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Cafe Nell, Portland, OR

Cafe Nell

4.3
4.3
2823 Reviews
$30 and under
American
Located in the heart of Northwest Portland, Café Nell serves French inspired, eclectic American classics simply prepared from Northwest ingredients. Celebrating 14 years, Café Nell has become known for lively brunches featuring signature cocktails and great food, which never fail to impress. A full indoor bar and outdoor bar, welcoming atmosphere, rotating taps, and a glowing fireplace create a cozy environment indoors. Seating outside on our Deck or in the outdoor Oasis are also favorite neighborhood spots for a tasty lunch or a candle-lit dinner on a lovely Portland evening.

OUTDOOR DINING AREAS ARE COVERED, SHADED, AND WELL VENTILATED WITH BOTH OVERHEAD AND OSCILLATING FANS.

Make a reservation

2 people

7:00 PM


Booked 13 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Cuisines
    American, French, Bistro
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Fri 11:00 am–10:00 pm Sat, Sun 9:00 am–10:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 3:30 pm–5:30 pm
  • Phone number
    (503) 295-6487
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Private party facilities
    Cafe Nell is an intimate venue for private parties of 50 to 100 guests.Maximum capacity of 80 for a sit-down dinner, and up to 120 for buffet-style.
  • Private party contact
    vanessa@cafenell.com: (503) 295-6487
  • Neighborhood
    Northwest Portland
  • Cross street
    NW 20th Ave
  • Parking details
    Complimentary parking courtesy of the offices of Legacy Health (entrance a block away on Lovejoy between 19th & 20th) Weekdays after 5 pm. Saturday/Sunday All Day. Street parking also available. Paid parking is available 4 blocks south at 16th and Kearney.
  • Public transit
    Two block walk from StreetCar at 18th & Lovejoy.
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wine

What 2,823 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.3
4.3 based on recent ratings
  • 4.3Food
  • 4.3Service
  • 4.5Ambience
  • 4Value

NoiseModerate

Loved For

  • Portland / Oregon

    Great for brunch

  • Portland

    Great for brunch

  • Portland

    Great for outdoor dining

2,823 Reviews
  1. MichaelR

    Portland

    54 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    54 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    My Nell Burger Salad is always the best combo. My brunch partner said her Nell Burger was one of the best burgers ever. It’s always a treat to visit Cafe Nell.

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  2. OpenTable Diner

    Palm Springs

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    We love Cafe Nell! It is now our “go te” place in Portland. Always terrific food and service!

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  3. Diner49er

    Portland

    13 reviews

    vip
    3.0

    13 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    overall3food2service2ambience3
    Cafe Nell has always been a strong and consistent place for quality food with great service. This was not the experience we had today. We had reservations, arrived on time, it wasn’t busy, it was a beautiful, sunny fall day.. but it took us 15 min to be seated and 1 hour for our food to arrive. Our server seemed incredibly distracted and was inattentive, the food was mediocre- at best. Our $15 salmon add on was literally the size of two fingers put together. We sent it back. We were offered a blanket as we sat outside, that was nice. Unfortunately, This was not the Cafe Nell I remember of the past.

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  4. Blondieforfood

    Portland

    31 reviews

    4.0

    31 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    overall4food3service4ambience5
    We’ve been going to Cafe Nell over several years & are fond of the place. The outdoor sidewalk seating is great! We love the cozy interior, but won’t eat inside during Covid/flu season. My husband liked his hamburger salad & I enjoyed my cocktail & French Pinot Noir, but my steak Caesar salad was uninspired. The 3 oz steak was on the side of the plate with a pile of romaine sprinkled with Parmesan. The dressing was good & the steak cooked to perfection, but I’d have added some cherry tomatoes for a dash of color, & sliced the steak atop the greens. I felt like no time was invested in making the salad appealing. Our waiter was very nice & explained that the restaurant has been through a number of staff changes, including the chefs, so wasn’t surprised by my reaction.

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  5. ErinS

    Seattle

    4 reviews

    4.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on September 24, 2023

    overall4food3service5ambience5
    Super cute cafe, loved the ambience! Service was great, and the food was good, but it would have been better if it was hot! I think it sat out a bit too long before it was served.

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  6. OpenTable Diner

    Portland

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 24, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Our server was great, the food was tasty, we had a lovely time! We will be back-thank you for having a yummy vegan option 😊

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  7. ChuckL

    New Orleans

    7 reviews

    3.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on September 23, 2023

    overall3food4service2ambience4
    Food was well-prepared. Service was slow and inattentive.

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  8. BRSeattle

    Seattle

    33 reviews

    4.0

    33 reviews

    Dined on September 21, 2023

    overall4food4service5ambience4
    The four of us enjoyed inventive cocktails, the scallop and spinach “pillows” with a pesto laced salad for a shared appetizer ( it would have been nice to have 4 instead of 3 though), smoked salmon Cobb salad, fettuccine bolognese, and mussels and frites for dinner. Our waiter was outstanding! Attentive and professional.

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  9. AngieS

    Louisville

    11 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on September 19, 2023

    overall5food5service4ambience5
    Cafe Nell is in a lovely part of town and the ambiance is great. The food was good and the service was efficient.

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  10. OpenTable Diner

    Los Angeles

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 17, 2023

    overall4food4service4ambience5
    Service was great food was good Could be more generous on the hollandais sauce for the eggs Benedict

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  11. RaySF

    Portland

    23 reviews

    4.0

    23 reviews

    Dined on September 17, 2023

    overall4food5service4ambience4
    Good food. A little slow service. Outside sidewalk dining is nice.

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  12. Shar

    Orlando

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 17, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Cute ambiance, big outdoor area and good food and drinks!

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  13. Jeff

    Portland

    13 reviews

    5.0

    13 reviews

    Dined on September 17, 2023

    overall5food5service4ambience5
    I drive by Cafe Nell every Sunday morning after church and had always been intrigued by its outward charm. I checked their website and liked their brunch menu, so I finally decided to take my wife there one Sunday morning. As it was a nice day, we chose sidewalk seating. The food was good, and it couldn't have been a nicer experience. I look forward to going back again.

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  14. SueM

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 13, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Salmon burger was tasty, service was great! Will be back next time we are in Portland

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  15. JeffR

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    3.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on September 13, 2023

    overall3food2service4ambience4
    Salmon dish was old and bad..returned it. Everything else was fine. Chef really missed on the fish

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  16. AudieO

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 10, 2023

    overall3food4service4ambience3
    It was a strange experience. We arrived and checked in for our reservation and were told we’d be seated in a few. 10 min later a difference hostess told us that the Oasis was being prioritized for their guests with reservations. We told her we had one. She then proceeded to seat us at a very inconveniently placed table that was much too small for a party of 4. We requested to be moved once space in the oasis opened up and were treated as somewhat of an inconvenience. 15 min later we were moved. When led back to the oasis we noticed at least 4-5 open tables large enough for our party. The server in the oasis was lovely, no complaints.

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  17. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    1 review

    vip
    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 9, 2023

    overall4food4service4ambience5
    The apple and endive salad was delightful, but my entree (the salmon) was a bit dry. The flavors were good on everything.

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  18. mattb

    Portland

    4 reviews

    2.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on September 3, 2023

    overall2food2service3ambience4
    We were seated immediately outside upon our arrival as we requested in our reservation. The space was nice and appeared clean. We ordered our food and had a long wait to arrive. The waiter apologized and said there was a large party. The food came but our drinks were either gone or ice melted and watered down. The omelette was the best thing we ordered. The huevos rancheros was small and was fairly plain tasting. The sausage scramble was decent sized but nothing special. The waiter did check on us as we were finishing our food. The food was not worth the cost We will continue to look for other brunch spots

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  19. OpenTable Diner

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 2, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    The food was delicious! French toast was not to be missed. Our sever was kind and fun and accommodating to the max. A wonderful experience.

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  20. DonS

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on September 2, 2023

    overall4food3service5ambience3
    I believe the interior needs some cleaning up. we ate in the outside area and loved it. i was looking more for lunch... and everything was brunch centric. Would come anytime but for me I wanted a light lunch and it was pretty heavy. I should have looked at teh menu :)

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  21. endersonline

    Portland

    34 reviews

    4.0

    34 reviews

    Dined on August 31, 2023

    overall4food4service5ambience4
    We had booked a table for five outdoors. When we arrived, they asked if we could sit inside since they had an unexpected event taking up the entire back outdoor area. We said we strongly preferred outdoors due to COVID concerns, and they immediately created an excellent spot for us (we came with six instead of five, and they were great about that, too). The service continued to be top-notch making it a wonderful evening. The food was good. The ambiance was lovely. I would go back.

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  22. WillyJP

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 28, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    Outstanding menu as usual. French bistro translated to native Pacific NW cuisine with excellent judgement and skill. We ALWAYS have an enjoyable meal at Cafe Nell. This time I had the Penn Cove mussels with frites. A superbly satisfying but not overfilling meal! Every single mussel was perfect, not a single one was off. And when Penn Cove muscles are good, they are over the top. We sat in their sidewalk seating shelter and it was very pleasant on a warm evening, but doesn't have quite the cozy ambience of their inside seating on a winter's night. This is a great restaurant if you feel like French bistro food superbly done in Oregon style.

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  23. Smike

    Portland

    9 reviews

    5.0

    9 reviews

    Dined on August 23, 2023

    overall5food4service5ambience4
    Nice to sit outdoors. Had a great server. Did not find the shrimp mixture to my liking but that’s on me. It’s a nice place to go for lunch

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  24. MaryV

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 22, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    The salad with the beef patty and caramelized onions was excellent. I'm ready to go back for it again.

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  25. janb

    Portland

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on August 16, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Everything was great and we were so grateful not to have to talk over loud music! Wonderful service, food, ambiance. Will be back!

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  26. NoraW

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 13, 2023

    overall4food3service4ambience4
    The waiters are very sweet and attentive. The drinks were probably the star of the show, specifically the Cherry Limeade, the alcoholic choices were not impressive of the 3 they we tried. The food was rather lack luster for the prices - everything was just okay, fresh and well plated but just fine. The Mac and Cheese my partner ordered came to the table with the cheese sauce completely broken and full of oil. The kitchen remade it, which was appreciated, but for $22 a plate it should not have left the kitchen at all. Won’t be back on account of it just not being worth the $120 dollars spent on the experience.

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  27. SylviaB

    Portland

    50 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    50 reviews

    Dined on August 12, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    My husband and I enjoyed our evening at Cafe Nell and look forward to another such time. The servers were very helpful especially suggesting wines. Thank to this fine Portland restaurant!

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  28. EveliaS

    Portland

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on August 9, 2023

    overall1food1service3ambience4
    the food was tasteless, which in the end i didn't care on the size of the portions, expensive place, I would not recommend.

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  29. KCinMB

    Greater Boston

    17 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    17 reviews

    Dined on August 6, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience4
    Our server Zack was wonderful. Gave us honest opinions about the menu choices, and our whole party was very happy with our food and drink selections.

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  30. RMDK

    Portland

    8 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on July 31, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Always a joy! Such an oasis in the middle of NW. Brought friends for their first visit to Cafe Nell and they were dazzled. Can’t believe they didn’t know about it. So much outside seating, and super cute/quaint inside and bar. Food and cocktails are the best! Highly recommend the mussels and fries, the burger salad, and really everything.

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  31. Brad

    Columbus

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on July 30, 2023

    overall1food1service1ambience4
    We gave it one more chance, but this was another really disappointing brunch at Cafe Nell. The service was friendly but unbelievably slow. The food was "meh" across all of our orders. Won't be back.

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  32. PdxFoodie

    Portland

    13 reviews

    4.0

    13 reviews

    Dined on July 30, 2023

    overall4food4service5ambience4
    There is outside seating along the sidewalk, as well as an outdoor patio area (with a separate entrance), and indoor dining. Inside is quite small (probably why the additional seating outside), and the decor is old'ish. Food was quite good: recommend the crab mac and cheese - reasonably priced. The crabcake benedict was good, but at $35 for brunch a little more than I expected.

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  33. OpenTable Diner

    Portland

    7 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on July 29, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Great and amazing. Loved it. You should go there soon

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  34. OpenTable Diner

    New York Area

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on July 26, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Excellent! Food was delicious and our server, Michael, was knowledgeable and fun.

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  35. Larry

    Portland

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on July 24, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Good experience. Very good wait staff. Drinks were good. Food was good.

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  36. WillP

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined on July 24, 2023

    overall4food5service4ambience4
    Super tasty with plenty of options. Outdoor seating is great!

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  37. OpenTable Diner

    Grand Rapids

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on July 23, 2023

    overall3food2service3ambience5
    The ambience was super cute and looked like a European café, they had fun drinks off the cocktail menu, the service was fine, the food is OK. Nothing special. Too pricey but overall, if you’re looking for ambience, we would go here again for maybe just appetizers and drinks. But not a full meal. 

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  38. RaySF

    Portland

    23 reviews

    4.0

    23 reviews

    Dined on July 23, 2023

    overall4food5service4ambience4
    Food was very good after a long wait to get it. Evidently a large party ahead of us.

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  39. OpenTable Diner

    Portland

    6 reviews

    5.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on July 23, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    We had a great dinner at Cafe Nell. All the staff were friendly & helpful. The outside ambiance was wonderful & our food was superb!

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  40. janeh

    New Mexico

    21 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    21 reviews

    Dined on July 21, 2023

    overall5food5service5ambience5
    Awesome as usual. Fantastic lunch - service and food were great!

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Safety precautions

  • Cleaning & sanitizing

    • Surfaces sanitized between seatings
    • Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
    • Common areas deep-cleaned daily
  • Screening

    • Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
    • Staff is vaccinated

FAQs

Cafe Nell offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (503) 295-6487.

Cafe Nell is rated 4.3 stars by 2823 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

7:00 PM


Booked 13 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for Cafe Nell

1987 NW Kearney St, Portland, OR 97209

Dining areas

Additional information

  • Cross street
    NW 20th Ave
  • Neighborhood
    Northwest Portland
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Fri 11:00 am–10:00 pm Sat, Sun 9:00 am–10:00 pm Happy Hour Daily 3:30 pm–5:30 pm
  • Cuisines
    American, French, Bistro
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Complimentary parking courtesy of the offices of Legacy Health (entrance a block away on Lovejoy between 19th & 20th) Weekdays after 5 pm. Saturday/Sunday All Day. Street parking also available. Paid parking is available 4 blocks south at 16th and Kearney.
  • Public transit
    Two block walk from StreetCar at 18th & Lovejoy.
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Dog Friendly, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Indoor Fireplace, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wine
  • Phone number
    (503) 295-6487
  • Private party facilities
    Cafe Nell is an intimate venue for private parties of 50 to 100 guests.Maximum capacity of 80 for a sit-down dinner, and up to 120 for buffet-style.
  • Private party contact
    vanessa@cafenell.com: (503) 295-6487
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