FiveSpice

12/09/08

Good Food at Five Spice by Lesley N. at InsiderPages

Contributor at Insider Pages

I've eaten lunch and dinner at Five Spice several times and it's always good. The interior is beautiful and the view of the lake is great...it can be seen from most tables.

11/09/08

"Actual" reviewer finds Five Spice pretty good

by gregwilliams at Citysearch

I've lived in Lake Oswego for 35 years and while Portland has tons of options to choose from for knowledgable diners, we have had very few here. I had been to Five Spice a couple times before, but not since the latest change in management and menu. Frankly, I think the Pan Asian theme was better than the current more mainstream approach.

I took my wife and mother there last night (a Saturday). We were greeted downstairs at the door as I dropped my passengers off by the hostess. The restaurant is still beautiful inside, and the bar has been given increased importance, although the multitude of large format wine bottles setting around seemed an overt attempt to impress. The place is well-staffed in numbers, though we seemed to get the junior waitperson, who was pretty tenuous. He managed to break off the cork on the bottle of '96 Rhone wine I had brought from my cellar. Still, service was pretty attentive.

The wine list is fairly extensive, with a $35 - 2,000 range, though not value-laden.

Getting to the food, we started with a cheese plate to accompany our wine which had a selection of three aromatic cheeses, along with apple slices, Marconi almonds, grapes & white wine gelee. The accompanying sliced baguette was of good quality. Following were fine but normal mixed green salads. For entrees, I had lamb chops, which were accompanied by some rissotto-stuffed piquillo peppers and what was referred to as a crepinette (various lamb bits, etc., cooked in a patty form). The flavor and preparation of all was great. The others had the sea scallops with quinoa, also very well prepared and cooked perfectly.

In summary, this establishment is not in my top tier of Portland-area restaurants, but I'm glad to have it as a LO option. Our experience would have been much bettter with of the other two waitpersons, I believe, but we were given a free desert for the cork incident. Their website, BTW, seems up to date as far as the menu and wine list.

• Pros: Location, ambience, parking
• Cons: Wait staff overall good, but inconsistent

Well-heeled suburbanites drink in the views of Lake Oswego at this popular seafood and wine bar.

by Ashley Gartland at Citysearch

In Short
This second-story restaurant-and its ample outdoor deck-overlook the city's namesake lake. Inside, a modern lodge ambiance creates a warm, welcoming setting to enjoy an Asian-influenced dish or glass of wine from their extensive wine list. Fried five spice squid served with mushu wrappers and a hoisin dipping sauce set the bar for finely flavored food. Following such shareable starters are entrees like grilled ahi tuna served with port glazed cippolini onions, sweet roasted figs, and scallion-mashed potatoes.

08/31/08

Excellent Cheese Flight, Huge Salad, Good Wine List

by jesskatz67 at Citysearch

I went here with a colleague a few weeks ago for lunch. We ordered a cheese flight that was a very pretty display. Excellent Almonds. The best part was the server actually knew what the cheeses were and a bit of interesting information about them! Most places just plop the cheese in front of you and walk away. We each had a salad - mine had tuna cooked perfectly! Again a very pretty presentation. Great wine list and I was happy to see that there were a few roses on there vs just one. It was a warm day, but I wasn't in the mood for a white. All in all a good experience, a little pricey for lunch - but definitely great food, wine and service.

• Pros: Server's Cheese knowledge, wine list, food
• Cons: a bit pricey

07/23/08

Unbelievable!

by jvbjc at Citysearch

The restaurant is BEAUTIFUL! The wait staff seemed informed and quickly brought us our drinks. My husband was a bit un happy by all the flies INSIDE but he knew I wanted to try this place, so we stayed. Our drinks came, we ordered dinner and then the starters arrived....so far so good....but that is where it ended.....there was an insect in the broth of my dish!! Yes, you read that right, a dead insect in my food. We promptly left - we will not return and will continue to share this experience!

• Pros: Beautiful location
• Cons: insects in food

05/14/08

Pricey? Maybe. Worth it? YES.

by just1b at Citysearch

I didn't try FiveSpice when they still served "pan asian" food, but have been there several times since they've changed managers and menu. Most recently, I went for lunch and had absolutely the best halibut fish and chips I've ever had, anywhere. The halibut was very lightly breaded and must have been cooked really quickly, because it wasn't greasy or oily in the least. The fish was perfectly cooked - tender, flaky and moist. The fries looked and tasted like they were freshly cut, and fried to perfection -- crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The slaw that came with the meal was excellent -- the red cabbage was sliced so thin, it was almost transparent. The vinaigrette dressing had a touch of cilantro that made the slaw just pop with flavor. I ate every single bite and every single crumb. I've never had a problem with service -- the staff is always attentive, courteous and knowledgeable. Some friends went recently for dinner and told me that the GM came to their table and helped them select the perfect wine to go with their meal (an engagement celebration). FiveSpice is not expensive compared to similar restaurants in LO and PDX. I have always felt that every bite was worth every penny.

• Pros: Large deck with a great view of the lake
• Cons: Wish I lived closer

04/09/08

Perfect Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

by NJRL at Citysearch

Erin met with my fiance and I a few weeks before our event and was so classy and professional. She had drinks for us and copies of the menu, plus a perfect proposal of how we could give our guests all possible choices and courses, and stay within our budget. We also got a chance to meet Tim, the general manager. Erin responded quickly to all my email questions and requests, and was waiting to receive the box of gifts and favors I dropped off before hand for them to set up.

At the dinner, Jennifer was a perfectly attentive server; delivering quick service for every request, troubleshooting some intense later afternoon glare, and providing time between courses for toasts and gifts. The food was incredible; all the seafood melted in your mouth and the steak was one of the most memorable ever. The table was also gorgeous! All the place cards and favors were arranged beautifully. All of the staff really went above and beyond to make this an amazing evening. We will certainly be back to celebrate our anniversary! Thank you!

• Pros: Great for Groups, Ambience, Service, and Food!
• Cons: None

03/21/08

Worse than the Worst!

by alohaoy at Citysearch

This is supposed to be a "fine dining" restaurant. As such, the least I could expect was a somewhat knowledgeable staff. On the contrary, the group working at FiveSpice - and I do mean the entire group as they seemed to move - did not seem to have the slightest clue. As my party of four waited patiently to be seated, the flock of servers repeated gathered in the lobby to swarm the seating chart. I am really not sure what mysteries the chart held, but it certainly was not telling them how to seat the customers who were waiting. As one group after another left to find food elsewhere the staff remained oblivious. Finally, after our 20 minute wait extended over an hour, my group also left without ever being seated. By the way, the Bistro next door is actually very good!

• Cons: Terrible inexperienced servicers

03/17/08

In 100% agreement with the "actual" reviewers

by pdxfoodwine at Citysearch

I see a trend. Do the other readers? Lots of recent "not recommendeds" blended with perfect "highly recommended" scores. The reason for such a contrast? I can tell you with certainty, they write their own reviews. See the dates...the bad reviews come in with a couple glowing reviews. Either take your chances by trying it out for yourself or be suspicious of the reviews because I have to tell my story: ............

I live in first addition in LO. My family and I often walk to local restaurants, Fivespice used to be one of them. We thoroughly enjoyed their food when they first opened. It was innovative, service was creative and the view/atmosphere are incomparable. However, something has changed. The food is over done, over sauced and lost all character and taste. It appears their chef has taken a leave of absence. The wait-staff: many of them are now young 20somethings who don't know anything about service and can't suggest a wine with the most obvious food pairings to save their life. It's pretty pathetic when a restaurant has to fabricate reviews. But in due time, the truth will be told.

• Pros: Beautiful view. Nice decor and atmosphere
• Cons: Seafood, over sauced, tasteless food. Over priced and poor service

03/17/08

Romantic Dinner for Two

by Sarah1975 at Citysearch

FiveSpice was such a wonderful dining experience! My husband and I don't go out very often without our daughter, but this Friday night my husband and I were able to get a babysitter and go out, just the two of us. We decided to try FiveSpice for the first time because my friend at work said it was good. The restaurant, first of all, is beautiful. The huge windows give you a great view of the lake. Not only was the restaurant beautiful, the food was delicious. My husband had the steak, while I had the butternut squash soup and the sturgeon. We both had wine which paired very well with our meals. The wine list there is HUGE and the server was very knowledgable about all the different options. We finished off with the creme brulee which was amazing. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. Though some other reviews say they had problems with reservations, we did not. We were greeted immediately and taken to our table without any wait. Overall, it was a great dining experience and much needed romantic evening for my husband and I!

• Pros: Amazing food, great views, friendly service
• Cons: None for us!

03/16/08

FiveSpice is Fantastic

by CubsFan2008 at Citysearch

Finally made it over to LO to check out FiveSpice, which I've heard a lot about. First impression was amazing. The location is just beautiful, with romantic wood work and excellent design choices. The view is unmatched, except maybe by the PCG, but they don't have a lake, just the city. We went to town on this tab, two apps, a bottle of wine, salads, entrees and dessert. We had the prawns and the tartare. The flavors were out of this world. The potato-onion crepe that came with the prawns was a perfect blend and ideal ambassador to the shrimp (which were huge, by the way). The tartare was the best I've ever had. We shared a crab salad, with excellent beets, and the romaine, with spanish white anchovies which tasted great. My husband had the sturgeon, and I had New York Steak. The black rice risotto on the sturgeon blew me away, and the fish was cooked perfectly. The ver jus emulsion really tied the plate together. My steak was a perfect cut of meat (Strawberry Mountain), and grilled to a perfect medium rare. We had a bottle of Domaine Serene Pinot Noir, which was very reasonably priced compared to other restaurants in the city. We finished our wine with the cheese plate, which reflected the Chef's excellent taste. Then, the bread pudding, which was the best I've ever had. Our server was very polite and professional--I think his name was Andrew, and I'd recommend requesting his section... In fact, the whole staff was young and hip, but obviously understood how to run a restaurant. All around, it was a fantastic experience.

• Pros: Everything, great experience.
• Cons: Suburb, but easy to find and close to the city.