Sanborn’s

I loved this place! Delicious hibiscus rose mimosas, and huge German pancakes with a plethora of ingredients to chose from from sweet to savory. Our server Ji was so great. He was super friendly and took great care of us. We will definitely be back.

Wow. How refreshing to go to a popular eating establishment on a weekend at brunch time and not have to wait in a line wrapping around the building! Maybe it was just good timing or they just manage the place efficiently. My guess is the latter because the place was (comfortably) packed but we were seated and served quickly by a warm, welcoming staff. They told us how it’s family owned and that they make several of their items from scratch; from the biscuits to the jams, sauces and syrups. I really appreciate when proprietors go above and beyond for their guests and I’m sure they have a rabid following of regulars that appreciate it too. So I guess they’re kind of famous for their German Pancakes and I can now see why. If you’ve never had one, I highly recommend doing so here! So many options since they offer both sweet And savory. I did sweet; mango ginger with lemon and orange zest and it was awesome! Thick and fluffy, yet dense and chewy with this perfect caramelized bottom, its construction being a cross between a frittata and bread pudding! My friend got the huevos rancheros which also seemed to have been made lovingly; he was quite pleased with his option as well. This was be a regular stop when passing through Portland. Thanks Sanborn’s!

Biscuits and gravy are life changing. No words for how delicious they are! And the Belgium waffles are amazing!!! Love this place.

Four of us strolled into this place for Saturday brunch. We were offered coffee while waiting, which was an easy wait endeavor, especially in comparison to other Portland brunch adventures.
⁵⁄₅ I highly recommend the German pancakes! We shared the banana pecan pancake which was moist and light.
⁴⁄₅ We also shared the corned beef hash. The flavors were good; however, the beef and potatoes were dry. I would recommend dousing in hot sauce.
⁴⁄₅ It felt like it took longer for our server to take our order than waiting for an actual table. That being said, someone was constantly walking around filling up coffee and water glasses, which makes me happy.
I definitely have to recommend this place for the German pancakes.

LOOVE this place! My friend took me here for the first time and I finally got to experience German pancakes. Loved the vibe and even with 2 people on a Sunday afternoon we did not have a long wait time. The service was great and my coffee was never empty. I opted for the savory version– The Sonora and it was very tasty and amazing combination of flavors. It was sausage with pine nuts and a drizzle of honey. The portions were just gigantic but I still ate everything: D. Very impressed with everything from the service but especially the food.
To be honest I have never had a German pancake so I have no idea if this is authentic or not. Even if it is not, I was happy to discover something so tasty and delicious. It is super light and fluffy with crispy edges and seems like some warped version of another food item but I can’t pinpoint exactly what.

Very tasty German pancakes. The blue pear was a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The banana pecan was decadently sweet.
Service was great. It is pretty small so the wait was kinda long even for early in the morning.

CLOSED FOR A MONTH!
FYI– Our family called last friday to see about how long of wait for brunch.
no one answered and the voice mail did not indicate anything.
so we came for brunch at 11 am and found out that the place is CLOSED for a month.
it would be nice to let Unilocal and your answering voice mail, share this fact to your customers. instead of being surprised. Oh and your website didn’t mentioned being closed either.

Huge fan of breakfast food. And this place made me happy! So much to choose from.
My food was soo good! Customer service was superior!
Good thing this place is close to my work cause I will return — soon! :)

Wow. Really know breakfast. We had the corned beef hash and the blueberry pancakes. Both were wonderful. Homemade and perfect. Hash had great vegetables and eggs were perfect (they ask if you want «runny whites» with over easy fried eggs to help zero in on doneness). Our tea came loose leaf with steeping baskets and the seemingly simple fresh fruit was a perfectly ripe peach cut up in a bowl — small fork fight over that.
Can’t wait to go back.

Amazing food. Neighborhood joint. BEST eggs Benedict — somehow they’re Lemony.
Excellent Huevos Rancheros. Their specialty is the BAM cakes. German pancakes that are best when they’re shared. Today’s seasonal flavors are based around golden berries, figs and goat cheese, and pears and walnuts with brown sugar. These are in addition to more typical, year round offerings. Family run.
Only knocks — they are popular (can wait awhile), and can be on the noisy side. It’s a happy and boisterous noise…

German pancakes! We had 4 different types. I got The Count. Ah! Ah! Ah! 1. The Count (Sausage, paprika, green onion), 2. Fig & Goat (chèvre) 3. Brie & pear 4. Hot Date (bacon, date, chèvre)
They were all quite tasty. My fave was definitely The Count! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Since Portland brunch places are always packed on weekends we went at opening Saturday 8am so we didn’t have to wait. Phew. It was a good plan because by 8:30 it was busy.
For those that aren’t familiar with German pancakes, they take longer because they are baked so plan on 20 minutes or more after you order.

Located in the Brooklyn Neighborhood of Portland, Sanborns offers a unique array of breakfast options. You have sweet and savory German pancakes, a scrumptious Huevos Rancheros, and one of if not the best Eggs Benedict in Portland. I would highly recommend the Eggs Benedict. It has unbelievable flavor with subtle hints of lemon in its hollandaise sauce. I not only recommend the Eggs Benedict, but I also recommend the Huevos Rancheros. Between these two dishes you cannot go wrong at Sanborns. It is typically busy on weekends so expect a small wait time. During the weekdays it is a bit more quiet, but the quality of the food does not change. With a friendly wait staff Sanborns is a must visit for breakfast lovers.

I was very hungry. The waitress kept bringing me food. The food that I asked for! She asked me if I wanted more food. I did! She brought me more food! This place is an exact replica of a functioning restaurant, something that’s hard to find in this town.
I ate a lot of pancakes and biscuits.

German pancakes, where have you been all my life?! My friend and I have come twice so far and each time split a German pancake (they are huge) and an egg dish. First visit was a pancake on the specials board… I forget the name but it was a nutty one with almond, hazelnut, cream cheese, maybe some apple? Savory and sweet all in one delicious pancake. We got the Brie and pear pancake on the regular menu the second time but it wasn’t as mind blowing as the first. Their huevo rancheros was great too. Didn’t like our scramble filling selection — and they are chincy with the avocado you pay $ 2 extra for and don’t give you a fourth filling if you pay an increase for avocado. However… You can get a pancake as the side with your scramble m, which we of course did! I’m already dreaming of my next German pancake.
Tip: they will not seat you until your entire party arrives… So it’s not like you can order mimosas and wait for your hungover friends to get there. That was a bummer.

We arrived for lunch and was able to get a table right away. It was unfortunate that it takes about 20 minutes to make the German pancakes because our one was somewhat limited. I will definitely go back to try the Bacon Apple Maple, Blue Pear, or Fig and Goat German Pancakes.
I ended up getting the biscuits and gravy. The sausage gravy was thick and filled with tons of bits of sausage. There was plenty of gravy to go with the biscuits unlike other places I have eaten at.
The restaurant is very family friendly. The waitress is extremely personable and talked to us like we were old friends. The service was prompt.

Since we arrived just an hour before closing on a Saturday, we found the big corner booth empty and in full sun — perfect! Cherry mimosas were perfect, as we’re the pear, and apricot. The Ruby French toast (rhubarb & marscarpone stuffed) was enough to split as a dessert after the corned beef hash, vegetarian sausage and scrambled eggs. Oh, and the biscuits were really good, too.
It’s typically a huge wait during peak hours but if you wait til off hours, you’ll really be in for a treat. We’ve never had a bad experience here.

If you’re in the area, this is a great breakfast option. This place is very small though, so not only can there be a wait, but the feel is very cozy and packed-​in. It’s clean and everyone was very friendly, in my experience. It wasn’t long before we were seated and offered drinks.
The coffee was just okay but I appreciated the refills. The server wasn’t quick or immediately available at all times, but it was a packed house (which I’m sure is common here) so I can totally understand this.
I can’t speak for the majority of options are the expansive menu, but the «Bo-​Bam» German pancake I ordered was as delicious as you’d imagine. It was a large portion, as you’d imagine, and it was rich. Pliable dough with hot apples and bacon inside, all steamy, caramelized and sweet. It was almost too much but the temptation never tired. The syrup option wasn’t the rich maple I wanted, but I was too intoxicated on the pancake to request the maple or what options they had.
The german pancakes are one draw here, and price-​wise they are on-​par with national chains for big pancake options. One can easily come to Sanborn’s and get a small, simple breakfast too. The menu really offered a lot, and at various price points. I could easily see coming here at an odd time for a simple «Grand Slam”-type breakfast plate (~$ 5).

French Press coffee and a wonderful selection of breakfast yum yums. A must in Portland!

The menu here is very extensive! It gives each person something to try or regular breakfast favorites. I love the German pancakes! They have an amazing texture and flavor that keeps me coming back! They also make wonderful mimosas! I recommend trying the pomegranate one! It is a beautiful balance of tart and sweet!
The staff here has always been wonderful. They seat you with a smile and are always friendly. They are willing to give you great advice on what to order with what your personal tastes re!

We went to Sanborn’s on a Sunday and were lucky to get seated immediately. At 8:30 or so, there were open seats, but they disappeared fairly quickly after that.
There were several factors that brought my opinion of the restaurant down. The servers were a little harried and so our coffee sat unfilled for long periods. Taking away dirty dishes also seemed to take a while. Generally the service seemed lackluster even though they should have been ready for a normal breakfast rush.
The food itself was fine if not amazing. I had a scramble which had a little too much cheese. My son had the Mickey waffle, which for $ 5 seemed like a rip. He could have gottena kid’s plate with cakes and a meat for the same cost. I guess they have to pay licensing on each mouse waffle they make? My son’s bacon was large and meaty, but seemed as though it had been baked off the night before and slightly reheated.
This is the last time we’ll be going to Sanborns. The food was fine, but nothing too special and the cost and service make it hard to want to go back.