Mint

First visit back to Mint in four years and what a disappointment! The avocado daiquiri is not what it used to be. The food is heavy, greasy with not a lot of flavor. My green beans were served on a black square plate that looked like it came from 1990 with at least five white chips all over it. Gordon Ramsay would have lost his mind if his food was served to him on a chipped plate. more

The lamb burgers were all that and proved up to the many positive things I've heard the last two years. barkeep comped us a couple (kinda bizarre) cocktails on a slow night and was attentive without being pushy. Nice date place or if you just want a low key evening and good grub. more

Went for happy hour in bar. I had fish and chips. Fish a bit too fishy after first bite. Probably a few days old. Potato and Sweet Potato fries were limp and greasy. Result of oil not hot enough. My ""chips"" were no longer than 1-1/2 inches and mostly just the ends of sliced potatoes. Looked like the bottom of the bag! Two hours later we were both sick. Gastrointestinal distress if catch my meaning. Also, $3.50 is no great deal for a 10oz. draft beer. Very disappointed. Won't return. Pros: Staff and Service polite and fast Cons: Food greasy, Fish fishy and not fresh. more

Ok, here is my first review when I had a good experience: I really liked this place. The happy hour apps are nice and the drinks are tasty. The bartender guy (Jason maybe?) is really nice and I really enjoyed everything. I thought the sweet potato fries were perfectly crispy. They were nice and hot and served with a perfect dipping sauce. The ""spicy"" caesar is really good too. I would definitely go back to this place. It's not like many places in Portland where the servers ignore you and expect 20%. This place is more ""normal"" in that regard. Check it out! Ok, now here is another review that I would like to share with you since I went there again and the experience was quite different: I went there with some friends late at night, and even though we ordered food when they were slowing down, it took forever. Also, we could never find our server to get more drinks. When someone came to our table, we tried to order a drink but he said that he doesn't take drink orders because he's not a server. He seemed kind of annoyed and then agreed to tell the server. I don't know what happened with the communication because I am pretty sure we ordered a beer. So maybe 10 minutes later, a martini is served by the bewildered server. Anyways, I don't know what happened with that, but the point is that we could have ordered two extra rounds in the amount of time we were there if we had actually come in contact with our server. It's not that he was rude or anything, just okay I guess. I find it hard to find anywhere with nice servers. It's all just blah. And this time the sweet potato fries were COLD! They must have been sitting out. The chicken skewers were good though. Pros: Awesome sweet potato fries and caesar Cons: Service inconsistent more

820: Good happy hour prices, food, drinks and atmosphere, but I will avoid this place like the plague. Our server apparently hated us from the time we walked in. No idea why! We practically had to beg for drinks. We stayed past happy hour and spent well over $100 because we were enjoying each others company, but in this economy I hope that their management realizes that this is not acceptable. Bummer! I thought I was going to love it there! Pros: atmosphere, happy hour deals Cons: being treated like a bia when you are not! more

Mint has some of the tastiest ""foo-foo"" drinks I've found. Definitely a spot for the occasional treat and not a once a week kind of place, but well worth the cost. Plus, you have to love a place that has a once a week (Wed) happy hour from 4pm until close! All the food we tried as tasty, especially the chocolate croissant pudding with their freshly made mint ice cream on top. If you're having a bad day grab a couple girlfriends and go have a couple drinks and the pudding and you will seriously forget what had you bummed! Pros: Super tasty everything Cons: A little on the spendy side more

Went on a Friday for Happy Hour. We were surprised to find that the drinks and happy hour appetizers were reasonably priced. The sweet potato fries were excellent and I suggest The Bella for a great drink experience. Atmosphere was a little ""trendy"" but not pretentious. Definitely would like to return to try more drinks and order dinner. more

I'd heard about Mint because my brother-in-law bought Lucy's, Mint's Mixologist, book ""Hip Sips"" and we were loving all the great recipes. You can get a lot of the same drinks at Mint as well as new and exciting ones. Pros: Happy Hour, Signature Drinks, fantastic food, fun/nice servers Cons: Parking can be a little difficult (street parking only); very narrow hall to wait for restrooms more

Food was OK - Not Great. Service was BAD. So, I do like I always do, and you should too. If service is bad, don't leave a tip. They did not earn a tip. How many times do you think it would take until the server figured it out. Bad Service = No tip. Things would change fast. more

First of all, we were very worried about going after reading the reviews about bad service and meals. Well let me tell you, we had no reservation, a party of 5 with 2 teenagers, got greeted and seated immediately. Once at our table, our server got to us promptly and was very helpful with our selections of drinks, starters, and our meals. The food was fantastic, the drinks were great, and the staff was all very attentive. We had a great time. I have to say, I don't enjoy doing the ""downtown scene"" too much, but our first experience will bring me back to that side of town. If you go, definately save room for dessert. The chocolate croissant pudding and the fondue were outstanding. And also ask for Jennifer. She was amazing and a big part of why we will go back. The Mint deserves more positive reviews. It just goes to show that you shouldn't base your plans on what someone else may have found disappointing. Pros: Menu choices, staff was educated on menu items and willing to recommend Cons: Restrooms need more warmth and ambiance....funny but true, not for kids under 13 more

Went to have a drink and a cigarettte, were ignored by waiter as we sat at our table on the deck, in the corner, surrounded by yuppies and the after work crowd (totally square and boring) no ashtrays, even though we were told we can smoke there, not a single person was smoking, so we went inside, to get service, at least and ordered delicious but overpriced drinks. We also ordered the fried calamari app for $5.00 and it came soggy and greasy, we returned it and it came back dark, soggy and greasy. They did not charge us for it. Pros: Interesting Drinks Cons: bad service and barfood more

Food was great, but the service was horrible. We have been there 3 times, just to see if there could be improvement in service. No such luck, all three times the service was extremely slow and the servers and bartenders were rude. The 3rd time we went there we took guests from Balboa Island with us, so I pulled our server aside when we first arrived and told her about our two previous experiences, hoping they wold do everything possible to keep our business. It didn't happen, service was absolutely terrible, very slow, rude and the bartender and server never smiled. It was like we were bothering them. I gave 0 tip and wrote on my receipt that food was great, but the service did not justify 1 cent. The owner and management need to get this taken care of immediately or they will have no customers at all. Good food or not, people will not put up with it. I'm not going back. more

People who want to check out the scene and enjoy cocktails may have fun at this place. It is not the place for people who expect good food and service. We had the worst overpriced salad, too spicy appetizers, and mushy, non-special ?Kobe? beef hamburger. We had to wait long time to get served, and it was really an unpleasant experience. We regretted that we did not go to the restaurants next door or down the street. We will not go back. Pros: Ambience, Bar Cons: Food, Service more

Mint has fun drinks and is a great place to meet friends. However, the service is horrible. I keep hoping it will get better but it hasn't. One server in particular can be so rude it's almost comical and has now become a part of the atmosphere--so we laugh and ignore her. Pros: Lovely place. Great location. Ambience is nice. Cons: Service. phew! more

Went to Mint/820 with a friend to catch up and it was exactly what I was hoping for! Service was friendly and quick, not to mention the incredible choice of drinks! It was dark but not to dark, perfect for a friendly gathering or a romantic date. Pros: great selection, romantic Cons: Small, dark more

This restaurant is in an odd setting, a trendy street near the Rose Quarter, where there isn't much else around. The location is the downfall for this place, because it isn't near anything else in Portland so you have to make a special trip just to go there. That being said, it's worth it! The drinks are delish (being made at next door martini bar 820) with a lot of selection and natural ingrediants. The food was really good, I had the ahi tuna and it wasn't overdone, as a lot of restaurants tend to do to tuna. The service was quick and the restaurant was small and cozy, good for romance. Trendy decor tops off the dark ambiance. Pros: great drinks, good food and fast service Cons: in an odd location more

Great drinks and one of the best patios in Portland. The food is solid and while the service isn't the best in town it certainly is more than adequate and friendly. Pros: ambience, drinks, patio more

We went to Mint for a friend's birthday. As more people arrived and ordered different drinks, the birthday girl and another friend discovered that they had been served the wrong drinks The server agreed to bring them each a new drink and told us to go ahead and keep the ones that were wrongly served. When the bill came, we were charged for both of the drinks that were brought to replace the wrong ones. The manager refused to pay for both but ""agreed"" to pay for one. Not only was that a problem, but the service was terribly slow. I waited for at least 12-15 minutes to receive my drink after I ordered it. The service was painfully slow and it was not a busy night. Nonetheless, my friend had a horrible birthday experience Pros: good drinks Cons: parking, service more

The proximity of Mint to the Rose Garden makes it a perfect place to stop in for a drink before or after a concert, lecture, or Blazers game. While the monster truck crowd may find it too foofy, people of varied interests (like myself) will find it an ideal start or end to the evening. The signature drinks and the tasty appetizers (the sweet potato fries are more than addictive) are consistently good. Dinner is quite good as well; I simply prefer this place for drinks and a starter. Lucy's Sidecar and Bella are recent faves, but the signature 816 is always a good bet. It is true that the trendy crowd and the occasional bridge-and-tunneler can invade the place at times, but for the most part, Mint manages to maintain a laid-back, relaxing vibe. Pros: Great drinks, Good hors d'oeuvres, Great bartender Cons: "Trendy" clientele, Service can be spotty more

Not many restaurants/bars in Portland are as hospitable at mint! Whether we had questions on ordering our wonderful meal (the crab cakes are the best in Portland!) or an amazing cocktail (try the Bella) the staff was knowledgeable and courteous; and when they didn't have an answer for us, the owner, Lucy, was on hand to personally answer our questions. Where else can you go for that kind of service? This was one the most enjoyable evenings out I've had in town in a long time! Pros: Service, Quality, Atmosphere Cons: Crowded Bar more