Dinner
Late-Night Coffee and Dessert
Order dessert and coffee at a composer-named table; if you sit at the right one, the table may slowly rise, spin, or vibrate.
- Duration:
- 1.3 hr
Haunted Dining / Bar
Rimsky-Korsakoffee House
Classical-music coffee and dessert house operating since 1980 in a 1902 Craftsman home in Portland's Buckman neighborhood, famous for mechanically animated 'haunted' tables and an eerie atmosphere.
707 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Coffee and dessert pricing; cash and card accepted.
Access
Limited Access
Historic Craftsman house with porch steps; main floor dining; no advertised wheelchair access.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1902 · Operating continuously since 1980 in a 1902 Craftsman house · Portland institution noted by Atlas Obscura and Wikipedia · Composer-themed performance and dessert space in the Buckman neighborhood
The Rimsky-Korsakoffee House occupies a 1902 Craftsman-style residence at 707 SE 12th Avenue in Portland's Buckman neighborhood. Before the business opened, the home's owner, Goody Cable, used the living room to host informal classical-music gatherings. In 1980 Cable converted the front rooms into a small dessert-and-coffee house, naming the establishment after the Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and decorating the rooms in a quirky, layered antique aesthetic that has been preserved across decades.
From the outset Rimsky-Korsakoffee was conceived as a performance and atmosphere space rather than a conventional café. Each table is named for a different composer, and live classical music is performed in the salon-style rooms on a regular basis. The menu emphasizes desserts, espresso drinks, and after-dinner specialties; the venue is open evenings only.
Over more than four decades the business has become a Portland institution and a fixture of regional 'strange places' coverage, including a longstanding Atlas Obscura listing and a Wikipedia article. The 1902 Craftsman building itself is not designated historic, but the interior has been preserved largely unchanged since the early 1980s, lending the venue much of its reputation for both architectural and atmospheric peculiarity.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimsky-Korsakoffee_House
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rimsky-korsakoffee-house-skb
- https://fhspost.com/7394/feature/rimsky-korsakoffee-house-a-world-of-desserts-ghosts-and-classical-music/
Tables that mechanically rise, spin, vibrate, or disappear (staff-operated theatrical effects)Loud unexplained footsteps and slamming doors/windows when building is empty (staff-reported)Cold spots and the sensation of being watched, especially in upstairs roomsOccasional reports of fleeting figures glimpsed at the edge of vision
Rimsky-Korsakoffee House is widely listed among Portland's haunted restaurants, with feature coverage on Atlas Obscura, Wikipedia, and regional ghost-tour itineraries. The signature element of the experience is a set of 'haunted' tables, each named for a composer. One table reportedly rises approximately eighteen inches every forty-five minutes before returning to its original height; the Sergei Rachmaninoff table shakes when a button is pressed in the kitchen; and the Stephen Sondheim table disappears completely through a slit in the wall (Wikipedia; Atlas Obscura).
Notably, these effects are mechanical theater rather than asserted paranormal events. The Wikipedia entry and other sources describe the table animations as part of the venue's intentionally eerie atmosphere, and the FHS Post feature explicitly frames the 'haunted' reputation as a blend of theatrical effect, eccentric decor, and decades of suggestive dim-lit performance.
Beyond the theatrical tables, staff accounts document non-mechanical phenomena. According to the Portland Mercury's 'Ghostly Gourmands' feature (October 29, 2009), long-time employee Gillian Nance stated: 'I believe in ghosts because of this place' — describing loud, unexplained footsteps and slamming doors and windows occurring when no one else was present, intense enough that she would leave the building to wait at a nearby convenience store. The owner professes the house is haunted by former tenants, a pair of writers who bore witness to the Russian Revolution.
Additional accounts from customers and former employees describe cold spots, fleeting glimpses of figures, and the sensation of being watched in the upstairs and back areas of the house. Rimsky-Korsakoffee is best understood as a venue that has cultivated and lived inside a haunted aesthetic for more than forty years, with the line between staged effect and genuine folkloric haunting deliberately blurred.
Media Appearances
- Atlas Obscura entry, 'Rimsky-Korsakoffee House'
- Wikipedia article, 'Rimsky-Korsakoffee House'
- Portland Mercury, 'Ghostly Gourmands' (October 29, 2009)
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experienceSources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Similar Destinations
Haunted Dining / Bar
Old Town Pizza & Brewing
Portland, OR
The building dates to roughly 1880 and originally housed the Merchant Hotel, one of Portland's oldest surviving commercial structures in the Old Town/Chinatown district. Old Town Pizza opened in the former lobby in 1974 under the Accuardi family and now operates as Old Town Pizza & Brewing. The pizzeria sits directly above sections of the Portland Underground, commonly known as the Shanghai Tunnels.
$$ All Ages
Family: High
Haunted Dining / Bar
White Eagle Saloon & Hotel
Portland, OR
The building at 836 N Russell Street was constructed in 1899, with the saloon opened in 1905 by Polish immigrants Bronislaw 'Barney' Soboleski and William Hryszko, who named it for the white eagle on the Polish flag. It served as a rough-and-tumble working-class bar with rooms upstairs and was nicknamed the 'Bucket of Blood.' McMenamins purchased and rehabilitated the property in 1997, and it now operates as a bar and hotel.
$$ All Ages
Family: Moderate
Haunted Dining / Bar
Snow City Cafe (Pfeil Building)
Anchorage, AK
Snow City Cafe has occupied the historic building at 1034 West 4th Avenue, on the corner of 4th and L Street, since 1998. The same building previously housed the travel agency run by Muriel Pfeil. On September 30, 1976, Pfeil was killed by a car bomb planted in her Volvo, parked in the lot directly across L Street from this building. It remains the only car bombing in Alaska's history and has never been solved.
$$ All Ages
Family: Moderate
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rimsky-Korsakoffee House family-friendly?
Dim, atmospheric setting and unexpected table movement can startle small children; older kids generally enjoy the novelty. Overall family fit: Moderate.
How much does it cost to visit Rimsky-Korsakoffee House?
Coffee and dessert pricing; cash and card accepted.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Rimsky-Korsakoffee House wheelchair accessible?
Rimsky-Korsakoffee House has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Historic Craftsman house with porch steps; main floor dining; no advertised wheelchair access..