Fenouil

Went there for happy hour. Obviously the host, server and bartender resented us bothering them. more

Went to Fenoiul - looking forward to a good dinner. Meal was ruined by the total lack of service. The server forgot to bring the second glass of wine, forgot to bring bread when asked, and forgot to put in our dessert order - after waiting 30 minutes for dessert we had to ask where it was - and even after we asked it took another 15 minutes to get it. She also got one of the dessert orders wrong. Dinner took over 2 hours. Will never go there again. Pros: Good food Cons: Totally incompetent server more

What happened, Fenouil used to be a nice local brasserie with an affordable menu with a great location. The menu is now very expensive (most of the entrees are mid to high $30.) The portions and the service does not justify the high prices. The Old spaghetti Factory owners need to realize that a high priced restaurant can not do well in this economy. Maybe they should stay with the pasta concept and stay away from buying restaurants and try to turn then into something that nobody really wants. Maybe running real restaurants is not for them. As I understand they never open something successful, but just run the dad company. Too bad! Pros: Decor. Patio Cons: Pricing. Service more

I took my girlfriend to Fenouil for her bithday. It was an anazing look resturant in an good location but that was it! I didnt eat all day and expected an good meal. We got our menu and everything sounds amazing. the arevage price was about 20 to 30 dollars per meal. I was ok with that it was for my girlfriends birthday. I order the duck and she order the scallops. The duck was extreamly small sitting under some lil purple beans. it was maybe 3inch long and 2inch wide that was it!!!!! and hers has 3 tiny little scallops and some other lil tiny things cant even make out what they are. I was disappointed! we ate our food and left still hungry! we had to stop some where after to get more food. its not worth it. i spend 130 including tip. I will never go back there again. Pros: good location Cons: too expensive and low value more

I took my wife and in-laws to Fenouil for dinner to celebrate Mother's day. The food was OK. I was disappointed to find out that they had hired a new head chef (according to the maitre d') and they no longer served the fantastic Paella that they used to have on the menu. They don't do it off menu either. So I ordered the closest thing on the current menu (Coquilles Po?l?e) which was nothing to write home about. There were three (yes, only 3) seared scallops for $29 and some undercooked squid and white beans. It was good but not nearly enough food for $29. My father in law ordered the soft shell crab special which too was undersized. Further the massive plate on which it was served made the crab look tiny. Needless to say, I won't be going back. Our total bill for four people was $210 and two of us left still hungry. There are other restaurants in Portland with much better value for dollar. For example, the Tabla three course meal with wine pairings can be had for roughly the same money and no one will be hungry afterward. Pros: Good ambiance, service Cons: Low value for dollar, so so food more

I was very excited to come to Fenouil. It was in an great location and it was for my birthday. We arrive and was standing around for 15 mins before anyone had approch us. The hostess did not seem very friendly and did not even say hello or hi. She simply just said how many. We told her how many and she walked us to our table and just walked away. We were like ok? Whats her problem. Seriously we should of left! Then maybe about 15 mins later the server came and she seems nice and said sorry about the wait. That she didn't know that we were sitted. Seriously they were not busy. There was many 3 other tables that had people in it. How can they miss us. We order our food and it took maybe 35 to 40 mins before the food came out. And when it did come out nothing came out right for my friends nor mine. The duck that i order was bloody red and cold. So I returned it and when it came back it was almost burned. I was not happy at all. 200 dollars later we came out and was still hungry! Pros: Nice classic looking restaurant Cons: Bad Food and Server more

So looked up on internet to find the best brunch in Portland and it came up with Fenouli in downtown Portland @ 32.00 per person. It?s Mother?s day so we get the in-laws together and go to brunch for a very disappointing meal. When we arrived for our 11:00 reservations we sat waiting for about 30min. It was a 3 course brunch & you had Varity of choices. We all started with the petite French toast, it came out oozing with raw egg in the middle. The head waitress seen this and took from us all 8 and we sat waiting for another 20 min for it to be replaced. The flavor was good, but again nothing to brag about considering it is suppose to be the best brunch in Portland. After our first course we sat and waited for 20-30 min for our second course to come. The waiter came to our table saying he forgot what my daughter ordered for her second course. Fine we cleared that up! As we sat again waiting for our 3rd course another 20-30 min he approached the table saying he lost our ticket and needed everyone?s 3rd course choice again. At this point I was done! It had taken so long between courses and sitting so long one of our guests had to be somewhere else and had to leave in between the 2nd and 3rd course. I would not return to Fenouli, we were very disappointed not only from the service but as for the flavor of food. It is not the best brunch in Portland and do not understand how it was recommended to be. Pros: nice atmosphere Cons: service/food more

My male friend treated his three girl friends for dinner. We ordered four appetizers, four entr?es, three desserts, and half-dozen drinks. Everything was delicious. Our waitress was excellent! She was very nice and attentive. The only down side was the old man who refilled our water was rude, and does not know the etiquette of taking plates away from the table. His arm was in front of my face to take something away, and didn't say "pardon me, miss." or whatever. One time when he refilled our water, the bottom of the canter was inside of my drink! I alerted my waitress, and she was pounced on the situation and got us a new drink. Regardless, the food was delicious, our waitress was great. I would recommend Fenouil, but I would inform them of the grumpy old server man. However, I must say a younger server was really great and polite. Just say away from that grumpy old man. Pros: Food, service, atmosphere Cons: The staff who refilled our water was not nice more

Our brunch was even cold but the service left little to be desired. This was after a fantastic dinner some weeks earlier. We thought we would give it one more try. We were disappointed because the burgers were uncooked and had to be sent back. My wife's potatoes were cold while our friend's mussels were barely luke warm. The food is great when served properly but they do have a difficult time making that happen. Pros: Excellent food Cons: Delivered cold or undercooked more

I love French cuisine and am always excited to try the best portland has to offer in this vien of culinary tradition. When I went to Fenouil I was expecting great food. I got slightly less then that. Three of us ordered the French onion soup, but to my dismay it was rather plain, and overloaded with gruyere cheese and not even fully melted. Each of us actually had to take cheese out of the bowl and put it to the side. I ordered the paella. IT WAS DRY! The saffron rice was undercooked (I felt like I needed a drink of water after each bite) and there was no seafood chorizo broth! Just dry seafood. The seafood was good and I loved the chorizo. Last but not least, the pomme frits with truffle oil. The frits themselves were very thin to the point that the fry was pure crunch with no moist potato obn the inside. Moreover the truffle flavor was barely noticeable. It was like oily chips. No good. However to be fair both of my friends enjoyed their meals, grilled shrimp with harrisa aioloi, beef stew, and a smoked salmon app. Although I might try it again, I would be hesitant. Pros: Nice wine selection, creative menu items Cons: .... more

The waitress was most helpful. Great salads! Beautiful sunny day on the patio. Pros: Great cocktails and house sparkler, great happy hour Cons: Great for copuples, friends, family. more

we went to Fenuoil for my friends birthday and had a large party. we ended up being being short a few guest and the waistress made it clear she wasn't happy about it. My friend tried lightening the mood and said " I'm so sorry we are short some guests but I promise we will leave a huge tip " the waitress replies " ya." and stomps off. Then when she came back she over heard me say " wow we should complain to her manager." and she walked up and said " ya I was mad before and now not so ... what fdo you guys want to eat?" to make a really long and blah blah blah BS that came from the restraunt shorter, I'll say this , if your thinking about a cute chic formal dinner with friends don't go here. You will feel to scared to speak above library level and if you tell them you don't eat meat it doesn't matter your food is cooked in viel fat. Pros: delicous food Cons: Evil server more

I come down from Seattle regularly and would never miss lunch at Fenouil, It is always perfect. I enjoy going by myself and sit inside, by the window, and really treat myself. The service is perfect and so is the ambiance and I never feel odd being alone. And the food is incredible. Wish I lived in Portland ! more

Great happy hour....terrific food and drink at reasonable price! Pros: Excellent food and service. Cons: None more

Wow. What a great place! My girlfriends and I were a little worried that this place would be stuffy, as some reviewers have noted. Boy, were they wrong. Sarah, our bartender, was prompt and friendly. Our server, Elizabeth, was knowledgeable and offered great suggestions. The food was amazing - the Chef even accommodated my food allergies (wheat and dairy). When the bill came, we were impressed that it didn't cost nearly as much as we had expected. I'm going to bring my husband for their Sunday brunch. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. This is my new favorite place. Pros: staff, food, drinks Cons: none more

This is one place that just "gets it". If your looking for refined service and great food, go to Fenouil. I have been to most of the other fine dinning places in town and this one takes the cake. The prices were even lower then most. Pros: Great food and Great Service Cons: none more

I have been a part of the service industry for many years, and my fiance are new to the Pearl District. We live about a block away from Fenouil and I have to say, the experience that we had was nothing but top notch. As a younger couple sometimes we are treated differently at fine dining establishments, but we were treated with the upmost respect. We sat outside at dusk and enjoyed the Chefs Tasting Menu. It was wonderful. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting or local to the area! Come and enjoy a wonderful experience!! Pros: Brunch and Dinner! The best service! Cons: NONE!!! more

My girlfriends and I had never been to Fenouil but since it was a nice night out, we thought we would try it for our first time. As soon as we walked in we had to wait about 10 minutes before we were even greeted. Being one who use to work in the dinning business I took a look around to see if they were slammed but they didn't seem to busy being that it was only 6 o'clock and their service starts at 5.. we should have left right then yet, once we were seated we were saved by the warm and welcoming attitude of our server Westman if I remember his name correctly. Many times through out the meal we wanted to leave because of the up tight feeling coming from others dinning and working around us ..the only thing that kept us from getting up from our diner was our server! so words to the wise, if you are going to be making a night out of Fenouil even after reading these reviews your best bet is to go with Westman as your server ! Pros: service Cons: everything else more

My friends and I attended Fenouil's regional dinner last Sunday and it was incredible! For $41 (includes wine) you are served between 6-7 pre set courses brought to the table family style. Everyone is seated at large tables together so it is a great opportunity to chat up the person next to you. It was a very leisurely dinner - we were there about 3 hours - but well worth it! The dinners are once a month and I believe are the last Sunday of the month. check their website for dates and menus. Pros: great food, atmosphere Cons: mad dash into the dining room to find a seat more

My wife and I had been wanting to try brunch at Fenouil. Our service was fantastic. The food was perfect. We wanted for nothing. I thought the menu was reasonably priced and we did not have to wait 20 minutes for a table like every other breakfast spot in town on Sundays. What a great find! Pros: Affordable Brunch Cons: None more