The Southeast Portland neighborhood of Brentwood-Darlington is a quiet little community just south of bustling Woodstock Blvd. Residents here love the slower pace of life and tight-knit feel of the area and they go out of their way to support local businesses. However, there’s one establishment that draws customers from all over the city and has been doing so for years. Mehri’s Bakery and Cafe is a bright red, two-story building that sits on the corner of SE Bybee Road and 52nd Ave and serves outstanding brunch fare made from scratch to its legion of loyal customers.
The small cafe is owned and run by self-taught baker, Mehri Gaspeed. For years now, she’s brought her love of baking, cooking, and connecting with her community together to offer some of the best breakfast and lunch in the city as well as making custom cakes and desserts for all occasions. Nearly everything the restaurant serves is made from scratch from the bread to apple butter to pastries to soup. Mehri loves using unique flavor combinations in her bakes and breakfasts, pulling from her Persian heritage and extensive travels around the world.
Mehri’s is most popular as a breakfast restaurant and for good reason. Regulars love the warm and inviting atmosphere of the cafe that offers both indoor seating and a shady patio for a nice sunny day. Try the Country Breakfast where you get fluffy, homemade biscuits & gravy, two eggs, creamy potatoes (scalloped and cheesy—comfort food at its best!), and your choice of bacon or sausage, or go for Mehri’s scramble that comes with mushroom, onion, zucchini, bell pepper, ham, bacon, and cheese. For a sweeter start to your morning, there’s nothing better than her Baked Cinnamon Roll French Toast which is just as decadent as it sounds and is topped with homemade caramel sauce, pecans, and heavy cream.
Reviewers also comment frequently on how exceptional the cafe’s Country Fried Steak is. Here, you’ll get an actual steak (not something that was pre-breaded and has been sitting frozen in a box). The fresh and thinly-sliced steak is then lightly breaded and pan fried with pan gravy and served with creamy potatoes, toast and preserves. So, if you’re looking for the typical grease bomb that most breakfast places offer as a chicken fried steak, this aint it! Customers also rave about the Eggs Benedict. Mehri always offers the two most traditional varieties, black forest ham or florentine, but will often have a pulled pork benedict as a special which you shouldn’t pass up.
And as if this weren’t enough, there’s more! Few breakfast spots I know serve oatmeal that’s worth visiting a restaurant for (afterall, it’s so easy to make at home), but Mehri’s Favorite Oatmeal is truly extraordinary. This oatmeal is unique and satisfying, made with steel cut oats and quinoa and topped with chia seeds, bananas, pecans and dried cranberries. You can also grab a pastry to go like one of her famous cinnamon rolls, pies, banana cakes, or chocolate muffins.
For lunch you can get a simple, yet lovingly-made sandwich like Roast Turkey and Cheese, Turkey Meatloaf, Top Sirloin Roast Beef, or large salads, scratch-made soup or clam chowder served with homemade bread. They even sell Easter and Thanksgiving meals ready to go that come with everything you need for the holidays including mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, a whole ham, rolls, and a pumpkin pie.
Mehri’s is the perfect spot whether you’re looking to sit down and relax at a table, or pick up a muffin and coffee for the road. Even if you do choose to dine in for breakfast, don’t even think about leaving without a delicious pastry to go! You can still see Mehri there nearly everyday smiling and greeting customers along with her incredibly friendly staff that often includes Mehri’s own son, Anthony—it’s a true family business.
Hours:
- Wednesday - Saturday, 8:00am - 3:00pm
- Sunday, 8:00am - 2:00pm
Address: 6923 SE 52nd Ave, Portland
Phone: 503-788-9600
