Reviews (100)
I have a special place in my heart for a darkly lit bar, open early in the morning, with numerous people opening their first beers of the day. I enjoyed myself. Had some good conversation. Waitress was dicing with a customer. Biscuits and gravy were decent. If you're up early and feel like drinking in a very old bar, it's a good spot.
It was fabulous. These 2 plates are 1 meal! Chicken fried steak breakfast!
Authentic bar with great tequila and good food, all at bargain prices and Oregon hospitality. A historic building in a frontier town-belly up to this bar.
Great food on a quiet Sunday evening. We ordered the chicken strips and chicken fried steak - both were outstanding. Warning, though: large portions here!
Whenever I’m visiting a town, I love to find the local “breakfast joints” in town. I just so happened to stumble on The Rainbow Cafe during my search, and wow, I wasn’t disappointed! It’s located in “old” downtown right on Main St., and it purports to be the first brick building in Pendleton and was built in 1884. The inside is ample in size and has a warm, rustic feel. The service was very good and the food was excellent. I ordered the chicken fried steak and eggs, and was delivered two plates filled with food. The CFS is pounded thin and coated in breading and fried to a perfect crispness. It was served smothered in gravy (which is very good as well), along with 3 eggs, hash browns, and toast. A tasty cup of black coffee topped off the meal and left me completely satisfied. At the time of this review, it’s price was $13.50. A score! So, if you’re anywhere near Pendleton, OR, do yourself a favor and hit up The Rainbow Cafe for any meal.
Breakfast was delicious! Seemed the wait however was quite long.
I love the rainbow normally but I’ve been here 1 hour and still have no food and we have hardly had any service . In response to owner: I have worked in the service industry myself (in Pendleton and even during events) and I have had many meals at the Rainbow. It was not that busy of the day, I think your cook was just not able to time things well. Our waitress did box up our food it took over an hour and a half for it be complete. I know it's not your kitchen size, it was the flow of preparing the food. I think the waitress was super flustered and in response kind of avoided us, as she didn't know what else to do, which I realized after posting this message. I look forward to visiting again, like I said I love the Rainbow and have for many years. I know there is always a learning curve to owning a business and training staff. I look forward to your ability to work through the kinks and have success! I also very much appreciate your response to my review.
Attempted TWICE to eat here recently. We’re turned away on Saturday evening due to an ordinance that prevents minors from entering after 4:30pm. Came back Sunday on recommendation for breakfast. We were told to sit where we like and when we sat in a booth, we were informed we couldn’t sit bc of our teenager. The tables in back were filthy so we left.
The staff were super kind and the food came in massive portions! Great diner food; however, I was a little disturbed generally by the lack of hand washing after handling raw bacon. If raw meat touching your plate and coffee mugs doesn’t bug you, I’d recommend!
Best chicken in Pendleton, whether you want wings or chicken dinner. Staff are awesome. Memorabilia is Pendleton proud. Whatever drink you order, it's spot on. Prices are below the incredible value of a stellar meal.
It's one of the best bars in Pendleton. I love their breakfast menu and Shelly always serves fantastic drinks.
Drinks priced very reasonable. They now accept credit cards!!!
One of the BEST chicken fried steaks I have ever had
This was an incredibly refreshing stop after a long day's journey. The food was really good and the service was so kind and above and beyond. Mike served us. He gave friendly and fun conversation and gave us tips for our road trip. It was a breath of fresh air. We got the rainbow chicken and BLT. The chicken was very juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. As a southerner, I was impressed with the texture and juiciness. However, I would personally put more spices in the breading like pepper, paprika, cayenne, garlic and onion, but that's just what I like. Mike threw in some free jojos (potato wedges). He brought my dog some water. My husband and I were really grateful for the service we received. We are definitely coming back if we pass through again!
Took over 30 minutes to get our food, but the food was very good
Always good 👍 👌 great collection of round up history!
Fries were cold. Cheese curds were solid cheese and both tasted of old oil. The bartender only offered a single refill on my beer and that was when the food was brought.
This is NOT a cafe. It's a BAR that you don't have to leave to get food. Been here since 1883! I believe it. I wouldn't change the name, either. No doubt invokes feelings of great pride with a rich history of evading Johnny Law with their "cafe" wares. The food is absolutely last-day supermarket quality at hotel dining room prices. The service is sensational, I mean it. But not enough to compensate for the low quality of ingredients that they have to work with. All told, I WILL BE BACK. Even I sometimes want to be where I can see, our troubles are all the same, You wanna be where everyone knows... your name! After that time, I may well improve my rating to 4 stars. I don't think I could ever live with giving a speakeasy 5.
Very different atmosphere. Seems like a very popular place. Nice place, buy they seemed a bit understaffed.
Great place small town atmosphere great historical part of Pendleton