Lair Hill Bistro

THE BEST meatloaf I have ever consumed.
Great wine selection.
Sweet little (full) bar with live music in the corner.
All adds up to a real, down-​home (not fancy-​pants) great place to go for a delicious meal or just drinks.

Nice surprise for a good lunch place — we were wandering the area, gawking at architecture and happened in for lunch It was very tasty with some interesting creativity, friendly and efficient staff. I wish we lived in the neighborhood.

Lair hill is a perfectly located and wonderful café! I go here regularly and can’t get enough of the great service and food! Couldn’t be any better! Wow so good.

I love LHB. Only been there for lunches, but their sandwiches – not normally something worth getting excited about – are excellent. The ambiance is casual but intimate, with a European feel and a good selection of wines.
Oh how I wish LHB was open on weekends. I’d go all the time!

Nice place and good food and coffee. A couple of dings this time. My omelette came out tepid, and I had to hunt down servers to get a refill of coffee.
It’s a locals neighborhood joint, but cute; tables are nice sizes, which is great because many people, including me, were working on our laptops.
I would return when I’m in the area, and I’m pretty sure the food would come out hot next time.

Yummy meat loaf. Hearty. Doesn’t look like mine.. But tastes even better.
Good fun beer selection.
Amazing root beer in a bottle (boylan).
Beautiful generous fruit bowl.
Good staff.
GF friendly.

We are here at least once a week. If you get jala
peno chips in i will get you a 6^th star.

Best cookies around!

I come here once in a while and enjoy a couple of their sandwiches, namely the peach chutney sandwich. The seating area is nice, and the décor is cool too. They have music at night which is nice to hear on evenings when I’m walking home from school.
I like the marionberry pie things too and the banana breads they offer. The blueberries in the pancakes come from one of the employee’s mother’s farm. I brought my own maple syrup though since I had it at home.
Decent place to sit down and eat with wifi and have a conversation.

Staff very friendly, very profesional. Great ambience! Food came in a timely manner, some interesting choices of appetizers and deserts. Food is slightly overpriced but it’s fresh and it tastes good. We loved New Orleans Beinets with dips and Vietnamese Summer Rolls. Overall Staff was excelent (our waiter Cesar), food was great, nice background music selection, great experience!

Oh my gosh this place is so wonderful! The staff is always friendly and the food is delicious! My favorite thing though is their chocolate chip cookies fresh and warm. It’s got a wonderful atmosphere and is a great place to study.

Sadly, my many experiences at Lair Hill Bistro have been, well. 2 star (at best).
It’s nothing against the food, I have yet to dine there, though I have been with others who have dined and have complimented the food. So, hear-​say.
Generally, I go in for coffee. Which, in and of itself, isn’t all that bad! However, I always find myself leaving feeling like I was a burden on whomever is working.
There have been multiple instances where I have waited at the front counter to order, while the waitresses walk past (out to serve food, back to rinse something, into the back, back out, talking to each other) without acknowledging my presence.
No: «Hello! We’ll be right with you!» or «Have you been helped yet?» Even a simple, «Hello» maybe accompanied with a smile would be nice, but that is, and has, not been the case in my experience.
When someone does decide that they can’t think of anything else to do and they do come to take my order, it’s not personable and made very obvious they want nothing to do with small talk conversation. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the waitresses smile. Which is what prompted this response today, because as I left, again feeling like my purchase was unwanted, I was trying to understand. Trying to figure out what was creating such a grim feeling on such a beautiful Portland day.
I have previous work experience as a barista (5+ years) and one of the things that really made the coffee shops I’ve worked at awesome is the energy and the ability to make connections with other people. It’s nice to walk into an atmosphere that is welcoming, that is filled with smiles and happy greetings. Even on mornings when we (the staff) weren’t feeling as chipper or life was throwing us curve balls, you suck it up, you smile and you do what you are paid to do. Customer relations at Lair Hill Bistro are frankly, terrible.
If you want to feel like you’re a burden, like you’ve completely overworked another individual, please — feel free to go to Lair.
I’m not writing this review with malicious intent, I’m writing it hoping that the owner and the manager read this and realizes that the atmosphere needs a little bit of extra love. You’ve got a great customer base, you’re right next to NCNM and in a cute little neighborhood — please, for those of us who are there on a regular basis, please, treat us like you appreciate our business. I’ve spoken with many people who go there regularly and the service itself, is the biggest complaint.
You guys could do great things! You really could! Don’t let your customer service hold you back. Please.

Wonderful small town atmosphere, with great food and I have found it perfect to meet up for a business meetings.

Really for being a small local café this place has got it figured out. The only thing I would say that bugs me is that they are closed on the weekends! So if you want a yummy breakfast sandwich or mid afternoon apps on on a Sunday you are outta luck! The service is always good regardless of how busy they are. The servers are all very attentive and understand their clientele. There’s not a ton of variety on the menu but everything they do make is delish! It all tastes homemade with love!

I wish I could do two separate reviews one for breakfast and one for lunch/​dinner.
Breakfast is not great here, the coffee is not quality but is priced like it is. The food is nothing to blow you away.
Lunch/​dinner is more of a 4 star review situation, good food reasonably priced, good drinks that are standardly priced for Portland with a great bartender who knows her stuff and is enthusiastic about making drinks.

Lair hill bistro is fantastic! They have good food and a full bar. Amanda, the bartender, is fantastic and always knows what my fiancé and I want. 4 stars only because they’re not open on the weekends.

Good place to stop for soup, sandwich and IPA on the way or way back from appointment at National College of Naturopathic Medicine. Q

Delicious margaritas for $ 5.50
Cool music on a Friday night

BACKGROUND — Sandwiches are always satisfying to me for lunch… I work around downtown and always like to check out sandwich places that I have never been to before.
PROS — I looked on Unilocal before I went to lunch with a coworker. It looks like they are known for their sandwiches… so I ordered The Genoa on rye and my coworker had the Turkey Peach Chutney. They were both decent but not decent enough to get recommended.
CONS — Soup sucked. It was lukewarm, and ingredients are not fresh. I have had better canned soup. Service sucked. 1) You do not clear plates before the customer is done eating 2) You do not put down the check halfway when your customers are eating 3) When we go up to the cashier to pay, you do not organize your reception area while your customers wait to pay.
POINTERS — They also charge $.25 if you are paying with a credit card, regardless of your amount. Decent sandwich but I would never return.

Lair Hill Bistro has a great vibe, and very friendly staff. Personally, a big perk is the handy proximity from NCNM down the street. Wi-​Fi connects at sufficient speeds, and there’s relatively little traffic passing by, providing a more relaxing coffee environment than the nearby places downtown. As for the food, tastes are great! Dropped in for their French Toast breakfast with a side of sausage, and the amount of french toast was very generous. The sausage portion was pretty modest, but had nice flavors that made up for it.
One complaint is some inconsistency in the temperatures for beverages — was served a perfect Sattwa Chai one day, then a barely-​warmed Green Tea Chai the next. Sure, tasted great, but it was troublesome walking out of the door with a lukewarm drink. Here’s hoping that was a rare misstep on their part.
FYI — all card transactions have a 25 cent surcharge. I’m wicked thrifty, so I like bringing cash here for payment.