Songbird

Well this is sad. After stumbling across Songbird a couple of months back whilst getting lost coming home from Mt Tabor Park, I had kept in my bookmarks as an ideal spot for a lunch date. Today I cashed in on that promise, only to discover that they close for good on Sunday. Songbird, I hardly knew you, but you’re awesome.
First of all, the place is super cute. It’s bright and airy and an incredibly pleasant environment. The bar is small, and I would bet the whole place holds less than 50 people. Intimate for sure. There is some adorable wall paper featuring magpies holding different shiny baubles, and I would love to have this in my own home on an accent wall. Finally, in the bathroom, the speakers play actual birdsongs! It’s effing adorable.
For lunch, I opted for the cobb salad with crab, and it was delicious. The seasonings were the perfect level of salty and flavorful, the avocado fresh and the blue cheese perfectly stinky. I dig this meal, and I don’t often say that about a salad. My lunch date had the BLTA with fries. I stole a couple of shoestring fries and they were pretty fantastic as well.
I don’t know why they’re closing, though one would assume it’s because they weren’t making enough money. Bummer. This place is nice and I would have liked to have returned.

This is probably the last review of Songbird, as they are closing down and changing ownership. So I wish both the new and old owners great success.
For my final meal (at least here) I had the obligatory lox and bagels. This was reminiscent of my first meal, of lox and bagels.
I figure you can’t go wrong with L&B; however, I did note it was plated beautifully this time, as opposed to last.
I guess the stars no longer matter as the name change comes.
So good luck and a final goodnight!

The waiter was very friendly, the food was INCREDIBLE and the wine — simple and delicious. I can not wait to return! Wonderful environment and full bar!

Good place to hang with friends, have a delicious beer and best of all amazing food. Their dinner special is on point. I’ll be back.

Gosh… I hate giving cute neighborhood places anything less than four stars but cute doesn’t always cover everything.
I ordered the «crispy chicken» entrée. It was an airline cut — which is generally a decent piece of chicken. This dish was overly salty, dry/​overcooked (I didn’t notice that the chicken rich had pork in it — my mistake) and as an entrée, was insultingly small and expensive.
The waitress was great and the location fantastic (at the NE base of Mt Tabor). Probably best on a warm summer night (outdoor seating) or for drinks. I’ll try a few other places before coming back. Maybe.
Suggestion — chicken without pork…

This super cute neighborhood joint is just that, in the middle of a neighborhood. I wouldn’t have heard about it on my own. But lucky for me, a friend had recommended it, and we were in the neighborhood looking for houses, so we decided to check it out.
Breakfast is served until 3 p.m. which is a huge plus for those late risers, or people like me who like breakfast for lunch.
The duck hash had a ton of duck in it, rather than being overpowered by potatoes, like so many places tend to do. The poached eggs in the florentine were perfectly cooked.
If I lived in this hood, I would quickly become a regular at Songbird.

Underwhelmed. Granted, all we had was coffee so take this review with a grain of salt. Pluses are the location and ambience. Cute brick building right next to Mt. Tabor park. Minuses are the price and slow service. I’ll come back when it’s a bit warmer and when I’m hungry. Maybe my review changes when viewed through a different filter :)

Wow… we are originally from Minnesota, lived in Portland about a year and love to try new places! This little small café is phenomenal. The food was fabulous. I had there crispy chicken over risotto, fabulous!!!
I am ashamed of myself for forgetting the name of the dark haired waitress as she is one of the best waitresses we have ever encountered in all our restaurant excursions. She was so knowledgeable, pleasant, friendly, and just great!
My husband and I just talked the night away and enjoyed this little place and yes you can guarantee we will be going back!!!

How I heard of this place: We were set to meet up with a good friend who also chose this establishment, on the Portland Dining Month list of participating restaurants, and one of her favorite breakfast spots in the city.
Type of cuisine: «songbird is about fresh NW food, farm to table, and neighborhood-​y, friendly service… Only touching on the goodness that is in store … we serve Stumptown Coffee and house made pastries in the morning, along with a full brunch menu. Lunch is healthy, hearty greens, amazing burgers and delicious sandwiches. Happy Hour is just that, very happy with a selection from our lunch and dinner menus and drink specials. Dinner offers a delectable array of small and large shared plates, complemented by an extensive wine and cocktail list. Innovative specials for brunch, lunch, and dinner, daily.»
Ambiance: Set in what seems to be a newer housing complex on a quiet, residential street near the hiking trails and beauty of Mount Tabor, songbird is truly a hidden gem known mostly to local-​locals. This neighborhood eatery offers limited seating in its small, yet cozy establishment with an artistic feel and brightness made more apparent with natural light streaming through the open windows. The bar, hardly separate from the restaurant meets the dining area back to back, recessed lighting giving a romantic air as the sun begins to set over the outdoor patio. The colorful food served on ceramic, white plates giving a true color palate to each dish.
What I ordered: I opted to share with my dining companions, while soothing my throat and stomach with a large cup of Harmony Tea, an infusion of peppermint, cardamom, lemongrass, ginger root, black pepper, and licorice root. My husband ordered off of the fixed price menu, a three course meal ($ 29) beginning with a Roasted Beet Salad with Baby Greens, Housemade Ricotta and Popped Quiona, followed by Potato Gnocchi with seasonal vegetables (including rainbow chard, fennel) and sage brown butter, and topping the meal off with a Chocolate Pot d’ Crème, a salted caramel flavor topped with fresh whipped cream and served with two gluten-​free coconut chocolate chip cookies. Our dining companion selected the Lamb Meatballs in a tangy Tomato-​Onion Sauce sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese ($ 9) and three large leaves of arugula, and the Draper Valley Chicken, roasted with fennel, apples, cream and pan sauce (¼ bird $ 12, ½ bird $ 18).
What I loved: The potato gnocchi dish with the fresh and creative flavors of the bitter chard against the roasted fennel, the light and airy quality of the gnocchi against the buttery, silky sautéed greens. Yum.
Why I loved it: A friendly, neighborhood establishment we likely would not have come across on our own, a hidden gem of a treasure found in Mt. Tabor, where neighbors walk over for a drink, a meal or just to say hi.
Cost: Average ($ 15 — $ 23 per dinner entrée)

This place is a well kept secret among locals that don’t want it too fill up with tourists and out of neighborhood diners. In nice weather, this little café is the perfect way to end your hike on Mt. Tabor. It’s in a fabulous little block near the park.
The wait staff are very friendly and the caliber of meals are way above regular café food. When I dine here, I feel as if I’m in an exotic place, maybe not even in America. It has a timeless ethereal quality that is hard to pinpoint, like Brigadoon or something.
Time goes by quickly. .. especially at an outdoor table in front of the place in nice weather. .. and seems to linger at the same time, next thing you know an hour has come and gone. You leave refreshed, happy, and ready to merge back into life’s fast lane.

This place is no longer what it once was. The last few times I have gone for brunch its just not been so good. This time they changed the menu significantly. They also have a new chef again. They are not as nice as they used to be. The service is not slow anymore just poor. Had to ask the server for things that he should of just brought. Felt like we were twisting his arm to get things. Also the food was not good. potatoes were gross and flavorless. Tasted just like fried something with no distinguished flavor, eggs were not cooked how I ordered them and the bacon was under cooked. What’s happened to this place? won’t be back for brunch. Will try dinner again. Too bad.

A bit overpriced but cozy, good food with quality ingredients, and readily available tables each time we have visited. Order the house Bloody Mary, you won’t be disappointed — a very unique and delicious variation! Solid burger, delicious fries. For breakfast the Brioche French toast has fresh bananas and a nice crème fraîche. Owner is a nice fellow. Definitely a returnable spot for a quiet, low key neighborhood meal after a walk in Mt. Tabor park.

Such high hopes — SQUASHED
We just moved into the neighborhood yesterday and couldn’t wait to try out the cute restaurant down the street
After figuring out it is essentially open seating outside (though a sign would help clarify). One of the 2 servers points us to a table by the window and says he’ll be right with us. It turns out our server is also dishwasher, barista, and bartender, none of which he does well due to being constantly overloaded
About 20 min in we finally got the coffee we ordered but the server failed to bring sugar or cream after asking 3 times I got it from the bar myself
Food was delivered after 50 min, first to the wrong table and then to us after we had to call out the mistake to our server. During that time, the 2 tables next to us remained un-​bussed since before we arrived and I’ve seen 4 parties come and go with no one available to greet them.
Suggestions:
— add a busser
— add a host
— self-​serve coffee
As so many reviews have mentioned (which I should have read before coming here), this place has the location, the décor, and the food which was quite good, once it arrived. What it is lacking is competent management.
2 years worth of reviews highlight one critical failure — service — bad even by Portland standards
There are at least 32 seats inside, and nearly as many outside. They have 2 servers working front of house, and 2 employees in the kitchen.
Until management figures out how to staff properly, we will not be coming back. There are too many wonderful places in town with MUCH better service, and even better food and prices.

It’s hard to review why your favorite place is your favorite place!
I love the outdoor view of Mt Tabor, drinking coffee while watching the sun on the trees, people coming out of yoga from next door glowy and alive.
The salads are great and the bleu cheese dressing is not too heavy for a summer afternoon. The caprese salad dressing can be over powering so I recommend getting that on the side. The coffee is fab and the sweet potato fries are fun too! The fruit salad is not your cheesy grapes/​crappy melons salad, it’s actual cut fruit. That makes me happy, food that looks like food!
The bathroom has a bird recording which is would be really campy if it wasn’t so relaxing.
My only real beef, closed Mondays and Tuesdays which I have found out about after a long walk over, and they cut their burgers with potato, which isn’t good for those of is who cannot eat nightshades.

This is the second time we have been here and both times leave us wanting more and not from here.
Today’s fare, even with the chef mia, was completely lacking in both flavor and charachter we had the soup special as a starter and it took 35 minutes to get that. Our main courses were so bland and forgettable I barely remember what they were. I opted for the frittata of the day which came as a slice of frittata with NO SIDES WHAT SO EVER. A bit spendy as well for something that had almost no flavor and no sides. I will make this place a no go from now on. FYI, buying our drinks when you serve crappy food severely late, will never make up for the crappy food. Our last meal was just as boring so 2 strikes, you’re out.

Guys… c’mon. It’s the first ten minutes where you make or break a dining experience. If I haven’t put in my drink order and have a drink in front of me or worse yet, have not been acknowledged within the first ten minutes, you’ve lost. It’s over.
You’ve got the location, you’ve got the food, you need the service.
This town is too small, w/​too many other options to have service this consistently and painfully slow and flighty.

I loved this place. I am pretty sure the locals were bummed that we took a seat in the cozy little coffee shop/​breakfast joint/​bar. This place has it all and serves every meal. We did breakfast, which was fantastic. We were so wowed by it we checked out all the other menus as well and it is definitely worth coming back for.
I had the dungeness crab cakes and they were perfect amount of breading as to not over power the crab. My husband had the chorizo scramble and it was loaded with flavor.
Great find!

I absolutely love the food at Songbird — for brunch or dinner (though they also have lunch). Five stars for their chicken dinner! And, they have options for vegetarians, too.
For brunch, they have a wide variety of savory and sweet. I love their house smoked salmon omelette with dill and sour cream, which is truly delicious and hearty. And, I can’t wait to try their grapefruit brûlée! They also have a delightful menu of brunch cocktails, which, if I didn’t get exhausted from drinking in the morning (which spoils my whole day), I would try. Seriously. Coffee is an A++. Rare in a restaurant.
Service is hit or miss (always friendly; sometimes, very slow, sometimes, efficient). Prices are moderate. Environment is cozy and bright, given their big windows. Because it’s small, it’s not good for groups.
Songbird is a lovely place.

‘Could not get that song out of my head so I came back for more kale salad, more of their unusual cocktails, and more of their warm cozy atmosphere.
They did not disappoint.
I took another girlfriend this time too.
She was just as enchanted.
We got the curried roasted cauliflower and the sweet potato fries on the happy hour menu. Nice serving sizes and very delicious.
Had their big glass of red vino on happy hour for 5.00 as well.
Don’t take it from me though. It’s just something a little bird told me.

I came with two friends for brunch on a Saturday morning. The service was slow. There was a pile-​up of three groups before we were addressed by any of the staff. We were warned there was a 30 minute wait for food, which we accepted. What we didn’t prepare for was the 30 minutes it took to take our order, and the 45 minutes it took to get our food. We weren’t in a rush, but it’s weird because there were only 4 couples (total) in the restaurant.
The food was good. The french toast was thick (really thick). The pancakes were also tasty. The oatmeal was made with cream, so it was a little bit too rich.
If you go to the bathroom, you’ll be treated to bird sounds. I think the owners took the «Put a Bird on it» a little too seriously.