Lauro Kitchen

06/21/09

Usually dependable, but definitely not tonight!

by RustyRaunt

Usually it is very reliable and one of my top special occasion places to go. Always warm, inviting atmosphere and service, and the food is always solid, if not impressive. Went on Father's Day with our college daughter, who somehow had never been there before. Was really looking forward to a good meal, but the Seafood Paella I ordered, and the Salmon Ravioli our daughter ordered, both tasted incredibly salty. I couldn't even finish almost half of my dish, which is a very unusual occurrence for me! I let the waitress know, but didn't get much of a response. Well, we had room for dessert, which was pretty good--rhubard cobbler with ginger ice cream, although the scoop of ice cream was tiny! Our daughter summed it up--"won't be back." My wife and I will probably come back, but not for awhile.

• Pros: Service
• Cons: Salt, salt, and more salt

12/19/08

warm, reasonably priced, interesting and varied food

by goldenbright

Firstly, I'd like to say that they do take reservations. Your review says that they don't, but I just made them on a Friday morning at 10:00.

We have been there twice. Once it was mediocre, and the second time it was wonderful. We had a beef stew and the fish. Both were spiced nicely and cooked perfectly. The first time I had the paella. It was o.k., but maybe I expected too much. Also, we were squeezed in by the door, which sort of dampened our enthusiam. As I said though, they do take reservations now, so I don't expect that to happen again.

The spices were strong but balanced, the wine was great. We are going back for my birthday and taking the (older) kids.

• Pros: Nice warm oven, good specials, interestingly spiced food
• Cons: tables are a bit too close together

07/11/08

High Quality, Reasonable Price

by marilyndupont

I have had the pleasure of dining at Lauro twice now, and I not been disappointed either time. The first time I had a chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese and greens, with a delectable sauce and very fresh green beans. It was one of the best meals I have had in a restaurant in a long time! My friend dining with me ordered the hamburger and fries, which were outstanding. The freshness and quality of the ingredients they use at Lauro is what makes it one of the best restaurants in Portland. The careful preparation of every component of the meal makes the most of the fresh, flavorful ingredients they use. I tried my friend?s hamburger and fries and returned to Lauro for lunch when I had a ?Hamburger craving." I was not disappointed on my return, this time I enjoyed eating outside and sipping lemonade while waiting for my lunch. Lauro is a very popular restaurant, moderately priced and high quality food. If you want to eat there on busy nights, be prepared to wait, but it is worth it.

• Pros: Great food, reasonably priced, clean contemporary atmosphere.
• Cons: Busy on weekend nights, waiting usually necessary.

03/23/08

Overall Great Food - Way too expensive Wine

by moaks

I have been to Lauro many times and have enjoyed it 90% of the time. Even after a vacation to the mediteranian region, I was still impressed by their honest REAL food.

Your entrees are fairly priced however, your wines are WAY TOO MUCH MONEY. Please, be reasonable on your wine pricing and markup. Afterall, all you are doing is pouring it into a glass.

02/23/08

Average food, bad service

by ephemeral22

When I drop $80-$100 on a meal for two I expect the food to be very good or even fabulous. I found Lauro to be exceptionally mediocre. My salad was an odd mixture of fruit and vegetables and the flavors didn't really complement eachother. My husband, however, really enjoyed his salad. Of course that was after they brought the wrong one initially and got huffy when we asked for the one he'd ordered. Our server rarely came to our table, and seemed annoyed toward the end of our meal when we ordered desert. I think he was the bartender and was covering tables in someone's absence as well as making drinks for the room. While I am sympathetic to his stress, it negatively affected the overall mood of our meal. Overall, nothing was absolutely terrible, but I have many restaurants that I would choose over this one.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Food, service, price

09/10/07

Great food, very expensive wine list. Not a cheap night out.

by nurse

So, I do like this place; it?s the one place I come and splurge with a cocktail, starters, main course and desert with an espresso afterwards. The food has been always very good, and the atmosphere is always nice and warm, and relaxed. One of the main reasons I did like it so much is that it reminds me of a restaurant I used to eat at in France. So definitely a plus for the food and ambiance.

Now to the cons though: It used to have a great wine menu, with relatively reasonably priced wines. Now however, the wine list has exploded with over-priced wines, and a dinner for two has increased from about $100 to $130 (if you have three courses, a cocktail and a bottle of wine). Since David, the main chef and owner opened Vindaloh, he seems to be spending much of his time there (or at least NOT at Lauro?s) so the food quality is definitely slipping. The Portuguese pork used to be terrific, but now it?s a bit lackluster and loosing taste. The nightly specials are usually very good, but I feel that the restaurant is resting on it?s laurels now that it is established as a place with a good name. Shame.

So yes, I recommend it, but it is expensive, and the wine list is sadly becoming overpriced and limited. Hopefully someone from Lauros will read this and get the place back on course. It needs a quick steering adjustment.

• Pros: Very nice food, ambiance and setting.
• Cons: Expensive wine list, expensive night out.

07/13/07

Decent Food, Nice Atmosphere

by oneangryraisin

The food was good here, but it wasn't the best. Prices are a little pricey, but I believe the portions were decent. Still worth a try, if you haven't been here before. It may have just been my choice of entree. You could have dinner here and walk over to Pix for dessert.

07/11/07

They've never failed me

by smizz

My buddy lives down the street from Lauro Kitchen. Based on convenience our friends often go there for dinner or order pizzas for takeout. I'm surprised to hear any negativity about staffing, as we have always had fun with the servers who work there. Maybe they like us because we visit often, I don't know. Besides that, the food is always superb. Lauro is probably one of the most consistent places in town for food quality. Just last week we ordered a couple pizzas that were absolutely delicious. We'll keep coming back unless things change for the worse.

• Pros: Pizzas

07/03/07

Eastside Rocks but not for all establishments

by clintonstreet

The eastside is worth the trip for eating out. There are so many options with creative kitchens. This place has a big draw back, waiting for a table can be a challenge during the rush hour. The host seems to be inflexible on one evening for starting at the counter and moving to a table. Beware of the long waits.

06/19/07

Bleh

by thl04

This place is not even close to being great as it is hyped up to be. If I could this would have 0 stars but that is not an option. The food is not bad but the prices way too much. I've had way better for 5 bucks or less. The service was horrible and very slow. Not only was the service bad but the host was even worse he didn't know what he was doing and I waited for him to approach us for at least 10 min. or longer. The place is not big either and has a very bad location and is hard to find parking. They do have a lot that fits like 5 cars. So to put this in fewer words the wait is way too long for the cost of the food that isn't even that great, the service and host s uck, and the atmosphere of the place is horrible. This place su cks don't go there.

• Pros: They took mastercard?
• Cons: service, host, cost, atmosphere, etc