11/01/09

Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen

by crowmagnon09

As a former restaurant critic for The Oregonian and other local weeklies, I was always looked at askance for holding the position that Gustav's/ Der Rheinlander was the best restaurant in town. While my colleagues would (often rightly) cite individual virtues of various PDX mainstays (The Heathman, Genoa, etc) my argument was that Gustav's/Der Rheinlander struck the perfect balance of good food, reasonable prices, inviting atmosphere, flawless beer selection and quick, friendly service. At the time, no other restaurant covered all the bases as thoroughly as they did. This was 10 years ago. Since then, the overall quality of the place has declined so much that I'm hard-pressed to muster an argument against the many one- and two-star reviews published here.

For starters, yes, the service is not good. I have waited as much as 20 minutes between being seated and the drink order being taken. I have had to hunt down the same waitress on two different occasions for the check. Many of the staff are unclear on preparation methods and possible substitutions and many are unable to correctly pronounce the menu items. At one point, they had employed a bartender that had a sadistic habit of answering little more than only "yes" or "no" to menu questions so that placing an order required that you ask the right SERIES of questions in order to get the requisite information. It might have been funny if it didn't literally take 5 minutes to place a simple lunch order.

The food has also suffered. It is correct that dishes often arrive cold, dry or reheated. This is especially disappointing as I can remember a time where not a single dish on the menu was disappointing. On the plus side, however, their near constant menu changes have yielded some interesting additions....the mango habanero sauerkraut and the bistro menu in general are especially inspired.

Lastly, the beer. What can be said of a German restaurant that takes the likes of Pilsner Urquell, Bittburger Pils and Warsteiner off the tap list in favor of lesser brands like Paulaner and the unforgivable and entirely half-assed Trumer Pilsner?

It is truly a shame that the influence of founder and Chef Horst Mager, a truly thoughtful, professional and traditional restauranteur has all but completely faded from the place and has seemingly been replaced by a model that suggests corporatization, remodels and incessant menu changes are the way to build interest and loyalty (the way, say, Chili's or TGI Fridays does.)

This being said, all is not lost. As is obvious from this review, I still go all the time. Call me a masochist, sentimental or just plain lazy (it's very close to my house) but I remain hopeful that Der Rheinlander/ Gustavs returns to it's roots as a dependable Portland icon.

• Pros: It could get worse
• Cons: It used to be the best restaurant in town

10/30/09

AWESOME HAPPY HOUR!

by lilkadybug

Portland's best kept secret! I've never had a single bad experience. The manager came out and introduced himself to us, and all the staff was running around making sure everyone's needs were met. Love it!!!

• Pros: Great prices, great food, great service
• Cons: Not enough locations

02/03/09

Too bad it has gotten so bad!

by BillLi

We used to go to Gustav's for years. It is just down the street, so we would be there once or twice a month. Not anymore. The service has always been slow (but friendly). Now the quality of the food no longer makes up for it. Everything seems to be overheated and dried out, as though they cooked it all many hours before and kept it under a heat lamp. The chefs also started over-salting terribly. We didn't just give up on our favorite neighborhood place after one bad experience, we kept going back all throughout 2008--always coming away very disappointed. I don't know what they did around last Feb/March, cost-cutting or something?, but these former regulars are looking for someplace else.