I needed a breakfast spot that allowed reservations because in Portland there are few breakfast spots downtown that you can get into without waiting forever. The menu was awesome, virtually any type of diet could eat there. Comfort food, diner atmosphere with a touch of Portland quirkiness, and they serve alcohol. It doesn't get better than that! I just dread the thought of them becoming too popular. Thank you for being smart enough to give customers the option of making a reservation....(grrrr to Tasty n Alder on 12th st for this very reason unless you are a table of 7-10 for dinner only) Who does that? I plan on coming back frequently with my visiting out-of-town family and friends. Thank you thank you thank you!

Super awesome! The food was amazing can’t say one bad word!

Interesting and tasty spins on diner and comfort food in a mod atmosphere. Think modern retro, with most people there under 40, or old folks like us with younger folks. Go starving because you'll want to share several different dishes just to taste them! We took our college-age daughter and her friends, and they thought it was cool. Here's what the table shared: chicken & waffle sliders (crispy, mustardy, and sweet), poutine (comfort food), donut burgers (oddly good!), and crispy cauliflower (this was devoured by all, including our vegetable-averse daughter). Hubby also had the entree chicken & waffles (those jalapeños are serious, so if you don't like them, don't go order), and I had the smoked steelhead Benedict with melted leeks and spinach (steelhead not too dry, and generous serving with enough to take home). The college kids had chili mac'n cheese (major comfort food), a burger (not a spec left), and the crispy chicken sandwich (also devoured). A chocolate peanut butter milkshake was also shared by all - it was blended in house and arrived in a soda fountain glass with the fountain blender cup filled as well, and was SO, so good.
Pros: tasty, quality ingredients. It's clear that someone in the kitchen cares. Lots to choose from on menu. Interesting combinations. Upbeat atmosphere. The one veggie dish that caught our eye was outstanding.
Con: Only one veggie dish caught our eye (salads seemed boring). Service waxed and waned.
Verdict: a place to splurge on your diet on quality, well made food with your friends.

Ive been doing the Keto diet for a month and it was fantastic to go somewhere they would accommodate my diet :)

The food here is always fresh and good. The wait staff always seem to be pleasant and efficient. This is why I always eat here when I travel down to visit Portland.

Came for Easter Brunch. It was still a little crowded, sever let us know immediately that food was coming out a little slow and kept coffee cups full. Food was great, everyone loved what they got...one person got the wrong order, it was corrected immediately without fuss. Place is a little loud, but that’s ok cause my family is too...a place you can laugh and be a little loud.

Dependably tasty food. The draft selection was well curated.
These folks don't try to do everything, but everything they do, they do well, with well-exectuted twists on standard café items.
Service was excellent, and well-coordinated.

I've eaten at the Original Dinerant twice and really appreciate the level of service that's provided. The servers are so attentive and friendly. Thank you!

First time here and would come back again. Good selection for everyone's taste and those 'boozy' shakes are great!

Went a year ago and had the French toast. I have dreamed of this for a year it’s seriously that good. Had to go and have it again. It’s a must have. And yes it was as great as I remembered.

Get the chicken and waffles! It was so good! Great comfort food! Loved the atmosphere. Service was fantastic! Next time I'm in Portland I will make sure to get reservations and order the potpie next.

My work group had a great lunch at the Original. Good menu options for everyone! And who doesn't like a poutine!

We were staying in the hotel attached to the restaurant so we ate here one night for late-night snack and then one morning for breakfast. We were excited because it was on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives. Between our two visits we tried the items Guy Fieri tried on the show: the donut sliders (you get 2 and they’re delicious) and the chicken and waffles (total let down). The waffle has jalapeño and holy moly was it hot! He enjoyed it, but the jalapeño that was in ours was really spicy (I know they can vary). The chicken was terrible. It is served with a leg/wing combo and was SO dry. The server even agreed. They quickly replaced it for us with a fried breast, and my hubby was excited to get a second waffle, as well. It comes with smoky syrup. I don’t like smoky stuff, but my husband did. I ordered the Beet Hash for breakfast and loved it. Delicious. We ordered a boozy shake - I can’t remember the name, but it had salted caramel and bourbon. Very good - they split into two glasses and I still couldn’t finish my half. They had a free check-in on Yelp special: a piece of the driest apple pie ever. Glad it was free. We tried it just enough to quickly realize we didn’t want to waste calories eating it. I literally touched the cut side and it was totally dry, completely dry. It must’ve been sitting out for a while. Don’t order that. Would we return? Maybe. There was no wait either time we went 9pm and 9:15am. I’d check out other spots though if you have the chance - Mother’s Bistro and Gravy were both awesome.

Food and service were great! The waitstaff were extremely pleasant, service was fast, and food was amazing!

Delicious food, excellent service. Staff uniformly authentic, welcoming, warm.

Probably cool once upon a time. Downtown is just ghetto now. Felt cold and uninhabited. Not many patrons at should be busy hour. We were disappointed with the food and ambiance. Waitress was nice. Hostess was nice. Probably won’t go back. Need to amp it up. And modernize the menu.

"Stunned by surprise," I exclaimed to friends. Went looking for some excellent comforting low key grub in downtown Portland after several days of challenging work. Saw a light saying, "Original" and went in through the glass diner doors. Wow! Sat down at a little rustic table amidst upscale diner decor followed by a friendly greeting and the rest is foodie history. A thick, clam-laden cup of Northwest clam chowder filled with creamy flavors came first followed by richly amazing meat loaf and a juice-squirting burger. The platters headed for other tables also sang notes of comfort and culinary pleasure. The finale, however, was the barrel-aged Manhattan, the smoothest, most complex, and satisfying one I've ever sipped. What a delicious surprise! This one is an original.

Sliders are unreal! Some other unique dishes and excellent service. Prices are very fair for the Portland market.

This was my first time at The Original but, in all fairness, I have a friend we went with that that goes there about once a month or so. I was not impressed. The best thing I had was their Salty Jim, an alcoholic milkshake that was amazing (and I might return just for that). We tried their supposedly famous doughnut sliders and they were relatively tasteless. For our entree's I had another burger and my wife had the chicken and waffles. Neither of us felt that there was any flavor to our food. Our server was nice but, for as empty as the restaurant was on a Friday, felt that he could have been more attentive. I hope they were just having a bad night but I have no intent on returning.

Great birthday celebration for my 3 year old! Casual enough for kids, but the food is top shelf! I refuse to eat at a crappy chain restaurant geared towards kids’ birthday celebrations but it’s difficult to find a quality restaurant that feels welcoming towards families. The Original is my go to!!!

Amazing food and service. I had the Turkey Burger and my friend had the Oregon Salad. I would recommend both.

We were hoping for better food than what we got. We really had high hopes, we traveled from Ohio to visit family in Oregon and it was okay but not wowed. The portions were large but the flavor of my skirt steak was under seasoned and not great🙁glad there's many more restaurants to choose from PDX

Excellent service with very friendly fun staff. Food was very tasty and a good selection as well. The hand crafted cocktails are a must. Will most definitely go again.

This was our second time at the Original and our first brunch. The first time we ate there I had the lamb dip sandwich and it was fantastic. This time I had the creme brûlée French toast and added a fried chicken breast and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, just about everyone loved their meal (more French toast and an omelet). The only let down was the chicken fried steak as it was over-cooked (VERY well done) and so was quite dry (the person didn’t order the pork sausage gravy and, unfortunately, there were no other options that might have moistened things up a bit).
All-in all we enjoyed our meal very much and will be back.

The Original offers different menus for day and evening. Breakfast and lunch are outstanding. Happy hour offers huge portions for happy hour prices (ends 7pm?) - you'll get more fries than two people can eat for $6. Have yet to explore the dinner menu of pastas etc. The servers do love to serve.

I have a monthly lunch meeting at The Original and it's always excellent food.

Nice popular priced family restaurant.
Portland downtown has few places like this. Most are upscale and food carts. Food very palatable. Reasonable menu and wine selection. All day breakfasts. Pleasant decor. Not too noisy. No blaring music. Friendly and attentive staff. Good for children.

We live 15 minutes from downtown, but rarely have time to enjoy all the things to do there. Once or twice a year we take a "one day vacation" and spend a whole day hanging out and trying new things downtown. We started one of these days recently with breakfast at The Original and were not disappointed. Expect diner food, but less greasy and more upscale than that roadside diner on your road-trip through Nebraska. The portions are very large - neither of us could finish our food. My husband had a scramble with vegan sausage - I had a mushroom and swiss omelette. Both tasted great. I loved the option for a side of braised greens (also a portion too large to finish) and made-in-house gluten free toast that was thick sliced and tasty. The service was fantastic. The hostess didn't blink when I asked for a list of the ingredients in one dish and our server was very aware of which menu items were made with gluten, so this was an easy place to eat for someone with food sensitivities.
The food here is good and the service was great on our recent visit. Don't expect anything fancy or especially creative on the menu, but you can get a lot of good standard breakfast fare for a decent price.

They had a limited menu for Christmas, which I was not aware of prior to our reservation. If I had known that I would have looked elsewhere. The food we ordered was good- no complaints there. Just disappointed we could not order what we saw on the menu ahead of time. Great service and ambiance.

Amazing food and service there was a kid running a round and came to our table a couple of times didn't care for that much . Parents so have to keep their kids at there tables. But the place is great.

I was not thrilled with this restaurant. It was more like a coffee shop and the menu didn't have much I was interested in. I had the cornbread waffle and it was good but not filling.

Slow service, food okay and $60 for 3 for breakfast not worth it

We wanted to like this place, the space and concept are cool, but after two tries, I can't recommend it to anyone. My meat loaf was like a day old meal that I would expect from an airline. My other guests had nothing positive to say about their salads, burgers or sandwich. I feel that the staff were nice, but oddly formal or stiff for this new age diner experience.

Long plane flight and wanted some really good food. Chicken sandwich, Reuben, biscuits and gravy all very good. Fries were perfect. Donut sliders a big hit. Impeccable service. Not knowing Portland, didn't realize they were downtown. Worth the effort.

Great place for a classic breakfast in downtown Portland. Nothing too fancy, just plain good.

Had the logger and a dude.....recommend both

The food was quite good and has always been consistent, even as kitchen staff has changed. The service as also very pleasant. This is an excellent place for a high-quality, casual meal.

First of all I would like to say, the food was amazing! We ordered the eggs Benedict, polenta cakes, and the croissant monte cristo. All three were very well prepared and plated excellent.

Secondly, our server was very friendly but easily distracted and our food was delivered by three different servers at three very different times.

Overall a great place for breakfast and we will certainly dine there again!

Great food!

Booked a table for 2 for Thanksgiving. Got there early but would not be seated even though there were plenty of open tables. Service was not up to par, waiter could of cared less about our table, people that came in after us were served before we were. The food was was not seasoned well, I had raw green beans and overcooked green beans in my side dish and my friend had one small solid piece of turkey and the rest was chopped up leftover pieces. Nothing tasted right and was a huge let down. The meal was priced at $30 each. not worth $30 for both. Since we were not seated right away we went walking the city,I joked with my friend when i seen street vendors selling food , I said " lets eat here and forget about The Original".I wish we had.