Milo's City Cafe — Restaurant in Portland

My wife and I stopped by today while walking on Broadway looking to eat breakfast and instead of going to Cadillac Cafe like we usually do, she suggested that we try Milos City Cafe.

What a pleasant surprise and great food!

We were warmly greeted by the waitress and even the owner himself, Albert Escobar came over to see how we were doing and offered us a refill of coffee.

My wife ordered the Blackstone Benedict and thought it was delicious..she mentioned that it had a lot of flavor and the plate was very complete..

I ordered the Traditional Benedict and our order came very quickly!I felt my plate was very complete and eggs were cooked correctly and the Hollandaise Sauce was savory and served hot..plenty of flavor, the proportion of home-style potatoes was also a plus, not too much, not too little, also cooked to perfection.

Waitress asked us if we wanted to add Avocado and we said “sure! why not?” and it just added to the overall breakfast plate..we were not concerned about extra cost.

We felt the staff was very friendly and attentive, our coffee had great flavor and was served hot and owner Albert offered to top us off..very nice.

In terms of price for our breakfast plates, it was very competitive as to what Cadillac Cafe was offering for the same breakfast..we felt it was a good value as compared to other restaurants.

The ambiance and decorations are a little different from Cadillac Cafe but we think the food and attentiveness of the staff more than made up for any difference.

Get ready for some great, hidden, surprises on Menu as well..considering the owner is Peruvian he couldn't help throw a few extra items on the menu that are a real delight and come from Peru..we tried the “Inca Kola” and Alberto generously offered us a taste of the drink “Chicha”, a common drink straight out of Peru, a very pleasant, refreshing drink..free of charge..

We also noticed that customers are a mixed bag of types in the area.. there are retirees from Irvington District, middle-aged men, workers and even some 20-something types eating there. Very good signs that this restaurant and its food appeal across all demographics.

Many times it’s those little details that separate the average restaurant in Portland from the rest..caring, attentive staff, hot and flavorful breakfasts and attention to detail.

So, we would highly recommend trying Milo's City Cafe under its new ownership whether you’re a local, neighbor or from out of town. Don’t forget to say “Hola” to Alberto, a Peruvian immigrant working and living the American...

Update: 8/22/24 After a dental appointment nearby and starving having skipped breakfast beforehand, I stopped in again for a bite. Ordered two eggs over medium with Italian sausage, home fries, English muffins and coffee. The eggs were perfect, local Zenner Italian sausage never disappoint, home style fries and English muffins with strawberry jam. Yum, yum!

The food is great, the staff friendly and attentive, but their coffee still sucks.

My wife and I used to eat breakfast here occasionally when we lived nearby. The food, atmosphere and service was always consistent and predictable. Then we had to move from the neighborhood about five years ago. Five years ago, the corned beef hash came with cubed meat, crispy potatoes with onions and bell peppers.

Fast-forward to an early morning doctor's appointment around the corner from Milo's. I was hungry and decided to get breakfast there and ordered corned beef hash, eggs over medium and coffee.

Boy, was I surprised, and not in a good way. My coffee cup was half filled with coffee that tasted like it had been sitting on the warming plate way too long. No amount of sugar and cream could save it.

Then came the corned beef hash. The eggs were cooked properly, but the hash was anything but mediocre. The corned beef was small strips of meat, not cubed, maybe two ounces at best. The meat and potatoes were cool and the onions and bell peppers were barely cooked, more likely raw.

My visit was early midmorning on a Tuesday, it wasn't busy. I sat at the counter so the service was great, the staff was friendly and attentive and the atmosphere warm and welcoming, but I have to say, my meal was not what I remember from years past. Which is too bad, because Milo's City Cafe used to be worth waiting...

Update: Under the old management, I stopped there one evening and got the Reuben. It was amazingly good. Tried it the other night and, sadly, nowhere near as good. The mushroom soup is nice, though.

Having been closed for more than 2.5 months for a change of ownership, Milo's is finally open again!

Word must have gotten out, because when I visited 7/20 at about 9:30am, the place was pretty full. The menu has changed, but my favorite Rueben is still on the new menu. Pricing is higher, with that Rueben now pushing close to $20. While I was tempted to go for it to see if it was up to the previous standard, I went for a breakfast entree, some of which have gotten rather pricey as well. The bacon & eggs and the Italian sausage & eggs are reasonable at $13.50. Same with the scrambles. But a simple veggie omelette for almost $17? And a bowl of oatmeal for just shy of $12?

Given those choices, the crab cakes and eggs choice seemed to be a good value at less than $21. But when brought out, the crab cakes looked disappointingly tiny. On the plus side, they were quite good, LOTS of crab without a lot of filler. Generous portion of scrambled eggs were nicely done. The twice- or perhaps thrice-deepfried potatoes aren't bad, but so many places in Portland have a much stronger breakfast potato game. So much so that just the potatoes can be the star of a breakfast plate.

I'll post up a photo of the crab cake breakfast, as well as the new menu. Service was a bit slow, since only one scrambling waiter to do the whole place with nearly every table seated, but when he was able to take my order, the food came...