Plainfields Restaurant

08/29/09

Excellent food

by DDN at Citysearch

Hands down this is the best Indian food in town. Everything here is done with a true chef's touch and it shows in the details. With that said, we probably won't be back, and here is why.

The prices are just way to high. They are double the price of other good Indian restaurants. The place was nearly empty when we were there, and it certainly wasn't because of the food, it's the prices.

I agree with another poster here that some changes need to be made. The inside needs some updating with some rich, bold colors the Indian culture is well known for. A fresh coat of paint would do wonders for this grand old house. The food prices also need to be rolled back dramatically. Unless you have a card or coupon to cut the prices, there are just too many other good Indian restaurants that are much more affordable.

This place is at the crossroads. Make the changes and once again this restaurant will be the hot spot in town. If not, sadly it slowly dissappear from sight. I hope the owner, a very nice gentleman, is listening.

• Pros: Food is superb
• Cons: Prices are absurd

12/17/08

One Amazing Meal!!

by JRod144 at Citysearch

Last week my partner and I decided to once again to continue out quest for real authentic Indian Fare. Boy did we score! Plainfields, who would have guessed that tucked away on sw 21st (near PGE Park) there is place serving the most wonderful and flavorful Indian grub.

First Impression: Beautiful building, a huge victorian mansion. Mango wood carvings adorn the wall, while the fireplace in the main dinning room gives off a warm glow. Crystal lighting fixtures really complete the elegant feel.

Service: We were greeted with a smile and kind words, as if we were arriving at a family friend's home for dinner. Our server was very informed about the food and easily assisted us in wine selection. It's not often you find a server who makes you feel so welcome and at ease.

Food:Makhani Murgh, Palak Paneer, and Bombay Machi.

Our feast was served family style (A nice break from the all to popular Indian buffets) and brought to us in brilliantly gleaming silver service. As the dishes were unveiled our mouths began to water. The family style of service is wonderful, you get to try each dish in all it's glory. I began with the Makhani, the description of velvet butter was spot on, juicy pieces for chicken hold their form until the moment they meet your tongue and you experience the melting of layers of flavor across your palate. Truly a star dish. Moving on to the palak I was thrilled to see not a soup of green with lumps of cheese, rather my eyes (and taste buds) were met with perfectly suated greens, that still resembled the leafs they had started as, expertly prepared mushrooms and hand made cheese really set this dish apart from the mass produced slop you find in the isle at trader joe's. With all the wonderful seafood offerings in portland, I did not have the highest expectations for the halibut, and I could not have been farther off base. perfectly cooked, flaky and moist. You must try the green chutney with this one.

All and All A True Portland Treasure

• Pros: Off Street Parking!
• Cons: A little hard to find.

09/03/08

Not very Indian

by leemaguire at Citysearch

First impression: cute and romantic. Some have said the decor is tacky but I think the white walls, Indian carvings, fresh orchids, tarnished silver serving dishes, low light and mosquito net curtains are nice. Sort of "Disneyland does Indian restaurant." In a good way.

Menu: Beautifully written, with thorough descriptions and a good mix of well-known dishes and more exotic fare.

Service: Warm, intelligent server had a bit too much personality for my taste (jumping into our conversation), but she was good. (Not Indian, in case you're wondering. And there was no one Indian dining there, which was a bad sign.)

Food: A total letdown. Kind of gross, actually. I cannot believe that some reviewers have called this the best Indian restaurant in Portland. What?! Either they work for the restaurant or they don't know Indian food. The papadam tasted like old oil. The condiments looked interesting but tasted stale. The bhel salad, which had a rapturous description in the menu, something like "fireworks of flavor," was utterly bland. The samosa dough was flabby and flat instead of flaky. We hoped the palak paneer would make up for it. It didn't. Instead of pureed or mashed spinach, it was chopped. In the entire dish, there were four -- yes, four -- tiny cubes of paneer cheese. The mushrooms in the dish were tasty.... but why were they there? I prefer this dish to be simple, comforting, well-seasoned. Instead, the dominant flavor was butter.

Afterward: My husband and I both had stomach aches that night and into the next day. We made delicious palak paneer at home the next night using ingredients from the farmer's market and an Indian grocery store to cheer ourselves up. (We really love Indian food so that gross, wacky meal was sad.)