Caprial's Restaurant in Portland, Oregon
Written: Jan 28 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great atmosphere, good bar & bartender, great wine selection
Cons: disappointing food, over-priced
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| Beauregard's Full Review: Caprial's Bistro |
Caprial Pence is famous by virtue of her PBS cooking show. She also has very good cookbooks on the market -- 4 to date, I believe. Her restaurant, Caprials' Bistro, is in a Portland neighborhood called Westmoreland. The charming neighborhood is filled with antique shops, and old-fashioned movie theater, coffee shops and florists.
Caprial's recently expanded so that it doubled it's square footage, and they overhauled the look of the place. They did a fantastic job. Here's the rundown:
Atmosphere
This is the strongest feature of Caprials. It's a wide open style, with a small bar in the back and wine racks all along the walls. It has approximately 20 tables, with some very comfortable chairs in the bar area. The place has a very homey feel to it. It's properly named a Bistro, as it retains that atmosphere. The Pences live a few blocks from their restaurant, so really embrace the Westmoreland neighborhood. It flows into their restaurant. Inviting, charming, classy.
Food & Wine
Although Caprial Pence is famous for her culinary arts, they don't come through very well in her restaurant. I've eaten here twice with my family (my Mom is a big fan of her show) and both times we left feeling very disappointed. Poor cuts of meat, not cooked the way we requested and small portions. The chefs (not Caprial on a regular basis) try to do too much with the dishes, that they seem to forget about the actual piece of meat/fowl/fish that they're doing their fancy tricks to. Their wine selection, however, is a different story. They have hundreds of selections and a knowledgeable staff to walk you through them.
Service
Mixed reports on this. There is a waiter there that actually was very, very rude to one of my family members. He was condescending and short with her. Very unprofessional. On the other hand, the bartender at Caprials is awesome. He completely makes you feel at home. My wife and I sometimes just go to Caprials for cocktails, and it's because of the bartender (and those comfortable chairs mentioned above!). He recognizes us even though we've been there for cocktails only about 4 times. Even when I walk my dog past the restaurant, he'll wave to me through the window.
Prices
Very expensive. I think Caprial's fame as a chef has translated into high prices. Granted, the place is always full, but for the food I've been served, the prices are triple what they should be. And, although we enjoy the bar area and bartender, we do pay very high prices. For a glass of merlot, it's about $8 and for a local beer, it's about $5. In Portland, those are VERY high prices.
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So, if you're a fan of Caprial Pence, you may want to check out her restaurant, but don't feel compelled to eat here. Caprial and John Pence are really great people, but that doesn't mean they server really great food, I'm sorry to report.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Beauregard
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Portland, Oregon
Reviews written: 129
Trusted by: 129 members
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