besaws

mothra says..... quality menu & service. this has been on mothra’s wish list for some time. but the lines out the door on the weekends (nice problem huh?) have kept me away. recently on a workday, yes, the moth gets a vacation day occasionally, k and i popped in to a full restaurant with no wait and sat at the front counter. as you know, i love sitting at the front counter diner style. bobby greeted us and took our drink order. this place was just buzzing. diners moving in and out of the restaurant, employee’s scurrying around taking care of the diners, bus persons in & out of the kitchen, and chef’s doing what a chef does. onward.breakfastis served til 3pm each day the menu is really cool. k mentions that the menu is: “terrific.” it did not take too long to decide on our entrée items. bobby took our order. as we waited, he greeted and said so long to his regulars. within 15 minutes or so, k’s lox and bagel platter and my croque madame plate arrived. wow! the eggs were cooked perfectly over a shaved ham and béchamel sandwich. in addition a load of rosemary roasted potatoes was on the side. k’s lox plate included a picked hardboiled egg, 3 large sundried tomatoes, an assortment of picked vegetables, red onions, capers, and cream cheese with toasted bagel. lovely! enter no conversation as we inhaled our breakfast.
negatives, few: the coffee was fair but not extraordinary also, k kept steeling my rosemary potatoes. but that’s not besaws issue is it?
pluses, many: bobby was terrific on the front end with his customer service. sarah was great quietly on the back end efficient. the menu is fabulous; the chef’s are amazing, the prices just fine. we will be back to try other items on the menu. mothra says...... 3.75 of 5.0

founded in 1903, the original besaws is now in a new location in slabtown on nw 21st & raleigh. while everyone in portland is nostalgic about the old location, besaws didn't lose its title of bestbreakfastin pdx with the move.

for tourists- be prepared to wait.

besaw’s, tracing their humble roots back to a beer parlor and gambling hall in 1903, has seen many iterations over the years. we headed to besaw’s forbreakfaston the last day of our portland road trip but quickly got lost. as it turned out, besaw’s had recently moved from their 112-year home to a new location a couple of blocks away and our gps still had their old address.

are you serious , worst policies ever.. have been going to this restaurent for years, food is great but it is incredibly crowded.? called in to order mybreakfastto pick up and was informed they dont offer take out on weekends. all i was trying to order was bacon and eggs, i was told their kitchen was inadequate. what .......????????????????? why not .....? this is another great example of how this city is becoming very unappealing. our family has done business on 23rd for years. this is embarrassing. this restaurant used to be good, i guess there just like every other sell out. take care of your long term customers or we'll just go else where and tell all our millions of friends on the web. i don't know how to explain it , it's so frustrating to enjoy a hash spot for years and now i have to go find another favorite place eat my breakfast. compleatlly disappointed in you you besaws.

artisan breakfast. rarely is abreakfastperfect; besaw's was wonderful. excellent bread, the potatoes were perfect and the eggs were definately farm fresh. coupled with an outstanding nw portland environ, this is not to be missed for those that require the bar to be raised.

during my trip to portland i learned that locals love their breakfasts and that there are lots of restaurants serving up great breakfasts (perfect for someone like me who could eatbreakfastfor lunch and dinner!). 

oatmeal. awesome place to eat but they changed the oatmeal. for some reason mine came with butter melted all over it. some people might like that but i wasn't a fan. anyway, make sure you ask them to hold the butter if you order oatmeal and if you don't like it either.

otherwise this is one of the bestbreakfastspots in portland.

weekend brunch? be prepared for a wait! table for three, waited 45+ min to get a table. typical for a great brunch spot in pdx. i ordered thebreakfastburger, delicious! topped w/ am egg over one slice of 'texas' toast, served w/ garlic home fries--happy stomach. my cohorts were also satisfied, having ordered a combination of the scrambles served at besaw's. i would go back to try a cinnamon roll (which, they were out of by the time we were seated. bummer!), but the wait is ridiculous!:/ a local favorite, located on 23rd ave (another reason why it's so damn busy), but it's def worth a try! :d

great for breakfast. when coffee and toast are given the same attention to detail as the entrees, i know i've found a goodbreakfastjoint. this place never disappoints. there is a reason why the line is out the door.

not bad, not great. i didn't vote if i like it or don't because i can't decide. the place is nicely decorated - beautiful, natural, and comfortable. but the food . . . just okay.

for abreakfastplace, i often get eggs benedict as a yardstick to compare different places with each other. besaw's eggs benedict is sub par, despite their multiple dishes that sound wonderful.

i've been there more than a few times, and had their eggs benedict several times. more than once, their eggs came out with vinegarish smell and cold in the center. they probably make a lot of poached eggs with vinegar ahead of time and keep them in cold water.

overall, this place is not a bad place for brunch. i've had good dishes more than once too (though nothing out of this world). but i can't bring myself to vote favorably for a restaurant that serves vinegarish cold poached eggs on my eggs benedict. the best i can do is to not vote against it.

breakfast out of this world!. "fancy pants" was awesome--i tried to duplicate when i came back to ohio. staff friendly and warm. went back twice forbreakfastwhile on vacation. mushroom omlette was wonderful! i would reccomend to anyone visiting portland. very impressive!

great service, solid food.. i went here forbreakfastwith a friend, and we really enjoyed ourselves. we sat outside in the sunshine, and even though we weren't as easily accessible, the service was certainly excellent -- engaging and attentive to our needs. the food was pretty good as well. my friend ordered the french toast, and the blueberry compote was delicious and well worth the extra $2.00. i ordered the spinach, sundried tomato, and herbed chevre omelet with roasted red potatoes, which was absolutely delightful. very tasty, very quaint, very friendly. i'll be back for another round ofbreakfastsoon.

have been wanting to go here for a while. it was comfort food for breakfast. the eggs benedict eas good but i am a sauce person and it was made for someone eating healthy. oatmeal pancake had nice flavor. spinach, chevere omelette was tasty and big enough for leftovers. thanks to the host for getting us seated fast! besaws is recommendable but not at the top of my favoritebreakfastjoints.

cool olde fashioned setting and great creativebreakfastmenu that is delicious and at a reasonable price.

garlic roasted rosemarybreakfastpotatoes are yummy goodness.breakfastserved till 3pm...what else could i ask for.