Papa Haydn

05/18/08

Best Burger!

by DINEBYSHOOTING at Citysearch

Okay, I love burgers! Just when I had thought I tried every burger joint in town, claiming to be the best, my partner suggested Papa Haydn's to me. I am not a huge fan of N.W. 23rd dining but I agreed to give it a shot. When arriving, I remembering passing this place before and just thinking " Oh, another schmoozy place I most likely will avoid." At the entrance is an elaborate dessert display that made my sweet tooth begin to ache! A hostess promptly greeted us and we were seated right away. We were provided with menus and told about the evening specials but I already knew what I came for! We were given fresh bread with some butter to hold us over, while the smells coming from the kitchen were wonderful. My stomach was growling with anticipation! Our food arrived and my burger came open faced with all the trimmings on the side. There was also the special house mayo! When I took my first bite I knew that this was it, the burger I had been searching for. It was perfectly cooked, with a very clean finish to the palate. I had added the house mayo and a little mustard but could have eaten this baby dry! It was hands down the best burger I have had in Portland! I also had fries that came with my meal and they were perfect as well. They were thin cut with a crispy outside and tender inside. Our service was friendly. We finished our delicious meal by ordering from the dessert case. We had the chocolate coconut cream pie. Let's just say that I left more than satisfied! My burger was under $11 dollars and I finished with an awesome slice of pie built for two! I would suggest splitting a dessert. Over all the atmosphere was comfy and not the snobby den I thought it would be. So if you are in N.W. give it a shot! No other $10 burger can compete!

• Pros: Right on the bus line
• Cons: Being on N.W. 23rd/ no parking

04/24/08

Best dessert in the Portland Metro area... GUARANTEED, but not entrees...

by computerweasel at Citysearch

The dessert is un-matched. Selection for dessert is un-canny. Service is great!

The main entrees on the other hand is so upscale, that it's not even really tasty or filling. It's kind of wierd. I mean, if you want to impress and spend a ton of money on someone who your proposing to, I guess it could work, but even then, I can think of better places for entrees.

Screw the main dishes though. People don't even come here for that. It's dessert or nothing!!! Hang out on the town, catch a movie and come to Papa Haydn for dessert and coffee or wine.

• Pros: Best Desserts in the Portland Metro area
• Cons: Entrees are so extravagent, they aren't that great. Don't recommend for a meal, just dessert. Always crowded and lines out the door

04/13/08

Best dessert in town!

by janetshmanet884 at Citysearch

My partner and I have been here many times to enjoy their delicious desserts and people watch at the outside tables. Always busy and always worth it! Great service and great dessert selections. Haven't tried their dinner menus, but the dessert is always worth a visit!

• Pros: wonderful cakes and custards
• Cons: long waits

03/18/08

great dessert, wine, and people watching

by albright07 at Citysearch

i had an excellent raspberry, chocolate dessert, and my friend had creme bruelle. we had a great time people watching in the large windows on 23rd. And, the dessert was fabulous. Our service was also very good. The server was friendly and attentive. She did not make us feel rushed.

• Pros: dessert
• Cons: parking

01/23/08

AMAZING compliments, they catered our wedding!!!

by Pattilee08 at Citysearch

This is the first review I've ever written but couldn't resist. We had the most wonderful outdoor wedding last summer and in part was due to Papa Haydn and our organizer from Papa's, Tewin! She was wonderful and did a first class job!! Josh was great too but we worked mainly with Tewin.. She was patient, professional and wonderful!! We had around 150 people and everyone raved about the food.. I shopped around for a long time before deciding to use them and glad that I did with all the compliments we got. They were not the most expensive nor the cheapest but right in the middle, I felt they were really reasonable. Now, being a bride I didn't get to eat much, but the few leftovers we nibbled on the next couple days before we took off for our honeymoon were amazing.. We did the grilled salmon with risotto and a prime rib.. Instead of doing the traditional wedding cake, we did a desesert buffet with an assortment of 12 different papa cakes and people LOVED it!!! I can't tell you how many people complimented us on the food.. I will most definatly use them in the future and recommend them to all I know!!! Dave and Patti Jones... wedding July 2007

01/16/08

The best place for Wedding Cakes!

by tallisonhale at Citysearch

I struggled for over a month to order a wedding cake from Joseph's Dessert Company in Portland but they had lousy customer service, and three weeks before my wedding I had no cake. I got the impression they didn't want to waste their time with a small 30 person wedding cake! That's when I called Papa Hayden! I'm so happy I did. They came to my rescue on such short notice! They have better looking cakes then Joseph's at much more reasonable prices, best yet, they have employees that actually care about you and not the size of your order!

Thanks Papa Hayden!!

• Pros: Ambience and value for money!
• Cons: Southeast Location doesn't have the best parking.

12/01/07

Great Service, Delicious Food

by ilovefoodinpdx at Citysearch

As I read the reviews previously posted, I came to the conclusion that these people do not dine out often, as the focus of their experience was obviously askew. This is a very busy place. I have yet to visit when there is not a line or a wait. Which I believe to speak volumes. People in a hurry or wanting to enjoy their seat for hours, should look somewhere else so others can enjoy as welI.

I couldn't complain about one thing. The service was phenomenal. The hostess was was helpful and aware of her customers. The server, a woman, was very personable, attentive, and well educated on the menus. The food was delicious and served in timely fashion. We started with an amazing french onion soup, ended with an even more amazing chocolate cake, as the server recommended. I had a great time, as did my guest. We will, and have, be back for more!! Thank you Papa Haydn's!!

• Pros: Service and Dessert

12/01/07

good service

by ejenni at Citysearch

I went with a friend for dinner and we had great service. we weren't rushed. the waitress did her job promptly and well. she had shorter blonde hair, but i don't remember her name. I had a raspeberry chocolate dessert and wine, and my friend had dinner and wine. I wanted to write this comment after reading a few others about poor service. what were the people expecting when their party was at the bar across the street and had 1 person holding their table. how long were they really over there. would you like the hostess to hold a table for 4-6 people with only one person sitting there for how really knows how long. this place is very busy. make a reservation or be prepared to wait. don't plan to sit there all night either talking. just spend a reasonalbe amount of time there and then move on to the next place or go on a walk down 23rd.

great service papa haydens and great desserts. thank you for always keeping the seating full.

11/18/07

The Worst Customer Service by a Hostess Ever!!

by 22bb at Citysearch

I have never felt the need to write one of these before but the customer service I received was so outrageous that I felt compelled to after my experience. My party was treated with so much disrespect and rudeness from the hostess that I will never go back!! We put our name in for four at 6:45 on a busy Saturday night. We knew it would be a wait, so we went to a pub across the street to wait. After 20 minutes, I went back and added two more to our list and the hostess said it would be another 20 minutes, which was fine with us since we knew how busy they were. No problems yet. She even asked for my phone number so that she could call and let us know when our table was ready, which I thought was gracious and nice. We got a call from her at 7:30 telling us it would be ready in 5 minutes. So we sent one person from our party to get it while we closed our tab at the other place. Not more than 5 minutes later she called again to say that she had been saving it for 15 minutes and was ready to give it away. Someone from our party was sitting at the table! She called again a few minutes later as the rest of us walked over and said she had been saving it for 30 minutes (not true!!) and needed to give it to someone else. When I got into the restaurant she told me that she was about to give it away and I told her someone from our party had been sitting there the whole time and she told me that wasn't true. When she looked back she saw him sitting there but said he must have been in the bathroom (he had never gone anywhere!). As we waited for two more of our party to arrive, she came back twice within ten minutes to ask us where our other friends were. I have never had a hostess be so blatantly rude!! We told her they were on their way and ordered salads and drinks while we waited. She came back AGAIN and asked where they were!! A few minutes later, our friends arrived. I am very disappointed and saddened that a restaurant I once liked would treat their customers this way.

• Pros: dessert
• Cons: hostess

09/11/07

Horrible customer service.

by j100 at Citysearch

We stopped in for a lunch on a very hot and sunny Sunday afternoon and after waiting ten minutes (not bad) for an outside table, a very rude and unenthusiastic hostess sat us at a table in direct sun. When we apologetically asked to get seated at a shady table (that happened to be dirty at the time- and one, which we would have been fine waiting for) she informed us that there were four other couples waiting in line and our names would go back to the bottom of the list before she'd reseat us. Seriously? We left on the spot. The food at Papa Haydn's doesn't warrant poor service.

• Pros: Desert, food
• Cons: Service, parking