Pied Cow Coffeehouse

by Erin B.

The chocolate peanut butter in a teacup dessert is ridiculously good and the ambiance, sitting under clear lights and green leafy trees in the garden, can't be beat.  One of my favorite dessert spots in town.

by Janet L.

We showed up around 8pm on a Friday and there was no wait and plenty of outdoor tables available, but when we left an hour or so later there was a wait. We just stopped by dessert but I would love to come back for hookah. Their outdoor yard is such a hidden gem, it feels so secluded even though Belmont is just on the other side of the brush.Service was good. Actually I thought service was crappy for the last half hour we were there since nobody would come to our table so we could ask for a check. Then someone came by and we asked for the check and they picked it up off our table where it had been sitting for who knows how long. Someone very stealthily set it down without us noticing and the dusky light did not help its visibility.So 4 stars it is for a yummy rootbeer float. I definitely want to come back to try one of their other desserts or some food... everything I saw others around us getting looked great.

by Monica B.

Kind over overpriced for mediocre food. The best features of this place are the distinctive decour and patrons.  The experience was very enjoyable, however that was primarily due to the company I kept for this meal as well as enjoying the art and scenerey.  The meal was nothing to write home about, and was pretty much completely unmemorable.

by Art K.

Yay Pied Cow! Always a great hangout in SE. There are more cool coffee places in Portland than you can throw a stick at, but everyone knows Pied Cow. I only wish the rest of the world would take it as an example, and stop opening glossy, sterile, coffee shops that resemble dentist offices. Furniture does not have to match, people! It's better if it doesn't! Sorry, I digress.

by lindsey r.

Ah, yes. High school chats over a chai milkshake and a pack of menthols. We've all been there. There's places like this in every city. I wanted to like this place because it's close and somewhat cozy, but it was too "Hey man, we're funky and chill and don't really believe in good service."Also overpriced. Also the servers were extremely...drowsy. So I guess if you're seventeen and want to quote Nietzsche all night, you should be fine. The hookahs smelled nice though.

by june r.

I JUST got back from taking my friend who is visiting to The Pied Cow. I went for the 16 dollar hookah (YEESH!) and she was hungry so she ordered "The Salmon Plate". We had this tall and unhappy waiter w/ a sunken face and slicked back black hair who was extremely unpleasant from the start. Anyways, her salmon plate was (not joking) a relatively small portion of cold salmon w/ mounds and mounds of cream cheese, slices of cucumber and a HUGE amount of those white saltine crackers that they sell at Safeway. Do you know which crackers I'm talking about? Okay, so, my friend tells the waiter that what she ordered isn't exactly what she was expecting. Which can happen, it's not entirely her fault. Who will honestly eat that many saltine crackers and cream cheese for 10 dollars anyways? He looks at her blankly and says in the most rude and obnoxious way that he has no idea what she was expecting b/c that IS the salmon plate. Well, duh, mister. Anyways, she tells our waiter that she was expecting something a little different; something possibly hot. Then he said to her in this horribly rude and unattractive way that "IT'S THE SMOKED SALMON!" After he said that I was like "You don't need to be rude to her" and then he looked at me in a horrible way and said to me loudly that he's "JUST STATING THE FACTS!" I told him that that doesn't mean he's not being rude to her and that her plate is just a plate of saltine crackers. Which, if he's stating the facts, the menu would've said "Salmon plate w/ saltine crackers for 10 dollars!". He took her plate and literally smashed her silverware into the wash-bin that was outside. He then came back and told me in front of everyone that I "shouldn't be complaining for food I'm not paying for!" and I said "Hey! Honestly? Honestly? Chill out!" and he said "No, nope! Don't talk to me." My waiter told me to not talk to him? He then preceded to hang out in front of the window that was nearest to where we were sitting outside and stare at me. He also purposefully talked about us in front of us to his coworkers. I'm not kidding! I'm not a crazy lady, and I'm a pretty nice girl. This guy is insane! He refused to help us as customers, smashes silverware in front of us AND other people sitting outside and he tells me that I shouldn't be complaining? I feel that if we didn't have this horrible confrontation w/ him my friend never would've been able to order anything else.Okay, so if you don't want to be overcharged for food/hookah and have undefinable service from an ugly waiter, don't go to The Pied Cow.

by Rochelle L.

After a hearty meal and a few games of feisty scrabble my friend suggests the Pied Cow for desserts. He exclaims eagerly that he's always wondered about this place, has heard great things, and is tortured when he passes by it on the bus. Sounds convincing to me. It's around 10 o'clock when we arrive. We're promptly seated. A moment of silence ensues as all three of just take in our surroundings. Wow, creepy! I actually got out of my seat to peer around the corner where an ominous red glow has caught my attention. I am delighted and horrified to see a stairwell filled with an odd collection of items and statues. I wonder what they're hiding? Hmmm?What we ordered: My friend orders the Marionberry pie w/ a mexican chocolate mocha. My bf and I decide to share the chocolate cake that's served with vanilla ice cream and a shot of espresso you pour over and house coffee. Very tasty and satisfying desserts. Our dessert was delightful, perfectly decadent and enjoyably tantalizing as your mouth is greeted with a mixture of cold meets hot.  The coffees were enjoyable too. My friend seemed to really enjoy the musical selection and I'm a big fan of old creepy stuff. I'm waiting until summer to head back, this time to enjoy their patio seating.

by Danie B.Ryan T.Nickolaus S.AMANDA A.Mikal W.

We traipsed the few blocks from our hostel to the Pied Cow and were immediately happy.  The dim-lit atmosphere, the good ambient music, and the immense beer menu had us grinning.I got the Bernadette Brownie Boat with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and raspberry and was amazed at the serving.  It bested me in the end, but I was satisfied.Shane got 3 beers: Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat (amazingly fruity, but not overwhelming.  Tasted a bit like a jelly doughnut), somebody's Organic Cider (not as sweet after a brownie, but still refreshing), and, of course, Stella.  Which came in its own sexy Stella glass.I wanna go back for the Mediterranean food plates they have.Good place for a first date.  Everyone looks sexier in the dark.The Pied Cow used to be a real treasure, but it's gone down hill in recent years.  I've been there a handful of times and each experience has had something outstandingly terrible about it.First off, the food isn't mind blowing.  It's good, but it doesn't make up for everything else.  If you're looking for something with similar indoor ambiance I  suggest The Rimsky Korsakoffee House.  At least they have live music.So, what's wrong with the place?  Well the service is simply terrible.  I know it's hard to be a server.  You bust your ass and deal with anything from assholes to idiots to parties of 10.  I get that.  That's what tips are for.But these servers are the worst I've ever encountered.  For example, I was outside with a party of 4 or 5 one night, smoking a hookah.  We ordered efficiently and politely.  We never were loud or anything.  At one point our hookah broke.  It straight up fell apart.  We waited for 10 minutes for our server.  Eventually I went over to let her know that it was busted.  She took a further 10 minutes without coming over to the table.  When I flagged her again she said she was busy.They proceeded to charge us for a new coal when they brought out the replacement hookah.  Classy.That's a pretty typical experience for me and my friends at this place.Well I used to like this place.Until we got the ultra rude staff on a Thursday night.Went to get a table and I said "party of six", turned to my friend to ask her something and then the hostess rudely said "HELLO?!" to get my attention.Later when we tried to get the attention of our other rude server after five minutes of sitting down with no help, my friend raised his hand and tried to summon a server when he came by and said "I think Excuse Me or Sir is the proper way to summon a server"Hey maybe my friend was being rude by raiding his hand but I thought i was paying for friendliness as well?  Also you have to be 21+ to smoke Hookah which is bizzaro considering 18 is the legal age to smoke.Rude staff.  Expensive Hookah.  Good bagels.This is tough because I LOVE the atmosphere, the drinks, the food basically everything except the inconsistency of the staff. I came here with a group of about 6 peeps and would not recommend doing this. It was a huge hassle-waiting forever for anything and everything, rude waiter, and after the meal was over and it was time to pay, he told us their debit machine hasn't been working so we'd have to pay in cash. This would have been fine had we been told BEFOREhand. We had to split up and venture off in the pouring rain to get cash back from the grocery store up the street. The waiter was extremely apathetic. To top it off they added 18% gratuity. It was lamzor. If you're not in a group this place is the bees knees. I like the vibe. 3 stars only because the staff sux.Hookah, hummus, and a man-o-rexic waiter in a wife beater and suspenders.. Doesn't get any better.So I lived in Portland for years and I am just now writing about it. I was there this last weekend to watch the UFC fight at the rose garden and the guys I was with said they wanted to try something different, this is easy to do in Portland.So I took them here. Not that great of a food selection but they have hookah and we all like that. We were all pretty happy with what we got. The portions were huge and the prices were decent except the hookah, man what  a rip off, now I own one so I know the costs and every thing that goes along with it. I believe it was almost 20 bucks for the hookah, but it was a good time and we aren't cheap so it wasnt that big of a deal.I had the Meza platter which has tzatziki, hummus, veggies, and pita bread, it was pretty good. The service can be pretty lacking but than again it is Portland and they go at their own pace.

by andrew k.

The hummus is amazing.  Really good.  Worth dealing with the High Schoolers.  But thats it.  The service is better at Mcmenamins, if that means anything.Sometimes they have special beer, sometimes.

by Mikal W.

Hookah, hummus, and a man-o-rexic waiter in a wife beater and suspenders.. Doesn't get any better.So I lived in Portland for years and I am just now writing about it. I was there this last weekend to watch the UFC fight at the rose garden and the guys I was with said they wanted to try something different, this is easy to do in Portland.So I took them here. Not that great of a food selection but they have hookah and we all like that. We were all pretty happy with what we got. The portions were huge and the prices were decent except the hookah, man what  a rip off, now I own one so I know the costs and every thing that goes along with it. I believe it was almost 20 bucks for the hookah, but it was a good time and we aren't cheap so it wasnt that big of a deal.I had the Meza platter which has tzatziki, hummus, veggies, and pita bread, it was pretty good. The service can be pretty lacking but than again it is Portland and they go at their own pace.