Wild Abandon
Portland, OR 97214-2820
Phone: (503) 232-4458
05/22/2008 Posted by eddingle
As I entered Wild Abandon for dinner, My girlfriend and I were "greeted" by an uninterested host with a vacuous stare, looking through my eyes at the wall behind us. Since he made no contact and didn't say anything, I said "table for two?" To which he replied by grabbing menus and moving to a table. Not even a "come hither" motion. Not a "right this way". He just sauntered over to a table with his head down. Being that Wild Abandon's happy hour ends at 6:30, I was surprised to get no happy hour menus, but full dinner menus, at a quarter to six. He checked his cell phone, said "oh", then brought us happy hour menus without saying anything else. About 20 minutes later, a couple sat down next to us, and they recieved no happy hour menus from the same host. Did he forget already? I really doubt it. We waited a good five minutes for drinks, and I ordered a Vodka Cran, though I swear it was just the "Cran". I ordered the Red Velvet Burger, which was actually really good, but the "Pasta Semplice" my girlfriend ordered was awful, tasteless, and bland. And it's pretty hard to completely screw up simple pasta, especially by undercooking. Even Ragu makes a better marinara sauce. Considering our experiences with the host, I had better hopes for our waitress. I admit, she was a little nicer, if anything. She smiled, and filled our water once. (Though the glasses were empty most of the time.) My girlfriend told the waitress that her food wasn't that good, and luckily she didn't charge us for it, but she just handed us the bill without saying sorry or anything. And sure, I may sound snobby in this review, but we were being very polite and considerate at dinner regarding the circumstances. I like what Wild Abandon is trying to do, but they are providing horrible service and food compared to what the rest of Portland is doing. Atmosphere isn't everything, Wild Abandon, so can you please get over your quirky look and provide some quality?
Pros: Patio area is romantic and wonderful.
Cons: Rude service, horrible food (aside from their torta and burgers), and bad vibe in general.
Write a review and share your thoughts with others
