Nutshell Restaurant

08/03/09

Overpriced micromeals served by d-bags

by sharonportland

My husband and I came here because of friends with an open mind. We winced when we saw the prices but assumed the food was organic and freshly prepared, so it would be worth it. The waiter took almost ten minutes to even wait on our table, but didn't ID an underage party member, so we overlooked the poor service.

When asking the server about the portion sizes of some of the menu items he explained to us that "our chef just really likes making appetizers, so everything on the menu is appetizer size, and you can just order multiple things." Hello!? Did I just land on planet crazy?! Even so, we ordered after deciding that we really only needed appetizer portions anyway, that way there wouldn't be any leftovers.

I ordered what appeared on the menu to be vegan chili with roasted corn and beans. My husband ordered a grilled cheese and tomato soup. The waiter warned us that the grilled cheese came with real cheese unless substituted (wtf? how can you promote this place as 'all vegan'?) When the food arrived I took one look at my plate and decided I was done being polite and understanding. My so called chili was an actual chili pepper stuffed with corn and beans. Do you know how small a chili pepper is? It's not big. My husbands soup was served to him in a dish not much larger than a soy sauce dish at a sushi restaurant. An extra insult was the grilled cheese. It was literally a quarter sandwich. That's right, take a sandwich and cut it in half, throw the first half away and cut the remainder in half again.

One chili pepper and a tablespoon of veggies...... $9

Two spoonfuls soup and a quarter sandwich ...... $9

Two glasses of wine................................................... $14

Seeing a grown man wearing a woman's V neck sweater and a purple headband.................Priceless

ONLY COME HERE IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO WASTE AND YOUR LOOKING FOR A GOOD LAUGH

• Pros: Vegan food and wine
• Cons: Everything else

05/26/09

Strange Experience

by PdxAboutTown

Went here for a friends B-day was excited to be somewhere where he could anything on the menu, Found very strange dishes appealling to the mind but when they got to me, not so appealling to the palate. Our service took forever and dishes didn't even arrive together or at proper times in the least, who's running their kitchen!? My soup was cold and shouldn't have been half of the starter courses we ordered never showed up. I want to like this place but they have really got to get their house in order first.

• Pros: Vegatarian Fare
• Cons: Bizarre Food, poor wait-staff

11/13/08

Wonderful Wednesday!

by emcg

So my friend and I meet up for Wednesday night dinners. And we found our "wednesday place" with Nutshell. It is AMAZING! I am vegetarian, my friend is not, and I have to be honest I have never really found vegan to be my thing...as many times as I tried it. EVERYTHING, every single thing we tried last night was amazing.

If I had to thrown in anything to counteract this effusive outpouring of positivity it would be ambiance. The food and eclectic dishes are so full of warmth and comfort that the stark cavernous space becomes extremely apparent. The intention may have been to have the space take a backseat to the food, but because of the dramatic contrast (especially in rainy November) it stands out as a cold space.

That however will not sway us from keep coming back. I am recommending it to everyone. Even my sister

who is coming for the holidays and doesn't like anything verging on vegetarian/vegan.

Love, love, love it! Thank you for such beautiful food!

• Pros: Beautiful inspired combinations on quirky eclectic mixmatched plates ;)
• Cons: If anything...starkness of atmosphere...but wouldn't stop me from eating there again ;)