The Whole Bowl

It’s so delicious, especially when you are super hungry and just want to grab something quick on the way home. The Whole Bowl is such a quality, easy, & quick spot on Hawthorne in Portland, Oregon. The menu is simple, but because of all the toppings, you get a variety of different textures so it feels balanced and hits the spot. You get a little bit of everything. I wish I would have found this place sooner. My toddler loves it! (It’s a great way to slowly add on one ingredient at a time as she expands her palate) I couldn’t be happier with 2 meals for us both under $15 bucks. These folks are beyond awesome.

Great place to eat. Have been eating whole bowl for 7+ years now. I love that they have locations all over Portland for convenience. All the people who work here seem to really love their jobs and are always so kind. I met the owners years ago and they are so kind and personable as well. The bowls they give are SO delicious and full of healthy and whole food. I really feel great each time I eat here. The owners are also amazing and I appreciate their part in our community. One of my favorite places to eat.

Been meaning to try this place for years, as I’ve heard nothing but good things, and I finally did. I imagine this is a great source of nutrition if you are vegetarian or vegan. I eat meat, but I still think it’s delicious without it. Would definitely recommend.

Their motto of “feels like you’re eating a hug” is true! If you’re like me and forget to eat while you’re out it’s a great quick, filling, and nutritious meal that will keep fed even when I forget. Plus they have amazing cookies!

Great food at a reasonable price, and reasonably healthy. We went here today on our way to a volunteer event and Daniel was so kind to us! We'll be back.

Tasty and healthy, simple bowls with beans,rice, sour cream, avocado,salsa, black olives cheese cilantro and a delicious tali sauce.kind of like a deconstructed burrito that you can customize to your liking. Walk up window

YUM! So delicious, always friendly (even when you make a lot of substitutions), quick and efficient AND a great location.

I LOVE the Whole Bowl and always try to make a stop whenever I visit Portland. Post-pandemic, the cost has increased by $2 but love supporting a sustainable local business that encourages vegetarian and vegan eating! Plus, they have the BEST coconut water and an impressive hot sauce selection. The service is FAST! However, do not expect have anywhere to sit. It's a window and there is no seating. Pro tip: bring napkins and cuttlery for the car! Additionally, it is only street parking. We lucked out today with a spot nearby with a compost to toss or trash in!

10$ for a vegetarian meal in portland is unbeatable Simple, delicous, and healthy. The chips and cookie for sides are a nice touch

Been going here for years and it's one my go to place for a quick, healthy meal. It's nutritious, flavorful, and fulfilling. The tali sauce is the star of the show. If you're a sauce person ask for extra. They have multiple location but this one on Hawthorne operate similar to a food cart where you walk up to the window and order. There are no seatings (they moved location awhile ago). Service is friendly and quick!

I can here in some of the most dreadful weather so I couldn't enjoy the outdoor seating. However, I could tell that with good weather it would have been a great place to have a quick bite to eat or to enjoy with friends. Despite the weather, the worker was super friendly and we were able yo chat a bit while he was making my bowl due to lack of other customers. For the food it is definitely a comfort food, in terms of all the flavors are very familiar and filling. Despite the simplicity I highly enjoyed it as the weather had me craving a more cozy dish. In all honesty I think it is similar cafe yumm in the general composition of the bowl. However, for the price I thinks its definitely worthwhile.

Alright, this spot is the best lowkey spot I know! Anytime I'm feeling a healthy kick, I always think of this place. Simple & flavorful! service is always quick and efficient! just a great quick bite

Always delicious, always nutritious! Whole Bowl is such a genius business idea. Do one thing and do it really well. It truly does taste like eating a hug! Plus every person I've encountered at the window is always friendly and quick. I've never once had a bad experience with WB and I go here all the time for a quick, healthy, inexpensive meal. :)

this place has become a staple for me as a wholesome, filling, healthy, affordable and quick meal that i can always rely on as a broke college student trying to stay away from fast food and who can struggle finding time to make meals. the people there are always so kind and helpful and the service is straight to the point. wonderful spot that i can't recommend enough!

Simple healthy meal created quickly by nice people! What more do you need? Not sure what the sauce is (I could look it up I suppose) but it's delicious.

I have been eating at The Whole Bowl since they were a lil cart in downtown Portland and I was just a lil punk rock teenager stoked on an affordable vegan lunch. That was 15 years ago now...I don't even live in the state anymore but I still consider The Whole Bowl a Portland staple that I make sure to visit when in town. It is nothing fancy, but it's perfected and done right. It's simple and thats what makes it delicious- the ingredients are straight forward and well executed and the tali sauce melds everything together into warm, nourishing bites of goodness. I have never had a weird avocado. For me it is the perfect power meal that helps me re-energize throughout the day. It is still affordable, the service is straightforward and the locations vary but also keep it simple. These bowls will always hold a special place in my heart.

I had a hair cooked into my cookie. I honestly think places should be required to wear hair nets! The whole bowl itself was good but the cookie left me weary about even buying here again. This was my first time trying this place too. I think the food industry tends to get lazy once they know the traffic is coming cooking hair in a cookie is disgusting and careless.

I like when a place has one thing that they serve. Simple and to the point which makes it quick and convenient! They are generous with all the toppings and sauces! And they have a window outside so you can order without going in Talk sauce is bomb! Get extra if you like the sauciness

I love this spot! The big bowl is only $10 and it's SO filling and yummy. This may seem like your basic rice bowl, but it's so much more. The sauce is so delicious and is everything! Also 10/10 recommend trying Nate's cookies... they're so delicious

Convenient and delicious. $9 for a meal that I can almost never finish in one sitting. It keeps me full for so long, especially when I add my own protein at home. Their sauces are delicious, the food is fresh, the people are SO NICE! Also..... it takes 60 seconds to get your food after ordering.

I got the Whole Bowl with everything and it was very good. I enjoyed the organic and natural ingredients and the rice was especially my favorite. I just wish there was some place to sit because my friends and I sat on the curb.

Yummy food, each time it's consistent in taste and portion. And the gal who works the register is super friendly and fun to chat with! If you're looking for a place to sit, this is not it, but for me it's perfect to-go for work.

This place is fantastic! Nothing fancy or trying too hard. The only thing they offer is a 12 or 16 oz bowl of yumminess! 9 ingredients for a fully loaded bowl at $9 and $8.50. The bowl of food is delicious. Brown Rice and beans cooked perfect and seasoned perfect. I learned from the young man at the window that this business has been around for 25 years. Solid business model. We are just visiting from Nevada, but if we lived here, we would frequent this place often. Affordable, simple, and easy on the gut.

Love the ethic! Simple ingredients and intentional sourcing make this one of my favorite places to visit in Portland. Get a bowl, sit alfresco and savor the flavors!

Pretty good but overpriced for the small bowl of food. Its like a healthy side dish, it tastes pretty good but not great. Service friendly.

Excellent food and service. We order vegan and enjoy the delicious nutritional bowls.

I'm not normally a vegan eater but this place was actually very tasty quick fast service it's still in its older location but noticed they're moving to a different location soon but the atmosphere of Hawthorne is always filled with a hippie vibe People are genuinely enjoying their day and so that makes the atmosphere very enjoyable.

Quick easy service from a pickup window. Parking is usually really easy. Really delicious food that makes my body feel great. Why don't more casual restaurants offer this kind of food?

Sometime I crave this bowl. I event created the tali sauce on my own. I like the bowl and light on cheese and sour cream. Service may be slow depend on the location and timing, but it serves my need, very filling, healthier (?).

This place rocks! The signature dish is a great balance of flavors, and a mercifully nutritious meal. I love the casual walk up nature, and the employees were just as cool and friendly as to be expected in a place like this. As a frequent visitor of Portland, I'm happy to add this to my go-to places. Now to decode the tali sauce for my own devices....

Simple. Delicious. Healthy. I wish there were a location near my work! The large bowl is my go-to.

Always fast, always the way you want it, and in the time of COVID, very safe. As a non-vegetarian one of my favorite meatless places to eat, so that must mean something. The price is right- in fact, how is it this cheap? Check it!

Food is so fresh and healthy. I love that I get so much energy from the bowls. Workers there are friendly and fast

I LOVE this lunch spot. I adore the staff, they're so kind and talkative. Their rice/bean bowl is my favorite go-to meal. It's quick to grab and yummy. I always use their sauces they have out on the side to give the bowl a spicy kick. I could eat here every day.

Food is perfect. Space feels a bit dirty and needing of cleaning. I used to walk here all the time when I lived on Hawthorne. It's still great and I am glad I stopped in again today. Vegans - this is a good spot to eat. The bowl has great ingredients and you can order without dairy. It's brown rice, red and black bean, avocado, olives, salsa, cilantro and tali sauce (which, I believe, has chickpeas, nooch and spices). Non-vegans - the bowl will fill you up too. You will get it with sour cream and shredded cheddar. There are two sizes and the price difference is only 50¢ so I get the big bowl. They use wooden sporks and paper bowls. Lids are compostable. No plastic in sight. Chips, Sparkling water, coconut water and cookies for sale too. And of course, many many got sauces to compliment your bowl. Yum!

Sooooo incredibly good! I've seen this around but was hesitant to try it, because I wasn't sure if it was for me. I'm so glad I decided to just try it! I got the bambino bowl in case I didn't like it, but it filled me up perfectly. I got my bowl fully loaded. I love how quick it is, you order and receive your food all in about under 5 minutes if there's no line. Definitely recommend this place to anyone wanting to try it!

My favorite friendly fast and healthy meal. Not to mention, incredibly delicious. It really is "a hug in a bowl" and I wish we could have these everywhere instead of poison like McDonalds.

Update! We attempted to issue a refund for my our bowls (read previous review) through the app we ordered on a day later after explaining the situation and the request was denied. We then attempted calling them a couple times and the phone just rang until it hit a full voicemail box. So as of right now, Whole Bowl is kind of a let down.

I've been craving something healthy and I stopped here on a drizzly day. Their signature dish was warm and super flavorful. I avocado was perfect. The two young men in the truck were on it and speedy with the service. So excited to be back soon and try some new items!

This review has nothing to do with COVID. I completely understand that businesses are doing their best with the pandemic. I've gotten delivery from Whole Bowl numerous times, and it's become so consistently inedible that I wanted to warn others about ordering delivery. I'm sure it's better ordering in person, but delivery instructions are not followed, and it makes the food just bad. The Tali sauce is way overdone, and by the time the food arrives, it's like soup. I tried asking for light Tali sauce, and it's resulted in none being put on the food. Either way, it makes the bowl not taste good. I don't want to get food from here anymore, unfortunately. It used to be a staple, but it's become disappointing.

Tried the whole bowl for the first time today. I thought that it was a great tasting bowl. The ball definitely reminds me of Café Yumm and their signature bowl. Everything in there was great. I ordered the regular bowl but decided to take out the cheese and the sour cream since I am a little lactose intolerant. I like that the menu is very simple and that the bowls are very fresh. What I wish that the whole bowl would consider are the following: -I wish that they would offer different vegan protein options like tofu. - I also wish that they would offer other dairy options because I know that they have sour cream and cheese but I wish that they would offer other options for people that are vegan or that can't handle dairy. Another great thing that I love is that all of their packaging is compostable and eco-friendly. Which I loooovee! I love companies that also keep the earth in mind. The girl that was there and helped me order was very friendly and thankfully I didn't have to wait at all in line. I'll definitely be back there again.

Whole bowl is delicious, and everything seems very fresh and healthy. The flavors meld together perfectly. I will definitely be back soon

The Tali sauce is delicious! Love this vegetarian option for lunch. Whole Bowl is take out, but the one in Beaverton has outdoor seating nearby.

I thought this was a dispensary!!! Its a food place! Very easy menu, service was great, food filling, healthy, and delicious!

This was sooooo good! My friend and I decided to pick up a bowl on our way to the park and enjoyed every bite. For me it was the sauce in the bowl that gave it a very wonderful taste. Will be coming back for more!

Whole bowl definitely hits the spot when you're trying to go for filling food that doesn't make you feel guilty after eating! The service was super fast, and the bowls are reasonably priced as well!

My mom's a vegan and eats @ The Whole Bowl quite frequently. Whenever I visit her, she'll make a trip there and bring me a veganized Big Bowl. And I must say... they're delicious. Disclaimer: Have access to a toilet! Or expect farts that may register on the Richter scale!

What a tasty meal this was! So filling and hearty and comforting. Brown rice, two types of beans, avocado perfectly ripe and olives, cilantro and a mustardy curry type mayo sauce to meld it all together. For under $10 it's at least 1 meal for me, I could def have part today and part tomorrow. I wish they had tomato cubes to go in the bowl, or a green salsa or something. But the bowl was plenty hearty. I'd probably also enjoy slivered radish mixed in. I debated on chips but ultimately didn't miss them as my bowl of dry chili filled my belly.

They're opening their eight location so check that information out. This spot is definitely review worthy :-) All of the flavors were super delicious and I enjoyed every bite. I'm sure I'll be back in just a few days. We got the vegan option without cheese or sour cream so they automatically add a little extra avocado on top to balance out the proteins.

I didn't think much of this place before I became vegan (as a result of watching the movie What the Health). I used to walk by all the time and not look twice. I tried it for the first time about a week ago, and now I am addicted to it. I want to go there all the time. I think the combination of flavors in the bowl are addicting. The place itself is small with few tables and not very fancy. It's the kind of place where you order comes in three minutes, you eat in 5 minutes, and you're out the door in 15 minutes. Him, I am making myself hungry. Maybe I should go there now...

What the heck, Whole Bowl? I'm a regular at this location and the gal who's usually there prepares a fantastic bowl. But the guy there this evening made the driest, blandest bowl, completely void of Tali sauce. Not even a hint of flavor in my big bowl. If I wanted basic beans and rice, I'd make it at home for a quarter of the price. Looks like I'll be shelling out another $8 plus tip for something else to eat. Total letdown.

A little bland, I wish there was just more flavor? Maybe some onion? Idk it could just be better, the ingredients alone aren't enough apparently.

If you told me that one day an establishment would open up in my neighborhood that has one thing and one thing only, and that thing is a bowl of beans and rice with some fixins, and that people would pay $20 for that bowl of beans and rice (via seamless)... I would be incredulous. I'm incredulous. And yet, here we are. The bowl is a delicious and healthy meal. Paying $20 for a meal of beans and rice... I just can't help but feel like this is a dark secret that my grandmother must never find out about. It was just once! I was desperate for a complete protein!

Pick Up The stupid phone. I wanted to place an Oder fir pick-up. Apparently that's not an option. The price increase and rude servers are why I won't go Back.

There should be a publicly-funded/subsidized one of these in every neighborhood. Simple, healthy vegetarian/vegan food, two options, big or small. Beans, rice, cheese, avocado, salsa, sour cream, olives, cilantro.

The whole bowl is a great combination of ingredients and is very satisfying. We love the Tali sauce so much that we order extra. You get a lot of food for your money too. We order whole bowls almost every week.

I've been eating here since it was a small food cart on Hawthorne about 15 years ago. Simply delicious!