Garden Bar – Brewery Blocks

Awesome FRESH selection of different greens & salad «toppings» very vegan friendly & just all around great! Big portions, too and very affordable. Highly recommend the North West salad.

I don’t write a lot of reviews but came on here specifically to give props to Garden Bar.
The service was super friendly, two ladies behind the counter made me feel really welcome as I stumbled through my options to build my own salad. Ingredients were fresh and tasty, and the atmosphere is bright and chill. Side note, they played great music.
The portions are super huge, I think they’d benefit from making a ‘half portion’ option. Other than that one of the best little spots I’ve had around Portland in a while. I have some dietary restrictions so I loved being able to easily cater their options to that without being obnoxious. Go Garden Bar!

I don’t get why this place has 4.5 stars & guys, I promise I’m not a wet-​mop, joy-​suck of a human. The value is there. The salads are HUGE. But really, it is just a bunch of ingredients assembled in a bowl. It is definitely a SUPER healthy fast food option which is 100% appreciated but I’m into flavourful ingredients, not just a dressing that brings the magic. This place got me like, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Slight edit:
I didn’t mention that the one salad I get here is so good. The dressing is perfect. The favors are perfect. It can sit 2 days in the fridge and still taste perfect. Just, perfect. That’s why I never branch out to other items.
Original review:
I’m surprised I haven’t reviewed this place yet, considering I come here all the time.
I’ve only gotten the chicken kale caesar with bacon added and pickled red onions instead of carrots. Shredded carrots in a caesar salad — why? It’s got a weird texture and doesn’t make any sense.
I used to be a dressing fiend and only liked this salad with heavy dressing. But either they’re being more generous with the dressing recently or I’ve gotten used to the taste of vegetables, but I’m okay with medium dressing now.
Service is okay, bordering on good. I make a lot of swaps in this salad and the employees will do it for the most part. On my last visit, the guy was like, you’ve swapped out too many items for this to still be a kale chicken caesar, but he still made it. I’ve gotten shade and one admonishment for asking for too much dressing, which is sort of shitty. But the one time that the chicken tasted weird to me, I sent them an email and they comped my next salad.
I’ve emailed them and asked for nutritional information (diet, yo), and they were quick to respond with everything I needed. All in all, the good service balances out the few sticky experiences.
What I don’t like:
The kale is really inconsistent. Sometimes it’s fine, and other times, it’s, like, 30% stems. KALE STEMS. Nobody wants to eat kale stems.
Portions don’t seem to be tightly controlled. Sometimes the person making it puts in a lot of cheese and bacon and sometimes it’s pretty small.
I really don’t like that if you build your own salad using the exact same ingredients as a pre-​built salad, it would cost a few dollars more. I’d like most of their pre-​built salads only if I could make a few ingredient swaps, and sometimes it’s too much for them to do.

My favorite salad place in Portland. But hey… I’ve not gone to many places for salad here. But I love it — delish! Here’s my favorite salad:
–Kale/​Spinach mix
–Eggs
–Avocado
–Pumpkin Seeds
–Quinoa
–Bacon
–Carrots
–Red onion
–Cucumber
–Honey mustard dressing
And their multigrain bread is delicious too.

The chipotle of salad bars. With multiple already created options, or the choice to build your own salad for $ 9. Seven lettuces (any or all of them) and six toppings in a giant bowl. Fresh, fast, and delicious

Healthy, delicious, locally sourced ingredients. And I feel great after. The best lunch spot in Portland when you want something fast and nutritious.

I got the bliss detox and I’ve had their tuna nocoise before and both was amazing! If you think paying $ 10 for a salad is expensive, think about it this way… Garden Bar gives you a huge portion with a lot of exciting and delicious toppings and bomb house made dressings that normal entrée size salads at fancy restaurants don’t offer (it’s probably more expensive there too!). Also they know what’s in everything so if you have specific diet requests, they’d be happy to help. Definitely worth the money for quality food and friendly service. I signed up for their loyalty card and got 50 points! 1 point for every dollar spent.

I love Garden Bar and love right next door and literally eat here three times a week and order online a lot. Always fast, delicious, everyone’s pleasant.
I unfortunately will likely start using their other location in Old Town even though it is a walk. I used the mobile version of their online ordering and the first time I received a timeout error, so I pressed Submit Order again and received a confirmation screen.
I arrived to pick it up and Scott the manager insinuated I made an error and made it appear that I would be paying for two salads. I explained what happened and that it was a website error and he said that was unlikely. They agreed to refund the second salad but now I have to go make sure on my credit card and was made to feel stupid while paying for my lunch today. Unnecessary customer service– for someone who spends so much money in your restaurant, this shouldn’t have even been a question.
Bottom line, don’t use their mobile website and maybe try the Old Town location. Salads are delicious!

A salad for dinner, are you being serious?! At Garden Bar the salads are so seriously delicious, high in quality ingredients, and immense in size that having one of their creations for dinner is a phenomenal choice when in Portland.
This vegetable paradise was recommended by a nice lady from Olympia, WA who my mother and I met while in line for Voodoo Doughnut (you have to balance out dessert with something healthy, right?). She mentioned how large and delicious the salads at Garden Bar were.
After a relaxing, intellectually stimulating day at Powell’s Books around the corner, we headed here for our final dinner in Portland. After taking the time to look over the wonderful «Start Here» options, we decided to share the District Cobb: romaine, roasted chicken, applewood bacon, avocado, small farm egg, red onion, and bleu cheese vinaigrette. For $ 12, it was a great value for two people. My mother couldn’t even finish her portion, so I happily had her leftovers.
The drink selection here is stellar too. I have been hearing for months now about the wonders of kombucha and finally got to try the super drink for the first time. The Brew Dr. Superberry Kombucha was delicious and I can see why so many people have hopped on the kombucha train.
Kudos to Garden Bar for raising the bar on gourmet salads!

«$ 11 for a salad?» I hear you cry out incredulously, «that’s ridiculous!» You aren’t wrong, per se, but sometimes healthy food is worth paying for, and eating at Garden Bar is one of those instances.
This place is like a bougie Subway but for salads and with way more options – everything from run-​of-​the-​mill veggies like carrots and radishes to more intriguing items like two kinds of chickpeas (marinated and crunchy), bits of bagel chips, and a bevy of seed-​type things. You have the option of building your own salad with choice of greens, dressing, and 6 toppings for $ 9 (extra for meats) or choosing from one of their concoctions (the Bliss Detox is fantastic). Portion sizes are huge so the price tag doesn’t chafe too much – I guarantee you’ll leave full if you eat a whole salad to yourself, and I found the subsequent bloating to be much more comfortable than a beer/​burger/​fries bloat.
There can be a bit of a line at the lunch rush but it moves quickly and there’s plenty of time of time to get in, order, eat, and leave in 45 minutes so don’t let that dissuade you. Would I eat here every day? Certainly not, but for days when you want to fill up with something tasty and fresh, you can’t do much better than this.

I never write restaurant reviews. I just don’t see the point in being one of 100’s of people’s opinion. I would rather write a review for a small business that can actually be impacted by the praise.
This is the exception that proves the rule and also my favorite lunch spot for the following reasons:
1. Delicious
2. Healthy
3. Huge Portions
4. Can order online and avoid the line.
5. Kale done right
6. vegetarian, vegan, and gluten friendly but not free (for us meat, dairy, and bread eaters would also love their greens)
Tips:
1. If you plan to go between 12−1pm order online to avoid the line
2. Get it to go. Better to eat in in a park then at their 3 small tables
3. If you order online ask them to dress the salad otherwise they put the dressing on the side and it is not as good. I feel like the salad holds up even when dressed
4. If you become addicted like me join their loyalty club (cards are at the register)
Favorites
1. Chicken Kale Caesar Medium dressing
2. NW Bowl without cherries and sub tempeh for chicken heavy dressing
3. Bliss Detox no apple add chicken dress medium
One last thing in case management reads these: sometimes the kale is in huge pieces at the 11^th ave address it is still good but not as good and when you break it into little more bite-​able pieces.

This is one of the better salads I’ve ever had.
They have an interesting list of greens, toppings and dressings available and for $ 9 I built a giant salad with many hearty ingredients (including potato, egg, avocado).
Most ingredients are sourced locally.

Being fresh is good news here!
Wow, what a choice of crisp arugula, baby lettuce spinach, romain, kale along with six toppings all for $ 9
Share the salad as it’s large if you are female. We added steak and had a house dressing which was a red onion vinegarette.
Yummmmy!
I will be back and signed up for the frequent lunch program.

Salads, salads, salads. If you’re craving greens with lots of options, this is your place. The prices are in line with the Pearl District location.
I appreciated that they asked if I wanted my salad light, medium or heavily dressed. Nice touch. The worst is eating a heavy, gloppy, soggy salad that has been over dressed.
Great spot for an on-​the-​go salad.

I could go on forever about how much I love this place. The atmosphere is very modern, clean & relaxing. There is a huge selection of fresh ingredients & I love being able to create my own salad. It is a little pricey, I think I paid between $ 10-​$ 12, but the portion sizes are huge & the salad really filled me up! I ended up taking about half home and snacking on it later in the day. Garden Bar is a really easy & delicious way to eat healthy. The only downside is there is very limited parking in the area. My friend and I ended up parking in some sketchy parking garage. Plus, it’s gaining popularity & sometimes the line can be long. Luckily, we got there before the lunch rush and only ended up waiting about 10 minutes. I wish I was in this area more often because Garden Bar is truly a treat!

I’m from Las Vegas, so this is unlike what us locals usually see.
Very delicious and the employees happily help you through your salad building adventure.
The portions are HUGE so maybe sharing wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if you are getting a menu salad.
The atmosphere is very CHILL and relaxing.
Definitely a go to place for tourists! :)

Garden is great,
Lots of ways to create,
Fresh veggies I ate!
Now that my haiku is out of the way… I can tell you that Garden Bar has lots to offer. It’s nice to have control of your own veggie destiny, especially if you want to bring out your inner carnivore. The portion sizes are HUGE, so I recommend sharing if you aren’t ready to graze like deer.

Service: friendly
Food: wide array of very fresh items
Vegan friendly: yes
I love Garden Bar. I’ve been several times now and have had a pleasant experience each visit. As a vegan, salads are something that I feel almost bitter about because they are often the only thing that I have to resort to when eating out. At Garden Bar, I don’t have to resort to a mediocre bowl of limp lettuce!
The produce is always fresh, there is a huge variety of ad-​ons to choose from, a lengthy list of dressings to choose from (ask for samples!), and the salad is tossed in front of you. Dressing can be put on the side if you like. I did find a hair (not mine) in my latest salad but I am willing to overlook that. Hairnets would be appreciated, though might not be the look that GB is going for.
Prices are reasonable, as each salad is at least two large servings, or three small with sides. I’ll certainly be back.

I already went through the Freshman Fifteen, and then through the «I’m A Guy In My Twenties Who Makes Bad Health Decisions Fifteen», so I refuse… REFUSE to go through what people are telling me is called the Portland Fifteen. Nope, every now and then I’m going to put down the poutine or fried chicken and donuts or gourmet grilled cheese and have a dang salad. And when I do, I’ll probably eat one from Garden Bar Salad Company.
Fresh ingredient, local source, you get the gist. They’re not doing anything revolutionary over there at the Garden Bar, but what they are doing, they do well. They have a huge number of ingredients with which you can make a custom salad, or simply order off their menu of suggestions. I went with District Cobb: romaine lettuce, roasted chicken, applewood bacon, avocado, egg, red onion and a Rogue blue vinaigrette. It’s $ 12, which is kinda spendy, but it’s a big and filling salad. Pleasing to the eyes and the tastebuds.
This spot is quick, as healthy as you want it to be, and comfortable for dining in. It’s not going to win any culinary awards, but you could do a whole lot worse.