The Coop

I was visiting Portland and decided to stop by here for lunch!
I got the cubano sandwich and really enjoyed it. Great for pickle lovers! Overall great flavor and nice, warm sandwich. The chips were also great – they tasted like they were freshly made!
I also tried my mom’s banh mi and I loved this even more. Pulled pork was flavorful and there was such a nice balance between the more Asian-​flavored cucumbers and the pork flavor.
I loved the décor! Very clever and cute. Even the bathrooms had chalkboard walls so you could write/​draw something.
I would definitely come back if I’m in the area again!

Awesome space, beautiful patio.
Tried 4 sauces, all good. The spicy one is actually spicy. Verde great. Sweet one still full of flavor.
Pulled pork tasty. Fried chicken good.
Generous portions.
Loved the broccoli salad and the orzo. Corn soufflé was awesome.
Good beer and wine selection. Didn’t try a cocktail.
Kind of a long wait for food, but there were two huge parties ahead of us, so expected that.

This is more of a 4.5 stars! What a great addition to the neighborhood! I’ve been meaning to come here for months, but finally on one of the hottest evenings of the year (way too hot to cook) we wandered down to the coop.
If it’s nice outside, enjoy their incredible patio. I literally felt like I was just hanging out in someone’s backyard, it’s a total treat. The waiters are fantastic and did a great job of filling up our ice waters whenever they even looked a tiny bit low.
We shared the sampler platter, with the hopes that we might take some leftovers home – but we walked away with 0 leftovers because we ate the entire thing!
My only gripe is that I wish the sides were served a little bit bigger, especially considering things are «family style» here. I couldn’t get enough of the roasted cauliflower!

Just had dinner here. The place is clean, the waitstaff were friendly and helpful. We got the dinner sampler, where you can choose your meet. We got chicken, pulled pork, and brisket with roasted roots and brocolli salad. The chicken was our favorite, it’s tempura battered so the outside is fluffy but crispy enough that resembles the traditional fried chicken. All the food we got were delicious and just the right amount of food to share for 2 people. We even had leftovers! Would come back here again for the!

Great spot! Loved the patio, and the food is great!
I think they need to work some kinks out though. We wanted to start individual tabs for drinks and they told us not to… So at the end trying to divide up everything, they were visibly annoyed. Well if you let us just start or own tabs to begin with, we wouldn’t have to divide 1 bill 8 ways… Just saying, use some common sense here.
They have a great happy hour menu too!

I waffled between 3 and 4 stars. I LOVE their fried chicken — it is some of the best I’ve ever had. And the guys up front (working in the kitchen and also I think maybe the owner is one of these guys?) are always super welcoming and friendly. We went in toward closing a week or so ago (not realizing until we left that we had come in less than an hour from closing time, oops!) and they were still really nice about it and didn’t rush us. I also really like their brunch — there are only a few menu items but they are all done well and they cover all the breakfast bases. Other than the fried chicken, I have a weakness for their mashed potatoes and gravy as well as the housemade chips they serve as sides.
Really the only reason for less stars is that the service from the actual servers is really up and down. We’ve had one or two awesome experiences, but mostly kind of «meh» service: not terribly attentive, sometimes even making you feel like you are putting them out. I don’t need people to do a parade for me or be over-​the-​top cheery, but sometimes here you just sense that they would rather be doing something else. I do like the food a lot though and the service from the other staff is stellar, so hopefully that aspect will tighten up, but even if it doesn’t we’ll be back again soon.
Oh, also, the cocktail menu and actual crafting could use some work. Beer selection is limited but high quality/​great choices.

This place is AMAZING. I’m currently visiting Portland (hoping to move here soon) and during the week I’ve been here, this has been one of the best restaurants I’ve been too. Super comfy (with a beautiful deck area for outdoor seating), increeeeeeedile food and drinks (get the whiskey lemonade!), and super friendly/​attentive service. I chatted with the co-​owner as I left, and told her how great if was. Casual dining, but a great place for a low-​key date night. I’m definitely coming here again.

The meats and garlic bread were delicious. The brussell sprouts were overcooked. The ambiance js very pleasant with attention to detail. Service was sketchy but good when they came around. The meat could use more seasoning.

Awesome outdoor space out back, great food, and good drink options. Well put together operation.

I have been here three times. It’s clean it’s comfortable and service is good… Never feel rushed, quality food for the price. Restroom is clean too!

The brunch scoop is The Coop. Had the Coop Benedict — poached eggs on top of homemade biscuits with rotisserie chicken light gravy, hollandaise and grilled kale. Amazing food! And the roasted potatoes out of this world delicious. Large portions too… food is full of flavor. Coffee is first rate, staff is very friendly.
Coop Benedict $ 11. — My top 5 in brunch spots.

Highly impressed! Picked up takeaway dinner from the coop tonight. Was greeted with a smile and fantastic & genuine hospitality from owner Soloman. We had met him a year ago while he was working on the refurb of the building, at which time he told us of his vision — solid rotisserie dishes with delicious sides. The execution is spot on! Fried chicken with a delightful, almost tempura style batter, yummy Pulled pork in banh mi style sliders, wonderfully flavored brussel sprouts, beans, and Mac n cheese.
This place will do well b/​c of the great food and hospitality. It was already pretty busy with patrons at 6:30 on a Saturday in March. Looking forward to see their popularity in the summer with the great back patio area.
And so happy for them and the neighborhood! Thank you Soloman for making the neighborhood and Interstate more interesting and inviting.

Fried Chicken and Waffles. I did enjoy the fact that I got a bone-​in leg and a thigh – the breast gets annoying after a while, but what concerned me and affected the flavor were two things. The batter wasn’t good. It tasted and had the same texture as what Chinese food places use for their general tso chicken and orange chicken. It didn’t have that golden crunchy feel or look. The batter was thick and didn’t match what southern fried chicken should be. I think they need to do something similar to what ‘screen door’ or ‘bread and ink’ do; I am referring to the batter only. The 2^nd issue comes from a theory that I have; I think they just toss the COOKED rotisserie chicken in batter and fry it to create their fried chicken. This technique might work, but it still gives the chicken an off texture. Issue #1 probably stems from the shortcut they take with not preparing the chicken the right way. I really wish that they fix this, because I see solid potential here. The chicken was still moist, seasoned well, the place was nice and had a great patio, and lastly, the waffle was a pretty good waffle – nothing fancy like a legit liege Belgian, but still good.
Another thing, the polenta was bland. If I was in a Romanian prison, I’d probably gobble it up and love it, but I am not; this is Portland, and you need elevate dishes. If it says cheese, make sure that the cheese is there – maybe turn it into a creamy grits type of thing, not the solid squares.
I will come back, and I hope they fix some things. The vibe was great. Server was sweet, and I can tell that they want to succeed.

No one was here in the middle of the afternoon, so we had full service as we weren’t sharing the restaurant with anyone. Great selection of what might best be called nuevo comfort food. For example the fried chicken is roasted on a rotisserie first and then beer battered and fried. Great stuff. As was the mac’n’cheese and kale. Of course, when you add bacon to anything it’s 10x better…
Price was right, too. Not sure what else to say other than I bet on summer days that porch is slammed full of people and it’s a scene, but that’s just a guess.

Very good… friendly staff. Tough location for parking.
Food is great.
We will be returning.

Pro Tip: This is a Mileage Dining plan restaurant (Alaska & Southwest) so get your miles with your meal!
I went here with some friends on Saturday and was very happy with my food.
I had the Cubano which was amazing. It was done really well and if you’ve read any of my other reviews I think it is important to make sure the bread is not hard on Cubano’s. The bread was perfect and the pork was very good. I will definitely be back to order one of these.
My friend had the Ban Mih and he said it was very good as well. He didn’t give me much else to work with. The last friend had the Philly Cheesesteak and he said it was mediocre. I think the downfall for him was it was a play on the Philly, which is expected
I liked the layout of the place and their prices were okay. I spent $ 11 on the Cubano, which is a bit high considering the side is just chips. Beers were $ 5 and they had a nice selection.
Overall = B+

I’ve been here twice now. The first time, the service was awful. Our server seemed genuinely put out to have to talk to us and our order was lost, so we sat at our table for a long while without any food. Oh yes, I tried to get her attention several times but because of the aforementioned inconvenience of our presence, she looked away every time. No, we weren’t jerks or high-​maintenance, at any point. The manager eventually noticed how long we were waiting and apologized profusely, which made up for some of it. On this visit the food, when it did come, was AWESOME. Fatty brisket with crispy, flavorful edges. Delicious ribs falling off the bone and caramelized to perfection.
The second time was exactly the reverse. I will endure bad service if the food is good enough. This time, we decided to forgo the table service and get take-​out. The food guys were fun to talk to while I waited and seemed happy to be there. On the other hand, when I got home, our ribs were not fully cooked and the brisket was stringed, overcooked, dry and without a trace of fat. I actually wondered if it was really brisket. I’d never tasted it so bad and had never seen it served in strings as opposed to sliced against the grain. It wasn’t edible, but I’m sure the compost critters were happy.
These folks seem really nice and awesome. The have some kinks to work out, but once they do, I’m sure the place will be super good. I think I’ll give it another six months to go back.

Absolutely delicious! I was kinda bummed that they were only open until 8pm on Sunday’s but they stayed open later for our group.
I orders the beef brisket and the mashed potatoes and this was by far one of the best bbq places I’ve been to in Portland. My dad ordered the pulled pork and I wish I had gotten that. It was phenomenal. So mouth wateringly juice and perfect. Ask for the sweet and spicy sauces and mix them together to create a truly divine sauce. Oh my goodness you can’t go wrong.
I did order the 75 hens drink and wasn’t a huge fan. It was really tart.

«What the cluck!» Great line for their shirts. The Coop certainly is starting off strong and packing them in while doing it too. We came, we waited (pretty busy), then we saw and by golly we ate. We got a cubano (very nice), the corn soufle (pretty good), roasted roots (pretty good), the kale with bacon (nicely done but way too salty), and the twice fried chicken (pretty good/​marginally ok), and a tuscan coffee (the wife loved it!). Oh, also their chips came with the chicken and sandwhich and they were pretty good like everyone says.
So other than the too salty kale, you might be wondering about the twice fried chicken and my double rating. The table next to us had the same issue. Some of the chicken was moist, juicy and pretty darn good. Some of the chicken was dry, overcooked and… well meh. I heard the cook, chef and waiter discussing the fryer being backed up. Which of course means that it’s getting overloaded with orders. Having cooked professionally for many years I get it, I really do. but still they will need to figure out how to fix this issue in their kitchen to keep getting the rave reviews people on Unilocal have been giving the twice fried chicken.
Both the couple at the table next to us and ourselves will be back. The overall experience was great. Whether we order the fried chicken or kale again will have to be seen.

Loved everything.
Awesome fried chicken. The bread was garlic and buttery.
awesome service
Great vibes. Great venue.