There are few brunch restaurants in Portland with more name recognition than the Tin Shed on NE Alberta Street. The Tin Shed Garden Cafe was first opened back in 2002 by Christie Griffin and Janette Kaden. At the time it was a small operation with Christie managing the kitchen and Janette running things out front. Over the years, the two have turned this old coffee shop into one of the most well-known and well-loved breakfast spots in NE Portland. It’s even been featured in the New York Times and on the popular Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.
To me, the Tin Shed has everything you want in a brunch restaurant: super friendly servers, phenomenal food, a beautiful outdoor eating space, and a self-serve coffee station featuring Marigold Coffee (a local Portland roaster) where you can pick your own coffee mug and get hot cup of jo while you wait. It’s the perfect spot to bring out of town guests or just to enjoy a leisurely morning with a good friend. They have the coziest, cutest garden patio with a fireplace, and though I always prefer to eat outside when I’m here they also have some tables inside and bar seating. The restaurant also features a different local artist every month, befitting of its location in the Alberta Arts District.
Nearly everything you order at the Tin Shed is made in house and they use local and organic ingredients whenever possible as well as humane meat sources that include grass-fed beef, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, and local free-range chicken. The restaurant is also committed to environmental stewardship by composting, recycling, and using renewable energy.
The menu is filled with creative and mouth-watering options. For breakfast try the excellent Goog Dog Scramble made with pork sausage, jalapenos, bell pepper, onion, and covered with sharp Tillamook cheddar, salsa fresca and chipotle aioli that’s then piled over potato cakes or cheese grits and is served with a buttermilk biscuit. There are also two very popular breakfast sampler platters, the Everything Naughty and the Everything Nice that give you a nice selection of the restaurant’s most popular items. Do your table a favor and order the Raspberry Jammers that come with three mini house-made buttermilk biscuits baked with the restaurant’s signature raspberry jam.
There are also great choices for lunch including one of the best burgers in town or the Heartless Artichoke sandwich made with a creamy blend of artichoke hearts, mayo, garlic, lemon, and parmesan on grilled sourdough bread with roasted red peppers and pepper jack. There’s also a full bar with local beers on tap, a killer bloody mary, and mimosas that can be made with orange, grapefruit, pineapple, or cranberry juice.
Another thing you should know about the Tin Shed is that it’s very dog friendly, and dog-owners actually make the cafe a destination specifically because of this. They even have a dog menu and they sell Tin Shed doggie bandanas from which they donate all the proceeds to Animal Aid.
Unlike many trendy brunch spots in Portland, the Tin Shed does take reservations which you can make by heading to their website. Reservations are highly recommended on the weekends, or else you could be looking at a wait of up to or over an hour on the weekends. This may seem like a long time, but it didn’t earn its reputation as one of Portland’s most famous brunch spots for nothing, so just go with the flow and grab a cup of coffee and gawk at all the cute dogs.
Hours:
- Monday - Friday 8:00am - 2:00pm
- Saturday and Sunday, 7:00am - 3:00pm
Address: 1438 NE Alberta Street, Portland
Phone: 503-288-6966
