Oliver's Downtown Bar & Grill

Across street from Portland Center for Performing Arts and the Heathman Hotel. Pros: Closed early 2009 Cons: Closed early 2009 more

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The listed phone has been disconnected. Barfly's website says they're closed. I'm required to write 100 characters to post this review, so I'll say it again: Looks like it's closed! more

My husband and I had dinner at this charming place prior to going to see the Jimi Hendrix experience today (Nov. 7-2008) and i must say that we were pleasantly surprised when we recieved outstanding food and service from the staff whom were extremely busy. We had thought that we were not going to be able to eat dinner and make it to the show on time upon being seated (based upon past events when we have eaten here and things took a long time to get to us) However, our order was taken promptly and the food was served timely and was absolutely delicious. The gorganzole penne pasta was one of the best pasta dinners i have had in a very long time. Snrimp, Mushrooms, garlic and herbs sauteed in a gorganzole cheese cream sauce tossed with penne pasta. Yummy! This place is high energy being across from the Arlene Schnitzer theater but relaxed and comforting at the same time. Amazing that we walked in at the same time as everyone else dining (all at once i must say) and it seemed to me that we weren't the only customers surprised by the good service we received. I heard many comments of how fast the food came out and how delicious it was. Mixed drinks took a little while to get to us but the staff did an amazing job. Way to go Oliver's! We will be back! Kudos to the staff. Lots of new faces from the last time we were in and it looks like you guys are hitting the mark. Great job. Pros: Food served prompt and delicious. Great attitude from the wait staff! Cons: Little slow on mixed drink refills but not too bad more

Oliver's is a cool joint and it irks me when reviewers on citysearch are sometimes way too harsh. I have eaten here at least 2 dozen times. Sometimes it's slow and sometimes being across from the Arlene Schnitzer is's super busy. i walk out on those nights cuz i know it's going to be awhile. I learnt this by experience and when my meal was late the manager made sure i got a heafty discount and loads of apologies. The other times i have been there, the staff are friendly, the food great. sorry to hear the person below didn't get bruchetta as theirs is so delicious. It's made with toasted chiabatta, a tomato topping that is great and drizzled with a balsamic reduction that makes my mouth water just writing about it. well worth the $7.00 as it's a meal by itself.\r On their busy nights it can get hectic and as far as the ""layout"" , how can a business get criticized for a floor plan that i think just comes with the building and don't you think if there was a grease fire the place might have been made to close???\r I eat out lots in Portland and in SF where I go for business a few times a month and in all my eating out I have gotten to know servers, managers and even some owners. They tell me it kills them to get cruddy reviews. Servers, Cooks, Bus Boys and Dishwashers all depend on their jobs and one off bad reviews hurt especially when mistakes happen. I think it takes a boat load of courage to open and run a restaurant and it's pretty lame that people can have one experience and then bash a business to pieces on the internet. I am sure glad that as an architect gal, who can make loads of mistakes or have bitchy days that there are no websites out there to bash my business or me personally. We all have off days, we all come under the bar on some days. ease up city search reviewers. it you have a bad time over and over then bash away. If it's the first time you had a bad time there then just remember everyone is human.\r Pros: A good restaurant serving good food Cons: be weary of nights when there are shows at the Arlene Schnitzer - very busy and kitchen can take awhile more

**Responding to the reviewers are too harsh...they don't have an email address on the website except for catering and obviously calling does no good. Perhaps they read my review since I ordered from there again today, because my co workers wanted to give them another shot and they had the bruchetta, You're right it would have been fabulous but they assembled it rather than putting the wet tom's and basalmic separate so it was a soggy mess by the time it got back to the office. They in the heart of downtown and set up for delivered dish too! To go shouldn't be an issue. I shoulda had a cup o noodles :( \r \r After calling the restaurant and asking to make sure that everything was available from the whole menu , and calling back again to ask a couple questions to make sure everything was clear before placing a an order during lunch for seven people when we did call to place the order, two of the items were not available which was irritating, but not as irritating as this. For the $7 they charge for bruschetta, which anywhere is at most four slices of bread and a few tablespoons of a tomato/onion/herb mixture, they do not serve it during lunch. For the pennies the cost per serving is on that dish you would think that bread, tomatoes and onion would ALWAYS be on hand and versus the cost of other items you'd be THRILLED to serve that. Frankly, that's the only reason we went there. It was my pick, and I wanted bruschetta. I was flipping thru Delivered Dish and I spied Bruschetta My luck the only Italian-esq restaurant in the city doesn't have bread and tom. on hand, and the manager or owner doesn't have the courtesy to return my phone call as to how that is. Just a question. Can I get an answer? You must not have a good answer for the moment it takes to return a customer's phone call. Fabulous customer service :( Oh, and the two things you took off the menu, the calamari and the shrimp were the best looking things you had on there. more

After reading the good reviews I decided to check out Olivers before heading to the fox tower for a movie. The restaurant was pretty empty, there were two parties seated when we arrived at 7pm on a Friday night. The server brought us bread right after she seated us. The bread was served with garlic oil and was really really tasty. Our drinks were made just as fast. We ordered the garlic cream and pesto pastas with chicken. The food was ready in about ten minutes. the presentation was lovely and the food was really delicious. I enjoyed every bite. Our server was friendly and attentive and really went the extra mile to ensure that we were having a good time. I will definitely be back to Olivers! Pros: Great service, great food, no wait to be seated more

A fellow crew member and I dropped by after our hotel food sounded inedible. Exhausted, we wanted quick take out and to be back in our rooms watching ppv. Instead we sat at their bar/counter and opened up our to go boxes and had a great time with one of the owners who made us feel like we were long lost friends. We laughed, ate great food, were entertained, laughed some more and finally left.....knowing we had to be up early to catch a flight. The place was packed, fun and she was a warm and charming host. What a find! We get to alot of cities and frequent places over and over. Oliver's is our Portland ""hang out"" now. And we told the entire crew that they missed out on a fun night. Pros: Welcoming!!!!!!!!!!!!! more

i love my job. After several server jobs in Portland, it's cool to find a place where my employers care, the customers are great and i am proud of the food we put out. \r From:\r A happy employee :-)\r \r \r \r Pros: lots Cons: few more

We had the worst I repeat the worst meal in Portland we have ever eaten.. and we have been to most in town.. But this one takes the cake (by the way is frozen then microwaved) The staff were frazzled and the owner was yelling at the employees in a non professional manner..then went outside to smoke at least 3 times during our time there.. We had to actually get up and leave because of the quality of our food..\r .DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE!!! awful awful awful...did i mention it was awful and way over priced... Cons: NO PARKING, BAD FOOD, BAD SERVICE more

After scouring citysearch for new restaurants, my wife and I dined at Oliver's, formerly Oliver Twisted (I heard an absurd story about the owner of Olive or a Twist intending to persue legal action against them if they didn't change their name). \r We went on a Thursday night. Their patio was packed with people apparently there for a private birthday party so we were seated inside. We ordered the bruschetta which was probably the best we had ever had. For our main meal we had the pasta garlic cream and the maple pork chops - both great. My wife passed on dessert but I had the chocolate moulton cake and it was really good and topped with extra chocolate and whipped cream. Their wine list was in my opinion very solid.\r I went outside to smoke and met the lady for whom the birthday party was for. She informed me that she too had found this place on Citysearch and how great her experience had been with the owners when booking her party. Consistently asking what they could do for her to make the evening better. She told me they decorated the patio with balloons for free, surprised her with a complimentary birthday cake and seemed to really care about her event. She and her guests appeared to be having as good a time as we were. \r To have a place really care about your party, not try and charge you for every little thing and treat you as a special guest is hard to find these days. My wife and I will be booking our anniversary dinner there and I don't even need the balloons, I would settle for another moulton. Pros: great service, go out of their way for customers Cons: downtown more

I work in the office building where this restaurant is located. I read all the CS reviews for Oliver Twisted and wanted to add my 2 cents. It's in an office building, downtown so I would expect the nights to be sometime busy or sometime slow. However lunch there is always packed and I have yet to have a bad meal or bad service. The servers are always pleasant and friendly, the food at lunch is quick, great specials, daily soups and they offer a Mulligatawny soup on Wednesdays that is incredible. Their counter area on the lobby level is always busy and the fresh baked cookies are a nice afternoon snack. They just installed a bar on that floor where I had breakfast last week and the oatmeal was delicious. \r I haven't eaten there at night but can vouch for lunch. I eat there, my boss loves their chicken salad which is full of cranberries and our office always wants to order from there for lunch time meetings. \r The owners are usually there every day and are gracious, fun and welcoming. I know that after working all day I usually want to run from downtown and maybe they suffer from other people with the same attitude. I am going to give dinner a try soon or at least a happy hour cocktail. Pros: excellent place for lunch, quick service, they deliver more

i am vegan and i work nearby and noticed their menu said they have a vegan pizza, which is pretty rare even in pdx. i ordered one and picked it up after work, but when i got home i could tell right away that something was wrong, i knew it wasn't vegan cheese, so i called back for a refund. the girl took my credit card info and said she'd refund it; she also told me the brand of so called ""vegan"" cheese that they used. i looked it up on the internet, and although it is called ""veggie shreds"", it says that it contains ""dried skim milk protein, cultured milk, lactic acid"" and states clearly ""contains milk ingredients"". news flash: VEGANS DO NOT EAT MILK INGREDIENTS! i understand that it's hard to make a good vegan pizza, but if it's not vegan, don't say it's vegan on the menu! oh, and also, i got my bank statement and i still got charged $13 for this pizza even though the restaurant said they'd refund it. i can't believe how low that is! can i give this place a negative star rating? one isn't low enough. Cons: deceptive menu, staff lied about my refund more

Dinner with friends in the ""hood"". heard rumblings about this place all good. 6 for dinner, seated promptly. Bar menu was solid followed by a menu with choices for everyone. Bruschetta is definately worth a second visit. Between the 6 of us we had pasta - the garlic cream my friend said was ""worth licking the plate"". A cobb salad, standard but greens were fresh and crispy, a pizza which was served on a wooden pizza peel. something called a stuffed burger which was true to it's name - stuffed with ingredients. Our dinner was good - better than good - it was great. Beers kept coming and our server was fun but on top of it. \r No room for dessert but great coffee. \r I am glad we went and we'll be back. We sat on the patio which on a night where we remember why we live in Portland and were able to laugh at the diners at the Heathman who were paying twice the price!!!!!It was a memorable evening. more

A friend and I were heading to the Arcade Fire show back in MAy. We wanted to stop and get a few drinks and maybe a snack. Instead of going to the Art Bar we stopped in here. \r \r We were seated promptly by one person in a relatively large group of gossiping employees at the entrance. Our server, though, took a while to get there. While we waited we just listened to the two bartenders talk about their work problems. \r \r We each ordered a beer and I was told I couldn't have the kind I wanted because they didn't have any that were cold. Hm... so I chose another and she was on her way to get those. Ten minutes later the server returned with our two beers. Mine was full to the brim but my friend's had a good three inches of head on it. After scraping it out with a spoon she had a little over half of a beer left. We would have asked the server to bring us another beer for my friend but we rarely saw her. \r \r We then ordered a pizza to share and we each ordered a salad as well. The salad was definitely interesting. It looked as though the greens had just been pulled out of the garden... they were in very large, unmanageable pieces. The dressing was enjoyable, though. \r \r By the time we got our pizza we had very little time left before the show; it was nothing to write home about anyway. We quickly ate and finished our drinks. The check came promptly (at least one thing did) and we paid and got out of there. \r \r At the time we were there the restaurant was not busy at all- we were one of two tables. People started coming in after we had ordered but there was no reason we saw to receive such slow and shoddy service. I understand that people have off days and things happen. However, that was my first impression of the restaurant and I'm sorry to say I won't be going back to see if things have changed. Pros: Cheaper than buying beers at the Schnitz Cons: Less than desirable service more

The Oregonian recommended them and it lived up to all the hype. Went for dinner before Norah Jones last night. The wife of the owner warmly greeted us at the door like we were regulars and quickly found us a table even though we didn't have a reservation. The Service outstanding even with a completely packed restaurant. The food was really good. We had the Oliver's Pie pizza and the seafood special, lobster potpie. We loved the Washington Red Apple Martini and were impressed with the solid wine list. Not expensive at all. The place has a great vibe with three levels for seating. Great music selection from classic rock to a trip down 80's memory lane. \r Suggest making reservations for concert nights and specifially ask for patio seating as it seems to fill up quickly. Don't look at the dessert case on your way in because you'll never make it to your dinner. There were lots of choices! We will be back.. Pros: FOOD, SERVICE, DESSERTS AND LOCATION FOR DOWNTOWN EVENTS Cons: LIMITED PATIO SEATING AND NON SMOKING more

As a downtown executive assistant who manages an office of over 100, I am constantly looking for a reliable, well priced catering company than offers good food for our employees. \r I received information about this new restaurant from their catering manager. Every Monday she would email or call me to check in and see if I needed any assistance that coming week.It was never pushy or ""selling"" but more of a ""can I help you"" call. She was personable, nice and very very organized. I finally took her up on the offer and I am truly glad I did. \r My order was taken, she was able to accommodate all my needs for employees with food special needs.\r The order arrived early, the staff set up all the food items and even included all the condiments we could possibly need. The food arrived hot, well cooked, tasty and our usually very fickle employees were very happy. They came by after lunch to retrieve their serving dishes and cleaned up after. \r As a busy assistant it is a joy to have such a reliable company to deal with. Their catering manager is so organized that she kept track of each order, all our special needs and is happy to go out of her way for all special requests. They are now our caterer of choice and we will use them for all our needs from breakfast lunch and dinner. They even service afternoon treat!\r I am impressed and hightly recommend them. \r \r more

I just moved to Portland and I stumbled across Oliver Twisted after going to a movie at the Regal. \r WOW! YAHOOOO! After months here looking for a good burger I have found it. Their stuffed burger was the most delicious, yummy, mouth watering, scrumptious, filling burger I have EVER EVER had. Who knew - put the ingredients inside????? The Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce amazing. \r The service was great and welcoming. The cocktails suggested went great with my meal and much as I protested...I was convinced to try the moulton chocolate cake which I have to say guiltly went straight to my belly as I licked the plate - CLEAN!\r I work dowtown and this in my new favorite place. Pros: burgers, micro beer selection, Oliver Twisted coloring books! Cons: can't think of a one..... more

The food and service was great. The owner was very friendly and willing to talk about the menu and answer any questions. Great place to stop while walking downtown and get a glass of wine. Highly recommended. Pros: Variety of food styles, casual bar-type atmosphere with high quality food. Cons: Limited seating, may get full later in the evening. more

We stopped in for dinner Monday night before the concert. We were immediately seated. It was about 90% filled by the time we finished our dinner and left. Very nice quiet music but one could talk and be heard. My salad greens were varied and fresh. We both had the Twisted Steaks. They were excellent The sauce on the steak was so flavorful and a great addition to the meat. We also had three different side dishes. The sweet potato souffle was very good, the mixed vegetables were flavorful, and the mashed potatoes were good. Our service was very good. The owner even came to our table to make sure we were satisfied with our meal. We looked at the various other meals being served, and they all looked good. The pizzas were generous in size with many choices to fit your tastes. The bar was well stocked. We will definitely go back. We want to try the Lobster in pie crust. All in all, a very good experience. Pros: great food, nice and friendly people serving, good food choices, paper on tables with crayons for the kids or adults to draw on, Cons: unisex bathroom more