03/18/09

Really Bad Service

by VCLocal

It was awful. Our waiter, Jesse, seemed to be too busy on his cell phone to refill our water glasses or serve us our food promptly.

It was overpriced for the low quality of service.

• Pros: Decent Food
• Cons: Terrible Waiter, Overpriced

05/14/08

Cozy and Friendly

by katrinaday

I love this place. The servers are friendly and attentive. The open kitchen arrangement is inviting, the Chef is very hands on, the food is fresh and nicely balanced with unique flavors. I would recommend the food and dinning experience to anyone. If you are only in the mood for a steak cooked to your liking, I would suggest a steak house. Touche is the place to go to enjoy well-prepared unique and flavorful dishes as well as a friendly, warm and comfortable ambiance. My personal favorite is the calamari, seriously the best I have ever had.

03/24/08

Is this a hotel restaurant?

by pdxwinefood

Average, average, average. Wine list mediocre and service was kind, but clueless. The server tried to suggest a "new" PNW wine to try (we wanted Italian) and I told him that I had several bottles of the NEW wine in my cellar, but he kept suggesting away. Anyway, we stood our ground and went for a nice Italian Barolo had this with calamari, insalata mista (menu said small, it was huge), the hubby had the lamb, I had the steak special. Dessert, can't recall: nothing rocked our socks off. Both entrees were good, but typical meat dishes, prepared to our specifications. Food is good overall. There were few people in the restaurant (Saturday night 7pm), which is always a concern. Prices were reasonable for downtown, but the whole experience felt like we were in a hotel restaurant. You know the kind, stale, pre-planned menus-few specials, cold and cookie cutter. Would we go back? If we are in the area, possibly -if nothing else jumped out at us.

02/14/08

'Meh'...actually, I won't even give it that.

by sugarray

I can't speak to the pool, but I can speak to the dining room and bar area.

I went there the other night after a cocktail party, so it was about 10pm; I was hungry, we were walking, and my S.O. didn't want to eat at Paragon for, like, the gazillionth time. He suggested Touche - fine, I'm in a good mood, let's see how it is...

...and OMG, I will NEVER go back.

Specifically:

1. The server spilled an entire bottle of wine on the table, didn't apologize, didn't check to make sure we were alright (my S.O. got wine on his slacks and cashmere (!) sweater), and didn't offer to comp us anything, even though we were trying to be nice to him about it and allow him to redeem himself. He simply cleaned up and left for awhile.

2. The food was ridiculously awful. We ordered the Ravioli Del Rei, and not only was it undercooked, it was COLD. We also ordered the Warm Feta appetizer, which came with literally one piece of pita bread cut into 4 pieces. The server didn't ever offer us more pita; we had to ask.

3. The atmosphere was less than comfortable. It looks like a badly-designed Hollywood set, and everything looks cheap (including the hostess). We were seated next to the kitchen even though there were plenty of other tables. The servers were hanging near the kitchen and gabbing to the hostess in her tight, short dress, waiting around like they were waiting for something to happen, instead of being, well, servers.

To sum, the service, food, and atmosphere are below par. To quote my S.O., 'Touche s*cks!'.

'Touche', Touche.

• Pros: Good location
• Cons: Read my review - service, food, atmosphere

01/30/08

Great place

by Boscotaco

Great food, friendly place, and there is pool tables upstairs. It has a pretty atmosphere too. Loved it

12/27/07

Great Atmosphere, Great food, Great people, Great prices, Excellent

by cnskate30

I had found this restaurant when driving away from an insane evening in downtown. I got away from downtown and saw this place, parked around the side and went in. Oh, My God. It is beautiful. A gentleman that apparently is an owner greeted me with a smile and took me to a table, I asked if I could sit at the bar, he said, sure, you would make my bar look wonderful being at it.Too Charming, I found out his name is Zareh. And he is one of the owners. While I perused through the menu, I noticed stairs leading upstairs. So I asked the bartender whats upstairs, he slyly stated, "Beautiful People." I had to see, so I walked the spiral staircase to see the gorgeous pool tables and gorgeous women and men hanging out. I thought to myself, did I die and end up in some kind of hedonist world of beauty and delightful smells of food?I went back downstairs, sat at the bar picked up my menu, the bartender had actually told someone I was sitting there. Ever had that happen downtown? Not likely..I ordered a pork chop and mashed taters and a glass of an Italian wine. Absolutely delightful. Went upstairs, got the lowdown on getting on a pool table(which were all full whenI got there). I got another glass of wine and sat at a table. Seriously hot people were lounging around me, I felt like I was in a movie in this place. It is my absolute favorite restaurant in Portland after living here for 22 years. Try it, be patient though, its not a fast paced, drink whizzing, food slinging place, its almost where time slows like walking through a botanical garden in the spring.......

• Pros: Atmosphere, Food, Friendly staff
• Cons: Parking is limited on Fri and Sat night, thats all

12/27/07

Wonderful meal and relaxing atmosphere

by mschevious

After traveling all over town looking for a good place to eat that was still open late at night we ended up here. We were not disappointed. We were seated right away and the lovely setting made us feel warm and welcome. I tried the special and my better half had something else from the menu, and the food was excellent. It was a very nice end to a long day, relaxing and food that made you want to melt into your seat because it was so enjoyable.

I certainly would go there again.

• Pros: Finer dining that is open late at night.
• Cons: Busy times of day it may be hard to find parking

12/22/07

SMOKY, bad sound system, eh atmosphere.

by starmoon

A group of us went to Touche early in the evening. We had reservations upstairs, which were honored without issue, since the place was deserted. The first thing I noticed was the place was poorly lit and smelled of stale smoke. My friends were apologetic, since they know I have asthma and hadn't recalled the place as being smoky from past visits. The drinks were fine - not particularly strong, but okay. The pizzas were good, minus the tough globs of cheese on top. Pool tables are available. The sound system was terrible - really loud and really tinny. We were there about 2 hours when the tables immediately adjacent to us filled and several people lit up. After coughing til I gagged, we left. I know smoking in bars is still allowed here, just didn't realize I'd come out of there feeling like I'd lost a lung.

• Pros: Right by the freeway (I mean, RIGHT by the freeway)
• Cons: Smoky, bad sound system, okay food

10/05/07

Love this place

by zalli

We come here for drinks. The bar staff is awesome, and the drinks are good! I like the atmosphere here. The food was good too.

• Pros: Attentive service
• Cons: parking

Swanky crowds congregate in the Pearl's most sumptuous pool hall.

by Contributor

In Short
A stately 1913 exterior hides a decadent getaway, with a Pan-Mediterranean restaurant oozing darkened ambience downstairs, and a more laid-back billiards and booze lounge upstairs (21 and older only allowed upstairs). A grandiose, sweeping staircase leads up to the six pool tables and see-and-be-seen space. A well-assembled drink menu boasts plenty of top-shelf liquors and the bar pours solid martinis. Tasty food items served late into the night include a savory hummus plate or a two-person pizza.