Christie's Restaurant

We had a very enjoyable lunch. It even kept us quiet when the food arrived! \r A feat in and of itself. ALL of us had something different- and EVERYTHING was great! I get our seldom since we've had a little one, so I was really looking forward to this. The service was fast (and we were there from 11:45 - 12:45) ,the food came out hot, including my fries, the sandwich meat was definately cooked there- not presliced- I had the reuben which had the perfect amount of dressing and sauerkraut and cheese, and the marbled rye was a nice touch. My co-workers tried the raspberry tea- not too sweet, the breakfast New Orelans french toast was perfectly toasted and beatifully presented, the cobb salad was loaded, BLT had plenty of fillings and crisp warm bacon. and two of the girls had burgers: one with mushrooms and one stuffed. The meat was definitely fresh. All of the portions were huge - three had to take to go boxes. Water glasses clean- tables were bussed quickly when customers left, glasses of drinks refilled promptly. I was very impressed - especially after reading other reviews before we went! \r The desserts looked incredible. We had a gift certificate to use, so we were lucky to begin with, but were pleasantly surprised and will surely return! Pros: Good atmosphere - lots of seating but plenty of room- big windows- GREAT FOOD! Cons: Little parking so carpool! more

nice place. unlike the previous reviewer, i love the burgers! i usually order mine w/out the bun but they are always flame broiled,juicy and ""big"" sometimes too much meat i think. several of us eat there on our lunch hour and always enjoy the food and the people. always welcoming and they do a great job. i am really writing about their mexican food buffet though....awesome! they have it once a month but we write it on our calendar! the best!!!! they have great mexican food..believe it or not! they even make homemade tortillas for the occasion. so far have been to two both excellent! all made from scratch i have yet to encounter anything from a can.( even the mushrooms! ) lol the best meatlof sandwiches on the planet! and beautiful large salads. Pros: great food comfortable nice for the area Cons: busy for lunch more

I had to think a long time on writing this review because I have heard such incredible things about Christies. I believe personally that I owe it to anyone who is reading to help them decide where to spend thier hard earned money deserves honesty. First I want to say the wait staff are incredible they get the food to you quickly and always smiling and never an empty glass. My group went in for lunch. The coffee is good and the special new orleans french toast was made perfect my girlfriend loved it. I unfortunately order the special mushroom imperial burger. The burger came out very bland and unseasoned using the red onions to compensate for the lack of meat in this $8.95 burger. The mushrooms were canned and overcooked and not a lot of cheese on the burger. The french fries were obviously frozen and flash fried using store bought. Just not the quality meal you would expect for spending a great deal above other restaurants.Its my opinion whomever was the mid day chef should stick with making breakfasts. I highly recommend this place if you are going for breakfast but nothing from the burger menu. Im sorry Christies if you are reading this but your chef really needs to go back to the basics of what makes a good hamburger and it should start with 80/20 ground chuck especially for the price being charged. I hope this review will help those reading it in making thier decision. Pros: The breakfast menu and the coffee Cons: Everything seems to be $8.95 and the burgers are a let down more

ok where to begin well i have been told about this restaurant now from several friends and family members and i finally gave it a shot. what a pleasant experience! from the outside a little difficult to see and you almost miss it which is why i always drive by and dont stop! but once you do go in its very pleasant.\r not at all stuffy or unwelcoming,in fact quite the opposite. i have now been in on three different occasions and plan to make this a regular stop for all meals. its cozy,friendly,and the food has been top notch every time. i had the prime rib last weekend..superb! it was the most flavorful and tender rib i have ever had. my husband had a ribeye.. cooked to perfection! flavorfull and juicy..the veggies were fresh green beans with added goodies! awesome! they were busy and we still got personable service, feeling as if we were the only ones there. the manager even came out to check on our meals and welcomed us back! the chicken marasala was absolutely the best anywhere,again a variety of fresh veggies that were great! my husband even ate them! he had a shrimp pasta that was fabulous..breakfast ? the same great food ! the bacon is really good,the omelets are beautiful and tasty and again,great service! i love this place and will continue to enjoy the many different choices on the menu. my inlaws drive from vancouver to eat here! its no wonder.\r i really appreciate the quality and find the prices low for the food served. love it loveit love it Pros: great food / service Cons: a little difficult to find more

About time North Portland had a ""go to"" restaurant. This is a place you could take anyone. The menu is diverse enough that there is something to please everyone. \r \r Good old fashioned comfort food, along with fantastic steaks and seafood. I went last week with a large group of people and we had a wonderful meal. What was especially nice was how perfectly cooked everything was. Six of the nine of us ordered their NY steak with shrimp scampi special and every one of us got our meat the way we asked for it to be cooked. I actually ordered it rare and it came out perfectly grilled and a beautiful pink in the middle....(ok, I get a little carried away when talking about steak). The salad was fresh, the vegetables tasted like they were picked that day, and real mashed potatoes ....yummmmmy! Others in our group had the stuffed salmon and turkey dishes. The stuffed salmon was awesome and the turkey was good too. The portions were generous enough that we didn't have room for desert but the display case was full of really tempting treats.\r \r All in all, a good experience. We would definetly go back. Pros: Fast seating, very diverse menu options, good food for good value Cons: Not much parking but side streets are available... more

The newly revised menu makes breakfast the standout meal here. The omelets and buttermilk pancakes are excellent. Lunch and dinner are decent, too (I'm hooked on the Chipotle Chicken with avocado, though the BBQ Bacon Burger rocks my world when I need a not-so-healthy treat). \r The menu's mostly standard diner fare in generous portions served by super friendly people. Desserts are almost always outstanding. Espresso drinks aren't the specialty here; stick with regular coffee. The smoothies are a pleasant surprise - quite good.\r We live very close by, and are happy regulars. Very kid-friendly, even for crazy hungry kids like ours who eat from the adult menu. Pros: Good sized portions Cons: Service can be slow more

My wife and I have been going to Christies for the past six or seven months for breakfast on the weekend and I've finally reached my breaking point. It seems like so much money is wasted on quality ingedients that are left sitting on the grill getting rubbery and coagulated. Nice thick cut bacon comes out grey and chewy (which is odd considering I ordered sausages), pancakes were impossible to cut with a knife, hash browns are jellied and not warm and for the money, you'd think they'd find wait staff that that could do their job. There's no management to keep the help in line most of the time and when it is there it's running around picking up the slack for the kitchen and wait staff. \r Christies: Nice try, but seriously falls short of expectations Pros: decoration, location Cons: wait staff, food preperation more

My wife and I visited Christie's for the first time after moving back into the neighborhood. We started with an order of the potato skins appetizer. This was actually very tasty, a solid 8 of 10. For my entree I ordered the Chicken Marsala with a dinner salad and a side of pasta. The pasta came very undercooked and I had to send it back. The upside was that the manager was very attentive to my request and took care of it without a second thought. The new side of pasta came back with a larger serving, although it was still slightly undercooked and only ranked as a 6.5 of 10 for taste. As for the Chicken Marsala...\r \r for my complete review and ratings of Christie's visit my Portland Food Critic Blog at: portlandfoodcritic.blogspot com. more

I have been wanting to try this place for a while now...so my son and I went last weekend. OMG, the food was so good!! We took some desserts to go, for later and those were just as good. The service was a bit slow, so if you are in a hurry this isnt the place for you. But if you have time to chill and talk, the food is worth it. Staff was extremely friendly. We are planning on going again soon and bringing more people so they can have some good food too. Pros: Food and prices Cons: service is slow more

horrible service. the chicken was cooked a day before, the rice was hard and old....\r staff was confused and I waited 10 min while my food sat on the counter.\r do not eat here. Pros: you will remember how great other restaurants are Cons: everything. more

THE BREAKFAST ARE THE BOMB THERE! ME AND MY WIFE GO THERE TO EAT SOMETIMES AND AT FIRST WE THOUGHT NOT VERY GOOD THEN WE DECIDED TO GIVE IT ANOTHER SHOT WITH THE NEW MORNING CHEF.......HE IS AWESOME.......VERY NICE LOOKING PLATES, VER FAST AND WIFE SAYS EASY ON THE EYES.....................THE FOOD WAS QUALITY.....AND EXCELLENT........... Pros: EXCELLENT FOOD Cons: SERVICE COULD USE SOME HELP more

I was happy that a new restaurant opened in my neighborhood. \r I visited Christie's several times after they first opened around the autumn of 2006 and each time I was disappointed with my meal. I gave Christie's several opportunities because I really wanted to support a good restaurant in my neighborhood. Each experience was a disappointment due to service or to food.\r I will say that their ""breakfast special"" is a very good value and that the quality of the bacon is excellent. As a result, I have dined there several other times. Recently I was there with my wife on a Saturday morning. There were a couple of tables with customers finishing their meals and we were the only new patrons and expected to receive our breakfast in a short time. We watched as another group of diners came in with a party of 4-6 people, waiting to be seated, meanwhile the manager/waitress continued to chat with diners and paying no attention to seating this group of people. I was surprised at how long theses people waited before someone came from the kitchen area to seat them.Meanwhile, we continued to wait for our meal, and other diners came in. My wife had an appointment downtown so there was a limit to how long we could wait for our meal and after 25 minutes of waiting for breakfast we asked our waitress about our meal. Finally, after we were there for just over 30 minutes, the food began coming out and was served to a couple who had come in just ten minutes earlier. At this point, we got up and left the restaurant, while there was no attempt by the manager to stop us or apologize for the horrible service.Christie's is a complete disappointment and I will never diner there again. Pros: Clean Cons: Service and food more

The new manager has really turned Christie's around. Her homemade desserts and dinner rolls are the best! We are always greeted immediately and treated well. The waitresses are very happy, upbeat, enthusiastic and knowledgable about the offerings. The portions on the senior dinner menu are plentiful and a good value. This is the only restaurant where I will order chicken marsala; it's absolutely delicious. Wifi is available, and if you have spare time and no computer, make yourselves comfortable with the provided cribbage board and other games.\r \r They now serve beer and wine. Pros: Food, service, Longbottom coffee, wifi more

We went last night and I would have to admit that I was pleased with my dinner of Chicken Marsala. Defiantly very flavorful and not the same ole Chicken Marsala. My dinner date said his Chicken Chipolte was really flavorful however the topping on the chicken was hard to cut. My son got a pepperoni pizza and that as well was very good. Crust good and enough toppings on it to satisfy. Portion sizes were good for the money and came with salad and rolls. The service was very friendly however sluggish and there were many empty tables. I went here mostly because I wanted Chicken Marsala and Christie's supports the local schools! Many of the children's artwork were hung up on the wall in a very ""fine art"" manner and my son was very please to see some of his classmates work displayed. I will return because the food was awesome, even though the chef's music overpowered the music in the dining area and was a bit distracting. Pros: Food was awesome! Cons: Sluggish service and distracting music. more

I was so excited when this place first opened up but unfortunatly it has been a huge disapointment. I've given it two tries, once under the original managment and the new managment. The second time i was there, there were three table seated, 4 waitresses and i had to raise my hand for service everytime! \r Nor was i impressed with the food. It was okay for a diner but not where you would go to have a nice dinner. i've know at least 6 other people who have also tried this place several times, hoping it will get better but alas it does not. It's to bad too. i so want something to succeed in st. Johns! \r \r I was left broke and unfulfilled Pros: lots of empty tables Cons: Poor poor service! Food quaility so so. more

This place is on its way up from a very shaky start. While just a month ago service and food standards were questionable at this comfort food, family-style restaurant, the improvement since then is astounding. From clearly canned hollandaise sauce and soups from a bag to the sort of rare diner that offers soups, sauces, gravy and even salad dressings (!!) made from scratch. Apparently, a new chef and a graduate from the acclaimed Le Cordon Bleu Program has been virtually transforming the place along with the newer manager. Now you can find soups made with real house-made chicken stock (so much flavor!) and you can get a salad with mescaline greens (not iceburg anymore) drizzled with a house-made ranch dressing. Although I do think there are some wrinkles that could be smoothed out in terms of presentation and service (trivial) I believe if progress continues at this pace Christie's may become one of the best QUALITY family dining spots that St John's has to offer. Pros: Friendly service, casual atmosphere, great, scratch-made food Cons: Though friendly, service could use improvement in terms of professionalism more

My friend and I stumbled upon Christies looking for a quick lunch. We were so impressed by the quality of the meal that I felt compelled to share my experience! The waitstaff was super friendly, very helpful and all in all cheerful. I ordered the Chipotle Chicken and it was quite possible one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had! It was a panko crusted chicken breast lightly topped with a spicy chipotle sauce, it had fresh pico de gallo and two slices of avocado. The meal was superb, and the price was astounding. I got a ceasar salad, a side veggie (asparagus) and my choice of starch, all for $12.99. Unbelievable! My friend got the Chicken Marsala and it was fantastic as well. You will not find a better place for top quality cuisine at a ridiculously affordable price!! I dont even live near St.Johns, but will be making the trip out there often just to visit Christie's!!! They also have all homemade desserts that look fantastic, but I was just oo full to sample:) Pros: EXCELLENT CUISINE, AFFORDABLE Cons: location more

I recently went to Christie's despite the not-so-good ratings on Portland.CitySearch. Well, the ratings are correct. The service was terrible and the food really wasn't very good. \r \r I was with a group of 6 for lunch on a Friday. It took quite a bit of time for the waitress to take our order (there was only one waitress for the entire restaurant!). When the food came, it just didn't taste great. My chicken Caesar salad tasted like it was drenched in Ranch rather than Caesar -- when I say drenched, I mean it!! \r \r Plus, I ordered a sandwich to go for a co-workder. The sandwhich itself took a very long time to make. We didn't get it until after we had paid our bill and were just sitting around the table waiting for it. The waitress did apologize for the wait. I wasn't upset about that, however, the sandwich was incorrect. I asked for wheat bread, honey mustard and cole slaw on the side. When I brought the sandwich back to my co-worker, we discovered the sandwich was on white bread, had no honey mustard and fries instead of the cole slaw!!! \r \r We will NOT be returning!! more

My family has been to Christie's several times, excited to see a new restaurant in N Portland. Every time we went we were disappointed. The food was good, but the service was scattered and very slow. When we saw the sign ""Under new management"" we decided to give it another try, wanting Christie's to succeed. Unfortunately, it was worse than ever. I think the waitress had to apologize to us at least 4 times as well as the 5 other tables surrounding us. The food took about 40 minutes and not all of us were served at the same time. When the last person finally got their food, it was still partially frozen and had to be sent back. I'm afraid that's it for us at Christie's. Too bad. more

I wasn't prepared for the expensive brunch menu at this North Lombard restaurant. \r I got the biscuits and gravy, which were fine. I thought the service was adequate.\r \r I wouldn't go back because it just was too pricey.\r more