Nutshell Restaurant

My husband and I came here because of friends with an open mind. We winced when we saw the prices but assumed the food was organic and freshly prepared, so it would be worth it. The waiter took almost ten minutes to even wait on our table, but didn't ID an underage party member, so we overlooked the poor service. When asking the server about the portion sizes of some of the menu items he explained to us that ""our chef just really likes making appetizers, so everything on the menu is appetizer size, and you can just order multiple things."" Hello!? Did I just land on planet crazy?! Even so, we ordered after deciding that we really only needed appetizer portions anyway, that way there wouldn't be any leftovers. I ordered what appeared on the menu to be vegan chili with roasted corn and beans. My husband ordered a grilled cheese and tomato soup. The waiter warned us that the grilled cheese came with real cheese unless substituted (wtf? how can you promote this place as 'all vegan'?) When the food arrived I took one look at my plate and decided I was done being polite and understanding. My so called chili was an actual chili pepper stuffed with corn and beans. Do you know how small a chili pepper is? It's not big. My husbands soup was served to him in a dish not much larger than a soy sauce dish at a sushi restaurant. An extra insult was the grilled cheese. It was literally a quarter sandwich. That's right, take a sandwich and cut it in half, throw the first half away and cut the remainder in half again. One chili pepper and a tablespoon of veggies...... $9 Two spoonfuls soup and a quarter sandwich ...... $9 Two glasses of wine................................................... $14 Seeing a grown man wearing a woman's V neck sweater and a purple headband.................Priceless ONLY COME HERE IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY TO WASTE AND YOUR LOOKING FOR A GOOD LAUGH Pros: Vegan food and wine Cons: Everything else more

Went here for a friends B-day was excited to be somewhere where he could anything on the menu, Found very strange dishes appealling to the mind but when they got to me, not so appealling to the palate. Our service took forever and dishes didn't even arrive together or at proper times in the least, who's running their kitchen!? My soup was cold and shouldn't have been half of the starter courses we ordered never showed up. I want to like this place but they have really got to get their house in order first. Pros: Vegatarian Fare Cons: Bizarre Food, poor wait-staff more

So my friend and I meet up for Wednesday night dinners. And we found our ""wednesday place"" with Nutshell. It is AMAZING! I am vegetarian, my friend is not, and I have to be honest I have never really found vegan to be my thing...as many times as I tried it. EVERYTHING, every single thing we tried last night was amazing. Pros: Beautiful inspired combinations on quirky eclectic mixmatched plates ;) Cons: If anything...starkness of atmosphere...but wouldn't stop me from eating there again ;) more

So first off I've never written a review, blog or gone on line to express an opinion before but having eaten at Nutshell last night and read a couple of bad reviews on the place I felt compelled to write (and there's only a couple, most are very positive as they should be) Pros: amazing food, great service more

I've been to Nutshell several times and each time I've found the food to be amazing, creative and affordable. I'm vegan but my boyfriend is not and we both love this place. My favorite is the Risotto cake with carmelized onions but I also love the polenta in remolade. Pros: food, service, price Cons: parking can be tricky but not insurmountable more

Food is great. Creative without the use of ""fake meat"" (which can get very boring and is not good for you on a daily basis anyhow). Food has improved over time. Menu is more interesting these days. A bit pricey and posh for the average vegan type, but still affordable and worth it. more

I am a vegan. I have very realistic expectations. Sometime I do my homework. I visited Nutshell right after they opened. They were still dialing the place in, or so I thought, the service was terrible - rude and inexperienced, the food was OK. The next visit, months later, the service was even worse. The food hadn't changed, still rather boring, I too can grill veggies and home. The space has always been huge and cold, totally out of proportion - its funny, sorta like their service and food... Then I found out that this restaurant isn't owned by the sweet chef that lost like 200 pounds, but its owned by the same folks that own another fancy place in the pearl that sells - Foie Gras. This is the pate made from the livers of young geese that are not allowed to move and force fed with tubes down their throat, just to give you that ""special"" flavor. This was the final straw, I will not be back and I tend to not share my dining space with hypocrite murderers. Pros: Vegan food!!! Cons: Made hypocrite profiteers more

Last night was my third visit to Nutshell. Arriving around 6pm on a Friday, I was looking for some good food and a nice place to eat. We were seated in the back which was rather dark and dreary. Our little table for two was uncomfortably close to a couple other tables while their were other options available. Being early, their was a family with a couple noisy children whose voices just echoed in the cinder block room. I love kids but I wasn't looking for the noise level of a McDonald's playroom. There isn't a single piece of sound absorbing material in the place (seats and tables are all wood). Enough about that. Our waiter was great and the food was fantastic. We had swiss chard and beet greens with polenta to start followed by the best Sheppard's Pie I'd ever had. The inside was brussel sprouts and other yummy things with a terrific layer of mashed potatoes on top. My partner and I also shared risotto served with yellow squash puree and greens. This is a great place for food but I hope they'd do something to make the place more comfortable for dining. Pros: Sheppard's Pie Cons: Noise level more

This is by far some of the best food I've had at any restaurant, vegan or not. The dining experience was second-to-none. Pros: amazing food, wonderful service Cons: menu is visually cramped more

so i love this place. i love the food and the atmosphere. i was so excited to have such a fantastic higher end vegan place to eat. i love the decor and the 100 ingredient flatbread made in house. i love the mashed potatoes fluffed into bundles of goodness, with a cardoon on the side. i thought about having my birthday dinner here, but heard just last night that the owners own two other restaurants that serve fois gras. can anyone confirm this? my heart is broken, my palate wanting and i am just hoping its a rumor... Pros: atmosphere, quality, taste, portion, everything Cons: owners might own two other restaurants that serve fois gras =( more

Five of us dined at Nutshell, and five of us came away amazed. We were seated promptly, and our server was friendly and helpful all evening. We began with the restaurant's olive oil-salt-bread sampler, an intriguing opener. Although each of us ordered different appetizers, entrees, and desserts we each ended up sampling everything. Every dish offered a realm of delight. We could not believe that vegan food could be so good. My only beef (sorry) and the reason for four rather than five stars was the ambiance. The cavernous space was a bit cold and off-putting, but more problematic was the blaring loudspeaker directly overhead. That made conversation difficult. Also, a staff member began blowing out candles and putting chairs up on adjacent tables just after 8:00. Seriously uncool. Pros: Food, service Cons: Ambiance more

This was our first visit to this restaurant and definitely not our last! The staff was attentive, polite, and very helpful. The food was amazing with an exotic blend of flavors and colors. We had a lot of fun exploring the salt and olive oil bar before our meals were served. A wonderful dining experience for vegan and non vegans alike. more

My fiance and I had been recommended the restaurant. I called ahead to make sure it wasn't a problem to be seated an hour before close on a Sunday night. The person who answered the phone was attentive and consulted the kitchen to ensure our service. He assured me we would be able to be served. Although we ended up coming even earlier than planned, the service had persistent undertones of attempting to speed us through our occasion. The server was nice enough though hasty and created an air of uneasiness at our table. The food was very eccentric and tasty. The bread/olive oil/salt bar is a pleasing and well priced novelty. The arugula and kale salad is a must! The pizza was absolutely delicious as well. The barbecue platter is a wealth of different and strangely combined foods. Though the price is right for this dish, the range of ingredients and flavors may be a little too ambitious for the recreational diner. I would recommend this restaurant and endorse their endeavor. Do yourself a favor and call ahead to make sure that they aren't rushing to close anytime soon. more

The live lesagne of the summer menu was fantastic. I really enjoyed that and am very dissapointed that there are no live selections to choose from as of late, besides salad! more

so im not a vegan but used to be. still, its awesome food, vegan or not. i love that they dont cook with fake meats. i went for lunch first; the smoothies are amazing and so is the raw lasagna...just wish those were on the dinner menu too. i love the salads, soups and some entrees. the squash risotto was excellent but just a tad bit salty. the BBQ plate was a great smorg?sbord of food. the hominy stew was overwhelming and too complex. they must use a generous amount of liquid smoke in their grilled veggies - can't say whether that's good or not. i did like the salt/olive oil menu...nice touch. should have olives there too. overall, nice. Pros: kind and attentive servers, no soy meats Cons: too many flavors, maybe? more

Even though we had a reservation we (party of 10) wound up waiting for half an hour... not entirely bad as we could still order drinks. Unless you know/live/die by ""Vegan speak"" you will not have a clue what you order. Being fairly carniverous (only going there for a friend's bday) I thought I went with a safe bet of ""Lasagna."" What came out was a 13 dollar cucumber with some tomato sauce and fake cheese. While the menu detailed the tomato sauce and fake cheese (both would have been tastey in real lasagna), it failed to mention that the main ingredient (noodles) were swapped with large pieces of cucumber. If you take a staple food that everyone knows and substitute the main ingredient for something else, you just come off as a used car salesman. The vegans in our group were equally unimpressed with their dishes. If you took a coked out methaddict high on heroin to the exotic vegie section of a high-end grocery store and gave them a machete you would get something comparable. If you have ever eaten meat in your life, you will not enjoy this restaurant. I would have rather had a ""sausage"" from a food cart downtown. Pros: Nice mural on the right wall Cons: The menu is misleading, TOO interesting, and not tastey; prices are a bit high too for veggies more

I went to Nutshell with a couple friends last Tuesday night. The place was decently busy, but we didn't have to wait. All I have to say is that if the Exec. Chef Shaun cooked for me everyday I would be Vegan, because the food was that good. I am not vegetarian or vegan in the slightest, but the food was incredible. We all shared many things, and were completely stuffed by the end of the meal. The wait staff was extremely attentive and the atmosphere was very chill. I just wish it wasn't so far away from me, because I would eat there everyday if it was. Everyone should try this restaurant whether you eat meat/animal products or not. This will give everyone who tries it a new take on Vegan cuisine, and it will be a good one. Pros: The food, service, ambience, the whole package Cons: Not closer to me :-( more

This is the best place in Portland you're afraid to eat at. My friend and I are both meat eaters and we were blown away. As a foodie in the biz, I've eaten at several highly touted veggie/ vegan restaurants here and in SF, and most are often bland and/or based on soy/ immitation meat products. Not here- it's clear he doesn't need to. Nutshell is cutting edge cooking- do not expect typical Indian or Asian style veggies w/ tofu. This chef is a phenomenal talent with a refined palate. Start with a bread/oil/salt sampler: you fill out a card like in a sushi bar and they bring you all these different breads, gourmet olive oils and exotic salts from around the world (there's up to like ten choices for each), with the best 155 grain bread you've ever tried. Then we each had a chilled bib lettuce onion potato (?) soup shot, in the vein of a Vichyssoise... for a buck! The grilled pinapple onion avo burger with thin battered bamboo shoot fries and a bizzare red spice dipping sauce (I can't even say what it was) was so amazing and satisfying. We also had a rich, delicious pasta w/ truffled ""cream sauce"" (almond butter base) with the absolute best smoky, crunchy, purple cauliflower I've ever eaten in my life. We were stuffed with drinks for $35 for both at lunch. I want to return to try the fried potato cakes with wild mushrooms at dinner, the fried cucumber salad, and the Jamaican grilled jerkk veggie platter with yam stuffed orange and both familiar vegetables and several that I've never even heard of. I was happy that the portions were good. Service was friendly, informed, and unpretentious. Ambience: urban/trendy. The big room got a little chilly- bring a coat. I have to say, anyone with arthritis like I have knows that reducing dairy helps it, but health is not the reason to go to Nutshell, it's for the really well conceived and executed cooking... that's just an extra bonus. Pros: Innovative, cutting edge cuisine, friendly service Cons: a little chilly more

I'm a vegetarian, and I live in the neighborhood. I was super excited at the concept of a vegan restaurant opening down the street from my favorite bar. I've also been a bartender for almost 10 years, so I know my way around a restaurant or two. I expected this place to be a new favorite for me based on everybody else raving about it. Pros: all vegan restaurant is a great idea. the execution of that leaves something to be desired... Cons: work in progress, small portions, long wait for an entree, the place needs more tables more

PROS: Great selection; great staff; great music; great layout; great tea; great wine. Everything tasted fabulous. more