Genie’s Cafe

Genie’s came highly recommended to us for brunch. We ordered drinks at the bar while waiting for a table — everyone, of course, raves about their Bloody Mary’s (made with house infused vodkas) and I was not disappointed! Ordered the BM with jalepeño vodka ($ 8) — perfect amount of kick without being overwhelmingly spicy. Not a fan of the pickled veggies that come in the drink though… far too vinegar-​y for my taste. The boy ordered the ginger lemonade — this is the drink for you if you like the overwhelming taste of real ginger.
Got seated pretty quickly. I ordered the ranchero breakfast (substituted the chorizo with veggie sausage). Tasty! And so pleased with the ease of making this a veg breakfast. HUGE portions. I definitely recommend the O’Brien potatoe. Also very tasty. The boy had the chicken fried steak. He said it was decent but he’s had better; it had a nice crust though.
As others have said though, service was TERRIBLE. We got seated quickly but after the server took our orders, he never returned. Not once. He stood at the register, surveying the restaurant while he drank an entire cup of coffee. But somehow, in all that glancing, he never noticed that I was trying to get his attention for a straw… Took ages to get his attention for the check too.
Overall — food was pretty good; drinks were well-​made; service was terrible.

Was told by many to come here. I must thank every one of them because holy Jesus is this place delicious. Get the chicken fried steak with sausage gravy if you want your life changed for the better. The potatoes, the French toast, the bacon omelette– it’s all amazing. Go here and give them all of your money.

I have been a regular at genies for quite a while~ always lovely & amazing (less $ than almost every other brunch spot) Bloody Marys! Try the many infused vodka flavors, sample their creative weekend food specials, sip their delicious house cocktails, always get a reliable meal at a good price! Excellent personalized service from Taylor, Marie, Elizabeth, Nate or Ronny (to name my all stars) makes this place my favorite day time pick* always a pleasure. A regular for good reason ;)

Inhaled my breakfast. Thumbs way up. Loved that they had gluten free toast too! :)

My first review for a reason. This place is amazing and has great service. It’s our favorite brunch in Portland and we almost refuse to go elsewhere. Their weekend specials blow us away and the everyday menu is fantastic as well. Dozen+ Bloody Mary’s with various house infusions. Once again, this place is amazing.

One of the Best Omelette’s ever! Bacon, tomatoes, with Chive cream cheese. The Pancakes were perfect also! I also had the Ginger spiked Infused vodka lemonade. Definitely coming back again soon! Great service! Spent about 20mins waiting, but that’s typical at any brunch spot in Portland on a Sunny day.

Bacon, lemon, and bloodys! oh my! Never disappoints!
Get there early for brunch, or not, and enjoy pre– gaming at the bar before before you chow down on the weekend specials or any of the delicious entrees!

Drinks were great. Service was pretty slow which is understandable with it being a Saturday morning. I ordered biscuits and gravy which I’m sure would’ve been great if it wasn’t clearly sitting for a while. food wasn’t hot, biscuit was hard and overall I was not unimpressed. The table in front of me complained about the same thing, I didn’t have it in me to say anything. Maybe I’ll be back but probably not due to that reason.

Quite mediocre food, really good latte. Service was very Portland– snotty with a touch of entitled. Come for the drinks pass on the food.

Genie’s is always great except for their potatoes.
Bacon eggs Benedict — amazing
Huevos Rancheros — fantastic
Potatoes that are served with every meal — awful. Just flavorless filler that was an afterthought to the menu and is just out of place.
Would easily give them 5 stars if they had a good side dish besides their awful potatoes.
Did I mention that the potatoes were awful?

3.5 stars
5 stars for drinks! Took my mom for brunch Sunday, she liked her Irish coffee and had never seen a Spanish coffee made before. Bartenders were friendly and gave good suggestions. They have a wall of infused vodka for their bloody Mary’s which are likely fantastic.
3 stars for food. I had the biscuits and gravy. Received regular potatoes instead of o’brian potatoes (I love peppers and onions!) so that was a bit of a let down. Over-​medium egg to me was over very very easy. Biscuits and gravy themselves were good, especially the gravy.
Mom had the special caprese hash which was very good.
Note, it’s extremely loud in here. Something to consider if you have soft spoken brunchers!

I had the French toast with sides of bacon and scrambled eggs. They were all delicious! The bacon was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The wait time was about 15 minutes but we sat at the bar which was great. I had a mimosa that tasted wonderful. The service was good. The waiter was prompt and polite. We spent $ 29 for two and tipped $ 6. I highly suggest Genie’s for brunch!

There is much to love about Genie’s. Great, friendly waitstaff, great coffee, and some good food. Unfortunately for me I ordered the wrong thing … Wilted spinach salad. It was inedible. The bacon was barely cooked in straight, hot vinegar and poured onto to spinach. I am a vinegar lover, but this was too much. Not a drop of oil to cut the vinegar and the bacon was not fully cooked. I was so hungry that I ate half of it and had such a bad stomach ache that I had to stay home from work the next day. All the other food ordered by my party was great so I’ll probably return on a day I am not craving salad!

Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t there a second Genie’s on Hawthorne up in the 40’s. We had a wonderfully generous bordering on, massive, moist pancake, flaky, delicious the first time we ate at the new location. The biscuits and gravy were excellent but too much food so we took it home for later. Generous on the gravy. All on the ala-​carte menu… We thought we had found a treasure. We still go, but, the foods quality really depends on who’s in the kitchen. The next time we go into Genie’s, I will check out who is cooking and if our favorite cook is back there, it’s a go, if not, it’s probably best taking a rain check.
Forget the service, they are harried, and I feel they are as friendly as they can be, under the circumstances. We eat in the restaurant part not the bar, so top drawer service isn’t really why we eat there. There are good servers there. Not all of them pay much attention to us, but, we don’t take that personally. We don’t require much pampering. If they decide to talk with us, and they feed and water us the way they mostly have done, I don’t care if they tell us their life story because we will feel satiated and would probably spend time listening to them. that’s just us. All we ask in return is to feed us the good stuff or behold how quickly we become inattentive.

Top 4 spots for brunch or just breakfast! So Genies holds a special place in my heart, i hated bloody Mary’s until I tried the horseradish blood Mary from genies! It was so mind blowingly good that I am proud to say I now dabble in the art of bloody Mary’s. And the hazelnut white chocolate pancakes hands down awesome. Great service. Great drinks. Simple food. Awesome.

A great place for weekend brunch. They have a ton of options for bloody Mary’s. The king is the scorpion which will really shake you up. I’m Sweating as I write this and my tongue burns along with my lips.
I got biscuits and mushroom gravy. My son got eggs Benedict, the classic one (they have 5 or 6 options).
A very hearty breakfast and quite good as well.
That scorpion Bloody Mary is truly hot. My lips burned through the whole meal. Probably won’t repeat that experience, but I’ll be back some time for breakfast.

First time here, I was very pleased. The food was amazing, the service was great and the ambiance was lovely. Will definitely be back, would also be a great place to bring out of town guests to show the great food Portland has to offer.

First time and excellent experience!
So I’m a Portland Native and I remember when Genies opened, before Division was trendy and cool — just never made my way in.
Today I was with a large party, I think 7? We arrived at 9 in hopes to miss long waits and it worked :) we waited for our entire party to arrive and we seated quickly after. I am the only one who doesn’t partake in drinking, but all the other ladies were able to order their drinks at the bar while waiting and we’re all raving about how good they were.
Service was great! We had a waitress and another girl who seemed to be helping with coffee and water.
I ordered the bacon omelet and OMG, that thing was superb! It’s your basic omelet with inlet veggies but the applewood smoked bacon was cooked super well and was a thicker cut and let me tell you about the chive cream cheese! I have personally never had cream cheese in an omelet but I don’t know how I’ll ever go without! Super amazeballs!
One of my friends orders the peach cobbler pancakes to share, wowzers! So good! The pancakes were moist and thick. The peaches were fresh and warm and combine it all with some syrup and you’re in heaven!
My friends all loved their food! Plates were cleaned! Benedicts seemed to be popular. There were some B&Gs and a scramble.
The most popular Bloody Mary at the table was the Rosemary bacon, just to throw that in :)
All in all, excellent experience and for 7 people with big plates of food, pancakes to share, coffee and a few rounds of drinks the tab came to right about $ 100!

Don’t forget about the $ 2 off an adult beverage with check in.
The service is always great here. You can get a Bloody Mary (or any drink) while you wait, which is dangerous. They pack a punch and are also delicious. They have a great seasonal menu, so there are always new options to try.
The food is also consistently good, and I have tried the specials and the basic breakfasts every time I am in town. I’ve never been disappointed.
Parking is easy around here. Even in a big band van.

So many babes work at this place… soooo many babes.
Salmon Benedict.
Best Hot Toddy in PDX.
Also.
So many babes.

I found Genie’s one rainy day driving around, hungry, and oh man was that my best find ever! You have (bold, underline, italic) to start with a bloody mary, preferably made by Taylor because hers are always the best! I recommend carrot vodka and bacon salt. Mom always said to eat your veggies — now you can drink them!
They have monthly food specials — I usually get whatever bene they’re offering. They have gluten free bread options which makes for a delish bene! I’ve never eaten anything at Genie’s that was just meh — it’s all good! The wait staff is always attentive, even when it’s busy. If you get there after 9:30, you’ll wait a little bit, but that’s what the drinks are for ;)

Very generous portions and good service. I met a friend for breakfast and ordered the mushroom omelette. It was a bit oniony for my taste, but really cooked to perfection. The roasted red potatoes were excellent and the wheat toast was actually a really nice multigrain. The individual portions of marionberry jam are delicious. The orange juice tasted fresh and came in a large glass.
My friend, who is an absolute breakfast/​brunch enthusiast and connoisseur just comes to Genie’s for the Benedictine eggs; she reckons their hollandaise sauce is the best in the city. I’ll be back!

We love his place and have come here often. The eggs Benedict and biscuits and gravy are some of our favorite things to order– not to mention we cannot leave with out trying a new version of there Bloody Mary. Always great service with a friendly smile and help!

Genie’s is one of my favorite brunch spots in Portland. There is something for everyone on the menu and everyone always leaves stuffed and happy.
I highly recommend taking a look at their specialty drink menu. Their bloody marys are my favorite bloodys in town. You can pick your own flavored vodka to enhance your drink and I typically get the cucumber dill. Super refreshing.
The servers are always super nice, no matter how busy it is. On the weekends def give yourself time to find parking and to wait a little. You most likely will not be seated right away, but you can order drinks at the bar while you wait so it makes the wait time fly by.
No matter what you order you should always get a single white chocolate hazelnut pancake on the side. For the sweet tooth fix, trust me.

I’ll save y’all any subjective complaining about service, attitudes, wait time, and simply go straight to the best part of my meal– they brought me the granola I ordered.
there was approximately 18 ounces (one pound, two ounces) of it, and approximately 2 ounces (two ounces?) of soy milk.
that was.
the.
best.
part.
of the meal.
I know, I know, just ask the wait staff for more milk, right?
what wait staff.

#79
I woke up hungry for breakfast and my companions were still sleeping. I had to go all through this big, old Portland house to wake everyone up. Wow! Portlanders must sleep all day? After waking everyone, we all decided on a breakfast spot.
Genie’s Café got the popular vote. I have never been to Genie’s before, but after my experience I decided to visit a second time on my short trip. That is really saying something – two stops in one trip!
The bartender Paul greeted us as we arrived. Paul talked to us about the bar menu, and about the food, about the venue… he was really cool. The team (that is what I will call my group of friends) ordered bacon bloody mary’s and horseradish bloody mary’s. I had a coffee… without bacon, lol. Apparently, the bloody mary’s were so delicious that they had a few more before we got to our table. Paul, made sure everything was perfect each time he gingerly created one of his signature drinks, served it and cordially asked if anything else was needed. I almost hated going to a table, Paul’s service was above par.
As we arrived at our table a really cool girl came and greeted us with a super friendly smile. «Hi, my name is Mira, I see you already have drinks.» She was very warm and kind. It reminded me of how much I loved Portland when I lived here. No one is pretentious, just laid back.
We ordered our meals:
Black Bean Hash
Salmon Benedict
Genie’s Traditional x2
The black bean hash was really great. I have never experienced anything like it before. I added a little hot sauce and it was gone in a few seconds. The salmon benedict was perfect. I love smoked salmon anywhere, and I love plays on the traditional benedict, you really cannot go wrong with this one. Finally, we ordered 2 traditional breakfasts with eggs, potatoes and toast. I was so stuffed; food will be the last thing on my mind for the rest of the day.
Thanks Paul and Mira for welcoming me to your city, and to your restaurant. You two make it special.
Stephani Smiles for Genie’s Café ;)

A perfectly acceptable brunch restaurant in a city overflowing with them. Genie’s has a warm and inviting atmosphere with a friendly server. I ordered a BFK Coffee and Genie’s Traditional with scrambled, biscuit, and their chicken apple sausage. BFK was amazing! The traditional breakfast was. .. traditional. But that doesn’t mean bad or mediocre; it was damn good and hearty. I really loved their biscuits :)
There was no one line or wait, but I went on a Thursday at 9:45am, so that isn’t really brunch rush hour. I’ve heard the place can get crazy on the weekends, so that would be a downfall.

Amazing selection of Bloody Marys — about a dozen different types. One of them has a literal scorpion in it, wtf. What you need to know is that the horseradish infused vodka is phenomenal.
We were just stopping by for drinks and drank at the bar standing up, but it looked like a bit of a wait for a brunch table. (No lines snaking around the building like some other Portland establishments though.)
For true Bloody Mary fans, Genies is not to be missed!

I highly recommend the Spanish Scramble. Fantastic combination of flavors. The black beans really add something different to this scramble.
The horseradish infused Bloody Mary was everything you could imagine. Spicy, flavorful, delicious! Not too spicy and just the right amount of zest.
Our server was great even though they were slammed. You’ll probably have to wait a bit but you can order a drink at the front to help you pass the time.

3.75, a nice corner diner with plenty of seating and an updated but classic diner menu for breakfast. I tried my usual biscuits and gravy and it was acceptable — the gravy had a good flavor and sausage bits were juicy. The biscuits themselves were fresh and cut easily with my fork. Well done. I’m still getting used to the way just about everything here is done with more care, so it feels a bit over done and pretentious but it’s just a diner with good local food.
I think our server was a bit overextended, something you notice when a place uses small coffee cups. Maybe I was just thirsty. Eh.