grain & gristle

new favorite restaurant in portland. my bf and i eat out almost everynight. we've been here over ten times and all the meals have been fantastic. we are both highly impressed that the mussels frites are cooked perfectly each time. prices are so so reasonable i almost can't believe it. house red comes highly reccomended as well.

lost me on the "freedom fries". really? in portland? "freedom fries"?

great service! cool atmosphere, great wait staff, awesome food and drinks. i will definitely be returning! thanks for the hospitality!

wonderful staff, great atmosphere, and incredible food. if you go with another person and the awesome chefs have put together 'family special' (essentially a meal meant to be shared between two to three people), absolutely do it. the special we shared was a very healthy serving of spiced, blackened chicken over a charred beat, carrot, and watercress salad, all balanced atop a bed of some delicious brown grain (which i've unfortunately forgotten the name of). it was an incredible meal at an incredible value ($25 for the two-person meal and two beers). can't recommend this place enough.

have been there twice now and both times the meals have been very good and the beer has been a great match.  will go again on a cold night when comfort food is called for-especially the mussels and frites.

yep, it's true. this burger ruined all other burgers for me- because as of this moment the burger i ate here was the best thing i've ever put in my mouth. it's purely divine. this is a problem for me because i don't live in portland (although this might be a reason to move there). if i did live in portland i would eat this burger at least once a week.

great food and service during my only visit. look fwd to visiting again

they have changed their staff snd are back on there game wonderful place i love them again. the trout they are featuring right now is fantastic, the blue cheeseburger also fantastic. and the bartender is charming friendly efficient and polite everything the previous bartender lacked


-----17 aug, 2013-----

i use to love this place but the service keeps getting worse and worse. it has gotten so popular that they just dont care. i live in the neighborhood and have eaten here many times. the food is still good but the staff is terrible.

my husband really wanted breakfast, so he chose the hash of the day. it had lots of potatoes and enough meat in it to create the perfect hash. topped with 2 perfectly over easy eggs, and he was happy. i chose the burger..

g&g reinforces my belief that portland is a great sandwich city. smoked lambwich comprises pickled fennel & pickles, harissa, aioli. parsley, celery. excellent, tender, it lets you know its lamb without being too gamy, a hint of sweet heat from the harissa, and a nice smooth touch of garlic. the roll is crunchy outside and soft inside. the lambwich a winner for g&g and portland.  i can't wait to

fun flavorful food & the best bloody mary i've had all year. make sure to ask them to "drag it through the garden" for an extra dollar.

great at grain and gristle. knowing i can’t keep striking out forever, we went with another suggestion made by the “mayor of state street”, himself a gastro pub owner and lunched at grain and gristle.

an almost cabin like building, it’s located in the northeast section in a small collective of similar restaurants/ bars that appear as an island surrounded by residential buildings, a geographic repetition that plays out throughout portland.

as the only customers in the place at 11:15 am, the service was quick and friendly if only a little rushed. soup of the day was split pea and was delivered quite hot and beautifully garnished with diced spinach and sour cream. the cup size was easily a bowl by my standards. delicious!! by the time i finished the soup, the waiter/bartender was relieved to know we were ready to order. two amber beers, the grilled romaine, oregon bay shrimp with feta and chick pea salad for wifey and the ham, cured meat sandwich with olive pepper relish and aged provolone por moi. asking what “cured meat” was included, the tender stated that not the usual (“we’re out of that”) but he would offer an alternative of house made country pate’. be still my beating heart. “a small order of fries to share please“.

we could see from the presentations and the very nice flavors of both dishes that there was a cook in the house. french fries are a ongoing disappointment in our dining experience but these were perfect. hot, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. not only could i not find any fault with the food, i was thoroughly satisfied. i would return (more on that in the cocktail segment) and try anything on the menu (which is currently reflected on their web site) clafoutis anyone?

i had their burger, which was deeee-lish, and my dinner companions enjoyed their $2 craft beers. [there was one total "portland moment" when our server was describing a ridiculously terrible-sounding, served-at-room-temperature beer with oysters and truffles in it that made us all chuckle.] we dinner-capped next door at the bar tiga, where i boldly ordered a virgin shirley temple, continuing my tradition of doing what i want.

the food was pretty good but completely overshadowed by the service. i was honestly stunned by how rude our server and host were. the food in portland is waaaay too good to put up with that.

first things first, this place had no wait whatsoever; that’s already about eight gold stars considering saturday night dinner for us consisted of a split bottle of cava, craft cocktails at dig a pony and 2am homemade red kale quesadillas (sadly due to a barren fridge and not creativity).

next, the setting is adorable with the space being large and reminiscent of a cosy alpine ski cabin. plus, both of us were appropriately outfitted in beige sweaters, burberry, and leggings (inadvertently if i may add).