Yummy in my Tummy!

by TinSam70

I went here last week and wanted to rave about the duck dish I had and the wine it was paired with since both were outstanding. Duck falling off the bone with crispy skin and a sauce that had port in it and I think raspberries. Some delish potatoes were served with it. Would have been great on its own - but the wine the waitress recommended made it even better. It was a blend but mostly Petite Syrah. Rich and velvety. My girlfriend had the scallops and she loved them. Thanks! I'll be back for more!

• Pros: Wine, Food, Place

Total Waste of Time!

by hatshepsut

I'm getting married have been looking for a great place to have my rehearsal dinner and had heard a lot of good things about Thirst. I stopped by after work to check it out and enjoy a light dinner and some wine. I asked the girl who was standing in the doorway if I could sit outside and she said "sure." (one couple was already sitting outside and the only other customer in the restaurant was sitting at the bar - with me that made a total of 4 customers). I took my seat and the waitress went inside and NEVER CAME BACK! After about 15 minutes I went inside and asked the bartender if I could get a menu and inquired about the waitress. He assured me he would send her out. I ordered a glass of wine from the bar and took it and the menu back out to my seat. The wine tasted like it had been open for quite some time and the flavor was awful. The girl that had seated me finally came out and went straight to the other couple and ignored me completely!! So I sat and sipped my terrible wine for another 15 minutes without ever having anyone inquire about me or take my dinner order. Finally after wasting 40 minutes of my day, I got up and left. If this place cannot handle serving 4 people at once there is no way they can properly handle a party of 70. I do not know what anyone sees in this place other than the view. What a waste of a great space...and a total waste of time!

• Pros: View
• Cons: Everything Else

Response from this business

72212– September 17, 2009 at 08:01:40 PDT

Hmmm. I have polled my staff and we don't believe this situation ever happened. Unfortunately we have had a disgruntled former employee who has decided to make it his life's work to badmouth Thirst. So I have my supisions here. However IF this situation did occur, I apologize. We pride ourselves on great, prompt service. Our service is usually excellent and we don't leave people sitting outside without checking on them since our staff is stationed outside unless ordering or picking up food/drinks. We open our wines daily and are very busy, so don't have 'old wine'. IF, at any restaurant, for you think something wrong with your wine (or food) - send it back. Luckily, our private party room is very popular and books up early. We host hundreds of flawless parties per year for groups up to 100.

Great Waterfront Restaurant

by wluv

This was my first time down at Thirst and it was one of the better restaurant experiences I have had in Portland. Aside from waiting for a table (which in hindsight I should just make a reservation in the future) everything was great. Our server was really informed about all the food and wine on the menu and was able to make a great recommendation for me when I asked for a wine suggestion. My date opted not to have wine but had one of their bourbon flights instead which he loved! It was also great to be able to experience wines, liquors and dishes that truly highlight all the wonderful local options we have in the PacNW. I will certainly go back to Thirst, but this time with a reserved table!

• Pros: amazing views, yummy food, exciting wine
• Cons: waited for outdoor table

Fantastic Wine, Food - really good cocktails!!

by CindyMindy

I have visited quite a few times and was pleasantly surprised that this great wine bar also now has cocktails!! Really unique ones too. I had one that was finished with a splash of champagne and had passion fruit in it. We sat our on teh patio, staring at the river and shared fondue - so delicious and really creative items accompanied it. We tried one of their burgers and it was delicious. I've also had their tasty gnocchi a few times and a really good cheese dip. Another great thing is they allow dogs on the patioand are very dog friendly, even giving ours his own water dish and doggie snack. We'll be back to dine, enjoy the views, sip on some geat wine and definitely for that delicious cocktail!!

• Pros: Food, Wine selection, now have cocktails

nice place

by stephi0309

habe den abend dort wirklich genossen. nette bar mit guten cocktails und freundlichem personal. gerne wieder

Just Plain Terrible

by JJR

My husband and I received two restaurant. com gift certificates to Thirst from a friend last summer. In July we went to the Lake Oswego location looking forward to a nice evening. We each ordered a wine flight and then awaited our food. We ordered the crab dip to start followed by the fondue. I enjoyed the crab dip, but my husband felt it tasted a little too fishy. We waited for our fondue to come and low and behold they brought us another crab dip. They took a while righting the situation and then our fondue arrived. The menu mentioned bread, sausage, tomatoes, and apples to accompany the fondue. When the order arrived without apples, my husand asked about it. The manager said that they only include seasonal fruit with the fondue. My husband said, When aren't apples in season?" The manager said that they weren't in season in JULY! The sausage that came with the fondue was terribly overcooked, but the cheese and bread were good. W

We had to ask them to turn down the music as it was too loud and hardly wine bar soothing music you'd expect. We also noticed that we had to keep swatting at fruit flies that kep landing on our plate.

Despite the bad experience we were willing to give the resaturant another try. We headed to the Portland branch hoping it was better than the Lake Oswego branch. We walked in and whom was there but the manager at the LO branch. Just our luck!

We told the waitress that we had a coupon and the manager said she would not honor it with alcohol purchases so we would have to spend $35 on food in order to be able to use it and then pay for our wine above and beyond. We were there for a late lunch and were hoping to not spend dinner prices. We bit our lip and ordered.

The merlot was tasty, but the Riesling tasted like it had been open for a couple days as it had a higher acid taste. We ordered the fondue which we notice now said, "accompaniments" instead of apples. When we got it, again only the cheese and bread were good. The olives were from a can, the cherry tomatoes had bad spots, and then they included cold articoke hearts and cold brussel sprouts to dip in the cheese which was not good. We also had to get two new forks because ours had food leftover on them.

Next we order the olive oil and basmic vinegar flight and the waitress said they were not serving it that afternoon. Instead we order the tomoato crab bisque and the meatballs with roasted potatoes. The bisque, which is suppose to be a creamy soup, was very acidic and had not noticeable crab pieces. The meatballs were overcooked and served with brussel spouts and cooked spinach. When my husband asked where the roasted potatoes were the waitress said that the chef made and substitution and asked, "Is there a problem?" We ended up pouring some of the bisque over the meatballs to make them bareable.

Our feeling is that if you want to provide good service to your customers, you tell them of any substitutions or items that can't order ahead of time...not after.

My husband and I believe that a tip is something that is earned. When restaurants provide good service we leave a handsome tip. Unfortunately, my husband and I were so disappointed that we left without leaving a tip this time. I would highly recommend skipping this restaurant and buy a bottle of wine to have at home.

• Pros: Pretty View, Parking Validating
• Cons: Service, food

Response from this business

72212– July 10, 2009 at 13:27:58 PDT

We actually remember you quite well since both times you visited you spent your first 10 minutes at Thirst loudly and angrily debating with your server and other employees about alcohol not being included in the restaurant.com coupon. First, as per OLCC rules, alcohol cannot be used as a promoted discount. Second, the printed coupon you were holding in your hand CLEARLY states that alcohol is not included as does the restaurant.com website. Both times, you were so miffed that alcohol wasn't included, that you were rude to your servers and proceeded to complain about every single thing you could. We haven't ever had complaints about the food you mentioned. If people reading this tirade want to read a review from someone who knows about food and wine, is well-traveled and knows how to treat staff at restaurants with the respect they deserve - please see this great professional blog: http://wander-lusting.blogspot.com/2009/05/eating-out-in-portland-thirst-wine-bar.html.

Best Party Ever!

by GottaLoveWone

I attended a 35th birthday party here a few weeks ago - and was blown away by the food, wine, service and atmosphere. The bacon-wrapped scallops are the best I have ever had. Bacon crispy with the scallops tender inside. The Chicken Satay was so delicious and I appreciated a passed appetizer that you know came right from the oven as it was hot. Our hosts selected their house red to serve and it was one of the best red blends I have ever tasted. The space itself is gorgeous - warm and beautifully decorated. We were having so much fun and the owners let us stay past their regular closing time, which was really nice of them! Our servers were attentive and super-friendly. We wanted them to join the party! I can;t wait to go back for wine and dinner here - I'll be back soon!

• Pros: Great party space, excellent food and wine - stellar service

Friendly Staff, Great Food, Best Truffles in Town!

by JaneLovesWine

I have been here three times now and love Thirst. I think it has one of the best happy hours in town. I definitely get full for not a lot of money. Each time I have been there I was able to try a different set of wines at happy hour for only $2 a taste. It's like creating your own flight of wines! I was disappointed when they said they didn't have their crab dip that they had been known for anymore - but I had a delicious cheese, caramelized onion dip that was rich, creamy and perfect on a cold night. This is the best place in town to get Salumi Salami (from Seattle, and the bomb!) and their portions of it are very generous. The staff is very friendly and is able to tell when you feel chatty or want to be left alone to visit with your dining mates. I ask what I think are probably pretty basic questions since I am newer to the world of wine, and I am met with genuinely friendly and believable answers! The pinnacle of our last visit was when they brought out complimentary house made chocolate truffles (it was my friend's birthday). These were awesome and definitely unique. One even had candied bacon in it! thought I wold hate it - but loved it! I think I have found my favorite new spot in Portland for wine, food, fun and friends.

• Pros: Food, Service, Wine - Truffles!!! Fabulous Happy Hour - Great Music too!
• Cons: Nothing!

Terrible service, over-priced wine and food, limited choices, too loud to hear your friends talk

by HBrandon

Wow - this is the worst wine bar in Portland!

I wouldn't recommend it to any one.

There was no place to park, and getting to Thirst was difficult. Once inside, I could hear what anyone was saying because the place was so loud. The walls and floor are cement, so sound reverberates off every surface!

You'd think the wine would at least be good - but there were so few choices by-the-glass that I simply picked the least offensive brand. There were no choices under $8. Ouch! When I finally got my glass of wine - which took forever - it tasted like wine made from grape syrup concentrate. Yuck!

Thirst failed to have enough staff (or enough compotent staff) on a night when they had a small holiday party in their side room. It was obvious they need more wait staff and kitchen help, when our fondue took over 20 minutes to get to our table. Fondue! What were they doing back in the kitchen???!!! Same thing with my bowl of soup. It was ridiculous.

Not only was the kitchen slow, the food was not notable. My butternut squash soup tasted like cream-of-nothing. The fondue tasted alright, but they gave us olives, artichoke hearts and other odd things to dip into the cheese. While that might sound good on paper, it was not tasty in reality.

When I finally got the bill, after trying to flag down the waitress several times, they had overcharged us for the soup and for some of the wines. It was a pain to get it changed to the correct price b/c the manager is the only one who knows how to do it. There were no apologies.

I would not recommend Thirst to anyone. In fact, I recommend you steer clear of Thirst at all costs.

• Pros: none
• Cons: loud, overpriced, unremarkable food, bad service

Great wine, helpful staff.

by katiesong

I love going to Thirst for a glass of wine with my girlfriends. I don't know that much about wine, but the staff is always helpful in guiding me towards a selection that is exactly what I am in the mood for. If they ever have Sangria-get it! They aren't using Carlo Rossi here. It is complex, flavorful, and refreshing. We always get a cheese plate or the antipasto platter, and have never been disappointed by the rotating selection. Overall, Thirst is a great place to enjoy good food, good wine, and good company.

• Pros: great selection, helpful staff, sangria