Equinox Restaurant and Bar

I was in need of a place for Sunday brunch. That takes reservations. For 7 people. On a popular weekend at noon. That has at least a couple of vegetarian options. Plus both savory and sweet options. That would represent a typical «Portland brunch» for people coming in from out of town. And ideally, a menu that would be reasonably priced.
My mission had disaster written all over it, starting with step one: A place that takes reservations for brunch, which is a near insurmountable challenge in Portland.
Equinox gets 5 stars because it met absolutely all of these categories! Plus, the food is nice, atmosphere is cheery, staff is friendly and on top of things, and everyone in my party went home happy.
FOOD
Totally decent brunch. It’s not a meal you’ll remember for decades or write home about, but you’ll probably remember it for the rest of the day and the following, and it’s all delicious. Most importantly, there’s something for everyone: vegetarian options, seafood and meats, benedicts, breakfast sammies, southwestern style, Portland style, sweet and savory options. It’s a crowd-​pleasing menu. And in each dish, the eggs are cooked to perfection. (For me, a perfectly cooked egg is crucial, for brunch especially!)
PORTIONS are PERFECT. You’ll leave full and satisfied but not overly stuffed or needing to take food to go. We went after running the Shamrock 15k and half marathon in the freezing rain and everyone left eating everything on their plate yet feeling full and satisfied. I also love that the prices completely match the portions and quality. Most breakfast entrees are $ 9 – 11. Couldn’t have asked for a better fit.
DRINKS
Very happy with the drink menu. I got a fresh grapefruit juice for $ 4 and most everyone in my party got bloody’s or coffee. At $ 5 each, and a variety of bloody mary options, they are at the perfect price point to order 2.
SERVICE
Really nice. Sunday brunch is hectic in Portland, pretty much everywhere. But we had reservations (thank you, Equinox!!!) and the restaurant had timed the seating perfectly. Despite that, the table we were to take over was lingering over their finished meal and checks, but the staff at Equinox kept cheery and apologetic and helped get us drinks and menus and took care of us with whatever we needed even before we could sit down.
During the meal, the service was friendly, cheery, on top of things. The food and drink came out a little slow I suppose, but this is only something you’d notice if you were in a rush. (And in that case, why are you trying to sit down for brunch in Portland on a Sunday afternoon?)
AMBIANCE
We sat indoors. It was nice and cheery with lots of natural light. That said, if it’s dry & sunny outside, then outdoor patio is the ticket! The noise level is low-​to-​normal (ideal); you can easily hear your table buddies. I’d be happy here on a date or with a group of friends.

I am extremely disappointed with my last visit to Equinox. My boyfriend and I brought visitors here from out of town for brunch as we were all starving and in the past we haven’t had to wait long here to be seated. When we got there, we were 4^th on the list and could see several tables soon to get up so we figured it wouldn’t be long. We were wrong. Turns out they take reservations so we watched for almost an hour as parties arriving after us took several tables we were sure would be ours. I understand that this is how reservations work, but had we been quoted an hour wait time, we would have gone and got coffee and came back instead of standing awkwardly in their tiny entryway FOR AN HOUR. There was no communication from the staff with parties waiting to be seated.
After finally being seated, we ordered drinks which were fine. The food however, is the reason for this review. Two of us ordered the salmon hash. The salmon was almost non existent and the pieces that were in there were cooked to a crisp. I’m talking black. There was also no spinach which the menu claimed was part of the dish. It was essentially a bowl of potatoes and eggs with a piece of blackened salmon here and there. I notified the server who let me know they would redo the dish. She comes back a few minutes later to inform us they’re out of salmon so we had to order something else. She asked if she could get us drinks on the house for the inconvenience but we had already ordered a round and weren’t really looking to have another. By the time our corrected dishes came, half our party had finished eating so I ate a few bites and took it to go. I was shocked to see we were still charged for all four meals.
This morning I decided to eat the leftovers from yesterday’s breakfast and found a HUGE chunk of egg shells. I am so disappointed with this experience. I love Equinox’s patio in the spring and summer but I’m not sure I’ll be coming back.

Even with a HUGE business lunch party going on inside, our server was able to keep very attentive to us and a few other tables and keep everyone fed and happy without skipping a beat. We enjoyed brunch here for the first time, and they blew us away. Great service, great atmosphere, kind and enjoyable staff, and of course, great food. Happy hours offer tasty cocktails and nibbles, and dinner just met its match thanks to brunch. ;-)

My girlfriend and I decided we wanted to do a «day date» in Portland. Starting off with walking up and down Mississippi. So I looked up good places near Mississippi for brunch, and that’s how I stumbled onto Equinox.
Solid reviews, a Unilocal coupon that cost $ 10 but gave us $ 20 credit, AND online reservations (brunch is a big thing in Portland, so you never know if you’ll be standing in a line) made this really a no-​brainer to try. And I’m glad I did.
The service was prompt and courteous without being overbearing and checking on us every 5 minutes. Coffee was delicious (I drink my coffee BLACK).
Food was very good, and I tried the biscuits and gravy. The gravy definitely had some type of different spin on it, so that was a nice surprise as it wasn’t just «regular» country gravy like something you’d get at your average diner. Biscuits were a tad overdone, but still quite good!
Girlfriend had the Equinox Bowl, which is a combination of all kinds of good things for breakfast. She enjoyed it as it was a nice mixture of flavors together.
Food was just the right portion for when you’ve got things to do and see and don’t want to enter a food coma. You leave full but not stuffed. I didn’t have any leftovers, but my GF had a small box to take with her.
After using my $ 20 coupon, the end tab for two meals and two coffees was $ 1.50. I tipped $ 6, so overall we only spent a grand total of $ 17.50 including tip for everything. WHAT… A…DEAL. Even without the Unilocal coupon, I’d definitely say it would still be worth it!

We tried this place out on a Groupon. Great $ 5.00 deal for delish Bloody Marys with fresh veggie toppings! The girl who ran the bar the morning we came (2−6−16) was super nice and we enjoyed chatting with her. The food was very good although it would have been nice if the portions were a bit bigger for the cost. Overall a very good place and we will be back.

I love this place so hard. When I went today the waiter (who’s like the tallest person in the world) failed to remember that I like my eggs poached and not fried. This was perfectly acceptable to me since they come fried on the menu and I didn’t order them special and I’ve only been in like three times ever so I didn’t expect a special order. Still! Two minutes after he delivered our food he brought us extra poached eggs because he couldn’t stand my meal not being perfect. That’s crazy, and four eggs is too many eggs, but that kind of service can’t be beat.
Get the back to bed and two bloody Mary’s and you’re welcome.

I tried Equinox recently with a Groupon they offered. I love trying new brunch places so I was excited to go.
I ordered the Eggs Benedict — it never should have left the kitchen. Why? The hollandaise sauce broke — if the sauce breaks all you are left with is a pool of butter. The cook should have known by looking at it that the sauce was BAD and made it again. If you can’t make a good hollandaise sauce take it off the menu.
That being said, my husband enjoyed his food for the most part and the bacon was very good. Taking that into consideration as well as the staff being very friendly — I’m giving Equinox two stars. I’m not sure if I will return.

Been here a couple times for brunch. The food has been really solid… but… They have the world’s TINIEST mimosas! Like half a wine glass, no joke. Which means you’re getting like 2 oz of champagne. Dafuq?! If I am morning drinking, it better be worth it, and unfortunately I was sorely disappointed.

Dined with family today. The food was delicious.
The rotating soup was warming and comforting. The salads were fresh. Entrees were fabulous. We all enjoyed our meal. The atmosphere of the restaurant was pleasant.

Cool brunch place. Small and packed, but we were able to get reservations, and the food was great. I had a gigantic breakfast burrito that was really good, and everyone else was happy with the food & drinks, as well. Worth checking out.

Our food was delicious.
We had been here once before on a Sunday for late brunch which we really enjoyed.
So, thought we would try it for breakfast. We were not disappointed. I had the Boise scramble which was very tasty and my husband had the salmon hash.

I enjoy their Happy Hour. The polenta fries are a MUST try. :-)

Great place for brunch. We were waiting in line at a hip new bagel place for 15 minutes when we decided we’d rather have a full breakfast and some cocktails. I saw Equinox had a Unilocal deal and said we should try it. So glad we did!
Adorable bright open front patio. Attentive and friendly service.
We saw the waiter bring someone out ‘The breakfast pillow’ and the ‘Go back to bed’ and immediately ordered both. The mushrooms, arugula and pobano sauce on the breakfast pillow were all super fresh and deeeelish. They have several infused vodkas, and the $ 7 bloody with horseradish infused vodka and pickled veg was a major steal. $ 7.50 grapefruit mimosas. With the deal we got out of there for $ 25 (not including tip) for 2 drinks and 2 full meals that tided us over until dinner… a major score in my book!

Meh, wasn’t impressed with this place. Slow service, bland breakfast burrito and i really don’t want an over dressed salad for breakfast.

Waited awkwardly long at the host stand to get acknowledged by someone. A hipster looking guy with long wavy locks asked us if we wanted to sit outside, as I turned around and glanced I said, «doesn’t look like there is an open table out here». Why would he offer a table out there when there are none? It felt like the twilight zone.
We sat at the bar inside. This is where it gets interesting. It took about 15 minutes to get some service from the all male staff. They had to walk by us repeatedly without any greeting or shred of friendliness. It was getting really awkward.
Saw a guy eat off of a guest’s plate when he went behind the door with a WINDOW. You’re still visible to the 2 guests staring directly at you through the port hole!
Same guy who eats off people’s plates comes by and gives us the menu lowdown. Literally 60% of the menu was different than what was printed, which he recited militaristically, and then left us again for another 10 minutes. Why can’t they reprint the menu? They couldn’t have run out of all that stuff by 7:30pm could they?
Finally ordered some drinks. He makes them. He says they’re out of martini glasses so he would rather let our drinks sit in the mixing tin getting watered down than to offer a different glass (i.e. rocks glass). He served them with ice anyway. My drink was the mango hoopty. I think he forgot the mango purée, since I saw another proper one go out that was orange, while mine was clear. :(it was ok anyway.
The food: calamari was greasy and batter was soft. Aioli lacked any flavor, tasted just like plain mayo. Fried stuff with a side of grease and fat.
Bruschetta was $ 8 for 2 pieces? Wtf? It was something you could make in a college dorm room with a hot plate. Not terrible, mind you, but really mediocre at best.
Got the hell out of there and went down the street and finished dinner with great food and a professional staff that made us feel welcome and taken care of that didn’t eat off of people’s plates within eyeshot.

This place is just divine. I can’t say enough good things about how wonderful the food and service during our visit today.
The grilled breakfast Burrito is filled with chunks of garlic, bell peeper, egg, hash browns and love. This beast is big enough to split too.
The vanilla extract bacon butter is amazing for our big pancake too.

7 of us dined here on Father’s day, and it was disappointing. Our experience started out well enough when we only had to wait 20 minutes or so for a table, but declined steadily from there.
First, the coffee was just bad. It was acrid and burnt-​tasting. I’ve been to many a dive-​y brunch place and never had coffee this bad before. A cardinal sin, but I had hope of redemption as the menu is full of tantalizing options. I opted for the Albina scramble.
Second, the wait. Perhaps this is atypical as it was father’s day, but our food took 45 minutes plus. Credit to the server who was kind and attentive throughout, but even drinks were taking a long time — 10+ minutes for an americano, same for a mimosa.
Third, the food. Mixed reviews here – some members of our party were pleased with their meals; I was decidedly not. The potatoes were too dry and dominated quite a bit of the plate, and I had to ask twice for ketchup (after receiving the bland house ketchup the first time). The toast was completely plain – no butter or anything on the side, I had to ask for that too – and lukewarm at best. The scramble, which was marketed as avocado and chorizo, featured maybe ¼ of an avocado sliced on top, and instead of the expected ground chorizo, huge pieces of room temperature sausage floating about in inconsistently cooked scrambled eggs. The runny eggs and cold sausage did not make a good combo.
Considering the multitude of brunch options available a block away, I’m not in a hurry to return to Equinox. Check out Gravy or Radar instead.

So this place was super packed as usual… I went there and sat outside which is really nice got a chance to get some sun.
The menu is not overpriced but the customer service sucks.
It took about 10 minutes for her to get our drinks place her order them when we were done it took 20 minutes just to get her to bring us to check.
On a 1 to 5 scale I give the food a 3 ½, however not better than gravy’s and if you familiar with this area you know gravy’s is right across the street you get better food at gravy’s and service.
The mimosas are not strong in a bring them to you in a small champagne glass for eight dollars… I won’t be back

We came here on a groupon. First of all the patio is amazing, it was a rainy spring night, but I was already envisioning brunch here. We did have a fabulous dinner. I really enjoyed my ragu. The highlight was the bread pudding brown sugar cake with ice cream. One of the better desserts I’ve had in Portland. Corkage is $ 15.

We came here a few times for their happy hour from 4−6pm Tue-​Fri — awesome place, especially the patio!
They have a bunch of fun drinks served in martini glasses for $ 5.50, such as the tequila-​based Mango Hoopty and the French Kiss, a strawberry/​vodka thing.
The dishes we ordered were all on point and in the $ 3 – 5 range. The mushroom bites, with their bleu cheese and sweet garlic aioli, were very flavorful. I also loved the rigatoni — perfectly cooked al dente pasta, very flavorful veggies, on the vinegary side (looks like this one is no longer available unfortunately!).
Service is fantastic, although sometimes the food takes a while to arrive. Will be back here for sure.