Paley’s Place

I was in Portland for a long weekend for fun and really have a high opinion of the bars and restaurants the city has to offer! While I was really excited to try Paley’s based on the great reviews, I left underwhelmed.
It was a Saturday night, which is if course a typically busier nights for most restaurants… But even with this in mind – the service was very slow. The ambience was okay near the front of the restaurant/​house… But the area we were seated in lacked charm and was pretty basic. It took about 20 minutes to get a drink order in — which prompted us to place our meal orders at that time too because We did not want to risk another 20 min going by. We purposefully came hungry excited to try the food — so, the 1 hour wait for our entrees after placing the order was a bummer. We had half portions of the rib eye and the sweetbread (both pricey in my opinion for the serving size). Both were okay, but nothing too memorable. All of the staff was very friendly. Unfortunately, the food and ambience just wasn’t as wonderful as hoped.

Paley’s Place was one of our first stops on visiting Portland. With a casual but elegant dining room (it looks like a converted house from the area), we were delighted by the wonderful service, tasty food, and friendly ambiance.
We sat on the dining room side and the waitress was kind enough to let us order from the Happy Hour menu that is usually restricted to the bar area. Food comes out at a relaxed pace and while everything is well prepared and flavorful, there were some misses as well as hits. The menu is a particularly nice one as many items can be ordered as half orders which allows for more sampling and being able to share many plates. Our order:
Oysters on the Half Shell — $ 2/​oyster. One of the Happy Hour specials we wanted to indulge in were the oysters. While not exactly the Happy Hour bargain of the year, the price was a nice touch for a fine dining establishment like Paley’s. The oysters were from Washington and very large and, unfortunately, didn’t have the sweetness that smaller oysters have that we preferred. We ordered a dozen but probably should have tried them first and ordered half a dozen.
Charcuterie — Chicken Liver Mousse and the Duck Riclette were both very tasty and were served with some wonderful salt water crackers as well as some pickled vegetables.
Seared Foie Gras — $ 21. A really wonderful preparation of seared foie gras served with wonderful brioche toast and nicely caramelized strawberries. If there was any criticism, it’s that I thought the foie gras piece was so small!
Bone Marrow — This was a great preparation as well with lots of garlic, a delicious reduction sauce and two bones with plentiful marrow. Very good.
Grilled Sweetbreads — $ 19 Half Order. One of their signature dish. Very tasty, but I think grilled sweetbreads must not be my thing. I typically love offal, but found it very bland and unremarkable in flavor or consistency although the accompanying sauce was delicious as well as the side of spaetzle.
Varenyky Two Ways — $ 13 Half Order. I didn’t know what this was but supposedly it’s a Russian or Ukranian dumpling. It was absolutely delicious with a delicate dumpling skin, tender and flavorful filling, and addictive sauce. I wish we had ordered a full order.
Overall, we had a great meal at Paley’s Place. Service was superb and the food is well executed although paced at a very leisurely pace. The bone marrow and seared foie gras were memorable while I could have skipped the oysters and the sweetbreads. The ambiance was a bit fancier than I anticipated (I bet it’s a great date place), but they were so accommodating that our family dinner worked here as well.
Paley’s Place accepts credit cards, including Amex.

Another fantastic dinner and excellence in customer service from a warm welcome to an appreciative good bye. Paley’s Place is a favorite of ours — for countless reasons. Last night we celebrated my wife’s birthday and had a great time. A ‘Not To Be Missed’ in Portland.

Laurie was a great server! We really loved our experience here, from the food to the service. A very romantic atmosphere. We will def come back again for more dates and anniversaries to come! Thanks again Laurie for being so awesome and the chef for making prob the best food we’ve ever tried.

Sit at the bar and eat the best house made potato chips ever! Great service and the food is top notch, which should go without saying.
Now if they would only bring the spinach turnover back…

OMGodness!!! Flavors to die for!!! Hat off to the chef. We ordered several dishes and no words to describe, great mouth joy! Company was excellent

Top notch service and an excellent food selections. beautifully plated. This place certainly ranks as one of our top 10 favorite restaurants in the Portland Metro area. We absolutely love the other restaurants associated with Chef Paley and his top winning chefs throughout this area.

Great French wine bar for happy hour. Best pâté made with cherries and mouthwatering pickled veggies. The cherry mustard was the highlight of it all! Duck wings with stone fruit tasted fresh and not greasy. The bobs green salad is light and very basic with some slices of yellow beets.
The waitress treated us to a light lemon cake bites.
Small, romantic and intimate.

Fine dining for sure and worth the praise, but short of a 5 star in my opinion.
The ‘place’ is located in a nondescript building in a quiet neighborhood, and upon entering you get the ‘dining room’ sense of coziness I personally love — small bar room with some tables to the left, main dining room off to the right. The staff was one of the highlights for me, waiter Jake was on point, excellent understanding of the menu and was critical in helping us navigate which dishes and menus (had multiple set menu options). The beef tartare was very good but I’ve had a few better. Wine from the region was fantastic, I’m hoping somewhere I have a picture of the bottle because I would love to drink again. Main dishes were fine, for the price a decent but not overwhelming value.
If I lived in Portland, I suppose I would go back but for ~$ 200 for 2 (with wine) I would be more careful about what I’m ordering.

Exploring new cities is so much fun. I’m from a larger city where one can be certain that the more upscale restaurants are in well-​maintained, upscale parts of the city. Portland has diamonds in the midst of run-​down areas which adds to the whole adventure of exploring. Paley’s is the diamond in it’s neighborhood for sure.
The vibe is laid-​back but don’t let that fool you. Being greeted as though you are important right from the moment as you step in and close the door is like foreplay for a sumptuous dining experience.
The seating seems rather private so I think it’s perfect for a romantic dinner with that special someone. Dare I say, even sexy ambiance too with all of the textures, romantic lights and drapes.
The servers are very knowledgeable about the menu, drinks and wines which is impressive and the way it should be in my humble opinion. They never let the smallest detail get by them as you are able to focus on having an enjoyable experience with your dinner date. I love the staff here. xoxo
I am a vegan and my date is not. I was happy that we were both able to have the variety on the menu for a delectable, satisfying meal. Everything from the starters to the main course was cooked to perfection. I can not find one single thing to complain about. If you are in the mood for a delightfully, scrumptious experience then Paley’s Place is a perfect choice.

So so good. This is Portland fine dining defined. Amazing service, wonderful atmosphere, the chef cane out and said hello. A truly extraordinary dining experience!

Been wanting to try this place for a long time, and took the opportunity with the Portland dining month. To start, this place did not disappoint! The atmosphere was relaxing, and service for most part was wonderful (got a bit slower towards the end but no biggie). The quail that came as a part of the dining month special was extremely tender with just the right amount of flavor. Ribeye was done just like I had asked, and the meat quality was excellent. Our two year old daughter could not stop eating their complimentary bread, and they continued to bring more whenever the plate was empty. We will return!

This restaurant was recommended to us and I was disappointed by the food. I am French and nothing I had was really French. The 5 grain risotto with Rabbit was a-​ok. Some of the grains weren’t enough cooked and the rabbit portion was really light. The apricot pieces were not a good add. And surely not a French recipe. The room of the restaurant isn’t charming. Too pricy for the quality. The waitress was really nice though.
We would not recommend coming here. And won’t go back.

I didn’t remember that I had eaten here years ago until I arrived for our appointed dinner reservation. The only memory was the good food. My wife and I decided to go for no reason but a foodie quest. We both decided on the 7 course tasting menus. The only request was that one of the courses be the rib eye. That was delicious. Many of the dishes were hard to remember the precise ingredients but in general everything was well prepared and tasted good. My only problem was getting full near the end. It takes away from enjoyment. I’m used to smaller meals. If you are also, try the 5 course. One nice thing: my wife and I got different items in our courses so we were able to sample a wide variety of their wonderful food. Next time. I’ll be more selective, and better armed to choose my favorites.
Likes: special cocktail — nicely done had tequila, 10 barrel, agave, honey; Nantucket Bay Scallop Ceviche; pork medallions w/​cranberry sauce, sweet potato” Seared Petrale Sole; Snake River Farms Wagyu Ribeye; Five Grain Risotto; Warm Chocolate Soufflé Cake and Zapekanka and Apple Kouign Amann
Meh: Lamb Pierogi (reminded me of wontons); Butter Lettuce & Pear Salad and Savoy Cabbage Salad; Quinault River Steelhead à la Plancha; bread pudding, root vegetables that came with the fish (I’m not a fan in general), cheese plate (I don’t like cheese made from anything but cow’s milk, but I should have told them that); coffee (I roast my own and it is much better).

What a darling place! Paley’s place is the definition of what a fancy restaurant should be like. Although we did have to call ahead in order to reserve some seats and the only available time on a Saturday was 9:30 pm but the wait was worth it.
From the moment we stepped into Paley’s place, the staff took our coats and hung them away. We got seated by candlelight and our server was SO INFORMATIVE! Although the food is pricey and the portions are not huge, the food. is soooo worth the $ 30 spent. The plates delivered were simply pieces of art:). We also ordered three different kinds of goat cheeses with bread as an appetizer. Although I now can’t recall which ones we got exactly, they were beyond delicious.
For dessert we simply went with coffee supplied by café Umbria!
Overall — as you can tell — I can’t stop raving about this place. The experience is worth the money spent.

I seem to be late to the party. (Again.) Even though Vitaly Paley won the James Beard Award in 2005, Paley’s Place is one of Portland’s dining bellwethers. Having only visited it once right before Thanksgiving, the staff was very enthusiastic in pointing out the menu is printed daily to account for the ever-​changing options.
Let’s start a little further back; I made reservations for my girlfriend’s 30^th birthday. A nice and intimate dinner for two at the notable Paley’s Place. On the day of, I received a call from Sarah, the Operations Manager, to go over my plans, drink options, special dessert requests, etc. I told her I’d love to have a cocktail or champagne waiting for us, she promptly suggested I go for the champagne. (In hindsight, this was the right call.) I mentioned I’d be bringing a special wine for the occasion, a 30-​year old Zinfandel that needed to be decanted. And a special pumpkin turnover with a birthday message.
The evening arrives and we walk to Paley’s Place on a rather cold Portland evening. The birthday girl gets to chose her table, i.e. they weren’t completely booked and soon thereafter the decadent feast begins! The flutes of champagne while perusing the menu, cocktails with appetizers and lovely wine with the main courses. (That’s right. courses. plural.) The charcuterie was most notable, particularly the different pâtés, and the diver scallop over a creamy, seafoody broth was the highlight of the evening!
I cannot say enough praises for the staff! Our server Shelby was incredible with her friendly demeanor and patience.

Came for a late dinner here and got the mushroom soufflé, beets, sautéed greens, beef Wellington and shrimp. Everything was amazing and also really enjoyed the quiet setting. The service was remarkable, especially the hostess was so sweet and really made you feel comfortable and at home! Everything was cooked to perfection and paired with beautiful sauces. Even the shrimp brains were tasty! Finished the night with an apéritif fernet shot which wasn’t quite as good as tasty but still amazing experience.

Came for happy hour and everything was delicious. I definitely need to come back for the tasting menu.
The staff was also great. Loved the sweetbreads and the burger.

For places like Paley’s, I don’t really know what to say in the review. Like, where do I start? How about you come here yourself, order every single thing off the menu, and just STUFF YO FACE.
Some days I just crave their steak tartare. Nobody else has come close (excuse my ignorance). But then usually that steak tartare craving turns into a $$$$ dinner and I leave with a belly full of deliciousness and no regrets.
Key word: steak tartare (with chips, ask for it), meats, cheese, duck wings, oysters, everything.

In addition to Powells bookstore, Paleys would be the place I’d tell a person to visit if they had just one day in Portland.
The service alone would be worth the trip.
Great service and a quaint atmosphere sets the stage for the wonderful experience to come.
All our meals were perfectly seasoned, balanced and very tasty. I especially liked the vegetables.
My only slight disappointment was my salmon. Being in the Pacific Northwest I was hoping for fresh caught fish.
I was served Alaskan salmon that was cooked perfectly and had a great sauce accompaning it. But the salmon itself tasted no different than salmon I can eat in North Carolina.
Our desserts and our chef’s special treats at the beginning and end of the meal all added up to some very smiling faces and a great night out.