The Original Dinerant

Just a really awesome place. Decent prices. Amazing food. The specials can be so good. Try the crème brûlée French toast!

Okay, based on one visit, I would totally come back. After a long work day, I met up with colleagues for a drink and dinner. I had the smoked steelhead benedict. It was criminally good. I mean, the fish was perfect. The eggs perfectly poached. The hashbrowns were a little oily and not as crispy as I like, but the flavor was good.
I had an aged cocktail (four weeks) of some brown liquor. Now I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it was delicious.
Nice staff. Really cool ambiance. We were able to get a table right away in the 7−8pm hour.
I love breakfast all day!

Feel of the place is mod-50’s-ish. It’s setup like a traditional diner but with a cooler vibe and food a notch better than any diner I’ve visited before. The staff is attentive and helpful, All three times I visited (dinner and two breakfasts) I was visited by more than just my server.
I tried a number of different things. All of them came in large portions so I never left hungry, actually twice I didn’t even finish what I was given (and it wasn’t because I was disappointed with the food).
It’s a long narrow place with two person tables all along the windows giving customers a good place to people watch. They also have a place where you can drop your bags if you are on the move. Perfect on my last visit when I was walking to the train station. They also keep it clean, nothing turns me off faster to a place than sticky tables and there was none of that here.
Is it hipster? Yeah, surprising that you’d find that in downtown Portland? Nope. The folks who work there seem to know they are setup to be cool, which chills the cool a bit.

We have been to the Original several times for both brunch and dinner and have always enjoyed it. It’s a casual setup with big open windows for people watching and more of an upscale diner feeling inside. Their brunch is probably our preferred meal there, though both are really good. Portions are generous and reasonably priced. Their omelets are tasty and pretty standard, but the Croissant E Cristo is different and amazing (a Monte Cristo but on a croissant and with marionberry in addition to the standard stuff). Their burgers are also really good and cooked to order — the Banh Mi burger is particularly tasty if you want to try something different with a kick. Their drinks are also really good (mimosas are reasonably priced at just $ 5; cocktails are more in the $ 9 – 10 range but still appropriate for what you get) with a wider variety of options compared to other restaurants (they also have boozy shakes if that is your thing). Service has always been friendly and efficient.
Great casual spot for brunch or dinner but with all the options and quality of better known, more expensive places in town.

We popped in here because it was closed to a friend’s work and we were pretty impressed with it. We had breakfast which was delicious. I grabbed a combo that had eggs, bacon, pancakes, and sausage (a little bit of everything). It was served with variety of syrups; a honey, marion berry, and original. The entire meal was delicious.
I do have a complaint though about their cocktails. We got two breakfast cocktails, a Gin Ricky, and a Suffering Bastard and they were both lacking in alcohol content. The gin ricky tasted more like a lime soda than a cocktail, and my Suffering Bastard tasted like just a ginger beer. It was quite a disappointment considering how much they cost –especially the Gin Ricky (lime juice, soda water, and barely any gin…) there is no way that drink should be $ 11!
Despite the cocktails, I’d still recommend the food anyday. It was delicious.

The choices for brunch in Portland are almost endless! I’d say Portland is like a foodie’s version of Disneyland. We came across The Original Dinerant by chance.
Portland definitely has a high score for walk-​friendly neighborhoods (in the daytime) and if you can bear the frequent encounter with the eccentric and homeless. After having left the inevitable wait at Voodoo doughnuts, my friends and I ventured off in search of something new to try since we’ve all already had the famous pink box tourist attraction. With the help of Unilocal we were able to narrow down choices that could somehow satisfy our hungover meal cravings.
The Original Dinerant was easy to find, located at the corner of the Courtyard Marriott City Center opposite the Wells Fargo building, which just so happen to have been the photo scene for a wedding party. The whole setting of it all, the charming diner and being witnesses to a love struck couple and their closest family and friends in their nuptial attire in downtown Portland could not have been more surreal. It was like a scene out of an E.L. James novel. Unfortunately, my Mr. Grey was not in Portland that day. Haha.
However, I did obtain a little bit of satisfaction from the sweet and savory Chicken & Waffles dish that I ordered. The waffle (cornmeal bacon battered) was weird and so if I do return I will opt for the classic Belgian waffle with my buttermilk fried chicken. I will also need to try one of those boozy concoctions from the beverage menu. Salty Jim perhaps. Who can say no to bourbon, salted caramel & vanilla ice cream?! Yum!
Location: 4 stars
Cleanliness: 4 stars
Service/​Staff: 4 stars
Cost/​Quality & Taste of Food: 3 stars

We went there last night. We ordered pasta, crab cake, snap fries and clam chowder.
I thought the chief was trying new recipes, however they are not so good.
We ‘d like to return there in this morning or eat hamburgers.

Great friendly Portlandesque diner downtown. Retro, and slightly hipster, it’s a fun place to have a great breakfast!
The food was great from granola and yogurt to eggs beni and verde burrito. The food was on point. A touch more salt would have gotten this gem a 5^th star. Definitely, on the list of places to come back to though!

Very comfortable and spacious seating. Excellent service. I had a veggie scramble that was delicious. I ordered a bowl of oatmeal for my baby, and it was unbelievably good. It came with little cups of sides: brown sugar, golden raisins and dried cranberries, sliced bananas, fresh berries and almonds.
My older kids had pancakes, they gave them 2 thumbs up. I can’t wait to go back.

Serves pretty good food, above average. There isn’t really a huge factor that sets it apart from other places that serve the same thing. The service is great and there isn’t a ridiculous wait on the food. It’s very clean.
I love that it’s opened late, there isn’t a lot places that do in Portland. The food isn’t greasy like most diners.
They have a fun mini donut burger that I would recommend!

I don’t usually hang out in Portland but I’m traveling to the South for a couple weeks and needed my taste of the NW before I headed off. Stopped by.
First off, service was great. Waitresses were super nice and service was pretty darn fast. Got one of their blue plate specials, a jalopeno and Tillamook waffle with chicken confiete (I know that’s not how you spell it but give me a break– I ordered beer with it).
Food was hearty and delicious. Chicken was crispy and seasoned with shallots. Waffle was fluffy, spicy in all the right ways.
Got free pie for checking in which was definitely a nice touch.
Definitely someplace I need to make it to again one of these days if I happen to swing by Portland again any time soon.

Came for lunch. The food wasn’t super amazing, but it wasn’t bad. Had the fried chicken sandwich with poutine fries. The poutine fries were… ok… Sandwich was… ok… 3 stars is usually ok… right?
Staff was friendly. Prices were high for dinner kind of food.

We have been contemplating this place for a while and finally got to this place after building a good appetite on a Sunday morning!
We started with the tofu hash, egg scramble and the egg whites omelette!
I have a recently found craving for biscuits and I always get excited about it in a brunch place. The tofu hash was the most awaited dish! The description read some marinated tofu. When it arrived. What a disappointment! Just your usual tofu tossed in with the veggies and potatoes! No flavoring. One of the worst potatoes!
The biscuit was ok. Not bad not certainly the best! The biscuits in hazel room were to die for!
The egg scramble was good. the egg whites omelette and the frittata I heard were just ok ok!
We had the chocolate malted shake which was a little too much on the sweet side
Not something you should avoid but I think Portland downtown has much better options to try for brunch

My girlfriend took me here because she’s in love with Eggs Benedict. She loves this place.
As we approached the establishment, I immediately felt unease. I knew it wasn’t going to be vegan friendly with the smell of meat wafting from it’s pores.
The place is HUGE and very busy. We were quickly seated. I asked to switch tables, since they sat us next to a window and it was freezing out. They acted like I was asking for their first born or something. We were moved to a booth.
The Online menu displayed a tofu scramble but it was absent from the physical menu.
They made me a vegetable hash of sorts that was neither filling nor good. It was a tiny portion for the $$ I paid.
The coffee was meh. It took forever to get a refill.
The service was ok but seemed unfocused.
When looking for a vegan breakfast downtown, I’d look elsewhere.

I always end up staying at the Courtyard Marriott attached to this restaurant when I go to my Portland office, so I’ve defaulted to this place a few times for both breakfast and dinner. It’s decent, nothing too exciting.
The chicken wings were meh. They were big wings, on the dry side, but had a nice little kick. I received huge amounts of ranch and buffalo sauce on the side with them.
I once had a veggie egg white omelette for breakfast here. It was okay. Big fat omelette with a ton of vegetables, but nothing to write home about.
Breakfast service in the restaurant based on more than one experience is slow, even with minimal foot traffic.

This is a nice downtown diner. The Saturday Brunch is excellent. Try the Elvis sighting (french toast). The food was fresh and well cooked. It was fairly ordinary but very good. I will eat here again and again.

Absolutley this is one of my too favorite restaurant in Portland!!! Every menu is very simple and easy. Very clean and always nice customer service. They know what customer service is.
Their egg benedit, crembree french toast, and their chicken waffle is my favorite!
I always bring my friends who come from other states because my stomach is always comfortable when I have their food, and always feel nice to be there in great atmosphere! Good place to eat!

I’ve been here twice. The concept could be so great. Sadly it just falls a little short. The space is gorgeous– well thought out. The menu is creative but the food does not live up to the promise. The service was good and bad all during the same meal. I hope they get it together– I think what they have is promising.

My latest experience at The Original was almost perfect, with the exception being the main course. The other aspects of the meal almost made up for the bad main course, but an entrée is weighted more heavily than the rest in my book.
Service — 5 stars
Our server for the evening was Kiefer. He was very friendly and attentive. He was very quick to bring anything we requested, or anything he anticipated we might need.
An amuse-​bouche was brought out before the appetizer… always a nice touch, and earns them bonus marks for service. It was fried polenta, smoky maple syrup and blue cheese. The flavors blended well together, and it was an enjoyable bite.
Appetizer — 5 stars
The appetizer came out shortly after. We got the poutine, which was fantastic. I mean, cheese curds, gravy and french fries are hard to mess up but this is the best poutine I’ve had in town.
Entrée — 2 stars
I ordered the Lava Lake BBQ Lamb for my meal. The lamb came on a mound of polenta and was covered by a mound of broccolini. The first issue was that every element of the dish was the same temperature, which happened to be just a touch above room temp. Aside from the temp, the broccolini was fine. The lamb itself was fatty and not very appetizing, but the BBQ sauce that comes on it was quite good. The polenta was bland and cold.
Dessert — 5 stars
Caramel Brûlée Cheesecake sounds amazing when you see it on the dessert menu. It tastes exactly the way it sounds. Get it.

Once again… AMAZING!
This time we went for their Sunday brunch. If I said «BAMM!» again it wouldn’t do it justice. What I can say again is that I don’t know everything, but I know great service and great food when I get them, and this was BOTH! AND EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST TIME!
I had the Eggs Benedict. This was simply one of the two best Eggs Benedicts I’ve ever had. A tie for first. They do Benedict right. They do Benedict the way it should be done. They use fresh shaved Ham instead of Canadian Bacon. Such a great choice for texture and taste, and they don’t skimp on the Ham. Served with the most perfectly done Hash Browns in the right amount. Not a massive amount of Hash Browns and a medium sized Benedict like the trap so many restaurants have fallen into (I call the the Denny’s dilemma). Amount over substance is not a cure for mediocrity in restaurants, but a band-​aid that leaves you full and getting fat and unhealthy.
(Side note — As a person who eats clean everyday, and has a fitness plan that he follows, a cheat meal that’s good enough to make me go back two days later for another cheat is so rare that I’ve only found four others in my whole life (I’m 46). That’s about one every 9+ years. Pretty impressive to make that list).
Mom had the Croissant-​e Cristo and all I can say again is that I am SOOOO thankful that she bass a small stomach and I got to finish this when we got home. A sweet croissant with shaved Ham, Dijon, Marionberry, and Swiss cheese. Holy Hell this thing was good (and I only got 4 bites — kinda’ frustrated she finished as much as she did). Again, the right amount of everything as to not let one taste overpower any other, and I love the use of Oregon produce. The Marionberry. Yum!
Dad had the Ham and Cheese omelette which he quietly ate without saying much or bringing mention to it. That’s his way of making sure no one will ask for a bite of something he really likes. I could smell it and wanted to ask for a bite, but was too Depp into enjoying my food, and before I realized it, his plate was empty! Good plan Dad.
Last, my little lady (daughter) had the Oreo Pancakes. BAMM! and NOM NOM! Dammit these were incredible! I want to use all the expletives in the book to emphasize how amazing they were, but I’ll just say that I stole more than half of them from her. They came with Oreo whipped crème on top which was a taste sensation in its own right. The pancakes… the pancakes were the best I’ve ever had. You know when you see a commercial on TV and the pancakes have the perfect texture and they’re fluffy and they lay down gently on the plate? Ya, that commercial was filmed in the kitchen at the Original Dinerant. And then they folded bits of Oreo cookie into the batter. Holy Cow!!! They were the most perfectly cooked, soft, fluffy and tasty pancakes ever. Did I already say that?
One additional food find here is the hand folded honey butter. DAMM was that good!
And on the service side, all the regular players were there… Anna was supervising, Max was managing, our killer assistant server Allison wasn’t there, but there’s a new star to add to the line-​up. Drew. He was warm and funny but not overly funny or cocky. He was genuinely concerned with how we felt about our meal and about the dining experience overall. He’s another server that embodies great service.
I also ordered a Salty Jim shake. Vanilla and Bourbon and Caramel and I think a hint of cinnamon maybe. Not sure. DELICIOUS! IT WAS SO DAMM GOOD!!!
Anna was super attentive and courteous even more than our previous visit. She cares. It’s that simple. You don’t get amazing service from a crappy, uncaring person. She personifies a good, caring person, which makes the best server.
Max… What can I say? He’s on point all the time. He said Hi early on and thanked us for coming back in, and he took time to talk about how the last couple of days of my parents’ vacation had been and just spent some time with us being Max. He is another person that CARES. GENUINELY! It’s obvious he does. He gives a crap, and it shows. We asked if they had a kids small t-​shirt for my 5 year old daughter, and he found one for her. AMAZING!
Simply put, if you want great service and great food, you’d better get your butt down there. Like, now! The Original Dinerant is the newest addition to the BEST IN MY LIFETIME list. This is in the top 5.
AMAZING!!! We will be back there next weekend for sure. Probably at 1130 Sunday morning for brunch. Wanna’ join us?

In my opinion, this place felt a bit mediocre. Came here with a party of 8 since my family wanted to grab a bite. I guess we came in at a weird time since it was in between lunch and dinner.
The food was just okay. Nothing on the menu wowed me so I got the Reuben sandwich. Sammies come with soup, salad, or fries. The crust on the Reuben sandwich was too crunchy that it was hurting my mouth while I was chewing. Other than that, the rest of the sandwich was good.
Service was a bit awkward. Everyone that greeted us and sat us down were very attentive, but when it came to our server… She was just awkward and quiet lol. She took our orders, bought out or food, refilled our water once, and gave us our bill all without a word.
Tables were a bit sticky and floors had some leftover food that wasn’t cleaned up yet.
Overall experience was okay. Maybe I’ll give this place another try if someone were to suggest it, but I wouldn’t really go out of my way for it.

I came here for a special event that was in the upstairs area. I thought the restaurant itself was really awesome– I love the modern industrial look. As for the food, I’m not sure I loved anything I tried. The bacon was really limp (as opposed to crispy) and the fried chicken was quite dry. I think I’ll come back as a normal patron and see if the food is any better.

Typically they are decent with the food and have tasty beverages. The last two times though they’ve badly charred the burgers and generally not taken pride in the cooking.
Hoping it gets better again, but I will be taking at least a few months off in hopes they correct whatever is currently wrong.

Went for a late lunch today; perhaps timing (3:30 on a Saturday) led to so/​so service. Lots of messy tables that needed cleaning so they sat us on a tiny two top far away from anything. A little awkward. It was never clear who our server was, consequently no one really ensured our needs met.
Had a Reuben and Banh mi. Reuben below average; haphazardly assembled and unremarkable. Banh mi was reportedly ‘good’ not amazing. Fries good and came in cute little paper sack.
Would go again if in a rush and had no other options. Otherwise, considering this largely a one-​and-​done experience. Next time probably just go to little big burger and save a lot of $$.
Updated review after second lunch two months later:
Returned to restaurant. Ordered from Sunday Brunch menu: chicken and waffles; salmon eggs Benedict; biscuits and chicken; eggs and hash browns. All very tasty and enjoyable. Have increased score to 4 stars; family really enjoyed it

I first came here for a Unilocal event and was impressed and planed to come back. The locations a bit out of the way for me so I just made it back for happy hour.
The space is nice in a modern club meets diner kind of way. I like it.
The food, I was there for happy hour, it was a rainy day, just me and one other customer. so staff outnumbered us. I was disappointed that some of my favorite things from the event were not on any menu I saw… so I got the fries and the BBQ brisket pocket. I was not impressed the fries were ok, ton for the money but really greasy. The pocket was almost burned, really greasy and if there was meat in there I couldn’t find it. Sorry just 2 stars for food.
Service: it was ok maybe 3 stars
For me it food and basic service have to be there, I doubt I will be back. Maybe if I see a bunch of review that say they have really upped their game?

Came on Thanskgiving brunch and the food was incredibly lackluster and insanely overpriced (the french toast elvis thing was sickly sweet, the croissant croque monsieur was of safeway quality), and best of all as soon as they seated us, we were totally forgotten about — staff walking by not saying anything (the place was mostly empty) and after about 10 minutes or so a guy walked by and asked if we needed something. Then as my husband was still eating they started clearing half the table away (a HUGE no-​no, never take one person’s plate away while the other is still eating, it’s very disrespectful!). As a layout note, they have their bathrooms right next to the bar facing the restaurant very openly, and it’s also where staff seemed to enjoy standing around blocking the entry. Very odd. Never again.

Seated right away at 7:00 pm on a Saturday night. Took a long time to even be acknowledged by a server, almost so long I contemplated asking the hostess to alert my server. Consistently slow service throughout my meal, no water refill, had to ask for my check. The server was not extra busy and had help from (what looked to be) the manager.
Ordered a cheeseburger and a cup of chili. Very good food, everything seemed quality and my burger was cooked perfectly.
It was too spendy for the overall experience. Service killed it. I wouldn’t return.

Overall my group really enjoyed themselves at this place, and the food was delicious! Highly recommended the donut sliders to split– bc they would probably be a little on the heavy side eating them yourselves. I felt pretty lame when I ordered the grilled cheese, but it was amazing. And their cocktails are pretty good too!
Only qualms are that they are unable to accommodate groups larger than 10– you have to either really expertly squeeze (which is what we did) or sit at two tables. Secondly, while the majorly of the waitstaff was very friendly and attentive, there was one guy– I think the host, who was extremely rude. My group was way larger than 10, and after stuffing people, 2 more people showed up and it was looking grim on fitting them in. Anyway, we were figuring it out, and I hadn’t even asked him for assistance. But he very rudely walks over and asks, how many other people are you going to have show up, because this is not going to work. Yes, I get it. It honestly wasn’t going to work, we could see it too. Those two friends ended up just going somewhere else and meeting up after, which was completely fine, but that small interaction was pretty unnecessary.
Anyway I’m not gonna penalize the business for this one asshole, because I’d prob go back as long as we have a smaller group. But that guy, get a clue. Just try to relax a little.

Lots of innovative dishes. Three of us had an early dinner on a weeknight and it was nearly empty. The service was very attentive and patient with our questions and customized orders.
The S’More with blueberry marshmallow was excellent. The Donut Burger Sliders were interesting; not to my liking but glad I tried them. Cinsky (cinnamon whiskey) was also interesting and good.

I keep wanting to love The Original’s food because I live for things like poutine and chicken and waffles — especially at discounted happy hour prices. However, the food has always been lackluster. In fact, I can’t even remember what I ordered the first time I went, even though I distinctly remember my conversation with my friend as well as the fact that I texted my bff to tell her that she would love The Original’s décor.
Tonight, I ordered the poutine, and again, my food was lacking. The gravy was watery and without flavor. The curds were a bit cold. In fact, the whole dish, despite being cautioned that the plate was extremely hot, was lukewarm at best.
The service is attentive, however. Our table received prompt water and drink refills, even after we had finished eating and were staying just for chitchat. The Original took full responsibility when it served my friend an incorrect order. We noted that a manager personally delivered the corrected order as well as ~special mustard. My friend’s dinner was also comped, which was a nice gesture. So many places in Portland try so hard to be Portland, that it’s nice to go to a place that values its customer service.
The atmosphere is another reason why I would keep coming back here despite its mediocre food. It’s just lovely, chill, and a little bit of modern meets Twin Peaks diner. The finishing touches they give to their food can seem a little gimmicky, particularly since it’s not that great to begin with. You may think that they could spend their time perfecting their poutine first rather than serving you an adorable stack of miniature pancakes. But the atmosphere and customer service can go far because it’s a great place to eat, drink and be merry with your friends in a lovely 1950s meets contemporary atmosphere.

+
* Friendly staff that are attentive, accommodating and all (coincidentally?) attractive people.
* Food is excellent — Had the biscuits & gravy with a fried chicken breast two mornings in a row
* $ 3 for bottomless Stumptown coffee
+/​-​
* Metered parking can be a pain, but is available within a 1 – 2 block radius

It’s not often that I frequent the same establishment two days/​night in a row, but this is the exception. Our mixologist Ryan has been fantastic! He is friendly, super creative, and talented. I told him some of the flavors I enjoy and he crafted a drink that wasn’t on the menu. The spiced pear drink was awesome! They use a medley of spices to create a fall taste. The Original features a unique assortment of barrel aged cocktails too. There’s a diner: lounge vibe between the décor and menu. Artwork hangs from the ceiling and the walls. There’s Alexander Calder-​like mobiles by the window and local photographs.
The bar snack mix is really tasty & super spicy!

After trying the meatloaf sliders a little under a week ago, I felt the need to bring a friend along who could appreciate what I could not. He had the meatloaf sliders and a barbecue brisket pocket (like an empanada). He thought my take on the meatloaf sliders was spot on (complex, yet interesting and a little perplexing). He had the same opinion of the brisket pockets; enjoyable but a little weird… in a totally good way.
I wasn’t so fortunate with my choice for the day. The menu had been changed up a bit and I had it in my head that I was going to order something that was probably a special on my last visit. I ended up with the happy hour version of the Crispy Chicken Sandwich and it looked amazing. The problem was that the toppings and the bread completely overwhelmed the chicken. I couldn’t tell you if it was good or bad. The toppings were very fresh but the chef could have had a little restraint on the onion — it was an entire slice of whole onion… and I like onions. The sandwich was also a little overlarge — it was difficult to eat because it just was too big for my mouth. On the plus side, it held up quite well as leftovers.
The service was even faster this time around and very friendly despite it being quite a bit busier than my last visit.

I came here three times while staying at the Courtyard (attached to it) over the course of three days.
1^st time: breakfast. I tried the bacon waffle. There were actual pieces of bacon bits in it. I tried it with both the maple syrup and berry syrup. Both syrups are good with it.
2^nd time: late night snack. I wanted some dessert, and was thinking pie with ice cream. I ordered the apple pie, which had a topping with cheese in it. I wasn’t expecting the sharpness of the cheese to come through so much. It was interesting. Considered savory?
3^rd time: breakfast again. This time I tried the hash. It was very tasty and interesting because it has beets in it. It throws you off because it comes and the whole thing is purple from the beets. Don’t let the color turn you off, it’s good. And dare I saw healthy because of the beets.

I came here for a late dinner. We were visited promptly by the waiter, who took our drink orders (Merlot for me).
I wasn’t super hungry, but with the menu looking so interesting, I had to order a full entrée.
I ordered the lamb French sip. Amazing! I don’t know why exactly it was so good. The meat was so tender and the carmelized onions lent a sweet and savory flavor to the mix. There was goat cheese thinly spread on the bread. Definitely could have had more goat cheese to make it even more divine.
We ordered the white cheddar Dutch Apple pie for dessert. The crust did have a cheesy flavor to it, which I loved because I’m not that into sweets.
The service was 5 star-​worthy. Thanks guys!