Grand Central Bakery - Beaumont cafe, Portland OR

I've been here a couple of times and have tried their pastries and they are pretty good. The cookies are really sweet though so I would recommend having water around. It's not too crowded, but that also depends when you visit. Overall I would visit again.

The best chai I have ever had! So so good.

We had the croissant, iced brioche bun, sticky pecan bun, and the cheddar egg breakfast sandwich. Everything was amazing. Lovely atmosphere. The line moves quickly and they have an extensive selection of items.

Today was apparently the wrong day to come here. We ordered two sandwiches for "here" and then sat down and waited. And waited and waited. No one was getting their orders, only two had come out of the kitchen in 15 minutes.

At the 20 minute mark I asked to have our sandwiches changed to "to go" because we had an appointment to get to.

I could hear the kitchen staff barking at the rest of the staff that it would be at least a 20-25 minute wait. The front counter staff said they had been telling people. We were never told. Had we been told we would have taken our business elsewhere.

Multiple people walked up asking about their sandwiches and while the barista and counter staff were absolutely trying their hardest the bad attitude and lack of service from the back of house made this the WORST experience. You could feel the tension in the place as customer after customer walked up to ask when they would get their food.

It took 35 minutes to get our sandwiches.
We made it to the appointment on time, but I will not be returning to this location for any reason. I am horribly disappointed at the attitude and slow back of house. To make matters worse somehow both of our tuna melts tasted like bacon.

Oh, by the way. It looked from my perspective that they were prioritizing online orders instead of in house. Serious time management issues.

We love Grand Central. Particularly this location the food just tastes better. Great café with outdoor dining.

My daughter and I were in search of a good cinnamon roll following a run. This place had so much more. Their rolls and muffins were so good that we later tried their lunch. The grilled cheese and soup were perfect on a cold, rainy Portland day. So perfect in fact, we did the same thing two days later.

Don’t come here in a rush: this place was nearly packed at 2p on a weekday.but because it’s so lovely you’ll want to return! Had a delicious cup of soup with fresh bread and a lay of butter. Perfect after a long walk this morning! Seating for small parties or solo at the window bar seats. So happy I saw the + reviews for this place. $5 for meal, with added tip

Always yummy (tough to choose), pie & pizza dough are great and helpful when needed. So glad they are in the neighborhood!

Food is great but they move like turtles majority of the time. If you order a sandwich on the website it takes 45 to get. If you show up 5 min before the estimated time they have a huge attitude. When I walked up to the pick up window and rang the bell which it says to they will look over and then turn the other way like you're not there. I'm still waiting after 50 minutes

I really can't wrap my head around this place and why it does so well. The bread quality is so average. The air pockets in every loaf make this bread impossible to use in just about everything. It's really not that hard to make a loaf of bread, I am shocked that Portlanders accept these standards. Save your $$ and bake yourself

We have been buying pastries, bread and sandwiches from this GCB location for years. Friendly and attentive staff. Delicious baked goods. Don't listen to those reviewers who say the pastries aren't good - they are amazing. My teen loves the iced brioche bun! Our go-to bread is the Como, sliced. We usually order in advance and it's ready when we go pick it up. Super easy. Super fast. They can get busy during rush meal times in the morning and at lunch, but that's to be expected at a popular place. So glad they are in our neighborhood!

We absolutely love the Pecan Pullapart, and the sausage biscuit sandwich is a guilty pleasure. Well worth the wait when it's busy.

We used to get lunch and a loaf of bread here about once a week. Food is consistent and staff is friendly but they slowly took away all the customization options from the online ordering system. One day you can't add bacon, a couple weeks later no adding avocado, and now you can't order an extra egg on the breakfast sandwiches. So now I just look at the menu with disappointment and don't order. Oh well.

RE owner response: I'm not sure how an order with modifications placed online is more complicated than modification communicated verbally in store. I appreciate that y'all are trying to make things easier on employees and I appreciate you communicating clearly that people with time to sit and wait are prioritized over folks that need to grab and go. It is a reasonable choice I suppose I'm just not in your target demo. Updated to 5 stars for all the great workday lunches of the past!

Love this spot for a good sandwich. Staff is friendly, bread is fresh and the drinks are well made.

Excellent bakery, most excellent soup, sandwiches are first class. Como bread is most excellent

Good food. Horrific service.

We recently moved to the neighborhood and frequent Beaumont village. Our first experience here we ordered two breakfast sandwiches. Like many others have said the sandwiches took over 30 minutes to make and it was not particularly busy, maybe 5-7 other people in the restaurant many of which already had their food.

After that we discovered they have online ordering and have been loyal customers, ordering at least once a week on average. While online ordering takes at least 45mins - 1hour regardless of your order (even just pastries), we saw that as a small price to pay.

Fast forward to today, I ordered two sandwiches around 1245 that wouldn’t be ready until 130pm. My afternoon turned out to be busier than expected, got stuck in a bunch of meetings, and while I asked my husband if he could go pick up the sandwiches there was some miscommunication around when they would be ready. By the time we realize the sandwiches had not been picked up, it’s 3pm which is when Grand Central closes. I immediately call them to see if we can still pick up our sandwiches. I speak to someone who attempts to find our order (there are two other orders that she can find, presumably people who have not yet picked up their food either) but cannot find mine. After being put on hold she comes back and says unfortunately they threw out our sandwiches. They can’t make new sandwiches and can only offer a partial refund. I’m obviously upset and confused by this answer and she has me speak to her manager, Angela. Angela proceeds to say they are short staffed, which is a comment I’ve seen made in response to other complaints, and that instead of calling us they decided to throw away our food. She refuses to give me a full refund because she doesn’t want to take the hit for the money spent on the product. I was shocked. I’ve worked in the food industry for years and I’ve never heard of such poor customer service. The product price that the company pays is a small fraction compared to what we are charged as customers. I was blamed for the situation, which is fair within reason as we were at fault, but felt completely dismissed and no responsibility taken on from them for throwing out the food or lack of communication with us on their end. What would have happened if I never called? Would they have thrown out the food and pocketed all the money? If the staff had enough time to throw out the food, they had enough time to call us and see if we were still able to come get our order. While I understand staffing as a whole is an issue for many businesses, and I’m empathetic to that, my experience is that Grand Central always has at least 5+ individuals behind the counter, not including those in the kitchen, many of which are doing what appear to be side work. I think they are leaning on this as an excuse instead of showing up for their customers. To say I’m extremely disappointed is an understatement, and we unfortunately won’t be returning to this establishment.

Super friendly staff, great chai and pastries. I'm so happy they're open with indoor seating and don't discriminate.

Celebrated my birthday with brunch and a view! Mackenzie (sp?) was SO sweet and decorated the mocha for my birthday and helped me decide between two sandwiches. Such a pleasant experience and great customer service. (Also pictured: latte and iced cinnamon bun)

Consistent and always works the bucks. Its quick and on point! Those pickles are special along with the Turkey and chutney.

The best biscuits ever! I LOVE their breakfast sandwiches Plus everything else there is amazingly delicious. Carbs are good for the soul, and when they're made by the especially talented folks at GC, you're in for one heck of a treat!