photo/Dan Zarin
Salt Yard Café + Bar
285 Commercial St., Portland
791-0013
saltyardrestaurantandbar.com
I’m going to be honest with you: I was ready to hate Salt Yard Café. Its travel magazine–ready interior and location on the first floor of the uber-modern Canopy by Hilton on Commercial Street remind me of everything I dislike about the shiny, sterilized hotel row in Portland’s Old Port. I’d walked or driven past the restaurant dozens of times since it opened in the summer of 2021, with zero urge to step inside. Then, on a recent weekday morning, a friend suggested meeting there for breakfast. Reluctantly, I agreed.
And I enjoyed every minute of it.
After choosing an open table near a window, we placed our order at the counter. I grabbed a ceramic mug and filled it with outstanding drip coffee from local roastery Rwanda Bean ($3.50).
My friend ordered the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich ($16), served on buttery sourdough toast from South Portland’s Little Spruce Bakery. The bacon was thick and meaty and the eggs nicely fried. The stars of the plate, however, were the super-crispy and aggressively seasoned potatoes on the side.
With a full workday ahead of me, I needed something a bit lighter. I opted for the Lemon-Berry ($15), a satisfying bowl of Greek yogurt with fresh berries, chewy-crunchy granola (made in-house), basil and bright, tart lemon curd.
A couple weeks later, my wife and I woke up early on a Saturday morning and realized we had time to get to Commercial Street before all the parking spots disappeared. It was the perfect opportunity to try some of Salt Yard’s more decadent menu items and get home in time for a mid-morning nap.
This time I ordered the epitome of hotel-restaurant brunch fare: Eggs Benedict ($19). The lightly griddled Canadian bacon was nicely crisped at the edges, the Hollandaise sauce silky smooth and tangy. And hot damn, those super-crispy potatoes!
My wife’s Corned Beef Hash ($18) was outstanding as well, with perfectly seasoned chunks of brisket, potatoes, carrots and onions, two eggs (she chose poached) and two slices of sourdough toast. The small, even dice of the vegetables made it easy to scoop up a bit of everything in each delicious forkful.
Don’t get me wrong — I still don’t love all those bougie new hotels, and I still plan to avoid the Old Port during summer tourism season. But once Labor Day has come and gone along with the crowds, I’ll happily return to Salt Yard for another excellent breakfast.
The Salt Yard Cafe serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
