Park Kitchen

05/29/09

Worst PDX Food Experience

by Foodie26

This is my first review, and I feel compelled to let people know about my experience at Park Kitchen. I specifically made this reservation to take my mother who was in town for the weekend. I am a complete foodie, and have been to the best of the best in Portland (Beast, Bluehour, Paley’s, etc.). Park Kitchen, regardless of everything I heard about the menu being wonderful and focused on local ingredients, was unfortunately a huge disappointment. We ordered a bottle of wine to start, and then ordered the $50 small/large plate sampler, thinking we would get to try a wider variety of rather than ordering individual entrees. The menu was chosen by the chef, which is a fun idea, I give them that. The portions, however, were ridiculously small (two cold salads were eaten in five bites, the cracker dish had three crackers), and every single one of the dishes delivered had the same rhubarb sauce, making every dish taste similar (I was completely surprised that the chef chose to do this). Ugh. Despite all of this, the worst part of the while night was that each extremely small course still took 15-20 minutes to get (on a slow Thursday night). On top of that, no bread/crackers or anything is served complimentary. That is a huge mistake with the miniscule portions and hefty prices. In the end, I left Park Kitchen still hungry, with a pounding headache from drinking 2 glasses of wine before they even served the first course.

With all of the outstanding restaurants in Portland, I will not be visiting Park Kitchen again. They just are not trying hard enough, and will never be able to keep up with the competition in this wonderful "foodie" city of ours.

• Pros: Great location in the Park Blocks
• Cons: Prices/Portions/Service Style

04/10/09

Great Location, Great People, Great Food...

by boleary

We had a phenomenal 10 person dinner and it was unbelievably fun with great food and, as always, great people at Park Kitchen. The pork: unreal. The lamb chops: great. The flank steak salad: as typical, on point. The bld orange salad: crisp, clean and refreshing. Oh, and how was the Sticky Date Pudding? Ridiculously good, maybe the best dessert I've had.

I never post on sites like this, but I wanted to give credit where credit is due.

Park Kitchen is a first class place with an easy-going atmosphere. With the great people and the seasonal menu changes, we always keep it on the top of our list.

• Pros: Great Location, Great People, Great Food
• Cons: What are the drawbacks?

02/19/09

A Sorry Disappointment

by charlottevale

Park Kitchen turned out to be the biggest disappointment of our trip to Portland. Indeed, my expectations were high due to the reviews I've read on Citysearch and the recommendations of friends who have dined there. Perhaps it was just an off night, or perhaps we ordered the least interesting entrees, but the food was mediocre at best. Our waiter was knowledgeable and recommended a delicious bottle of syrah. The terrine appetizer was good but not great, and a signature salad suggested by the waiter turned out to be far from innovative; it was frankly bland. But I was shocked when my lamb entree arrived, and the lamb, hidden among tepid sauteed potatoes and turnip croquettes, consisted of one--ONE-- four-bite chop. One of the reasons I ordered the dish was that the gentleman sitting at an adjacent table had ordered the same entree earlier, and his portion of lamb was immense. I called the waiter over who apologized but did nothing to correct the problem except bring another slice of the terrine I had earlier as an appetizer. Been, there; done that. I dine out often and never complain about the cost of food in a restaurant, but the dish was overpriced and a huge disappointment, not only from the small portion of lamb but by the pedestrian seasoning and preparation. Nothing interesting, delicious, or innovative here. Would I dine there again? No. Will I recommend the restaurant to friends? No. Not when there are so many other restaurants in Portland that are far superior. If you decided to go, I hope your experience is better than mine; it has to be.

• Pros: Friendly staff, intimate setting, good wine list
• Cons: Mediocre food

02/07/09

Possibly the best food in Portland

by carlson_b

For my money Park Kitchen and Paley's Place are the best restaurants in Portland. Wow, what flavors! In three visits to Park Kitchen two have been spectacular - both when I left my menu in the Chef's hands and enjoyed it with a nice bottle of wine from their well thought out list (including some great half bottles). The key to Park Kitchen is being willing to try different things and not necessarily choosing dishes that may look safe on the menu - many of the dishes I loved would not have caught my eye based on the ingredients but the flavors went so well together they almost defy description. Without a doubt I will be back to Park Kitchen at least four times per year to sample the Chef's Menu for all seasons. Bravo to Park Kitchen!

12/02/08

Our Favorite Spot in Town

by georgialeehussey

My partner and I keep Park Kitchen in our rotation of favorite spots, along with Clyde Common, Le Pigeon, Beast, DOC, etc. The food at PK is always a surprising but perfect mix of flavors. Always fresh and seasonal. The cocktails are superb - and they can even mix interesting mocktails by request - savory or sweet - which seems too tall an order for the other chi-chi bars in town. The desserts are fantastic. The staff may be my favorite part of the Park Kitchen experience. They always make us feel welcomed and special. They are obviously food geeks, but aren't obnoxious about it. Best service in town, by far. We'll be eating here tonight for our anniversary. I can't wait.

• Pros: watching the bocce courts in the summer
• Cons: tight quarters

11/04/08

A waste of a "good" meal

by artichokeole

Le Pigeon, Toro Bravo, Fenouil - all worth it. Park Kitchen was not. It's been on my list for awhile, and when we arrived at Le Pigeon last night and discovered they were experiencing a power outage, we opted for PK instead. Very little about the experience was positive. The menu seemed poorly planned and overly full, leaving you to wonder how much to order (big plates vs. small plates) and which of the items were their best. The service was not great, but I often forgive poor service because things just might be off on the night you're there. Plates and utensils were whisked away too quickly - often before we had finished eating!

My main complaint was with the food (as it should be). Out of the 8 dishes we tried, not one was great, and most weren't even close to mediocre. I'm pretty positive the mushrooms in the matsutake/leek/cauliflower small plate were just shitakes, but regardless, this dish had NO flavor. I can appreciate the simple art of roasting vegetables to let their true flavors shine, but most things need the assistance of a few basic additions - olive oil, salt? The cut of meat in the pork dish seemed to be whatever was on sale at Safeway - tough and fatty. The chickpea fries were a good idea, but the execution was off - the taste wasn't all that interesting and they were a bit soggy (which might have been due to the length of time they sat on the pick-up shelf....I noticed fries sitting up there, wondered if they were ours, and sure enough - 10 minutes later they were picked up and brought to us!). We also waited 45 min between having appetizer plates cleared and receiving our main dishes. Not a crime, but not the sign of a well-orchestrated kitchen, either.

Anyway - I will never go back. I've been to worse restaurants, sure, but I've also been to a great many superior ones in Portland. Don't waste a good meal on this place! It may have been better a year or more ago, but the local food critics need to revisit it and update their reviews.

• Pros: the wine was good; I liked the open kitchen arrangement
• Cons: food, service, value, menu

11/02/08

Is it me or is there something in common with the last three posts?

by pdxwineoh

So, all end with a two digit number. All praise the ambience, but slam the service. Hmmmmm...could be a disgruntled applicant that never got a call back? Come on citysearch, you should be sniffing these people out. Park Kitchen is always packed, always great, even though the place is too small and out of the way. If you are going to tag a place three times, next time, don't leave so many breadcrumbs...

• Pros: Everything
• Cons: anonymous lurkers who can't cover their tracks

10/17/08

what service?

by yvonne54

uncaring service, arrogant, middle-range food and too overpriced for the unpleasant experience!

would not recommend to anyone.

portland doesn't need this kind of a resturant reputation!

• Pros: ambience
• Cons: poor service, blah food

10/08/08

What a Let Down

by Sailguy45

Deciding to splurge on my birthday, having heard so much press about Park Kitchen AND knowing that they support local growers I decided to try lunch on Friday, September 19. I arrived at a little after 1 and walked around a little trying to find someone who could seat me. No one seemed to e managing the front of the house so I sat at the bar. After being ignored by the bartender for a while I finally got her attention and let her know I would be having lunch.

Not an auspicious start, but hey, I was in a good mood, it was my birthday.

When I finally got some attention I ordered a martini, straight up. Not too complicated, right? When it was put in front of me the bartender walked into the back of the restaurant. One taste told me it had been poured into a warm glass. Another server walked by in back of me and I asked him for some ice. I should have asked for a new drink but everyone seemed to be so INTENT on avoiding guests.

When the bartender/server finally came back I asked about some ingredients in one of the dishes I was interested in. She didn't know what was in the dish so she went back to find out. Good she went to find out - bad she didn't know in the first place. Usually, restaurants have a server meeting prior to opening for the day to let them know about the dished being served.

OK, let's get to the food. I was in the mood for a rustic lunch and decided on the terrine and the duck confit.

The terrine was flat tasting and I honestly could not taste any of the ingredients described on the menu. The duck was ok, but nothing special and I actually have bought duck at New Seasons that was tastier and better cooked.

So, not a great birthday gift to myself. Perhaps Portland has a lower food and service standard than the other places I have eaten around the world.

• Pros: Pretty park setting
• Cons: bad service, mediocre food

09/24/08

Not too nice

by andi78

We were walking through the Pearl enjoying this wonderful September in Portland when we seen this cosy looking place. It looked nice, elite and romantic so we went in. It was packed. Seating in the front, bar in the middle and seating in the back with an open kitchen. The smell coming from the kitchen in the back was overwhelming and we sat down on the bar. The waiter was extremely arrogant and unfriendly. I might not look very rich but I love spending a lot of money on high quality food and drink. After living in Italy, Austria and Germany I am actually a bit spoiled.

After having a (for Portland completely overpriced but) nicely poured pint we decided no to eat because the bar tender was so snooty. Definitely not going back there

• Pros: Atmosphere
• Cons: Overpriced, snooty service