Pied Cow Coffeehouse

I was here for a Meet Up group and was unimpressed with the service. There were about 6 of us at 6pm on a Friday and it was not crowded at all. It took us a while to order since it was a first-​time meet up and we were talking. But, eventually everyone ordered drinks and 2 ordered food. I had planned on ordering something later, but never got the chance to because of the impatient waitstaff.
There was a waitress that looked like an 1800s ghost who kept pacing around, looking at our table. At some point she came by with a tiny folded paper, without saying anything. We discovered it was the bill that no one had asked for, so I was a bit surprised. My husband had dropped me off, so I was supposed to text him when I was almost done. But, since there was no natural ending to the evening and we were rushed to leave, it really screwed things up and I had to wait around for him. The meetup was for pregnant women so perhaps she was mad that we weren’t ordering alcohol or a hookah, but there’s no need to rudely try to get us to leave. (This is all extra odd since the place has «coffeehouse» in the name, not bar, and people tend to meet and talk without ordering much at a coffeehouse). I don’t need to be returning to a place that doesn’t want me around.

I can’t believe I’ve lived in Portland almost my entire life and have never been here until yesterday! My best friend and I decided to go for some after dinner tea and coffee, and we were most pleased. It’s like an introvert’s paradise; Victorian opium den meets grandma’s attic for the ambiance, with great music. It’s also very dark, and the warm candle light is just enchanting!
Other commentors mentioned slow service, our drinks were out quick, but we took our time ordering. I personally enjoyed the slower and hands off attention. If you’re someone who likes to sit and and just chat, or be alone with your thoughts this is the place for you!
I had a pot of their London Fog tea blend, it was tasty, and high quality, I had a slice of their warm Marionberry Pie with Ice Cream and was most pleased! The ice cream was sweet with good vanilla flavor, the berries in the pie were tart, it was a lovely balance.
All things considered, I will definitely be back based on this experience alone. I am looking forward to trying their Kava and having a Hookah session!

Really bad experiences the multiple times I have been here. I will not be coming back. If you’re looking for a friendly, relaxing environment (the reason you go out to eat) I would suggest avoiding this place. The food and drinks are fine, but you’ll just feel tense the whole time. There’s more to restaurants than food.

We were intrigued by the quaint outside seating and faint smell of hookah. Went inside but decided to sit outdoors. Since its January and PNW, they had a few fires going in the outdoor pits. The hookah was decent but very cheap coals were used (self igniting) so the shisha tasted burnt really quickly! Also, my boyfriend tried to keep the fire going and the server snapped very rudely at him asking to not mess with the fire. While we understand the safety concern, the topic was brought up very unprofessionally and had they kept the fire going, we wouldn’t have even had the issue!
Not sure if we’ll come back.

Love the Lil’ Sundae! Great, different place. If you like different, this is the place to be!

I know fondue is outdated but who really gives a shit? It’s fun hanging out with friends and everyone jousting over food with little metal spears, dunking them into a laval goo of chocolate or cheese.
This is definitely one of the best outdoor spaces in the area. Great for larger groups. Awesome teas and drinks, nice snack foods and sweet treats.
And hookah if you are into that.

Love this place my boyfriend I come here very often. We consider it our secret place for dessert :)

Unique, Quaint, Different.
The service was super friendly and nice. It did seem to take a while to get the dessert, but we weren’t in too much of a hurry. They have a solid beverage menu ranging from Teas, beer, wine, etc.
I had the Peanut butter cup dessert, my wife had the crêpe, (both which were good), our daughter had the chocolate cake which seemed maybe a few days old and kind of dry.
We did enjoy this place as we came after touring the xmas lights on peacock lane to finish our evening with a nice dessert. The feel and look in here from the staff to the décor is not like many places you probably have ever been to. They have a large patio as well, that I would like to come back to check out.

I only went there just to smoke hookah and it was the worst hookah ever. I have never tasted such a terrible hookah in my life. They seriously have no idea how to make hookah. I don’t know how their food is so I’m not going to judge them based on that. The entire establishment is dim and creepy and the staff were unfriendly. Never going back there again.

This place intrigued me before we even walked in. The beautiful victorian home turned coffee house is just breathtaking. The inside area of the home was occupied by what looked like a séance group, so we were escorted by an employee out to the yard/​garden area. It was a cold evening, but they had a heater that kept it toasty under a huge white tent. Under the tent was enough room for several patio sets.
We browsed the menu and waited awhile for anyone to take our orders, but that wasn’t an issue-​there was enough to look at to keep us distracted. I ordered a Chai latte and an utterly delicious chocolate peanut butter dessert that tasted like a delectable PB cup on steroids (its that good!). Other people in my party had an assortment of teas and coffees, and hookah.
Atmosphere is top notch, which cancels out the slow service. When approached by employees (however few and far between), they were friendly and helpful.
This place is what warped, creative, quirky dreams are made of. A MUST GO.

This place has sort of legendary bad service, however I would say that if you come here repeatedly you know this. It has several waiters, the short haired vegan chick being super nice and the whole lot being cute, yet the place is almost always understaffed, so be patient with them. Also the menu is really enjoyable. And of course the place is absurdly charming, if all of Portland were like this place we’d be Montréal or something. Talking with the Asian dude in the white tee who own/​runs/​lives at the place will usually result in attitude, which, like the whole place, ends up having its own charm.

Love this place! I’ve been wanting to come for awhile and glad we finally made it! Lots of cool desserts, snacks and drinks to share. Even better, lots of excellent heated spots inside and out to enjoy. Great atmosphere, great food, so much fun!

I love the theme of this café! It’s has a fun environment and amazing pie. I had the Marion-​berry pie w/​ice cream. It was delicious. I’ll definitely be back.

The Pied Cow should be crowd favorite. This extremely «Portland» restaurant is ideal for 2 – 4 people seeking a quirky but chill atmosphere. Please note, from the very beginning I said «Portland» which means, if you are expecting white glove service, with smart water in your glass before you sit down with approximately 5 ice cubes in each glass… this isn’t your place.
As you walk up to the beautiful, yet semi creepy looking Victorian style house that has been turned to the restaurant you hear laughter from outside, where the hookah tables are. Inside as you walk in there are a few rooms that you can choose from to dine in. Lots of open seating, some secluded areas where you can have a private conversation and other larger rooms where tables and seats line the room.
I love this place because of the desert and the very very «keep Portland weird» vibe. A hot Chai late or a lavender steamer with the chocolate fondue, and a hot fudge Sunday is the perfect way to end an evening. The service is laid back, they come and check on you every now and then, but nothing overwhelming.

The «Cow» is sacred… treat it right!
Well I made it. My 100^th review on Unilocal so this had to be for a special place. Pied Cow is just a SE Portland staple, and if you haven’t been here, you’re from somewhere else.
Atmosphere is king here. Set in an astoundingly beautiful and well refurbished old Victorian home, the Pied Cow takes up a whole block of Belmont. They have an amazing outdoor seating area in a garden that take you right out of the traffic and right into your favorite Auntie’s backyard. It makes those late summer evenings extra special, and they do offer some nice things like Hookahs outside. You’ll find yourself pondering a time before the cars, when the family that lived here watched a street car go up and down Belmont, men tipped their hat when a lady passed, and you took a freshly squeezed lemonade with you in the garden.
Inside you’ll find the well traveled owner’s collection of trinkets and tschotchkes, mixed with turn of the 20^th century antiques, carefully decorated walls, and enough charm to fill a storybook. Dutifully filled rooms with small wooden tables and chairs add to the magic. Great place to take a date, or even an out of town relative who wants to experience a slice of Portland without too much «Portlandia». You’ll have to see the old stairwell that was walled off for yourself. No way to describe it here!
Their menu is an eclectic mix of fresh deserts, coffees, light meals, and snacks. It’s a far better place for espressos and drinks as opposed to dinner. Get together with some friends or a date and get some small plates and a beer, or a nice coffee and desert. Everything is fresh, and made with a lot of love. Service is very good, and they treat you as a neighbor and a friend.
Negatives? It loses just one star for me simply because it has so many decorations is older inside, so keeping everything bright and clean is very hard. I would never ever imply that it’s dirty. Not at all. Just needs a better spring cleaning more often I feel.
Overall, just one of my favorite places in the city. It reminds me that there was a time before Portland was «discovered», and we had places like this all to ourselves. Nostalgia can be a beautiful thing… and they do nostalgia well here at the Pied Cow.

I went here twice in one week just to eat their marionberry pie was THAT good. The waitress was super nice and food came out super fast! Also the fondue is my favorite out of places I’ve been to in Portland because they give you more than just cubed bread to dip like carrots, broccoli, and apples (so good)! Outdoor sitting is a must and the décor is creepy adorable

I really want to like this place but the service disappoints each time. One time we waited thirty minutes for someone to take our order even though the place was nearly empty. We eventually just got up and left. More recently, it took forty minutes for us to get the check and this was after asking multiple times. This is not the place to go if you’re in a hurry. One star is for a good menu and the other is for the cool atmosphere.

I Came here for birthday dessert with my family, and was promptly ignored. We were literally the only customers inside.
it’s a seat yourself joint but all the tables were dirty and still had old dishes on them, so… We just sort of stood there until the boisterous employees came out of the kitchen (looking frustrated that we were standing there).
«Um, it’s a seat yourself place. Didn’t you see the sign?» Says the server.
«Is it a bus some other persons table kind of place?» I replied.
After about 5 more minutes they had 2 small tables cleaned, which was awkward cause we were clearly a party of 5.
We had already stood around feeling the persistent urge to ingest SOMETHING. So we got marionberry pie. It was pretty great! The crust was good too. And maybe they picked the berries, made the crust and baked it from scratch. It took almost 30min to get it.
I don’t want to complain too much, but… You know the saying,“simple as pie” or «easy as pie»? Well they messed it up, they brought some other kind for my brother,“because we ran out of marionberry.” Cool, but maybe they should ask. We also requested no whip or ice cream and they added 2 scoops of ice cream to every plate. Charged us for extra ice cream and pie that we didn’t really want.
In the end, it’s a great place for wild card pies, terrible service, tap water with no ice and hooka.

We found this place on accident, and I’m so glad we did. A house apartment converted into a restaurant/​coffeehouse/​hookah lounge sounds very odd, and it is. However, the oddities are what make this place so intriguing and surprisingly charming. The menu is rather extensive, and the service is okay. I highly recommend sitting in the back/​side yard at night. The string lights add a nice touch. I tried the kava, which was… an experience. The desserts and coffee are notably yummy. Also, check out the shrine of baby dolls and other curiosities in an old closer inside.

This place was awesome
It’s in a bohemian neighborhood
The wines cheap
The soup was good
The location is bomb
I wish I could take this place and bring it back to chicago with me!
Will return next time I’m in portland.

The Pied Cow is a nice coffeehouse with a gorgeous, sprawling hookah patio outside. Its products are good, but what really makes it stand out is the environment it creates for its patrons.
Situated in and outside a beautiful Victorian house, the Pied Cow is ideally suited to hanging out on the patio on a summer’s night, though I’ve even come here once or twice in cooler days. While it’s more of a hookah lounge and coffee shop than a bar, you can also get beer and wine here, though I don’t think they offer any hard liquor.
The hookah here is conventional, but pretty good. My friends and I particularly like the rose flavor. I haven’t seen them do anything like fill the bowl with juice or ice cubes or allow split heads. That doesn’t bother me much. One thing that does get on my nerves, though, is their refusal to provide tongs or a lighter for the table. If you want to toast your coal or move it a little bit, you’ll have to wait for your server to come by, unless you bring your own tongs and lighter.
I really like how they sell beer by the pitcher. $ 15 for 60 oz microbrew pitchers is a pretty decent deal in this town. Particularly when it’s Caldera IPA, which was quite hoppy, but smooth as all get out. I appreciate it when coffee shops also carry good beer – it gives you options, particularly for when you feel like a brew but don’t want a bar’s atmosphere. I haven’t had any of their coffee drinks recently, so I can’t review them here, but I recall one of my friends having one and liking it a fair bit some months back. Likewise, not having tried kava, I can’t comment on it, though I know they have it.
Food-​wise, I’ve had the Mezza platter before, and it’s decent. It’s not the best Middle Eastern food I’ve had in Portland, but it’s fine for noshing on with a group of friends. I wouldn’t rely on their food to soak up the night’s booze, though – it’s just not hearty enough.
Atmosphere at the Pied Cow is top-​notch. The courtyard is beautiful, with an eerie quality to it, as if some arcane rites take place here after hours. Tables range widely in size, with a good number of small and medium-​sized ones and a central one that looks like it could 20 or more without difficulty. I definitely recommend sitting by the fire-​pit, if you can. In the wintertime, it’s heated, though I still wouldn’t go here on a truly bitter night. The inside of the house, likewise, is quite lovely and cozy.
The Pied Cow is my go-​to for hookah in Southeast. It’s got a fine product and an incredible atmosphere. Particularly with the summer nights being so warm, I can see myself coming back here frequently this summer.

Treated like we were homeless and loitering: My girlfriend and I were showing her best friend from out of town around Portland and were excited to show take her here. We sat down, waited almost 10 minutes before someone came to bring us a menu and when she did, she was rushing us for an order. We asked for a couple minutes to view the menu.
When she came back, we still weren’t ready so then another waitress came up to us and told us that «in order for you guys to stay here, you need to order because we’re busy.» We weren’t acting like idiots, we weren’t loud… we simply didn’t know what we wanted to order.
All three of us are successful professionals in the sales/​service industry and understand that there is a way of treating people that you are hired to serve. The fact that «they were busy» was of no concern to us nor should it cause someone to treat us as if we were loitering. Thanks for welcoming our friend to Portland.

I was really excited to visit this place. I dropped in with a couple friends, excited about the interesting atmosphere and the fact you can eat dessert and smoke hookah in a peaceful, artsy garden. We noticed there was a note on the menu stating that hookah was for 21-​over only. We decided to ask the waitress about it, since every hookah bar I’ve visited had been 18-​over, and there were a couple friends with us under 21. She confirmed this rule, so we took a moment to look over the menus. When she came back, we asked if the ones who were of the «house rule age» could get a hookah. She snapped «No, I already told you!» and glared at us as though we were ten year olds trying to order shots. Whoops, sorry. At this point we finished our desserts (which were good, yes) and left.
Good for desserts, but I really don’t see the need to be so rude about a house rule to already-​paying customers.