According to the website's Michelle DeVona, "this cheerful, art-decked restaurant is a Portland favorite for its well-portioned breakfast scrambles and sandwiches, in addition to its extensive boozy brunch menu complete with mimosa buckets".

The spacious dining room is open, and there are plenty of outdoor tables; that being said, plan for a wait at this neighborhood hotspot.

[7][8] In 2011, the restaurant expanded next door into a space which had housed a bar, and announced plans to start serving dinner.

[9] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jam on Hawthorne received a permit from the Portland Bureau of Transportation's (PBOT) Healthy Businesses Program to serve on sidewalks and streets temporarily.

[13] Jenni Moore included Jam on Hawthorne in the Portland Mercury's 2020 list of "five excellent brunch spots where the mimosas are at least plentiful, strong, and multifarious".

For the same poll in 2017, readers named Jam on Hawthorne a winner and runner-up in the Best Mimosa and Best Brunch Spot categories.