Cafe Olli is a sunlit, all-day eatery in Northeast Portland where house-made pastries, seasonal brunch fare, and wood-fired pizzas shine from breakfast to dinner.
"Named Best New Bakery in Eater Portland’s 2022 Eater Awards, it’s a well-established fact that this warm and welcoming Northeast Portland restaurant is overperforming in the baked goods department. While many a morning could be whiled away in the sunny dining room, tearing into crackling pastries along with an espresso, the actual breakfast menu is a standout as well, from savory porridge with a poached egg to fluffy frittatas. Featuring house-baked bread, the creamy whipped ricotta toast features pools of marmalade or jam nestled between the cloud-like ricotta folds, sprinkled with bee pollen and a hint of lemon." - Zoe Baillargeon
"This all-day cafe is a great spot for most occasions, including an excellent mid-week lunch. From 9 a.m. until noon, order dishes like whipped ricotta toast, a frittata sandwich, and savory porridge off the breakfast menu. Once the clock strikes 12 p.m., pizza, sandwiches, and salads become available off the lunch menu. Cafe Olli also offers a daily community meal for those experiencing food insecurity or financial hardship that is available on a sliding scale of no cost to $14." - Paolo Bicchieri
"It’s hard to classify Cafe Olli as one singular thing — it’s part breakfast cafe, part bakery, part pizzeria, part wood-fired restaurant — but there’s certainly an Italian lilt to the dinner menu, even as it shifts season by season. Visitors pop marinated olives between sips of wine, while others lift up slices of sausage-topped pizza with smoked mozzarella and chili. Olli’s season-focused ethos also informs its choice of pizza toppings, like the caramelized onion and roasted butternut squash pie. Visitors should order at least one pizza and one pasta, depending on the size of the group; if there’s room for panna cotta at the end, even better." - Eater Staff
"This light-toned, window-lined Northeast Portland cafe serves bowls of cracked farro porridge, ricotta toast, and frittata breakfast sandwiches on any given morning, but on Saturdays and Sundays, the culinary team gets into broader brunch territory. Meals should start with a pastry from the case, followed by smoked brisket-accompanied eggs or French toast with a sour cream whip. And to drink, visitors choose from a long list of espresso and tea drinks, as well as wine, beer, and cocktails. Brunch runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m." - Zoe Baillargeon, Eater Staff
"From morning Danish to evening cannelloni, breakfast porridge to after-dinner panna cotta, Northeast MLK’s Cafe Olli is a haven for gorgeous pastries, char-dotted pizzas, and bubbling pastas al forno, all entering and emerging from the wood-fired oven at the center of the space. Oregon produce plays a major role in dictating rotating menus, though a few dishes have become beloved constants: the simple breakfast sandwich, featuring a juicy house-made sausage patty and a fluffy milk bun; pizza pomodoro, showcasing the flavor of the hearth as much as the tomato and grain in the dough. However, Cafe Olli’s charm is in those fleeting seasonal portraits, from springtime green garlic cavatelli to summery beet salad dotted with Rainier cherries. Dessert is mandatory." - Eater Staff
