Tin Shed Garden Cafe, often shortened as Tin Shed, is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's King neighborhood. Co-owned by Christie Griffin and Janette Kaden, the dog-friendly cafe opened in 2002 and serves American cuisine.
Tin Shed has appeared on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and in a PBS documentary called Breakfast Special. It has garnered a positive reception, mostly as a brunch destination. Yelp ranked Tin Shed the most dog-friendly eatery in the country in 2023.
Description
Tin Shed Garden Cafe is a restaurant on Alberta Street in northeast Portland's King neighborhood.[3][4] The lesbian-owned[5] café has an outdoor dining area, a stone fireplace and chimney, an herb garden,[6] and a menu for dogs.[7][8][9] Tin Shed hosts Doggie Love Night on Tuesdays, as of 2018.[10][11] The promotion allows patrons to purchase a "people-priced" item for a free dog dinner.[12] The restaurant provides cookies and water to dogs at no cost.[13] Tin Shed has also hosted live music performances.[14]The New York Times has said the business "draws the flannel-and-fleece crowd to its rustic patio".[15]
The dog menu has included free range meat options;[20] chicken, ground beef, or pork mixed with rice or sweet potatoes; and peanut butter banana ice cream.[23]
History
Co-owners Christie Griffin and Janette Kaden opened Tin Shed in 2002.[24][25] The restaurant had approximately 30 employees, as of 2005.[26] In 2010, Tin Shed was one of fourteen businesses seeking an exemption to a city ban on the use of public sidewalks for storing trash.[27] The business sold bandanas for dogs, which benefited the Odd Man Inn Animal Refuge, as of 2016.[28]
In 2020, Tin Shed was forced to close temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, but reopened with patio service by early September.[3] The restaurant uses compostable packaging and utensils, as of 2020.[25]
Guy Fieri visited Tin Shed for an episode of the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.[29][30][31] In 2010, the restaurant was featured in a PBS documentary called Breakfast Special. In the show, Breakfast in Bridgetown author Paul Gerald describes how Tin Shed and the restaurant Helser's "helped transform a stretch of street, which at one point was known for having the highest number of drive-by shootings in the city, into one of the city's hippest neighborhoods", according to The Oregonian.[32][33] Chef Nathan Lyon has also visited the restaurant for an episode of Good Food America.[34]
Reception
The restaurant's interior in 2010
In 2009, The Oregonian described Tin Shed as a "throwback" to when "offbeat, multi-ethnic flavors" combined with the American breakfast and said, "In short, this is a restaurant with a personality, one that's hard to dislike."[35] The newspaper's Molly Harbarger and Michael Russell included Tin Shed in a 2019 guide of Portland's 40 best brunches.[36]Fast Company called Tin Shed "unprepossessing" and said it is "as famous for its brunch as it is for its high tolerance for dogs in 2010".[37]
In 2006, Willamette Week readers ranked the café first in the Best Brunch category of the annual "Best of Portland" readers' poll.[38] The restaurant won in the Best Hangover Brunch category in 2007.[39] Tin Shed was a runner-up in the category for best dog-friendly establishments in 2016 and 2017,[40][41] and the café placed second in the Best Brunch Spot category in 2020.[42] The newspaper has included Tin Shed in other lists of recommended cheap eats[43] and places to grab hangover brunch.[44]
Autostraddle, an online magazine for LGBT women, included Tin Shed in a 2012 "Queer Girl City Guide".[45] Kim Hoffman complimented the restaurant's "insane" benedicts in AfterEllen's 2015 city guide for Portland.[5] Carrie Uffindell included the café in Eater Portland's 2019 list of the city's "primo kid-friendly" restaurants,[46] and Brooke Jackson-Glidden and Michelle DeVona recommended the stack with scrambled eggs and grits or potato cakes and mushroom gravy in their 2020 guide to restaurants on Alberta Street.[47] Zoe Baillargeon and Janey Wong included Tin Shed in Eater Portland's 2023 overview of "real-deal" breakfasts in the city, calling Tin Shed a "breakfast hangout".[48]
Thrillist commented on how friendly Tin Shed was with dogs, additionally stating that it was an "exceptional brunch", offering some of the "best burgers" in Portland.[12][49] The website's Alex Frane included Tin Shed in a 2018 list of city's dog-friendly bars.[50] The Food Network has included the artichoke grilled cheese sandwich in a list of the top 16 vegetarian "favorites".[51] In 2023, Yelp ranked Tin Shed number one in a list of the nation's top 100 dog-friendly eateries.[52]The Oregonian's Michael Russell said of the list placement: "Usually I'm skeptical about these kinds of Internet lists, even the ones from Yelp... But in this case, I think they nailed it."[53]
^Williams, Nathan; Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (October 10, 2016). "Where to Eat and Drink on Alberta". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
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