10/09/09

50 Plates = Outstanding Service and Good Food

by millevag

My wife and I dined at 50 Plates on a Friday night. We had impeccable service from our waiter, Chad. He was professional, knowledgeable, and fast. Our food overall was good. I was not a fan of the chili that I ordered: it tasted like a can of chili on overcooked spaghetti. I guess I should have gone with the recommended halibut. My wife's scallops dish was absolutely outstanding, however, which was what the waiter recommended as one of the best dishes.

We will definitely be back to 50 Plates.

• Pros: Service
• Cons: Some dishes a little mediocre

09/28/09

My new fav

by picky chicky

Love the menu. Unique and prices are very do able. Try the cheesy poofs and waffle chicken slider!

• Pros: cheap funky eats
• Cons: my waistline

07/18/09

nice place, unique menu

by wanderlust10

This is a fun place to go. They food is generally pretty good, a little over priced. The menu has a lot of funky things on it so its not a good place for picky eaters.

• Pros: great atmosphere
• Cons: menu isn't good for picky eaters

07/12/09

Sub-par

by Wherestheservice

I met a friend at 50 plates a few months ago and was disapointed. I had chicken and waffles both arrived cold and mushy. We had other dishes, but they were not worth remmebering. With a ton of other great Portland resturants around I won't need to go back.

• Pros: Location, Decor
• Cons: The southern food

06/28/09

Good Food (not great)...Bad Service...Big disappointment

by smcc

We went out to dinner to celebrate our son's return from college on the east coast...it was the first time we dined as a family since Christmas break. What started out as a great evening soon soured. Mainly it was the accumulation of small things that added up to one big disappointment. The appetizers arrived before the drinks. After the appetizers, the plates and silverware were removed but no replacements were brought so when the bread basket arrived there was no way to eat it. The second round of drinks never arrived...when the waiter finally figured it out, AFTER our meal, we to him to forget it. The waiter never check back after the our dinner was served...I ate my entire dinner without a knife. My son had his heart set on dessert but waiter was no where to be seen. Then we waited forever for the check to arrive. The restaurant was hot and the acoustics poor. Also, had unisex restrooms...a big turn off for me. I'm a woman...I want a woman's room. I can think of many fine Portland restaurants I wish we would have gone instead. The evening ended on a down note (and it cost $150.00)...we won't be going back.

• Pros: Food is good and presented in fun and interesting ways
• Cons: The service and lack of attention to detail

03/14/09

what a great time

by pdxjamietootall

A friend and I were taking in the Pearl district on Friday night and stopped by 50 plates for a drink and a snack. I gotta tell these bartenders know there stuff. Very few places in Portland know how to make a sazerac, and these guys nailed it. They also had a special rye manhattan on the menu which was outstanding. We had a few snacks, the tuna poke and mushrooms, both were great. Fun time, I'll be back.

• Pros: drinks food
• Cons: crowded

03/14/09

49 Plates Too Many

by TiMorrison

We dined for the first time on a Friday night. We had no reservation and were going to sit in the small bar when the hostess approached us and offered us a table in the restaurant that had just been made available through a cancellation. Great start. Best part.

I ordered a Mai Tai. If 50 Plates represents 50 states, the Mai Tai must hve represented Indiana (no offense to Hossiers). It was terrible and tasted like a mix between Amaretto and maraschino cherries. No warm-breeze memories of Hawaii whatsoever.

Next came a well arranged tray of sourdough dinner rolls...that had been microvwaved to warm them. Tearing into the one we tried was a competiton. Who could tear off a piece and not slam their elbow into the tables next to us. Warm bread is an excellent start to a meal. Microwaved bread is an insult to bakers everywhere.

All things considered, dinner was mediocre at best. The Manhattan clam chowder with clams, mussels and fish (more of a fish stew) was very good. The ahi tuna wrap was dry vs. crisp and too big. It fell apart as we ate it.

The crab jalapeno poppers had no pop. They could have been crab celery poppers. The dirty rice beigneits were nothing like beignets, they were Arancini, italian rice b@lls. Crips but gloopy inside.

I didnt finish my cocktail (perhaps a first for me) nor any of the small plates, soup or sandwich. I can not recommend 50 Plates to anyone and wouldn't return, especially given all the great restaurants there are to try in Portland.

• Pros: Hostess was courteous and seated us promptly
• Cons: No ambience, microwaved dinner rolls, japalenos with no pop

02/28/09

Great food; unforgivable manager

by aprillcopeland

A dear friend and I met here one Friday evening for dinner. The decor was interesting, but pleasant. The service for the first part of the evening was impeccable. We ordered the fish special of the evening, which was true cod with clam chowder mashed potatoes. Unbelievable. Who would have thought to put all of the flavors of clam chowder in mashed potatoes? It more than worked; it was heavenly.

We had wine, dinner, desert and fantastic conversation. After that the evening took a turn for the worse. Whom we assumed to be the manager, awkwardly approached our table while we were deep in conversation. (He never introduced himself and at first we though he was another guest.) He said that if we weren?t ordering anymore food that we would need to leave because their tables have a two hour time limit. We both looked at him in shock. I assume he picked up on it because he told us we could go to the bar if we still needed more time to talk. We were so put off by his rudeness that we just left.

We had parked in a nearby parking garage and when I paid the parking fees as I drove out, it turns out that I had only been parked for an hour and a half. This means that we were only at our table for an hour and twenty minutes at the most. I guess that we were so shocked by his rudeness that we didn?t even think about the fact that we hadn?t exceeded our limit.

I will never go back.

• Pros: food
• Cons: management

12/26/08

Tasty comfort food

by drmingala

it's like Denny's with a collar. My favorite was the slider made with chicken and waffles. Named after the original Roscoes in the ATL. A bit spendy but good for a nice night out.

12/17/08

Jury is still out

by stevendem

Been to 50 plates three times - once for lunch, once for dinner and once for breakfast.

Menu: interesting, could use a bit more descriptions, though - what you get is definitely different (for the better) than what you see on the menu

Lunch: Service was very very very slow. Placed my order nearly 40 minutes ago and no food yet. I was just about to walk out the door when the food arrived. No sense going elsewhere now since I don't have much time. The food was worth the wait though - yum. I was so impressed, I even ordered desert :)

Dinner: second trip with two other out of town guests (finally after a memorable lunch.) Service was top notch today. Very attentive, friendly and fast. I like that. My friends ordered the mini burgers - they were fantastic and very impressed. My dish lacked taste/creativity - I ordered another and it too was a bit of a let down. Deserts were fantastic again.

Breakfast - my friends wanted to visit 50 plates again -this time for breakfast. Well, not much to say here as there is really not much of a breakfast service here. Very very very limited menu and you can't even sit in the dining room (seating limited to bar area). We ended up going to Mother's Bistro. 50 Plates, if you're going to open for breakfast, do it right or don't do it at all.

Overall, I think 50 Plates is worth visiting. I get the feeling they are still growing and learning - so I look for consistency to improve. I'll stop by for lunch in a couple of months.

• Pros: Creative home cooking
• Cons: Still developing consistency