Lunch in Portland

Hi, I%26#39;m meeting a friend in Portland for the day. We would like to go somewhere fun and innovative for lunch. I%26#39;ll be taking the train, so would prefer to stay within the downtown area. TIA!!

Lunch in Portland

Innovative?

Not sure what that would be, for lunch here but I will give you a few of my favorites..

Everett Street Bistro, 12th %26amp; NW Everett- is hopping at lunch time, excellent food and service.

Fenouil -11th /Jamison Sq -if you want a high end French-ish atmosphere in a beautiful room with very good food.

Carlyle is good, great room, good food.

A new place opened on SW 12th %26amp; Jefferson, West Cafe, fireplace and nice booths and great service..

I eat out ever day and have lost my ability to judge what is new and fun lol..hope this helps a bit though :)

Lunch in Portland

We just had lunch for the first time at Fenouil this weekend - what a nice place! Great food, about $12 - $14 a plate, lovely service and ambience. Can%26#39;t wait to go back for dinner!

Thanks to those of you on the board who brought that place to our attention - I%26#39;d never heard of it before I read about it here!

Hey J%26amp;S! It is a neighborhood favorite of ours, so glad you enjoyed it.

Go to Everett Street Bistro next ( 12th %26amp; Everett ) :)

The train station will dump you right in the Pearl district so you might look for restaurants in that area if you%26#39;re looking to walk. The downtown core isn%26#39;t far but it may be further than you want to hoof it (a cab will cost you less than $10 though).

I%26#39;m not a huge fan of any of the restaurants Scarlett recommended, although I haven%26#39;t been to Fenoil in a while so hopefully it%26#39;s improved (lots of people like it -- I just think Hurley%26#39;s or Genoa offers better food at that price range).

A few to consider in the Pearl, although I don%26#39;t think I%26#39;d call them innovative:

Sungari Pearl, 1105 NW Lovejoy St (I find their dinners better than lunch but lots of people like it there for lunch)

Not sure if it%26#39;s open for lunch but Georgio%26#39;s, 1131 NW Hoyt St, is excellent.

Sin Ju for Japanese

Le Bouchon, 517 NW 14th Ave, is reasonably-priced French with a friendly staff and good food.

Silk is in the vicinity. I haven%26#39;t eaten there since the name change but when it was Pho Von it was excellent -- especially if you can get the fish wrapped in banana leaf.

Emanon - haven%26#39;t been there for lunch but their brunch is good and dinner, while not fancy was good too (not outstanding but good).

My DH swears by Byways Cafe but it is most certainly not innovative -- hamburgers and shakes are the thing there.

I don%26#39;t even know if it%26#39;s still around but one place to avoid is Nina%26#39;s Place. I used to live across the street from it and it was just dreadful in service and food and because it was convenient, I made the mistake of going back).

If you find you can stay for dinner, I%26#39;d recommend Olea or Andina.

Hi Sparkle, ';Fun or innovative '; gave me pause. We eat out almost every day, our expectations change after a while.lol.

Is Hurleys open for lunch?

The places you mention are all very nice but Giorgios is not what I think of when fun or innovative is mentioned, nor is a nice Chinese restaurant .. I don%26#39;t think Sin Ju is open for lunch either, are they?

:) So my list was quite short.

Silk is wonderful!

ByWays is a greasy spoon diner that serves great french fries.

Ninas Place closed...it is now Graze, which one might want to check out. It is a pretty space with some outside seating and all small plates .. a very nice Brunch too.

Hope the house is finished now and that you are enjoying your new neighborhood :)

Fenouil is very good. I have a review with photos posted here of our lunch this past June. We also very much enjoyed brunch and dinner at the Heathman Hotel. Very upbeat atmosphere and excellent food here.

We also enjoyed Silk when it was Pho Van Bistro and my husband adored the place. Gorgeous atmosphere and excellent service. Bluehour is very cool, we had dinner there when we celebrated my son%26#39;s engagment in Portland.

I just received an e-mail from clarklewis that they are offering lunch again after a 4 month hiatus. We enjoyed a very good lunch there but it is not in the downtown area. Use the reference when you are in the area again with transportation.

Higgins is downtown and is very good also. If you can get transportation to the Nob Hill area, Wildwood is outstanding, very fun and innovative. Have a great time in Portland! :)

If the train dumps you in the Pearl District, I would recommend the Daily Grill. I walked into this place by mistake a few weeks back and LOVED the food. Very urban, young, trendy and chic. The food was excellent. We were there on a Sunday and had a fabulous brunch.

www.dailygrill.com is the website. They have several locations in CA as well as other states. Sounds like a great place, thanks Little Lisa! :)

Thanks, Scarlett - we actually walked over to Everett Street Bistro right after Fenouil the same day! Not for food (okay, some of those rosemary thyme pommes frites!) but for drinks. They were so packed, it took us a half-hour to get our drinks, so that wasn%26#39;t cool, but they were really busy.

Seemed like a nice place, though - the menu looked decent, though not as interesting as some places in the area. We%26#39;ve walked by there many times (we frequently go to The Vault next door), but this is the first time we sat down.

Your recommendations that I%26#39;ve taken lately have been right on the money, though, so I%26#39;m sure it%26#39;s very good. We%26#39;ll try it soon, I%26#39;m sure.

I also found out where Giorgio%26#39;s was - I%26#39;ve heard you guys mention it, but never knew where it was before - that is high on the list too for future dining delights.

Hi J%26amp;S, if you are ever in Cannon Beach, Gower St. Bistro is very good there, same owners as Everett St. We have enjoyed several great meals there, but were very disappointed when they stopped making the Chocolate Pot de Creme. We had to hit Newman%26#39;s @ 988 for that! :)