Chez Machin

On a rare 50 degree and windy Sunday in January, my brother and I were wandering Hawthorne and decided to grab a light bite. Crêpes were a good option and a late brunch for me being that I had been out late the night before. It happens on occasion.
I really don’t have much experience with crêpes, but really thin pancakes filled with taste food? There’s no problem there. We got a couple of hot chocolates with FRESH whipped cream. (mine was a bit colder than a hot chocolate should be, but that fresh whipped cream…)
Since I was still in breakfast mode, I had L’Aube which was a crêpe with eggs, bacon and my choice of cheese (brie, in this case, as they say, when in a French place…) and a side of maple syrup. My brother went simple, bananas and Nutella. Both items were decent size, but I guess I would have liked a side to go with it. The bacon was crispy (I asked for it to be well done) and that brie was so gooey good and contrasted well with the maple syrup. Needless to say, there was nothing left and the prices were reasonable. Our server was friendly, but exhausted. Apparently it was a busy, busy morning with the weather being fairly decent.
I enjoyed Chez Machin and it’s a shame it took me so long to try the place out.
Enjoy.

Quaint comfy spot, crepes of course delicious, fresh berry crêpe and salmon crêpe both yum! Coffee brewed perfectly my son orderd cocoa it was served in a huge latte cup he was in heaven! Price is right and service good too! Go!

Wow — this place is GREAT! Really nice atmosphere (which is important to me) — it felt almost like being in someone’s home (maybe that’s why they named it «Chez»?). Anyway, service was outstanding and I am also very discerning about service. We were there for a special occasion and the waiter (don’t remember her name) could not have been better — she was very attentive but not intrusive, pleasant, and went above and beyond to cater to our gathering — thank you! :-)
Now the food — simply amazing. Flavorful while not being overpowering and letting subtle flavors exist in the background. Interesting meaning there are certain flavors and combinations that one doesn’t expect or is used to but really work. I admit that I don’t have a lot of experience with French food but was easily the best I’ve had.
So one of my big complaints about gourmet restaurants is portion size. I understand that gourmet food is supposed to be savored and not inhaled like a glutton. But I also find pleasure in eating and I don’t like leaving hungry. No problems here — portions were very satisfying. I also thought the prices were very fair, especially given the quality of the ingredients, cooking expertise, and portion size.
Needless to say, I will be back and encourage others to try it out if you haven’t been there — I think you will really enjoy your dining experience.

Cute little French restaurant. Bought a crêpe and was blown away at the size! If you don’t have a big appetite be prepared to split one. :)

Nice portions, GF crêpe options, decent wine, lovely dessert — and vegetarian French Onion Soup. Yay! Not a TON of vegetarian options for savory crepes, but what I had was lovely and generously packed with cheese. Looking forward to returning and trying breakfast

I adore this little French place. The first time, I had snails and a savory crêpe. Both are amazing. The second time, I had the sweet crêpe, and a hot chocolate drink. Super delicious.
They are not cheap but also not too pricey. Especially being in a busy street. The seating outside is a bit cramp. Imagine a space for one table with two chairs, but they’ve put two tables and 4 chairs. Other than that, if you’re seating inside, enjoy.
They are a definite must-​try.

I have had nothing but pleasant meals here!
I love everything that I have tried here plus I love the décor and how there is a miniature Eiffel tower on top on the building. :)

Really yummy crepes! I didn’t really have high expectations, and I was really surprised.
I had the one with proscuitto, mascarpone fig spread, arugula and balsamic glaze. Really enjoyed it. The sweetness from the fig spread paired perfectly with the salty proscuitto. I tasted my friend’s crêpe with bacon, creamy potatoes, swiss, scallions, caramelized onions and crème fraîche. It was not heavy as one might think, and it tasted delicious! However, the side salad was disappointing with just the mixed greens and not enough dressing. Not really worth it, unless you are really in need of some leafy vegetables.
The portion was on the smaller side, like all French food. If I were hungry enough, I could probably eat another sweet crêpe. We went on a Sunday for lunch, and we waited forever for our food to come. The kitchen was definitely busy and on the slower side. Consider yourself warned.

OK food, OK service, probably wouldn’t come back.

Another Groupon gem! I’ve been here several times acme have my been disappointed.
A quaint little restaurant located on Hawthorne street, you can choose to sit outside and people watch while you dine on baked brie or a savory crêpe and sip on an expresso. You can also choose to sit inside and dine on sweet berry — filled crepes.
Prices range from $ 13.99 on up. I’d recommend this place for a lovely summer Sunday brunch!

An incredible meal! I had l’oceane, a wonderful shrimp, spinach, and feta crêpe — with shrimp so perfectly cooked and seasoned perfectly: it was firm, crisp, and perfectly balanced in a sauce, but not at all heavy. Since I’m allergic to buckwheat, I had it in the regular white crêpe, and it was amazing!!!
My partner had the flank steak — again, perfectly cooked and seasoned — with a wonderful potato gratin that went so well with her steak.
The interior is charming, and the service was nice.
They have a happy hour menu and dinner menu, in addition to lunch. Going there for dinner, we had the place mostly to ourselves.
We had been wanting to come back to Chez Machin after we returned to gluten (smile), and were thrilled when we saw the recent Groupon! Honestly, I don’t know why they aren’t more busy; this is a charming, cozy restaurant with wonderfully gourmet French food on Hawthorne, which equals ongoing people watching. ;)
We will definitely be back, and I highly recommend Chez Machin!

I came here about four years ago and loved it… When I found out I was coming to Hawthorne today, I had to make sure I stopped in again! I ordered a crêpe stuffed with vanilla custard sauce — - just like I always ordered over in Europe. So good it’s making me homesick. whenever I’m in the area I’ll always make sure to come back! Yum!!!

After a long day of touring the city of Portland and the Hawthorne area this cool, calm environment was a much needed respite. The waiter was friendly and attentive, the environment cute, and the French and Bossa nova music was a nice touch. They have gluten free options and soup so everyone in my party was happy. I started with an Oregon cherry cider and French onion soup. Then had Le Royale and added mushrooms. We finished with a dessert crêpe with lemon curd. Everything was classically prepared perfectly and delicious.

I had a delicious savory buckwheat crêpe with bacon, caramelized onions and potatoes — l’Allemande (the German)! My partner enjoyed a traditional sweet crêpe with strawberries and chocolate. Wonderful!
The service was also very friendly and prompt. Coffee was bold and smooth. We’ll be back for sure!

Holy crêpe! This was the worst experience ever! And I’m a server! We go in, takes about 5 – 7 minutes to bring us water, another 7 to take our order, then another 45 to come tell us that they «lost our ticket» it was not that busy so I didn’t understand what happened. I want to assume that our server didn’t forget, but even when it came out…
The meal my friend ordered was awful! She ordered over easy eggs, they were hard, overlooked and cold! Her potatoes were left floating in grease which made them unedible. He comped her meal and gave us a free round but none of us wanted to continue drinking as we were trying to get to Portugal the Man. Needless to say that didn’t happen thanks to our over hour wait time.

we stumbled into this lil spot after getting incredibly irritated from waiting over an hour and a half at our original brunch place.
we had a party of 10 which i know is hard to accommodate but they were very generous and set up a section in their back room within 20−30min.
service was very good and quality of the food was good. my only complaint was our dishes took foreverrr to come out and some of the dishes were on the bland side.

The cappuccino was a great start. Followed by the soup du jour– Hungarian mushroom soup.
The crêpe specialty was delightful and the sweet balanced it out perfectly.
Highly recommend this place.

Went her for dinner at 5 on Thursday and immediately got the window seat. The restaurant is very cozy and you could smell the aromas coming from the kitchen. I ordered an spirited of Escargot mainly because I’ve never had it before, and I loved it. The snails don’t have any sort of gross, snaily flavor, and the butter that they swam in was delicious! For dinner I had the Chicken Cordon Bleu. It came in two, breaded pieces stuffed generously with savory ham and Swiss cheese and sketched with a subtly spicy Dijon cream sauce, all on a hill of slightly sautéed green beans. Oh and to top it off, a huge cracker of burnt cheese stuck in the middle!
Everything was delicious, the service was great and I’d love to come back to sample some savory crepes and try the mussels!

We came here because Groupon had a decent deal and we’ve been wanting to try french cuisine that wasn’t too overpriced.
We made a reservation and were seated in the back patio area right away. It was a little chilly back there even though they had a few space heaters turned on but cozy due to a few string lights on the walls and ceilings.
The service is okay at Chez Machin. We weren’t asked if we would like drinks until the waiter was ready to take our food order. Same goes for our for our appetizer.
To our disappointment the Cordon Blue was sold out on a Sunday night at 7pm without the waiter mentioning a word upon seating us. Considering there are only about five items on the bistro dinner menu this was quite disappointing.
We were not offered bread while waiting for our food either until we asked if bread would be served. (The same thing also happened to our neighbor table).
We waited a good hour before our appetizer arrived.
For our appetizer we chose the Brie en croute. The presentation definitley was as great as it tasted.
Or food arrived about 25 minutes after our appetizer. The crepes were big in size and flavorful. I do have to point out the the crepes are quite heavy and not as light as you may expect them to be.
Overall I have to say the food is great but this restaurant is lacking good service. Our server was friendly but had no knowledge about questions like «what does your cheese platter consist off today» and as mentioned above, was very slow in service. It literally took about 30 minutes to pay for our bill after already having waited a long time for our dinner.
If you are caving good french cuisine that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg this is definitely a good place to go to. I’d say we will be back despite the slow service.

I have not been back to Chez Machin in awhile. I was in need for a nice place to eat at with a group for my birthday. They have a perfect upstairs space which is ideal for a group. On a Tuesday night it was ideal since we would have the restaurant pretty much to ourselves. I called them less than a week before and the gentleman who answered wanted to check with the owner and call me back to make sure they would be staffed appropriately. The new owner not only called me back but was so friendly and sweet.
Also — the new décor is WAY better. My one issue with the restaurant previously was that the prior owner just did not really decorate the place to look nice — it was ok but sorta ghetto. The upstairs is no longer plywood and has a real floor! A fresh coat of paint and some TLC did wonders — new tables and chairs which are much nicer too. Bravo!
My friends and I had the best time. The staff was amazing and the food is always top notch at such a great price. I still have yet to eat a crêpe here because the rest of the menu is so amazing that I always order my favorites! And apparently next week they are adding new items… just saying I know where I will be having dinner…

This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing restaurants I have ever been to. The décor in itself is a good enough reason to go.
The food was pretty good, although it was a little too rich for my taste. I couldn’t finish it, which is a rarity for me.
Also, when my server found out my boyfriend and I were visiting from out of town, she gave us a huge, detailed list of things we should check out. Who is that nice? Seriously?