Paley's Place

03/22/08

Look elsewhere for a fine dinner experience.

by tkuhl at Citysearch

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.

01/31/08

Great Food- Horrible Service- Would still visit

by insearchofwine at Citysearch

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

01/28/08

Fantastic

by lazerus at Citysearch

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 Aioli 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.

12/30/07

Excellent Restaurant

by mychemgirl at Citysearch

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

12/07/07

Great food, great service, great experience

by rnick821 at Citysearch

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.

11/28/07

I wish there was an option for 10 STARS!!!!

by marc2989t at Citysearch

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?

10/28/07

Uneven, not worh the buzz

by the_cow_whisperer at Citysearch

My wife and visited Portland in October. Wonderful city. We stumbled on Paley's place (right off the trolley) as a walk-in. We got seated in the bar in a nice table and we were happy to have it.

We ordered a bottle of Pinot (we were on a quest) which was very nice although our waiter was very abrupt and it seemed to take a very long time to get it.. As starters we had Venison Carpaccio, Pickled Vegetable Relish, Spicy Greens & Parmesan $16 and Dungeness Crab Beignets, Local Microgreens & Green Goddess Dressing $15 both of which were well executed. For the main course I had the fish special which was good. My wife, unfortunately, ordered the Grilled Diver Scallops, Wilted Radicchio & Brown Butter Balsamic Vinaigrette $31. What arrived were three gluey scallops drenched in lemon - ick. Throughout the meal, the waiter was kind of abrupt, though. He was arrogant and confrontational about our view of the service, coming up with the crowning comment "Since our New York times review, I cannot give the kind of service I need to" Wonder what his boss thinks about this? The restaurant tried to make up for this with comp'ed dessert wine and apologies. However, the same waiter kept coming back - it was like pouring gasoline on a fire!

If visiting Portland, be wary of this place. If you want a really great experience, go to Le Pigeon (wonderful French food) or Mccormick And Schmicks (wonderful seafood)

09/03/07

Don't believe the naysayers

by mikefran03 at Citysearch

My wife and I dined at Paley's last night for our 23rd anniversary and while I understand that any good restaurant can have an off night, our experience was nothing like the detractors would lead you to believe. Our experience was excellent! I made reservations four days ahead of time and received a confirmation call on the afternoon of our reservation. We got to the restaurant right on time and were seated immediately-it was almost completely full. Our waiter Rick, was very professional and other than a small lag after we placed our drink order, was very attentive. He answered questions very knowledgeably, made suggestions and was very apologetic when our steak tartare appetizer was taking a while to arrive, explaining that it is made fresh to order. In my opinion, it was not long at all and was worth the wait. The rest of evening was delightful - the dishes were expertly prepared, very hot, fresh and well seasoned. When I dine, I want food with flavor and staff that is genuine and not aloof - harder to find than it should be - Paley's did not disappoint. This was probably the best meal I've ever had in Portland and we will definitely be back. Kudos Chef Paley to you and your team!

• Pros: Service, food, value for the price
• Cons: Tables a little too close for romantic conversation

08/27/07

Looking for some good escargots?

by jhanneman at Citysearch

I love French (food)! This restaurant satisfied all of my cravings. The price was definitely worth it; I love that you can order pomme frites as an appetizer and still feel like you are eating high class cuisine. Service was good, music was good, and food was delicious and beautiful.

08/08/07

How do you say, CRAPPY!

by nice2bhomeagain at Citysearch

As my title suggests this place has crappy food, crappy atmosphere, crappy service, crappy parking, and crappy prices! Paley's was rated as one of the best 10 in Portland. Hmmm... Against the advice of 3 couples I know to have experienced Paley's I decided to experience it myself, with my wife (because of the rating I had read). I'm not sure where the rating came from. It must have been the varments, as varments seem to be comfortable in any environment just as long as there is a similance of food. And for the varments there is no charge, just as my $90+ disaster should have been. The meat entrees were way way way overcooked, like a rock, and I like rare to medium rare meats. How could a "chef" go wrong? The balance of the meal was blan, no taste. Their banner should read "...and we use NO SPICES". Dry 'Cream of Wheat' may be a good comparison to the flavor profile we experienced. So we thought, " while we're here (and already in agony) maybe desert will bring some life back to our tastebuds. Desert was better than the pior, yet less than what my wife can do in her little country kitchen (with SPICES). If you don't mind the feeling of being another popped corn in a box of 'Cracker Jacks' then the atmosphere will likely be just fine. My experience, hardly enough room to back out your chair to get seated at your table, and definately not romantic. You might as well be seated right along with everyone else in the house at one table. Service is not a concept here. Make a reservation, be there on time and get seated (wait, wait, wait), have your order taken (wait, wait, wait), get a cup of coffee and water (wait, wait, wait, finally after 3 attempts to get a staff member to recognize your existance), refill on coffee while waiting for sawdust tasting appetizer (wait, wait, wait, finally after 2 attempts to get a staff member to recognize your existance), , refill on coffee while waiting for entree (wait, wait, wait), finally entree, 2-1/2 hours later. $ & Parking, WRONG

• Pros: If you like to waste time and money, this is it!
• Cons: Nothing good can come from this experience.