Paley's Place

07/08/2008 Posted by lehmanwj

My wife and I moved to Portland several years ago from NYC and we are continually impressed with the quality of Portland restaurants. We went to Paleys last Sunday and were very excited to experience this so-called Portland institution. From the outset, we were disappointed. The hostess is pathetic. We arrived at the restaurant without reservations and the hostess told us it would be a 11/2 hr wait - despite the fact that there were 4-5 open tables in the restaurant. When I asked about the open table the hostess said that they were expecting those tables to be filled momentarily. We understood and went to the bar for a drink. There the bartender was equally disinterested in providing any service. We waited at the bar for 45 minutes and 3 of the tables never filled and the hostess was not interested in seating us. After 45 minutes, we left and went across the street to Wildwood. At Wildwood, we had a wonderful meal with a waiter whose passion for food and wine made the meal memorable (in a positive way). It was a stark contrast to Paleys.

Pros: open on Sundays

Cons: everything else

05/19/2008 Posted by CrockerBikeNut

My wife and I went to Paleys Place on May 2nd. The appetizers were decent, nothing exceptional, the salads came about an Hour after we finished the appetizers, and the meal arrived about 45 minutes after we finished our salads and had finished a bottle of wine. The special pork dish the waiter raved about was tough and inedible. It was only the 3rd time in my life that I sent a meal back to the kitchen. The waiter apologized and said that the kitchen agreed there was a problem with my meal and would I like something else. I ordered the Halibut, which tasted fine but it was lukewarm. Again, it took about 20 minutes and my wife had finished her meal by the time it came. From that point on, we had a different waiter for desert, one for coffee and another one to bring us our bill. Our original waiter could not be bothered with finishing out the service. I don't think we'll be back. I don't mind spending the money if quality and service comes with it, but Paleys Place was very dissapointing. BTW, if you want a truly exceptional meal and great service, go to ROUX. They could teach Paleys Place a thing or two.

05/04/2008 Posted by dw13

The wine and service were great, but other than that not worth the expencive price. My husband and I went there for our 14th anniversary. It was recommended out of National Geographic as the best restaurant in Portland. I love GOOD food, when I travel, I search for the best restaurants, I can tell you, Lorenzillos in Cabo and La Cala in Zihuatanejo are a MUST!!!! Paleys in Portland not a must. The wine was exellent and the 2 waitresses, great and fun! I had 1/2 order of the crab dish and 1/2 order halibut, these had no flavor. My husband was recommended the pork appitizer and told it would melt like butter was tough, and was not happy with his steak, he came home and made himself dinner. $240.00, not worth it. Last, did not like the setting, tables to close, not romantic.

04/03/2008 Posted by BuddingFoodie

I'm only a "budding foodie" as my username suggests so I'm just starting to make more adventrous culinary choices. And Paley's Place was a great place for me to expand my food horizons. Even my more reserved husband partook in the feasting. We tried dishes such as marrow, sweetbreads, and escargot (among others). Many of the dishes come in half portions so we ordered quite a few dishes and shared everything. It was a while ago that we went so I cannot comment on the tastiness of any particular dish. But in my opinion I believe all of them were probably executed well. However, my lack of comparisons is limiting to my review. There were some dishes we really enjoyed (I do particularly remember the american kobe beef being excellent) and others we did not care for (the escargot). But overall we were both very happy w/ our experience there. The service was good; nothing spectacular, but certainly not sub-par. We took our time and as stated earlier tried numersous dishes in succession (not all at once) so our experience there took about 2 (leisurely) hours. We left hoping to someday return and try more of their offerings. We did make reservations for early in the evening, right after opening so when we arrived we were some of the only patrons. But by the time we left, the place was very crowded so I strongly reccommend reservations especially if you prefer to dine later that 6 or 6:30.

Pros: Good food and service, decent selection

Cons: parking could be an issue but we parked in the hospital parking

03/22/2008 Posted by tkuhl

We just arrived home from our evening out a Paleys Place and we were so disappointed. This is our second time going to Paleys and we brought two other couples. Our first time we thought the service and food were great and the atmosphere was outstanding. But tonight we did not have the same experience. Our greatest disappointment was the waiter. He was condescending and not at all friendly. When asked questions about the menu (which is very unique) he would answer them with out details and make us feel uncomfortable for asking. As a result several of the folks in our party did not get what they thought they ordered. When we asked for a simple wine recommendation he replied, " I can go on all night about wines to serve with this dish." Again very condescending. Our second disappointment was price for the value. If you spend $36,00 per dish you expect the potatoes to be cooked. This area has many great restaurants that are less expensive where the food is even better and no drama from the wait staff.

01/31/2008 Posted by insearchofwine

I would first off like to say that I am a total foodie and have visited some of the finish restaurants in America. I reside in San Francisco, where I find the greatest food on earth to be located. With that being said, I recently took a trip to Paleys to find out what the buzz was all about. The bulding is gorgeous and located on an incredibly eclectic street, similar to almost a 1960's Haigh Ashbury. The host(owner) was incredibly pleasant, but our waiter was horrible to say the least. He wrongly recomended the wine list, and was unsure of the three wines I had sampled off the tasting menu. My salad arrived before my girlfriend and I's wine, which is completely unexceptable. The salad was fantastic, and was a rendition of a ceaser, but with a nice lemon twist to it. Bread was amazing and crisp. Shiraz was impeccable, and although Oregon is known for their Pinot's, I ordered Duck and risotto which made the shiraz stand out that much more. The main course was one of the best pieces of duck I have ever had. Dessert was utterly fantastic, and the gorgeous deck that we sat on made the experience that much better. If it wasn't for the fact that our waiter was horrible and our table was just too small, I would have ranked this up within my favorite restaurants. I do not feel it was that overly expensive for the upscale entity that it was. I would tell anyone to try it, but be aware of the service, or lack there of.

Pros: Eclectic Taste

Cons: Service

01/28/2008 Posted by lazerus

Four of us went to Paley's Place for a celebration dinner on a Sunday night. The whole experience was fantastic. The service, the food, everything was top notch. The American Kobe Beef Steak Tartare & Traditional Accompaniments was the best I have ever had. Pan-Roasted Black Cod, Bacon, Manila Clam, Dungeness Crab & Vegetable Stew, Crab Aïoli was very yummy as well. The rest of my party totally enjoyed their choices as well. I cannot recommend this restaurant too highly.

Pros: Great food, service and decor.

Cons: Lack of parking and it was rather pricey.

12/30/2007 Posted by mychemgirl

My boyfriend and I found Paleys Place on accident. The first time we went there we had a very romantic evening with exquisite food. The wait staff was so nice and gave great reccomendations. I highly suggest making reservations for an early spot on a Saturday night. That is when they serve their 30 day dry aged steaks. It melts in your mouth and every bite is an experience. If you go too late in the evening they are usually out of this. Their other food is also wonderful but this is truly an experince that must be had by all. This is a great place for adults for small groups, special occasions or if you are just in the mood for a really nice meal. Please don't bring children. Dinners last atleast two hours and all the children we have seen there get very cranky from waiting so long since there is nothing there to amuse them.

Pros: Ambience, romantic, excellent food and drinks.

Cons: Depending on the day it can be hard to find parking

12/07/2007 Posted by rnick821

My wife suggested that we try this restaurant for our 7th wedding anniversary. We have recently moved to Portland, and don't know where the really 'great' spots are, but we saw this one in Portland Monthly and decided to give it a shot. I am not sure if I have ever had such a great dinner. We each splurged for a cocktail to start...not something we normally do, but I very much enjoyed my lemon drop and she really liked her martini. The waiter also promptly brought a basket of the most crusty and delicious bread I have had in a long time. The butter was a little hard to spread, as it was cold, but that's minor. We then each had salads. I don't remember what my wife had...it was some kind of mixed green salad, but my salad was just incredible. It was similar to a hot German potato salad, but with apples in it, very thick pieces of bacon (that is cured right there in the restaurant and delicious) and topped with a vinegarette dressing, as well as a poached duck egg that mixes in with the dressing to create a unique and delicious flavor. For the main courses, I had a 1/2 portion of the pulled pork ravioli, which also had a poached duck egg in it, and was just awesome. My wife had the pork tenderloin and cheeks, which was so very very tender. Melted in your mouth, and had a great flavor. We finished by sharing a chocolate sufflet (sp?) that was on the house due to our anniversary. Many thanks to our waiter. Overall, I thought that the service was great and the food better.

Pros: Service, menu, fresh food.

Cons: Parking can be an issue, but that's the case with most good restaurants in Portland. We found a spot right in front.

11/28/2007 Posted by marc2989t

First, my fella flew in from California and I wanted to take him somewhere "special". A good friend suggested Paley's Place....thank you Lisa!! We were given a great table, and the ambiance was gorgeous. BTW, the hostess' vintage looking black dress was stunning! Back to the restaurant....my guest is a bit of a chef (home trained) and vegetarian so it's always a struggle for him to find a great fine dining experience. We ordered 3 or 4 appetizers...and then we ordered 3 different entrees in the "small" size. Brilliant idea folks! We were able to nibble so many flavors and sincerely it was a cuisine journey! The sommelier was incredible bringing us great wines and the perfect ports with the desserts we ordered. Bravo all the way around! Next time though...I really want the red velvety corner seat on the inside left....ask for it if your making reservations....or don't! I want it available for my next visit!

Pros: Incredible knowledge, charming servers, perfectly astute sommelier

Cons: parking...but who cares when the food is this good....really?