Chaos Cafe

Coffee worth driving across town for! One of the talented baristas whipped me up one of his own iced coffee concoctions last week and I was blown away by the creativity and yummyness in my twelve once drink. He called it a dancing cappuccino and with a combination of aged coffee extract, lemongrass, and cinnamon, my taste buds are still dancing!

My wife and I tried this today and were pleasantly surprised. The food was good, the service was excellent, and the prices were completely reasonable. I ordered their version of a club sandwich w/​tempeh and she ordered the brown rice bowl with beets, carrots, and their cashew gravy. Everything was simply, clean food, and we felt good after eating it. The gravy was the highlight– perfectly creamy and seasoned, and not dairy or gluten, which we don’t avoid but my wife enjoyed the fact that it was respectively low in fat.
The whole place was great because they were not trying to be anything they weren’t. Not your usual pretentious portland vegan café, that will ramble off all the product location and name drop everything. Of course they were sourcing their products the same as all the other, and were willing to share, just weren’t bragging about it.
Minus one star because they don’t have a website to find prices and menus, etc.

Breakfast was so good yesterday, I came back today.
Yesterday, Saturday, I was there from about 10:30 — noon, and did some homework over the best omelette I can remember (holy f*ing omg good) (it was pesto, feta, & tempe) alongside fruit and a very fresh very real smoothie with bee pollen. Not empty, but no wait, no worries about hanging out for a long time.
Today, I basically came back for the smoothie.
Sunday, I did some homework from about 12:30 — 2:30, and enjoyed an awesome breakfast burrito (and smoothie). I had planned to get the veggie biscuits and gravy over greens (which I had on my one previous awesome visit), but they had just run out of gravy (sad, and sadder still when I heard like four other people try to order it).
Not sure why it’s not full. But the food is really good, and the environment was perfect for my a.m. finals prep this weekend.
Parking is a small city lot just past the restaurant on the same side of the street, down a very little drive. Park in the two-​hour spot, not in the 15 minute spot (duh).

Just visited Chaos for the first time after learning they offered all my favorite kinds of foods — organic, local and vegan… not to mention breakfast all day. Food was very good and original. Truly enjoyed their mushroom-​cashew gravy as I more than dolloped it all over my tasty vegan breakfast burrito. I’ve had vegan gravies all over (mostly East) Portland and many are good, some are great and a lot of them taste basically the same (typical almond or mush gravy). Chaos’ version was different thanks to the finely chopped cashews pervading my very reasonably priced $ 1 side. It may not have been mind blowingly awesome but it was tasty and different and I will most likely decadently add it to my next meal there soon.
The gravy also paired very well with the delicious vegan tempeh sausage in my burrito. The tofu «eggs» were not overtly tasty but didn’t need to be among the perfect amalgamation of flavors wrapped in the organic wheat tortilla (gluten-​free option available as well — rice flour I believe). The burrito came topped with slivers of perfectly ripe avocado plus banana, orange and apple slices on the side. There was also some salsa but I admittedly ignored this in favor of my gravy fetish.
But that’s just half the story. My girlfriend ordered a DELICIOUS, five-​star wrap chock full of veggies including more avo, beets, greens and a sensational sunflower seed pâté. (yes I did dip it in some gravy, but just once!) The side of lentil-​curry soup that came with it (for another buck) was good but nothing especially out of the ordinary.
Not sure if the service and quality would be as good if Cleveland High across the street was on lunch (kids started filing in as we were leaving). We’ll just try to avoid those times of day.
All around an excellent brunch and I look forward to heading back soon. Great food, excellent ambiance and we really liked the pile of vegan treats by the cash register (including the always excellent Monkey Wrench cookies) but were way too full to try them… maybe next time we’ll bring a book/​laptop and hang out longer…

Finally made it down to Chaos!
They had a yellow curry special for the day and, while I’d had my heart set on breakfast, I will never turn down a good curry.
Very generous portion size — I had to take almost half of it home for later.
Great service — even though the place filled up because of the lunch rush from the high school across the street — I never had to look for anyone when my drink was running low.
As for the food… the veggies were loaded with flavor, greens had a nice bite to them which paired well with the rest of the meal. The only downside to that particular dish was that the curry really coulda used a bit more kick. Not necessarily spice (I understand that I’m a pepper-​head… not much makes me sweat) but just… the curry itself was a little bland.
Loved my meal, either way — there’s plenty more of the menu to try and this place has some great vibes.

I hosted a brunch today at Chaos Café for a vegetarian Meetup group that I belong to. I called ahead and they prepared a table for our large group of eleven people. I was very impressed that they could handle our large table with just one waitress and one cook… everybody’s meals arrived within about a 5 minute span, which was way better than I was expecting. Everybody seemed pleased with their meals. Thanks, Chaos! Our Meetup group will definitely be back.

I’m writing this review for two separate reasons. First of all DO NOT PARK YOUR CAR IN THE LOT BEHIND THE RESTAURANT it is very poorly marked, but you will be towed, and the owner will not be helpful. Seriously they have a mural that says to park in the lot but if you do you will be towed and your breakfast will cost 250 dollars. I really hope that this wont happen to anyone else!
But now onto the food. I want to make it clear that my review of the food is completely separate from my car being towed. Breakfast cost 26 dollars for two very small bland plates. I could have cooked better cheaper food at my house and I am a horrible cook. Who pays 8 dollars for a tiny bland omelette? Food was not very tasty, menu was not interesting at all and very overpriced without the towing fee. Overall a very middle of the road restaurant but also very overpriced with some miniscule portions. Maybe you’ll like it if you are a trust fund vegan but if not stay away.

This is our favorite restaurant. We have food allergies and chaos provides more than one option for us to eat and this is a rarity even in P-​town. Usually we have one option and it is outworn everywhere!
The Sunflower Pâté is outrageous! Try it.
And to our delight, Chaos has been accommodating, inviting and a gift to us! Our whole house loves Chaos!
I only gave a 4 because they don’t have air conditioning and it’s hot outside man!

Excited for breakfast with my sister, I could not have been more disappointed.
–We waited over 40 min for a bagel, bagel sandwich, and the gravy biscuits.
–There was only one other group of 4 in the restaurant, yet the waitress completely avoided the table.
–My food was COLD. How can biscuits, eggs, and gravy be cold after waiting for so long?
I’m a vegetarian, and I feel bad for not liking a solely veggie place, but I would highly recommend going somewhere else…

Incredibly fresh and flavorful vegan and vegetarian food awaits you at this cozy shabby chic restaurant in SE PDX. You will find comfort food on the menu like the delish vegan Reuben or try the daily special like Carrot Cake Pancakes or Beet and Orange Salad with Tempe and Biscuits. Chaos tailors meals for our picky kids too and the owner’s sweet daughter is often present to entertain them. The portions are large and prices are reasonable. We now make Chaos Café a weekly habbit ordering main courses followed by a scrumptious vegan home made dessert like chocolate mousse or a brownie accompanied by a frothy Stumptown cappuccino. The current owner bought the place a year ago so if there are any scary older posts you may want to disregard them. The food and service is so good you may make it your weekly stop too. I can’t wait for our weekend visit!

I’ve been to this place before and really liked it, and I hate to bash this place if just because they have a lot of vegan options, but mediocre vegan food is still mediocre food. Let’s count the other ways that our visit this morning was NOT cool:
2. We waited a long time at our tables in a half full restaurant
3. for 3 small coconut mango pancakes (slightly undercooked) and the lamest serving of flavorless red potatoes.
4. They were out of key items like soy milk and change.
5. We were hungry two hours later and the bill was $ 27, for two orders of pancakes of the day, two sides of potatoes and two coffees.

I love Chaos! It was good stuff the first couple of times I went there for breakfast. But this most recent lunch visit, there wasn’t much conversation because the food was just so damn good. Things that my girlfriend did manage to say were:
«Mmmmm… real food!»
and
«I’m trying to eat this slowly because it’s so good that I never want it to be gone.»
To top it off, the service has been really friendly and speedy and the space has a wonderful atmosphere.
The only complaint a person might be able to make is the location, but I can’t subtract a star for that. It’s worth risking your neck running across Powell!

Goat cheese, roasted red pepper and onion, sundried tomatoes, spinach, basil & avocado on a rice tortilla.
Yes, I could eat this every day.
I walked down here with my friend to grab drinks and use the intrawebs [motel with no free wifi = sad times] but after taking a glance at the menu, I was too excited to *not* get food. So I got the Roasted Goat, the aforementioned thing of beauty. And it was as wonderful as I had hoped it would be.
This, paired with a vanilla soy hot chocolate [they don’t have peppermint =(] — totally made my morning. I’d recommend it to anyone.

New ownership! (or so I’m told).
Same healthy, locally-​sourced, organic, vegetarian, vegan, whole-​grain, agave-​sweetened, hand-​picked, lightly-​seasoned, whole foods served up with a smile.
But now it’s just a little bit faster.
The menu has changed just a little bit, but not much. Some new faces and decorations in the restaurant. The prices? Well, they may have just gone up. Not sure on that one.
I generally have avoided Chaos because, well, I just never had the time to wait that long for a meal. Service has always been post-​bong-​hit slower-​than-​slow… and somewhat forgetful. Today’s breakfast (a nice fully-​organic 3-​egg scramble with broccoli, kale, mushrooms and peppers with brown rice and fruit for $ 9.25) was tasty and served within a not-​too-​excruciatingly long period of time.
The more I go, the more I like…

Ok, look, maybe three stars is harsh. The food was good, though it didn’t make me pass out in amazement (that’s actually never happened to me, but if it did happen when eating amazing food, this place wouldn’t have made me pass out). The atmosphere was nice, and the service was decently fast but not great.
The real crappy part about this place is that everything is way expensive and the portions are way too small. I was kind of put off by that. I don’t mind payin’ a little extra but only if the portion size makes me want to do yoga in a sweatlodge. Yeah I was just really not very blown away by this place…

Service was S-​L-​O — -W, but what vegetarian restaurant isn’t in this town? That said, they had some fantastic fare.
The humus appetizer the four of us (the fam and I) split was great. The make your own bowls were a hit with everyone at the table.
I especially liked the kombucha. It is made by a local woman, and it’s really great. Worth another trip to Chaos just for that.
Bonus points (and a star made up for the lack of service) for a blackboard painted bathroom. Hell yes I want to write on the walls with the provided chalk after I emptied my bladder (and wash my hands, of course).

I don’t always review after one visit — it just depends on whether I think I’ve received a sufficient overall picture. Maybe I have — maybe I haven’t — but lunch today was a solid 4 star affair. Once again, my fellow diners were my wife and niece. My niece is a vegan. I was a vegetarian for many, many years (albeit many, many years ago), so I am pretty used to such dining and don’t consider it a hardship in any way. Of course that depends on the food placed before me. Some veg/​vegan spots have felt my wrath (DIE!, bad food, DIE!) while others have felt the gentle, soothing warmth of my praise. Chaos impressed me today.
Service was great. We even had a break-​in-​shift experience, where one guy took our order and another took over to serve and settle up with us. It was handled flawlessly. Sorry Don, I felt soothed by the nic-​nakky decorations — I think the whole thing just works from an atmosphere POV. Onto the food.
I had a sandwich (not sure what the name was) with marinated tempeh, etc., on toasted spelt bread. It was very good. Came with a very fresh side salad with a delicious dressing. My niece had a meal-​type salad with tofu. Very tasty. My wife ordered the star of the afternoon: a wrap with a sunflower seed pâté’. It was friggin’ DELICIOUS!!! 5 star delicious.
I’m looking forward to returning.

I was sad to miss my roommate’s show at the Chaos Café, and he gushed about the kitschy feel and killer vegan cookies. So, when a friend of mine had the great idea to meet there, I was on board.
It was a great environment — felt very cozy, but had great energy, just like you want your new favorite local coffee shop to feel. I really wanted to make this MY new favorite local coffee shop.
However, the waitress was about as mindless as could be. My friend ordered a smoothie, which was delivered to the table post haste. We nommed on one of the ginormous cookies, and waited for my Chai to appear. And waited. Had some great conversation… and waited some more. The waitress wandered over to serve us food that we hadn’t ordered, and I asked her about my drink… she wandered off to find the table the nachos or whatever belonged to. When she walked by about 5 minutes later, I asked her about it again… «Oh, yeah, sorry… a little scatterbrained today,» and scurried off to finally serve my chai.
I get it — it was kinda busy. But really? I shouldn’t have to wait 25 minutes to get my stinkin’ drink. Either the café needs to get an additional person or two on staff, or make sure that the staff they DO have working isn’t tokin’ the ganja on their breaks.

Date Visited: Sunday 7÷27÷08 (Lunch)
Hey — only a month late with this review. I promise I’ll try to be better, for no other reason than my memory is shot from consuming too much Equal in my iced teas and it would make more sense for me to write a review while I somewhat remember what I had at a restaurant. :-)
A group of 13 were all present for lunch at Chaos Café. We took up all the seating in the back and had ourselves a fine time. There were a variety of dishes being ordered.
I myself had meal of some kind. No wait… it wasn’t that forgettable at all. In fact, it was pretty darn good and I’m coming to find that vegetarian food is far superior from any other kind. :-) Okay, where was I? Oh yeh… I ordered the Cascade sandwich. The cascade consists of marinated and grilled tempeh with lettuce, tomato, onion, and seasonal pesto on sourdough. Yum.
I’ll have to re-​visit Chaos in the future to give a better review on the food, the service, and the restaurant itself. Until then, happy eating!

Went there with my parents, neither of whom are vegetarian, and everyone made noises of satisfaction. Mom & I both had salads, which we enjoyed, Stepdad got a quinoa bowl which he found filling and delicious. We also shared the zucchini pancake special which was really good– healthyish but still soft and sweet. I got a juice thing with celery in it that I quite enjoyed.
Regarding the décor, although I’m pretty much in love with Wendy C’s description of «scrappy/​crappy sensory overload», I have to say the décor didn’t bother me at all– the scrap/​crap was spaced out enough that it didn’t look like you were on acid– even my mom who can get migraines from that sort of thing said it wasn’t bad.
My one complaint is that it was super loud– there was a loud and jovial party behind us that made it hard for me to hear my table mates, which was partly the fault of the room itself.
Best part of the meal was when our server brought us our check. «You drew a cat playing the guitar on the bill!» exclaims my mother. «Actually,» the waitress replies matter-​of-​factly, «it’s a ukulele.»
Well, duh.

I’m in love! Chaos Café Rocks!
When walking into Chaos I wasn’t expecting much since many of the other vegetarian restaurants I’ve been to since moving to Portland have been nothing to write home about (*cough* Paradox Café). However, Chaos was a pleasant surprise. The food was not only great and healthy (in a tasty and satisfying way) the service was also top notch.
I agree with a previous comment about the Lone Ranger! It is truly an explosion of awesomeness in my mouth. And if you ask for more sauce they will gladly bring you some! I also tried some of my boyfriends Tofu Curry dish and that was divine as well. I will be back very soon to try the brunch or maybe some dessert! Highly recommended!