The farm-to-table restaurant Cafe Rowan operates on César E Chávez Boulevard at Holgate Boulevard^[1] in southeast Portland's Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood at the boundary with the Woodstock neighborhood.^[2][3] The Portland Mercury has described the restaurant as "a bright space with an open kitchen that serves some supremely photogenic dishes".^[4] It has a seating capacity of 42 people,^[2] as well as outdoor seating.^[4][5] The patio is dog-friendly.^[6] The business is named after the owner's Labrador Retriever.^[7]

Brunch is served Wednesdays through Sundays.^[8] The menu includes variations of Eggs Benedict with Dungeness crab^[9] or Maine lobster, as well as French toast with bananas foster.^[8] Breakfast burritos have chorizo, roasted garlic potatoes, scrambled eggs, salsa macha, salsa verde, and cilantro-lime crema. The restaurant has also served cheddar grits with blackened shrimp, bacon-shallot jam, and Calabrian chili oil. Among breakfast sandwiches is the Dame, which has breakfast sausage, fried egg, manchego,^[10] gochujang, and Mama Lil's aioli.^[11] The bacon, egg and cheese sandwich has blueberry jam.^[10] Among toasts is The Avocado, which has spring peas, watermelon radish, and tahini with Meyer lemon.^[12] Cafe Rowan has also served Connecticut-style lobster rolls. The lobster roll sampler has Dungeness crab, Maine lobster, and Oregon bay shrimp.^[13] Drink options include coffee^[5] and mimosas with grapefruit or orange juice.^[13]

The dinner menu has included kanpachi crudo with fennel pollen, pan con tomate with duck fat, prosciutto, and sea urchin. Drink options include cocktails and wine.^[5] Cafe Rowan has also offered pastries from the bakery Orange & Blossom.^[6]

In October 2019, Eater Portland described owner Spencer Ivankoe's plans to open Cafe Rowan in early 2020, in a space previously used as a coffee shop by Starbucks. The website's Brooke Jackson-Glidden said Cafe Rowan would be "complete with weekly prix fixe dinners, monthly Jazz brunches, and a wall of Oregon-specific sundries".^[2]

As of January 2020, the restaurant was slated to open in March.^[14] Like many restaurants, the business was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and operated via curbside pickup, take-out, and indoor dining at times.^[15] In 2021, Invakoe launched a dinner series with menus that rotated monthly and were paired with winemakers.^[16][17][18] In 2023, Eater Portland described the cafe's plans to formally launch dinner service.^[5] The restaurant was broken into in 2024.^[3]

For Dumpling Week, Cafe Rowan has offered dumplings with Maine Lobster and shrimp, served in tom kha broth with coconut milk, fish sauce, galangal, lemongrass, lime, and Thai chilis.^[19]

Nathan Williams included Cafe Rowan in Eater Portland's 2023 overview of recommended restaurants in Creston-Kenilworth.^[5] Ben Coleman and Alex Frane included the business in the website's 2024 list of Portland's eighteen best breakfast sandwiches,^[10] and Zoe Baillargeon included Cafe Rowan in a 2025 overview of the city's best breakfasts.^[11] Emily Hunt included Cafe Rowan in Tasting Table's 2025 list of Portland's eighteen best brunch restaurants.^[8] Cafe Rowan won in the "best restaurant" and "best brunch" categories of The Oregonian's Readers Choice Awards in 2025.^[20][21]