Mother's Bistro & Bar

12/08/09

BLAND!!!

by dareal at Citysearch

I came into this place because i heard so much good, but was greatly disapointed with the flavorless food. i ordered the chicken dumplings, and i was bored out of my mind. i know it is a simple dish but geez, for 14 or so dollars, please put some flavor in it. I did like the calamari appetizer, but felt the pieces were so small, that all i was eating was breading. i enjoyed the biscuits before dinner, which luckily filled me up before getting such a bland dish. The pot roast wasnt seasoned all that great, and rather tough, and was served with mashed potatoes, again being really blah. The one thing good on that dish were the vegetables. I may come in for brunch and give it another chance, but please people, with all your amazing comments, you make people like me, spend money on food that really isnt that good. I get much more flavorful food at the food carts for a third of the price.

• Pros: ambiance, friendliness
• Cons: overpriced home cooking.

10/26/09

Bringin food back Old Skool

by Italian Stallion 1 at Citysearch

Who said biscuits and gravy should be restricted to the south? Well, Mother's aint from the south but they got some banging biscuits and gravy, you just wait til u try! Salmon Hash more like Salmon YES....and it only gets better when you order a french press and its brought right to your table and the coffee tastes amazing which just adds to the whole breakfast experience...We also tried lunch here one day- I thought only my MOTHER made meatloaf sandwiches, turns out this Mother does too! And its TO DIE FOR! But hey, dont just take my word on it, try it out for yourself...word to the wise-make a reservation....or just camp out until it opens and be the first in! Either way, if you just moved here, visiting, or have been hesitant to try it out, consider this the green light you dont wanna miss out!

• Pros: Absolutely everything
• Cons: I didnt try this sooner

10/25/09

Amazing food

by PDX Foodie77 at Citysearch

Mothers is what I would describe as one of the perfect dining experiences in Portland, if you go on the weekends order the eggs benny I like to add avocado to mine, which has never been a problem. You want it you get it.

If you go for lunch the chopped liver is to die for, " if you like chop liver", if not the best thing about Mothers is there is something for everyone, from burgers to salads to eggs and bacon. Just go!

• Pros: Amazing food, great service, and cocktails
• Cons: you have to smell the amazing food while you order

10/19/09

Weak effort and my meatloaf is better than this Mother's

by SE Reid at Citysearch

See the review "I didn't know Satan owned a restaurant". That pretty much sums it up. The meatloaf was dry, the owner walks around the place acting like she is better than everyone else and no one in my dining party was impressed.

Save yourself some money and cook your "Mother's Bistro" meal at home, it will be a lot more tasty.

• Pros: Decor
• Cons: Lisa, the owner, and the food

10/17/09

I didn't know Satan owned a restaurant

by whiskeycub at Citysearch

I am a huge foodie and love to eat out with my wife at least 3 days a week and love that since we have moved to Portland 6 years ago we have had many memorable meals all over the city. I normally try to not leave negative reviews as I believe that it is already hard enough to run a successful restaurant in this day and age with all the competition in this city but this place...wow, I don't know where to start. The host walked away the MOMENT we walked in and left us standing there for five minutes, then returned to say that they might be closing early so we had to hurry up and get sat at a table. Our server was the only bright spot however, cute girl, curly hair, knew the menu obviously, was well spoken and polite. I ordered the mac and cheese of the day which consisted of over blanched broccoli, undercooked pasta and way too much cream. My wife had the salmon special with spetzel(which we normally love being that my wife's family is german , but this tasted like flour and a saltlick). The sauce was so sweet you could have put it on ice cream, not salmon and the spinach was gray and SALTY. Everything was salty, even the rolls before the meal. All this could have been overlooked except for when we saw how the owner was treating her staff. I worked in restaurants for a long time in college and NEVER saw such blatant disrespect for the people that are trying to make her money as I saw at Mothers. After reading numerous reviews here I see that is the norm with her. She berated one poor girl so violently I saw the girl start crying the moment she walked away. And don't come out of your kitchen smiling and cheerful after EVERYONE in the dining room just heard you screaming vulgarities and the f bomb at your staff in the kitchen. It makes you look pathetic and proves that your reputation around the city is true. A terrible owner with no sense of how to speak to another human being, doen't seem very motherly at all. No one needs to take that at work and if I worked for her I would go straight to the labor board and file a complaint for providing a harassing work environment. I feel terrible for her staff and now totally understand why my experience was so awful, the staff is more concerned with not pissing the owner off than they are at making the customers happy. I will not go back and will tell ALL of my friends why, because of the owner. I assume her other restaurant Mama Mia is the same way, I was looking forwards to trying it but refuse now.

• Pros: It didn't kill me
• Cons: THE OWNER, food, service, cleanliness

10/12/09

Mother's Bistro and Bar is my favorite placve in town!

by joanimator at Citysearch

I love this place. The food is delicious. They serve two sizes of their yummy salads, so I can get a Greek salad or a Cesar salad with chicken or salmon in large or small. The Velvet Lounge Bar is super cozy with great bartenders. They have a wonderful movie night with great talks and discussions after the film. Plus, I do not eat wheat and they are totally fine with that. The servers always check to see if an entree contains wheat. They have even made rice pasta just for me!

• Pros: Delicious food, friendly to food sensitivities, great bar
• Cons: None!

10/09/09

BEST RESTAURANT EVER!! :)

by camilly at Citysearch

First I must tell you that you HAVE to order the oatmeal!

Not in the mood???? The matzoh ball soup, brisket, or ANY salad is AMAZING too!! The people are so nice and they make you feel completely at home with their WONDERFUL food and warm service. Everything is perfect and you should definitely go there!!

• Pros: EVERYTHING!
• Cons: NOTHING!

10/09/09

So many great choices. So little time!

by SusanBA at Citysearch

ALL of Lisa's food is amazing but if I were to be dropped on an island in the middle of nowhere, I could happily live there with a regular supply of her corned beef hash. And maybe a little of the chocolate cake. Or the daily mac 'n cheese. The chicken soup... Oh, and of course, a Cosmo.

The portions are generous. The variety is amazing. The specials are MORE than special taking full advantage of local goodies. The prices make a business lunch downtown affordable and the fresh berry cobbler? See - now I'm hungry!

• Pros: THE BEST corned beef hash anywhere
• Cons: Kidding, right?

07/15/09

Great Sunday Brunch

by wuestr at Citysearch

As noted, this is a fine place for brunch, assuming you are lucky enough to get a seat. The restaurant is not all that nice inside, but that is part of the charm and the food speaks for itself.

06/20/09

Great breakfast

by lrolka at Citysearch

My wife and I went here on a Saturday morning and for two the wait was not bad. The ambience is cheery and the wait staff seemed to be in a good mood if not a bit harried. I am willing to forgive a little sloppiness if the food is good though--and it was great. Simple and delicious. We had the Eggs Benedict and Blueberry pancakes with apple pork sausage. The eggs benedict was some of the best I've had: the eggs were perfectly poached, the english muffins were well-textured and the hollandaise sauce was extremely fresh. The red potatoes were a good compliment and had that desirable carmelly-crispy exterior. Recommended.

• Pros: Food was cooked perfectly
• Cons: Busy--but there are lots of tables