Having recently arrived in Portland from overseas, my wife and I have been steadily working our way through what critics and friends regard as Portland's best restaurants. Naturally, we were excited at the prospect of an evening at the restaurant regarded as the top of that list after so many fantastic experiences in Portland to date.\r
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Disappointing is a good summary of the experience. From the rude greeting at the door by an arrogant blonde, to the fact that we could not hear ourselves think amongst the noise of other patrons (50 year old men ""high fiving"" each other after ridiculous jokes) we will not be back.\r
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The food itself was OK... just. Mashed potatoes that were extremely dry, steaks that were good- but far short of great (in fact I think I had a better steak at Henry's!).\r
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And I expected more from service that included wait staff leaning over to top up water only to miss and see my red wine diluted! And as for the table side service with the steak... well I guess our table was not on the list last night!\r
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I am more than happy to praise great restaurants (like Blue Hour and Cafe Mingo) but it is just so disappointing when the El Gaucho's of the city that perhaps have been great previously have continued to live off their reputations to now only be average.
Pros: Good Steak, great service at table.
Cons: Noise, overall service, overall food experience
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