Stepping Stone Cafe

Yes! It’s real classic portland restaurant!
Dishes are good not special, taste is okay.

Awesome punk/​50s inspired little restaurant/​bar that has their kitchen open quite late. The portion size blew my mind and the price is extremely affordable. The inside is a little grungy and they need a few more employees, though the ones they have are friendly, but the price makes up for that.

Biscuits and gravy, was delicious. Thankful I ordered a half order, was huge portions. Everyone got the man cakes instead of toast, light a really huge. Would definitely go hear again.

I go here every weekend late at night. The server Chris is one of the finest in Portland. I always get my order taken quickly and served promptly. And the food is top notch! Try the pancakes and tator tots. If you are really looking for a good time hit up their homemade chili.

This place was sooo good! We stumbled upon it while walking around and decided to give it a try. They serve breakfast all day, which is my favorite. We ordered the banana nut bread French toast. It was to die for! And only $ 7 for a huge portion. We also ordered a blueberry mancake, also cheap, delicious and huge. And stuffed with blueberries. We ordered one blueberry strawberry smoothie, it was so big he gave both of us a big cup full. Definitely coming back!

Blue berry pancake single– a must w/​real maple syrup side of bacon. Bacon is amazing– thick melt in your mouth. Comes with 4 slices. To top it off a large mimosa for 9 $. They have me craving for for more. I will be bring my friends to this awesome dinner I stumbled upon. Service is excellent. No complaints!

Great breakfast spot for lots of food. Cinnamon rolls are amazing and mancakes are ridiculous!

Saw Stepping Stone on an episode of Man vs Food, I think. Decided to come here while we were in town and have brunch. I forgot what I ordered (probably an eggs benedict dish), but it was yummy. My husband was going to get the mancakes, but when he saw the smothered badass, he decided to get that instead.
He was moaning at the deliciousness between every bite, so that just shows you how good it is! Haha. I enjoyed looking at the décor and was fascinated every time someone opened the door and the ornaments would rise up and lower themselves. Would highly recommend and come back to eat.

The food’s alright, but nothing to write home about.
The service is alright, but nothing to write home about.
This spot seems to be beloved mainly by folks that live in NW Portland. I understand why. It’s one of the few «blue collar», «down-​home», breakfast joints left in this area. (Gentrification has taken it’s toll HARD on this quadrant of town.)
It’s always packed, and I’m never really sure why.
Go here if you just spent the night at your friend/mother/uncle/lover’s house nearby and you’d like a spot to walk to. Otherwise, hit up one of Portland’s other 16.8 million breakfast joints instead.

first time at stepping stone.
when we first walked into the restaurant we asked to wait at the counter while the rest of our party arrived and the manager said that we could as long as no one customers asked to sit there. while we were at the counter we were told by two other employees that we weren’t allowed to sit there and both times we politely told them that the manager said that we could.
while we were at the counter we hear one of the boy employees cussing and fighting with another employee in front of all the employees. the kid was extremely rude to us as well. we left because of the horrible service

When I arrived here, there was a line outside. What you need to do is to write your name on the list by the entrance and wait to be called. The wait was decent, about 10 – 15 minutes. I noticed through the windows that the waiters quickly cleaned and set up the tables so people can be in and out constantly.
This place is like an old-​school diner with upbeat music playing in the background. The noise level is average to loud and everyone looks happy. All the waiters were friendly and helpful. They seem to treat all customers like VIP. I’ve never been to a restaurant where servers always made sure that all their customers are hydrated. They refill your water and coffee constantly.
It’s a cute place for groups to eat usually four would be more convenient group size or a couples brunch.
I got one plate of food and it was a lot of food. If you’re not too hungry, I’d definitely share with a friend. The food is warm, fresh and tasty. I ordered a breakfast plate and the gravy was flavorful and so fulfilling. The chicken was perfectly fried and the hashbrowns weren’t overcooked. This is my new favorite place to get my chicken and gravy.

This place is perfect on a cloudy Sunday when all you want to do is swear like a pirate and then die happy of indigestion/​a heart attack. My favorite is the giant picture of a skull with the f-​word written across it. Not only do they sell t-​shirts, you can get cotton thongs too.
It’s a cute old timey looking diner, with a cute bar counter! This place is deceptively divey. It looks cute on the outside but don’t bring children or innocently sweet people who would question why there’s underwear on display or gets easily upset at awesomely disturbing artwork. Though they might get a kick out of the bobbing Christmas tree balls that are connected to the door! They can seat large parties (there was one group of 7) but be prepared to wait. Most tables are for 4. Groups of 2 are easily seated though the wait in general shouldn’t be too bad. Service is attentive and nice.
FOOD:
It took me a while to comprehend that the smothered badass (as recommended by a friend) was a «hashbrown, chicken fried steak, cheese, jalapeño» omelette covered in country gravy. gaaaaaah. It’s been 3 meals and I’m still enjoying it.
My eating partner had biscuits and gravy. They’re chewy and dense, I like them. I would also probably keel over from immediate constipation after 5 bites. yuuuum.
There are healthier options like Dr.‘s usual (or something like that): 5 egg whites, fruit and toast.
Or you can get MANCAKES. giant pancakes, the size of the dish.
Speaking of food being the size of the dish, my omelette was about that big. The biscuits and gravy were about same size too. For a place that will cost you a little under $ 15 a person, you get 2 – 3 full meals.
Went food shopping afterwards. My kind of Sunday.

Cute neighborhood diner. Large portions, so go hungry. Lots of menu choices, what you’d expect of traditional diner fare. I like that breakfast is served all day, because… mid day breakfast happens. There’s still a mini-​thrill courtesy of my childhood at the thought of having breakfast, for dinner. Or at 2am.
My half order of biscuits and gravy, more than enough food. Gravy is very creamy and rich, biscuits are dense, overall the dish had good flavor. And good coffee too!

A pretty cool café!
We ordered the eggs Benedict and the smothered badass. Both were pretty good. The smothered badass had peppers, hash browns and country fried steak inside. It was pretty badass.
The best thing about this place was the service. Our hostess and waiter were super attentive and friendly. You can feel that this is a comfortable environment.
Overall: might return when in the area

BOMB Breakfast.
It’s very calm so you don’t feel rushed or pressured first thing in the morning. I’ve been at like 7am on a weekday.
Nice service, great food, fair prices and that time of morning, parking isn’t the actual worst yet.

Whether you have a hangover, too lazy to cook or just want a solid homemade breakfast, stepping stone is the place to go. The food is delicious, the portions are generous and the staff are friendly.
If this is your first visit, you have to order a mancake. You won’t finish it but it’s worth the experience of getting one. This pancake is as big as the plate. You subconsciously challenge yourself to finish it. But you won’t. Order ONE for the table.

I currently weigh 175 pounds. I have a bet with numerous people that I cannot weigh 225 pounds by the end of the year. The aim is for me to become a ‘burly boy’ aka jody high roller aka riff raff (the rapper.)
Basically I want to become jacked. My plan is put on 50 pounds of fat which I will then turn into muscle, somehow.
This is where Stepping Stone comes in. I need to eat about 6000 — 7000 calories a day and do minimal amounts of exercise. So I try to eat there as much as possible, and eat as much food as humanely possible when I am there.
Today I had the chicken fried steak with extra gravy and hash browns. See attached pictures. It was a light lunch but a good part of my self recommended calorific intake.
All I can do now is recommend Stepping Stone for those of you wanting to look like a Greek God made of pure muscle mass.
My wife is obviously unhappy about my goals but you cannot prevent greatness.

This is a tiny place with seating back to back, or cozy if you want to toss a positive spin on it. There is a second seating area, that looked to be a little less «cozy.» There is a bit of outdoor seating too.
We arrived on a nice overcast Sunday morning just because 9am. Got our name on the clipboard and were called within 4 minutes. Food came quickly out of the kitchen and was accurate.
Huge biscuit, Mancake enormous. The walnut ‘nana pancake was excellent. My Neo Bobcat omelette was ordered with feta. I’m not an omelette kind of guy, this one was fine, but did not convince me to order an omelette again, nothing personal Neo Bob. The order of biscuits and gravy I saw at other peoples tables looked really good and a huge portion, I may try that next time.
Pretty good cup ‘o Joe (coffee from Portland Roasting)
It is pretty loud inside with chatter being so cozy and all. Add loud music and you must raise your voice to be heard multiplying the overall volume inside. I dislike loud diners.
With all the usual table accommodation plus cups of water and coffee, there is little room for your orders.
Beer and limited cocktails available. Service was great.
Would I return? Yes, to try the gravy and biscuits for sure

Portions portions portions. Last time I was here, I went all out and ordered a chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy, and an egg. Might I say, $ 5 for a chicken fried steak is not a bad deal… but my was I swamped in gravy. What’s even crazier was that I finished all my food.
The food here was delicious, and portions are generous. I was pleased with the food overall but I made the mistake of ordering two meals smothered in gravy. I would definitely recommend both the chicken fried steak and the biscuits and gravy. Maybe not both in one sitting!
Speaking of chicken fried steak, the «Bad Ass Omelette» here is truely bad ass. This is what I had on my previous visit. The omelette is stuffed with deliciously fried chicken fried steak, hash browns, vegetables, and JALAPENOS for a kick. Oh yeah, lets just smother than in gravy too. My friend was not a fan of this because the jalapenos were too spicy for him, but I like spices and loved it.
I would not, however, go for any other omelette on the menu. They all sound pretty basic, and other than that, my friend has ordered one and it was pretty darn small.
Overall it is a great breakfast spot, but be prepared to expect a long wait. I’d love to eat here at night next.
Anyone have recommendations for more things to try?

FINALLY was able to try this place and was really surprised that I loved it so much. The line was only five deep on Saturday morning so we figured it would be worth the wait. Upon entering this small but comfortable place, we were quickly given water and tasty coffee. The menu is really amazing – everything sounds so good and they have great specials. It took us forever to decide just because of the options!
I had the grazing goat omelet (artichoke hearts, feta, spinach) with potatoes (delicious!) and subbed a mancake for the toast. The mancake was one of those «must haves just to say I’ve had it» but it turned out to be one of the best pancakes I’ve ever had. I wanted to eat more but was so full from the omelet that I eventually had to stop myself.
Boyfriend had one of the specials that was a breakfast enchilada. It came with sliced avocado on top and a side of potatoes and he was in heaven. He was completely silent during breakfast because he was so focused on his meal.
Friend got another special, the salmon benedict. He, too, was pretty quiet due to chowing down quickly on the dish that looked amazing. There wasn’t anything left on his plate.
My advice? Write your name down on the little board outside, wait in line, and come hungry!