Nick's Famous Coney Island — Restaurant in Portland

This review is based on a burger week experience, but it gave me enough to know I wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

Being new to town, it’s nice to see when local restaurants involve themselves in experiences like a burger week, because it gives people a good reason to check out new neighborhoods and support local businesses that make up our main streets in this city.

I held of on breakfast this particular day and waited for this burger based on its pictures, and was quoted disappointed when I saw the way it came out. The big nick, was more like a double patty burger with a hint of slaw. Others around be got the full experience of the triple bun, but I did not. Oh well right maybe it saved me a few carbs and calories. But if you’re serving a limited menu because it’s burger week, you have to nail each burger that leaves your kitchen. Batch cooking these burgers when the place isn’t packed out is acceptable especially when you have to close out the tab each time if you’re hoping to get this special.

Speaking of closing out each time, starting a tab wasn’t an option, because tabs were getting lost. I’m sorry but how is that the customers issue?

Again this place at the time of day I went around 2:00pm wasn’t busy at all, but limited menu was offered because it has the potential to be crazy for burger week, employees words not mine, which is also why you have to order at the bar although the young lady was walking around the floor grabbing glasses and such. You’re telling me a customer who is eating and asks for a drink has to stop, put there food down, go to the bar and wait for a drink, while there food goes cold under the excuse of we might get busy because it’s burger...

We bought quite a few dogs, wanting a large sample selection, since it was our first visit. We ordered 4 dogs & here they are in our order of favorites first: Chicago dog 🤤, a double Coney Island dog 🎪, a Seattle dog 🇩🇪, and a Cowboy dog. The Chicago dog is a classic & Nick's does it justice & then some. The Coney Island dog had some of the best chilli I've had in Oregon yet. The Seattle dog was delicious, but could have done with a little less sauce- it overpowered the sauerkraut a bit. The Cowboy dog was good, but far too tomato-y. I was expecting much more of a BBQ taste to the dog & got a much richer ketchup taste from it, so it bottomed out our list. The restaurant was spacious and set up quite nicely. The restroom however were tiny & not the cleanest (it is a bar too though, so this wasn't unexpected). The service was surprisingly quick, despite there only being 2 workers, the cook & Nick (the owner). Nick was aces. He was polite, courteous & funny. He refilled our drinks before we could hit the bottom of our glasses. He asked how our meal was going a few times & how we liked the food. It was one of the most pleasant experiences we've had in Portland. We'll definitely be back & we'd definitely recommend. Just make sure to use the restroom before you...

I visited 8/24/25 @ around 4pm. My wife and I took a empty table after waiting by the door for about 5min (they were slammed, so it made sense they didn't have the bandwith to seat). After looking over the menu I went to the bar and ask if we ordered at the bar or if we should wait at the table (there was 3 other groups that had come in after we did), I was informed we ordered at the bar. After I was told we order at the bar I informed the gentleman we were ready and started telling them our ordered, he was making eye contact as I order the drinks and part of the 1st food request and he walked away. He went to the other end of the bar and took 2 of the 3 that entered in after we did. Then he cashed out a tab and came back to where I was standing (thinking he circled back to me I asked if we could put in the order and he smiled and started taking the order of the 3rd couple. After he took their order I spoke up a bit and said we were ready to place a order, again he looked at me and walked off. We put the menus back on the table and found a different place to dine. As a Hawthorne native for over 40 years I am bummed, this is not our...