Paley's Place

02/14/09

Terrible service.

by kumm at Citysearch

For the hype and the prices, this place disappointed. The waitress was so unbelievably rude and snobby. Our food was tasty, but nothing outstanding and my fish was oversalted.

• Pros: cute place.
• Cons: AWFUL waitstaff.

09/17/08

Eat here if you don't mind gambling

by candy7800 at Citysearch

Dining here is sort of a strange experience. The hostess is kind of a one woman fashion show - twirling about the dining room every 10 minutes asking if everything is okay. With the exception of her interrupting, everything was fine since we only had drinks. One appetizer was excellent, the mussels, the other over seasoned crabcakes on buns (called sliders, but they should be called gaggers due to the awkward size). The tuna entree was cold and tasted fishy. Totally unappetizing. On the other hand, the halibut was delicious as was the vegetable cassoulet. The wine list and desserts were average. The bill was pretty steep for the quality.

09/07/08

Didn't live up to its acclaim

by vipaka at Citysearch

I ate there shortly before they closed for remodeling. The food was good, but nothing special. The service was the usual Portland substandard. The meal for two of us was more costly than it was worth.

The waiter could barely focus. He forgot to bring the wine I ordered for my entree.

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)

11/15/06

Experience that left a lingering bad taste

by furchild at Citysearch

When friends who were highly selective about restaurants raved on about Paley's, I thought it would be a great place to bring a friend and her French business partner who were visiting Portland. We arrived promptly for our 8:00 reservation, but it took 30 minutes for our order to be taken. Our entrees finally made it to our table at 10:00!! In the interim, despite the small size of the dining room, our waiter managed to completely ignore us (I suppose one of us could have crossed the room and tripped him, but that seemed rather too declasse'). One of the owners was also in the dining room, but her attention was completely focused on one table. Admittedly, that table looked to be spending a great deal of money, but you'd think a cursury check-in with the other diners might have been possible over the course of TWO HOURS. I can understand if there was a problem delaying the kitchen that night, but what was not acceptable is that no one came by to explain it, or to offer even so much as a breadstick as we waited (and by 10 we were quite hungry). Seriously, when you prompt a Frenchman to complain about bad service, you have a problem. I will say that when the food did finally arrive, it was delicious and we would happily have ordered dessert had the evening not already been so late for my business travelers.

When the same guests returned last year, it was with some trepidation that I took them to Meriwether's. There, however, we all had a delightful experience: the food was wonderful and the service could not have been friendlier or more prompt.

Perhaps service has improved at Paley's since then, but, especially given the prices, I would not be inclined to risk a special evening there.

• Pros: Food, Ambiance
• Cons: Poor Service, Price, Parking

10/14/06

Not worth the $$$$

by sunny14 at Citysearch

Finally ate at Paley's last night. The food was excellent however the service was not. The dining room is small - some may think intimate - others may think cramped. (This depends upon your preferences.) I did not like the size of the room. The waitress took 15 minutes to brink our cocktails after ordering. The glass had a chip in it and she didn't apologize when she took it away. The dessert menus took forever to arrive and we had to ask twice for coffee to be refilled. In summary, for the price we paid ($75/pp) for meal, cocktails and dessert...we wouldn't go again. There's too many other places in PDX with excellent food AND excellent service...with a more enjoyable dining atmosphere.

• Pros: Food
• Cons: Slow service, Cramped dining room, no parking

02/12/06

Not worth the hype

by nat1777 at Citysearch

We tried this restaraunt because of a recommendation from a friend and were very dissappointed. First of all, there was zero privacy. We were at a tiny table right in the middle of the large room with tables very close together. We were within 3 feet of at least 4 other tables, making it hard to even have a conversationi. Not romantic or special occasion dining atmosphere. The food was ok, but nothing special. We will not choose this restaraunt again with so many other great ones in Portland with far better service, atmosphere and food.

• Pros: fries
• Cons: price, boring food, no privacy

02/05/05

Part 2

by suburbandrudgery at Citysearch

We came here twice and it was just OK each time. Believe me, I eat at the most expensive/best restaurants all over. The first time was so so. We took a out of town friend and it was still OK. The owner's wife)owner herself) was very nice to us. Our waiter was kind of dumb about the specials, maybe he was new. We won't be back, hubby didn't like the food the second time aound...sorry/ TOO NOISY also.

• Pros: service, service, crab/avacado salad
• Cons: loud, bland food, over priced

07/01/04

Expensive and not what it seems...

by fooddude1801 at Citysearch

When you consider that most entrees here are in the $20-30 range, it just doesn't stack up against the other Portland offerings at similar price points. Higgins absolutely trumps Paleys Place in terms of value and has a larger, MORE vegetarian menu. It is misleading to go to Paleys expecting a vegetarian experience because when I went on June 30 there were only 2 entrees that were without meat. To their credit, the service was great and the atmosphere very pleasant, but for the price it should be!

• Pros: great gaspacho, atmosphere, service
• Cons: , Not many veg options, poor value

05/18/03

Good foo foo

by yazfan at Citysearch

Members of this category of resturant are all starting seem the same: good, but too expensive for what you get. And for those prices, it should be great. Nevertheless, the lamb was good, but too gamey. Halibut entree on the special 25 for $25 menu was very good. Desserts were nothing special. Service by both the "hostess" and server was great. Very romantic, especially for occasions.