BREAKFAST & LUNCH IN BEND, OREGON
Café Sintra
Open and airy, Café Sintra offers breakfast and lunch in the minimalist surroundings of an historic building in downtown Bend. You can start your day with one of their generous glasses of orange juice or a selection from the full-service coffee bar. Pastry offerings are limited, but their signature “Bom Dia”, a multi-grain muffin filled with carrots, coconut, nuts and fruit, is a good choice. The spinach and goat cheese omelet, on the other hand, is disappointingly bland. Not much better is the bowl of fresh fruit, most of it being under ripe and out of season.
Café Sintra, 1024 NW Broad Street, Bend, Oregon
541-385-8004The Downtown Caffeine Scene

Downtown Caffeine Scene

Di’lusso

Bread, pastries and muffins crowd the display cases along with a few pre-packaged salads and sandwiches at Di’lusso, located at 144 Bond Street. The strip mall appearance of the exterior belies an attractively restored interior. By 9:00 the morning crowd is overflowing onto the sidewalk seating; this is a good sign.

Bellatazza
Bellatazza, 864 NW Wall Street, is the local take on Starbucks with an atmosphere that is strikingly similar. The usual selection of coffees is available along with an array of muffins, pastries and packaged sandwiches and salads. Indoor seating is limited, but the adjacent courtyard provides a good spot to scope out the downtown scene. And yes, there is a real Starbucks downtown also.

Balay

It takes some determination to find Balay, but this charming coffee and tea house is worth the effort. You’ll discover it tucked behind some other businesses just off Brooks Street near the end of Oregon Avenue. If you go by car, park in the city lot and you’ll be right at their front door. Both indoor and outdoor tables offer views of adjacent Drake Park and the river beyond, making it an ideal spot to spend a quiet morning with a cup of their hot tea. Coffee drinks and sodas are also available. Munchies include muffins, pastries and a few sandwiches and salads.

Wine Shops and Breweries

Several wine shops and a brewery sampling room are sprinkled along Brooks Street just beyond Balay. These include Volcano Vineyards, which has limited hours but boasts a kid-friendly atmosphere; Brewdistillery, featuring their local beers; and The Wine Shop, which displays 20-30 wines from each of several regions including Oregon, Washington, France, Italy and South America. Tastings are available along with some wines-by-the-glass.

Picnic Anyone?

CIBO

While Bend offers a plethora of intriguing cafes, bistros and wine bars too numerous to mention, your best bet for lunch on a glorious spring day is to put together your own picnic along with a good bottle of wine, then head down to Drake Park to enjoy the carefully manicured grounds and gaze at the river as it makes its leisurely way through town. Or you might head out to Shelvin Park, located several miles out of town (take Greenwood/Newport Avenues west from Highway 97). Picnic shelters are located along the river in a natural setting of Ponderosa pine and sagebrush. For your picnic supplies, stop by:CIBO
Here a tempting selection of fresh baguettes, chiabata and other breads are baked daily in the small, but businesslike kitchen just behind the service counter of this take-out only establishment. Several fresh salads are also offered along with sandwiches and soup. Their small selection of wine is sold by the bottle and includes some real gems. The congenial owners, who do all of the cooking and wait on customers, will gladly help you put together a meal as well as dispense advice on places to visit. Take-out dinners are also available if ordered before 2:00 pm. – Will Foster
CIBO, 1314 Galveston, Bend, Oregon
330-5737