On our visit in Portland, we wanted to grab a quick breakfast and came upon The Waffle Window on our adventures on SE Hawthorne Blvd. It’s a shop that sells Liege-style waffles through a window of the Bread and Ink Cafe. They have setup a large tent to eat out of, however as it was pouring rain outside, they offered a small indoor section of the Bread and Ink Cafe to customers.

We went inside to order to avoid standing in the rain. The section where Waffle Window was sectioned off was completely packed with people waiting for tables! Luckily the nice people at Bread and Ink Cafe allowed the overflow of customers to sit at their tables as well, even though everyone was ordering from the Waffle Window. The Waffle Window offers a wide variety of savory and sweet options for waffles – from their most basic Pearl Sugar Waffle to seasonal specials like Key Lime Waffle or Enchanted Springtime Waffle. Upon reading all the descriptions and looking at some of the dishes coming out of the kitchen, we decided to order the Enchanted Springtime Waffle (sweet) and the Farm Fusion with Bacon Waffle (savory). They took our name and order at the counter, paid and sat down. Once our order was ready they called our names to the counter to pick up. It’s a self-serve type of location, so you have to grab your own plastic forks, water, etc. Although it was quite busy, the waffles didn’t take too long to be prepared, estimate 10-15 minutes.

We dug into the savory waffle first. The Farm Fusion is actually a Vegetarian waffle that consists of mushrooms, spinach, roasted peppers, tomato and marinated chevre. However we chose to add bacon onto it as some other customers had done. This was quite enjoyable as the bacon was thick-cut and peppery. The flavors of the marinated chevre, mushrooms, roasted peppers and other vegetables also offered the right balance to the saltiness of the bacon and the crispy & sweet waffle.

Digging into the Enchanted Springtime Waffle, which it did look quite enchanting with all the whip cream and fruits, we were surprisingly pleased by how light it felt – not extremely rich and sweet as expected. This waffle consists of a pile of fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc) topped with fresh whip cream, creamsicle mousse, and lemon curd drizzled on to the whole plate. I love the lemon curd and the creamsicle mousse as that was what made the dish enchanting!

I really enjoyed my experience at Waffle Window and hope to visit again the next time I’m in Portland. During sunny days I’m sure the experience is better since you purchase directly from the window and eat outside. However, whether rain or shine, the waffles stand out on its own!