Merchant Of Venice Cafe (Reported Closed)

Recommends

aloha410

Joined 5 years ago

Closed. Sadly, they closed in Sept. of 2010.

Recommends

CSMobileUser7

Joined 4 years ago

Great food. Great food I had the cheese steak at the bar on Monday. It was the best cheese steak I have ever had, and I used to live an hour outside of Philly. That's saying something. I have ate here a few times now and always have great food and good service.

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ibjhdqwfg

Joined 3 years ago

Great experience!. My husband and I regularly eat at the Merchant as we live in the neighborhood. But even if we didn't, we'd make the trip! The waitstaff are all incredibly thoughtful and go out of their way to make your dining experience pleasurable. The dinner menu is impressive, although I generally don't make it past the daily specials before I've made up my mind! I'd recommend the Merchant to anyone who loves fresh ingredients, a great menu, and fantastic service.

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Brucie

Joined 5 years ago

Have learned from their mistakes. Now a fine eatery. Having read many of the postings I was of course sceptical about dining here. However with a Passport card I figured why not? Apparently the owners have read these posts and have rectified much of what was wrong.

The pear walnut salad was sensational as was the bread. And there wasn't a problem getting another basket. Many people underestimate the importance of good bread at an establishment. The wine list plentiful.

The Manilla clams were good, the broth excellent and the Pasta Bolognese with chicken was adequate and the portion healthy. I know many complained in the past regarding portion size and obviously the owners have listened. My friend's angel hair fish pasta could have used a bit more fish but was tasty,.

The dessert menu was abundant. We chose to split an Amaretto silk pie which was fantastic.

The server was polite, knowledgeable, and the food was served timely.

Ok, I had ordered chicken meatballs instead of chicken chunks with my pasta, so there are still mistakes. However, the waitress sent out a portion of chicken meatballs on the house. That says something.

There is a terrific looking happy hour menu as well.

In summary, not the best restaurant in the world, not the best in Portland, but certainly more than adequate with great ambiance and they deserve credit for addressing their previous shortcomings.

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CSMobileUser

Joined 5 years ago

Very very nice surprise. My wife and I have to admit, we read some reviews before going to M of V and had mixed feelings on what to expect. But after trying out this resturant We were very delighted with the whole experience from being seated, great service and most excellent food. My wife had the Chicken and I had the 13 ounce steak in brandy sauce. Prices were very reasonable for the quailty of food. Thank You staff and chef for a splended evening

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nova85

Joined 4 years ago

new everything. im happy the merchant has a new chef and a team that really takes care of its patrons. the food is authentic and sometimes artsy depending on the mood of the chef. we always enjoy. but much more now.

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moregon

Joined 5 years ago

Great, fairly inexpensive food. After reading everyone's reviews, I just wanted to suggest going to the Merchant of Venice for lunch. The service is much better, and the food is extraordinary. It's still a little slower than I'd like for my hour break, but if you can take an hour and a half, I recommend it. I have tried the lasagna, the meatball sandwich and the insalata portia. All were very good, and four of us ate there for $30.

Doesn't Recommend

diveskier1

Joined 6 years ago

Lukewarm and overcooked food. This was our first time to the Merchant of Venice. It is one of my aunt and uncle's favorite restaurants, so we decided to give it a try. The service was just OK. The servers were not very attentive and there were few patrons in the restaurant. It took more than 10min to get our first drink after the order was taken. The bread was just plain and ordinary. Once the meals arrived, mine was lukewarm. The crabmeat was actually cold in the sauce. My husbands chicken was overcooked. We realize it was a Monday night, but I have to wonder if every night is like this one, based on the other reviews.

Doesn't Recommend

debbjo

Joined 6 years ago

Decent serive, lousy food. My daughter and I have been eating at Merchant of Venice for 5 months , a *Mother, daughter* night out. The first couple of times we ate there, the food was good, but lately,, the food is either luke warm when served, or like tonight, very bland tasting. The only thing good we had this evening was the bread and the salad, excluding the stale croutons. They had better be looking for a different Chef, as the one they have now will be driving business away with the terrible food that he puts out. We won't be going back there any more.

Recommends

pdxwineclub

Joined 8 years ago

Unexpected surprise in Hillsboro, personalized service. Tried the Merchant this Saturday evening. We were surprised it wasn't too busy, but traffic continued to pour in/out. Started with the calamari, which was very tender and great tasting!! Wine list has many choices for low to higher budgets. Also, the mark-up on wine was very, very reasonable, not like most establishments. Entrees are also fairly priced (for meat/seafood: $13-19, pasta/pizza $10+). We had the ribs and pork daily special, both were very good. Food was not over the top chic trying to be edgy-Pearl district-like, but good home cooking with no fuss. We enjoyed it, immensely. Unpretentious service, as well as attentive and efficient. We finished with dessert, many to choose from for <$6. It was a very romantic night (even in Hillsboro) and Merchant made it extra special! We were also happy to find this gem of a place on passport unlimited, and took advantage of saving the price of one entree, even though the prices are still reasonable. Thank you Merchant for a relaxing evening and yes, we will return many times.