Mini-review: Fenouil
I hesitated to do this after all the controversy about service at this restaurant, but I went there before all that started, so... Actually, I went to Fenouil knowing little more than "chi chi new restaurant in the Pearl." My work group has a tradition of going out to eat for each person's birthday, and a birthday girl back in early Febraury chose Fenouil.
Wow, what can I say. My first impression walking in was "Arizona." Not that I've been, but the light colors and too-clever interior design struck me as everything that Portland isn't. While they get good initial marks for friendly hosts and having our table for 10 ready to go (why does a restaurant ever fail that test?), the experience started its steady slide toward mediocre soon after. First, with two vegetarians in the group, we had asked whether they had vegetarian offerings and were assured there were "many." Restaurants: I will say this succinctly: do NOT add your 4 salads to your mental list of veg entrées. Salads are nice, but is that how you want to compete for vegetarian business?
Ahem.
So we two vegetarians wound up having the risotto, which was fine, but nothing special. Point 2: anyone who can cook can make risotto. If you're going to offer that, do it well. The server offered up the possibility that the chef could make a pasta with vegetables, but point 3: pasta primavera? See point 1. But more relevantly, we order. The server does not know how to pronounce many of the wines. No bread arrives. Water arrives after perhaps 10 minutes. Our glasses of wine arrive perhaps 10 minutes after that. The food takes most of an hour to arrive. We are seated near the fireplace, I at the end of the table closest to the server bar. Which affords me steady opportunity to watch chaos ensue. Confused orders, the sous chef telling the server how to place orders next time, etc etc. The bread, from La Provence Bakery, was wonderful.
But out of all this, I had this sense that whatever they had focused on for this restaurant, it wasn't daily operations. I note, months into their life, that the Fenouil web site still says basically "coming soon." It lacks even basic information like days and hours open.
What I find, in many areas of life, is that where people are strongest, they place the most emphasis. I have a sense with Fenouil of a person who had a vision of making a (to his/her eyes) beautiful building and worried little about the restaurant within. I hope to find reason to go back with my wife, but have not heard that reason yet.
Wow, what can I say. My first impression walking in was "Arizona." Not that I've been, but the light colors and too-clever interior design struck me as everything that Portland isn't. While they get good initial marks for friendly hosts and having our table for 10 ready to go (why does a restaurant ever fail that test?), the experience started its steady slide toward mediocre soon after. First, with two vegetarians in the group, we had asked whether they had vegetarian offerings and were assured there were "many." Restaurants: I will say this succinctly: do NOT add your 4 salads to your mental list of veg entrées. Salads are nice, but is that how you want to compete for vegetarian business?
Ahem.
So we two vegetarians wound up having the risotto, which was fine, but nothing special. Point 2: anyone who can cook can make risotto. If you're going to offer that, do it well. The server offered up the possibility that the chef could make a pasta with vegetables, but point 3: pasta primavera? See point 1. But more relevantly, we order. The server does not know how to pronounce many of the wines. No bread arrives. Water arrives after perhaps 10 minutes. Our glasses of wine arrive perhaps 10 minutes after that. The food takes most of an hour to arrive. We are seated near the fireplace, I at the end of the table closest to the server bar. Which affords me steady opportunity to watch chaos ensue. Confused orders, the sous chef telling the server how to place orders next time, etc etc. The bread, from La Provence Bakery, was wonderful.
But out of all this, I had this sense that whatever they had focused on for this restaurant, it wasn't daily operations. I note, months into their life, that the Fenouil web site still says basically "coming soon." It lacks even basic information like days and hours open.
What I find, in many areas of life, is that where people are strongest, they place the most emphasis. I have a sense with Fenouil of a person who had a vision of making a (to his/her eyes) beautiful building and worried little about the restaurant within. I hope to find reason to go back with my wife, but have not heard that reason yet.
posted by Mateu at
5:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home