 1200) The pizza was to die for! Yum! Seriously this is a diamond in the rough!

Try the pizza or calzone. it is incredible and can come in individual sizes. Ask for extra sauce if that’s your thing.
Full bar.
Snobby people need not come. This place is not cool or hip. But it is awesome.

Having witnessed the mess the two previous owners made of Bridgetown Pizza and Mayhem Pizza, McCormick Pier Café is a breath of fresh air. The owners are clearly interested in producing quality food and care about the customers and the restaurant. I gravitate towards their generously sized and made to order omelets and calzones, but their sandwiches are good as well. The interior is well arranged with a warm fireplace, couches, and tables for parties. They also stock a diverse arrangement of sodas, snacks, and desserts, if you’re in the mood.
Because I live about 40 feet away from the rear entrance, i was nervous about the recent introduction of beer, wine, and liquor. This concern was justifiable based on several issues with the previous owners. My worries were unfounded, however, as their customer base just seems to be looking for good food and drink. At this point, I’m really happy alcohol is available. Not bad for 40 feet away!

I was in the area shooting some senior photos, so we decided to stop in for a quick bite. We were there on a Sunday afternoon, so there weren’t many people inside.
I’m assuming the guy behind the register was the owner – he was welcoming and friendly. I ordered a calzone and a beer and sat down at a massive square table by the window.
The interior of this place is awesome. Big leather couch, fireplace, the afore-​mentioned massive square table… TV was playing the football game.
The calzone was delicious – fresh out of the oven. If I lived near this place, I’d probably be here 4 or 5 times a day. Definitely worth stopping if you’re even remotely close to this part of town.

I stumbled across this place when I was in Portland for a job interview. I was considering McCormick Pier as a place to live if I got the job* and this cute little café was a definite selling point. (*I got the job, but ended up living somewhere else.)
They only opened in June or so of 2011, and there are probably still a few kinks to work out. Or I’m just used to overcrowded Subway chains that had signs telling me to Order Here, Pay Here, Wait Here, Go Here to Jump Up and Down On One Foot and Bark Like a Dog. This place is very relaxed and easy breezy.
The food has always been solid (except today when I forgot to specify no onions on my BLT wrap, but that’s my fault). The baked goods are super delicious.
Parkng in the area is going to suck. During the day there’s paid street parking, but I think in the evenings there are a handful of spaces in the McCormick Pier complex where you’re allowed to park, but look for the sign and then go move your car. (Or just bike/​jog here, since that’s what people seem to be doing.)