Jenna M.
Yelp
***UPDATE BELOW***
I want to preface this review with a note that I in no way intend to base the entire business off of my one experience and will try eating here another time.
That being said, I finally tried this place on Mother's Day because of the adverts I've seen the last couple of years and told my husband to reserve a table at 11. I was hoping to sit in the main dining room or outside to take in the nice day, but ended up in a back private room with low lighting - not a big deal as we have 5 people and it's probably the best space for our party.
It did take a while to get some attention and order so my husband got up to make sure we weren't out of sight, out of mind.
When the food did come it was FAST - a little TOO fast. I soon realized why. Our food was lukewarm at best and a little bland - we didn't get salt and pepper on the table and could've asked, but were too hungry to wait. I realized that this was the special Mother's Day Brunch menu and that likely, the food is not made to order so as to keep up with the business demand of the day. It was apparent that our food was sitting for a while under heating lamps and that there was likely a regular assembly-line style order to which food was prepared. As a result, it was underwhelming as I imagine the food would normally be better on a typical day. Especially frustrating was the $45 dollar a head price for non-made-to-order food.
I write this only to provide feedback to the owners that the operational structure of the service was noticeable and that maybe a reevaluation of process for the next big event is warranted. It felt like a sacrifice of quality for efficiency. I will try, as I said, again on a typical weekend morning, assuming this isn't the regular brunch experience.
***UPDATE***
I went back and boy do I love being right! Right in that I knew my initial experience was not typical and this place deserved another try.
I decided to try this place again for my anniversary after speaking with the lovely owner, David, who was very receptive to my feedback, clearing a few things up, which was very appreciated. Turns out I was wrong in a few of my assumptions and its refreshing to speak to a restaurant owner who is open to feedback and genuinely cares about the customer experience.
Anyway, I returned for dinner and it was AMAZING! The food was delicious - I had the halibut on special, and my husband had the chicken marsala. The service was also excellent. I'm terrible with names and wish I could call him out specifically, but our server was awesome and so, so funny ;)
I truly had an special time for my 17th anniversary and will definitely be coming back - honestly, this is the best restaurant in all of Hillsboro / Bethany, nay, NW Portland!
Finally, my suggestion is that we all try to understand that sometimes everyone has an off day, and that's okay. Never base your opinions of a person, establishment, or experience on one instance alone or you might miss out!