Wild Abandon

Doesn't Recommend

yprado

Joined 5 years ago

Bad service and bad food. I cook quite well, so maybe my expectations are high. I though this would be a great place to take friends from SF who were here for 1 night because of the great reviews. What a mistake. My friend ordered the pork dish w/ came w/ cold cream sauce. My guest asked if they could heat up her dish, and the second time it came back colder. Our wine, the special of the night, tasted like vinegar (like it was left open of old). We had to return. The water said nothing. My salmon tasted fine, but everything that came with it was flavorless and over salted. I tasted my friends pasta, the special of the night, and it tasted bland.

We all agreed that it wasn't good, and I will not be back. You really can't trust reviews... good or bad. The only thing that we agreed was good was my friend's drink. A wiskey sour. The rest I felt was a waste of money. I wished I would have taken my guests to a place that I had been before and knew was good.

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kavu88

Joined 5 years ago

Great Food. This place has a great atmosphere. It's small, and a bit cozy, but nothing to really cramp your style. The service is great, and the food is always scrumptious and delightful. The menu seems to always be changing with the seasons, and the pasta sauces make what mama made seem like nothing. My go-to dish is the Ziti Ziti which is so rich there is no way you'll finish the whole portion, but there homemade ravioli is certainly something to write home about. The prices are a little high, but if you are lucky, they have buy one, get one free coupons that seem to pop up in local newpapers and what not.

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violetta1976

Joined 6 years ago

Wonderful service, food, and drinks. We went with a party of 30 for happy hour, and given the reviews, I was expecting a nightmare. Not the case at all. Our server was prompt, our food delicious (try the shrimp mazatlan, it's to die for), and our drinks ice cold. I don't have a single complaint, and I can't wait to go back for a full meal.

Doesn't Recommend

eddingle

Joined 5 years ago

Wild Abandon: An Escape From Comfort. As I entered Wild Abandon for dinner, My girlfriend and I were "greeted" by an uninterested host with a vacuous stare, looking through my eyes at the wall behind us. Since he made no contact and didn't say anything, I said "table for two?" To which he replied by grabbing menus and moving to a table. Not even a "come hither" motion. Not a "right this way". He just sauntered over to a table with his head down.

Being that Wild Abandon's happy hour ends at 6:30, I was surprised to get no happy hour menus, but full dinner menus, at a quarter to six. He checked his cell phone, said "oh", then brought us happy hour menus without saying anything else. About 20 minutes later, a couple sat down next to us, and they recieved no happy hour menus from the same host. Did he forget already? I really doubt it.

We waited a good five minutes for drinks, and I ordered a Vodka Cran, though I swear it was just the "Cran".

I ordered the Red Velvet Burger, which was actually really good, but the "Pasta Semplice" my girlfriend ordered was awful, tasteless, and bland. And it's pretty hard to completely screw up simple pasta, especially by undercooking. Even Ragu makes a better marinara sauce.

Considering our experiences with the host, I had better hopes for our waitress. I admit, she was a little nicer, if anything. She smiled, and filled our water once. (Though the glasses were empty most of the time.) My girlfriend told the waitress that her food wasn't that good, and luckily she didn't charge us for it, but she just handed us the bill without saying sorry or anything.

And sure, I may sound snobby in this review, but we were being very polite and considerate at dinner regarding the circumstances.

I like what Wild Abandon is trying to do, but they are providing horrible service and food compared to what the rest of Portland is doing. Atmosphere isn't everything, Wild Abandon, so can you please get over your quirky look and provide some quality?

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blurgirl

Joined 6 years ago

Excellent food, Worst service EVER. I've had the same experience every time I've gone to Wild Abandon- maybe 8 or 9 times over the last 2 years. Really great, creative food. REALLY HORRIBLE SERVICE. Our male waiter (I think it's Michael) seems to go out of his way to be rude and condescending, and to act as though he has a thousand better things to do help us. He doesn't let us finish our sentences when we're talking.



Last night he forgot our drinks and garlic bread, had the dishwasher (nice guy though!) take our order because he was too busy, and then acted rudely when we asked about our drinks 45 minutes later. We talked to a female waitress but she was equally as rude. When they finally brought the drinks, there were no apologies or smiles.

It was the last straw. There are plenty of other restaurants with good food and also good service. Until they get a reputation for actually being nice to their customers, I'm done with that place.

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nillhil

Joined 5 years ago

ouch! service that bad really!. not at all in a rush when we were first seated. appetizers fine. request for more bread ignored or more likely forgotten .wrong drink brought , we said nothing oh well we were all in a good mood nice night sitting outside so who cares, then asked about ingredients in curry, pretty and sweet waitress did not know took a guess (she had had it once) made no attempt to find out, ditto on vegetable side of evening(i guess it is asparagus) until i pressed the issue turns out there were other options oh well. we are still happy relaxed whatever, siting with nice view of trees enjoying eachother glad at least they are not trying to turn tables quickly . then waited waited waited at least an hour and a half after we placed our orders (and had moved inside due to night chill falling) servers sweet apologetic food fine temperature not even but flavor good and whatever. no one complained dinner pretty good dessert oh oh vey not agian wrong drink again this time we spoke up dessert good asked about tres leche cake she went checked to see what mils were init forgot to mention marscapone cheese which we almost did not discover as she forgot cake. flourless choclate cake port an tres leche cake delicious but was a little put out she did not tell us about cheese as i am pregnant and admittedly paranoid about what cheeses i am eating. well they did graciously and without prompting from us take appetizers and many drinks off of our bill with the explanation that they had group of 20(prom) and things are not normally like that. i believe that to a certain extent but our experience was so over the top ridiculous that i cannot imagine it being so isolated an incident , most annoying to me was the servers lack of knowledge no problem but lack of interest in finding out what food she was serving . whew glad we are out of there but all in all had a good time (great company)!

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missbliss28

Joined 6 years ago

Great evening out!. I've been to Wild Abandon a handful of times now and the food has always been excellent. Sometimes the service is a little poky (but that's what you get for having only one server, and it's a small place), but it's always been worth the wait (and nothing I haven't experienced in other restaurants). Try the Willamette Dream Salad: it has a light, lemony dressing and sweet currants and tangy goat cheese. Mmmm. And the Penne is really cheesy and good.

They used to have a baked brie appetizer served with cinnamon glazed pears and currants and candied pecans and toast points. It was wonderful, so I'm not sure why they took it off the menu. be sure to save room for the Tres Leches Cake!

Whenever we are looking for a restaurant that is off the beaten path, we avoid those yucky chain restaurants and head to Wild Abandon!

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mbucky

Joined 5 years ago

Continuously and consistently FABULOUS. Go during happy hour (ends @ 6:30). Get a bloody mary, the red velvet provolone cheeseburger w/ scalloped potatoes on side, a willamette dream salad, and just about anything else. The brunch is also super duper awesome. The dinner delivers without pretension. I have been so many times, I lost count. I've never left unsatisfied, and I have converted many others to the cult of Wild Abandon. Eat, drink, and go home happy.

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Kde123

Joined 5 years ago

excellent, excellent, excellent. We have never had anything less than excellent service. A quaint and romantic place where we take all of our out of town guests. The Food is fresh and the ambiance is delightful. IF someone had a bad experience here then it had to be a fluke since we have been coming here for years with extreme satisfaction.

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frantasm

Joined 6 years ago

Holy Lola this place is Good!. Twice I've been here. Once this last summer seated on the patio and just a couple nights ago during happy hour. In the summer we had the "Dream" salad which was quite tasty and sides of their very delicious au gratin potatoes. Other than the fact that we had to be near smokers (we are very much allergic) we had a romantic and pleasant dining experience. The other night we went for happy hour and though I had a hankering for their au gratin & salad I wanted to try their baked ziti. My partner had the burger and was mildly disappointed that it didn't come with fries but whatever. Her burger though had a good texture and decent flavor. She said she'd get it again, which is a good sign with her. I had as mentioned the ziti and I have to say IT'S THE BEST MEAL I'VE HAD ALL YEAR! Buttery breadcrumbs on top of a creamy 3 cheese sauce that was savory and not too overpowering on the cream factor. Portobello mushrooms along with tender scallops made this one of the most memorable dishes of my life. I'm craving it now even. So damn good! The service was a bit slow but not horrible and it was romanitc enough inside to just relax and sit back anyway. A 10!

*****UPDATE***** 9/5/08

We went back for brunch for the 1st time last week. Their coffee was the worst I've had in years! So bring your own from Stumptown or anywhere else because really that coffee was so bad! Other than that the breakfast was great. Roasted potatoes perfectly simple & flavorful, generous portions of eggs with veggies & yummy toast. A solid menu & I only wish they had rye bread as a toast option too. Anyway all was fine, but for the love of gawd do not get the coffee.