gustav's pub & grill

worst gustav's. i have been to thevancouvergustav's about 3-4 times now and have come away disappointed every time. when will i learn? the service is very slow and the value for what you get is getting worse, particularly with the fondue. the food is fair but i've had to send things back a couple of times because they were luke warm. the kids meals are a total rip off. the portions are appropriate for a 3 year old. this location is far behind clackamas and portland for quality, service, and atmosphere.

"i know nothing" except that sergeant schultz might even like gustav's ...

with three locations in the portland area (two in oregon and one in vancouver, washington), i had no idea that the cuisine was hungarian/german from the name until we gave them a try. they places look modern and nondescript from the outside, but have warm wood tones and german decor inside. this one is more "german" than the tigard location with high, beamed ceilings, german state flags, even a mini german street scene in the back of the entry as you walk in.

with happy hour, a portland tradition, monday through saturday from 2 to 6 pm and 9 pm to closing and all day sunday in the bar, two can eat and drink quite well for under $30. they have a nice selection of eats from $4.75 (e.g. potato pancakes or bavarian pretzels) to $7.75 (e.g. cheeseburgers or schnitzel clubs). two german biers (paulaner oktoberfest and warsteiner dunkel) are $4.75 for a .5 liter stein and all other draughts are $1 off.

happy hour (see translations below if you don't sprechen deutsch)

"original" fondue $6.75 ... sehr gut! (best value in the place)
- decent size cast iron pot (bowl) full of hot, creamy cheese served with plenty o' cubes of pumpernickel and other breads.

bavarian pretzel $4.75 ... gut 
soft and hot with spicy mustard. $5 is the standard price at most places for similar pretzels, so not a super happy hour value - make it $3.75.

sausage of your choice $5.75 (nürnberger brat) ... soso (tasty, but very small for price)
- thinner than a hot dog, but longer, this sausage tasted good but was unsubstantial for almost $6. $4.75 should be the max price for this weiner.

potato pancakes (3) $4.75 ... sehr gut!
- thin, crisp and yummy, served with small sides of apple sauce and sour cream.

shepherd's pie $6.75 ... soso
- an english staple, not german, this atypical dish is small with cubes of beef in a goulasch-style sauce then covered with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese (?) and baked.

cabbage roll (2) $6.75 ... gut
- cabbage stuffed with ground meat, rice and spices, then baked in a savory sauce with chunks of tomato, carrot and onion.

meals

hungarian veal jäger ($18.95) ... gut, but not a stupendous value
- could be served with a salad, cup of soup, sauerkraut and/or red cabbage for this price and be perceived as a much better value. the veal scallops were small and the mashed potatoes underneath almost imperceptible. the sauce was delicious and topped with an abundance of fresh sauteed mushrooms.

pork st. moritz ($15.25) ... sehr gut!
kinda like cordon bleu, but with the ham and cheese on top instead of inside. the two large, pounded and breaded pork scallops were sauteed then topped with emmentaler cheese and black forest ham, served in a delicious madeira sauce with creamy mashed potatoes and vegetables. a good value, adding a house or caesar salad for an additional $3.95 makes it a meal at just over $19.

1. sehr gut! = very good
2. gut = good
3. soso - so-so
4. nicht gut = not good
5. scheisse = shit

we have tried both the tigard andvancouverlocations. the buildings and decor are slightly different, but the menus and food seem identical. the service has been friendly and efficient on all three visits thus far.

my sole complaint was the oktoberfest i ordered last night that came looking like someone had taken a huge gulp out of it with well over an inch missing from the top of the mug. german (and english) bartenders take pride in filling glasses to the brim, either with beer or a head rising to the rim. this one had either been sitting for quite a while (so the head disappeared) or was a short pour. in any event, it should have been repoured or at least topped-off before being served.

combatcritic gives gustav's 7 bombs out of 10 ... more bombs are better!

7 bombs equates to "s&g" - see my blog for military translations

not favorite anymore. living about 2 miles from there and enjoyed meals several times a year for several years, especially thanksgiving feast. but nov. 19, 2014 visit was not pleasant. overpriced and 1/4 marinated chicken was tough and dry. plus very small serving french fries. my bill of $50 for both meals was highly overpriced. we had to ask for utensils & napkin & refresh drinks even tho very few customers. cutting corners and losing customers. i will not return and highly disappointed invancouverplace. returning to the many other unique restaurants.

lunch atvancouvergustav's. i took my friend for her birthday lunch today. the food was great but our waiter, brendon made it even more
special. he was very attentive and explanatory, and brought a complimentary birthday dessert for us to share. his pleasant personality and great smile was an added bonus.

terrible food and experience. so i went to the one invancouverwith my fiance and i ordered the the lamb and he ordered the apple glazed pork loin. wow, were they terrible! well, first my waiter didn't even give me a steak knife and when i asked him for one, he looked at me like i was stupid and said "you don't even need one, the meat should just fall off the bone." well, it didn't. it was very chewy, not tender at all! and i have had alot of lamb before. i was supposed to get mashed potatoes with my meal, but instead they gave me these tiny little noodle things that tasted worse than boxed mac and cheese. they had no flavor to them either. and then i had cabbage which is disgusting! so then my fiance's meal looked like it was a tv dinner. the pork loin was completely dry (and there was almost no glaze on it). the mashed potatoes looked like they were sitting in a freezer for a month, and then they took it out, stuck in it the microwave, and plopped it on the plate. it was a hard lump too. so we were waiting for our waiter to come back and tell him our meal was terrible, and he never showed again after he brought our food. my fiance had to go get the manager so we could tell her that we were not happy. she comped my fiance's meal and gave us a apple dessert thing (which didn't taste good either.... figures.) we asked why our waiter had returned to us for anything (not to check on us, give us the check, nothing), well apparently the manager put him on a wedding party the same time he was waiting on us and i guess that's a little more important to wait on than us. (i don't know, i guess he just forgot about us or just didn't care). which i think is pretty bad that the manager would do that to the waiter. if your going to wait on a huge wedding party, don't put him on other small tables, cause most likely, he will forget about them. so that was our experience. i highly dont recommend that place. just not thevancouverone at least. but i'm pretty sure the other locations are going to have just the same crappy food.