Paradox Cafe
Paradox Cafe: A Portland vegan-friendly diner
Paradox Cafe was a vegan-friendly restaurant on Southeast Belmont Street in Portland’s Sunnyside neighborhood. It operated for about 30 years before closing permanently in 2025. The cafe served breakfast, lunch, and dinner with large portions in a casual setting with formica tables. Its menu included vegan biscuits and gravy, buckwheat pancakes, burgers, salads, sandwiches, scrambles, soups, and a vegan corndog, along with the Holy Mole Chili.
Owner Bonnie Downey bought the cafe in 2006. In 2014, the chef was Danny Belthius, and the restaurant had eight employees in 2018. Paradox won Willamette Week’s Best Flesh-Free Restaurant in 2002. In 2019, the paper called it a potential Portland’s best-kept brunch secret, noting its affordable prices and a popular hog-style biscuits and gravy with coffee. Eater Portland included Paradox in a 2016 list of the city’s twelve iconic greasy-spoon breakfast spots.
Location: 3439 Southeast Belmont Street, Portland, OR 97214.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 04:50 (CET).