The Picnic House

We had a great dinner experience here tonight. The atmosphere was lovely, service attentive and friendly, food and cocktails were excellent.
I had the fried chicken and it was fall off the bone tender. My husband the meatloaf which was also delish and we shared a decadent chocolate dessert to die for.
Definitely recommend.

Our first meal in Portland and we LOVE it. The ambiance is very homey and welcoming. Amy (our server) was great — giving us good recommendations (so glad we tried them all). She recommended their duck sandwich (they only serve it on Fridays) mushroom soup. We also had the tomato soup with turkey sandwich with green salad — yummy!!!

Their food is fantastic, affordable priced and the location is cute. Make reservations if you’re going for lunch, as they’re usually full. Service is usually good and the drinks are strong if you go in the evening. Their happy hour spot next door (Barlow) is great, too.

My boyfriend and I came here on a lunch date during the work week. We choose this place because it was a good halfway point between our offices. While the food itself was really good (the beet salad is amazing), the prices, service, and loud, overcrowded dining area was not. I was smart enough to make a reservation for 12:15. We ordered our food with our drinks, and we still didn’t get served until 12:50, meaning we had to inhale our food in order to get back to work – Not on time, mind you – just back to work.
The place is incredibly loud, making it difficult to have a conversation, which is unfortunate because the interior design is very cute.
While the wait staff was friendly enough, there simply weren’t enough of them to adequately meet the needs of the customers. Our waitress did not check on us after we got our food until we got out our credit card to indicate that we wanted to be cashed out as soon as possible.
I think most of these problems would be solved if they didn’t try to cram so many customers onto the floor, though I’m sure that wouldn’t help the $ 12 for a simple sandwich and chips issue…

This is one of our favorite restaurants in Portland. We have eaten here many times and have always had excellent service (they take reservations, though these are typically only necessary on weekends) from friendly and helpful staff. The restaurant is set in a large, open space with vintage art and a cool staircase with different colored tiles. Their cocktail menu is pretty strong and features rotating seasonal selections (try the Improved). The best part about this restaurant is the food — the menu varies by time of year and features quality ingredients. They make the best Brussels sprouts in Portland — get this starter! Their Mac and Cheese is very tasty too, and very generous in size. This is a regular restaurant spot for us and we would highly recommend it to people looking for an upper scale meal that highlights Portland’s personality.

Great ambiance, excellent music but soft enough to easily carry on a conversation.
We went on a cold evening after visiting the nearby Art Museum… very cozy and comfortable!
Both the greeter and our server Stephanie were excellent, attentive and very friendly.
The food was outstanding! We shared the best beet salad ever followed by the best Mac and cheese… ever!
Even though we shared we still couldn’t finish it all and took some home.

If I was just rating the food I would have given 4 stars… but this is not a review of the food. This is a review of the entire experience and from what I experienced I would not return. When my party of 3 arrived about 6pm on a weeknight the restaurant was about ¹⁄₃ full. The entire front portion of the restaurant was empty. We were asked by the hostess if we had a reservation?! Ummmm no. She said she would have to check to see if they had a table available. Really??? More than half the restaurant is empty. I can easily count 10 tables that are not occupied… ok we waited. She came back and seated us in the empty portion of the dining room. We placed our order and then I noticed my water glass was broken. I asked for it to be replaced and the waiter rolled his eyes? Food was good. Not amazing, but good. No one came to check on us after our food was delivered. No one refilled our waters or checked to see if I wanted another beer, which I did.
After eating we paid and left wishing we had the opportunity to do the night over because we would have gone somewhere else.
The only other positive besides the food was that the décor was very interesting and provided a good ambiance.

Very nice cool atmosphere, Frank Sinatra playing good food and service. We will be back.

Great spot for lunch. Loved the combo option and had a delightful chopped salad/​tomato bisque/​turkey sandwich situation for $ 15. My partner had a full salad, unfortunately the chicken was very under cooked, but Philip, our friendly server, took quick care of this oversight.

This was the biggest disappointment of my entire Portland trip. We came here on a Friday night because of the good Unilocal ratings and the fact that there was no wait (maybe that should’ve been a sign).
The interior was alright, not my kinda thing but that’s no big deal. Service was very friendly. The worst part was the food. Everything we ordered tasted really bad and what made it worse was the high price. The risotto with duck confit had such a strange flavor. I usually love risotto but for some reason this one was really sour. Made me think it went bad or something. The braised beef was pricey, but the server said it’s so tender that it falls off the bone. It was actually the complete opposite — it was the toughest braised beef I’ve ever had. Way overcooked. The fried broccoli/​brussel sprouts with lemon aioli was ok, but the veggies were also overcooked and kinda hard to chew. The only ok thing we ordered was the tomato soup. In the end, the dinner for two came out to be $ 80 something and I was SO sad paying this much for such disappointing food.

The location and atmosphere seem super cool.
I went in, and very few people are in the place. I am seated and then ignored for over 15 minutes. I left without ordering. There were at least several wait staff members who ignored me.
I went next door and had immediate good service with similar /​same food!

Loved their lunch menu option. Cute place with a lot of sandwich, salad, and soup options. You can selecta 2 item lunch where you can get half sandwich and salads, or a 3 item selection. All meals come with chips so a 3 item lunch really turns out to be 4.
Fresh ingredients and great value. Could get very loud so practice talking with your outside voice.

I’m really happy The Picnic House lived up to my expectations.
First off, the space: It’s an interesting layout, with a brighter, more open area up front and a darker bar area in back. I am very glad we were seated in the bar area, as it felt more appropriate for dinnertime. There are several larger, communal tables throughout, which looked quite nice.
To start, we each ordered a drink. I had their take on a daiquiri and my SO had a moscow mule. Both were very good! We also ordered the fried broccoli and brussel sprouts. The broccoli in particular was delightful! Not over done, and a perfect light crunchy. The brussel sprouts were a little too oily for me, but overall it was a dish we gobbled up.
I had the flank steak and SO had the meatloaf. My steak was cooked perfectly, absolutely no complaints. Very well done. He enjoyed his meatloaf quite a bit, in particular the tangy homemade barbecue sauce on top. I had a bite and it was very good. The meatloaf was served with a side of polenta which neither of us really enjoys. I don’t particularly care for it, but it was creamy and OK…
We ended with some delicious ice cream (banana walnut was my favorite). Nothing else really caught my eye, except maybe the donuts!!!
Overall, great service from our waitress throughout. Our food also was very prompt.

I really loved coming here when I visited Portland last weekend. I thought the ambiance and décor of the restaurant was quaint and hip. I felt like I was in a higher end restaurant but didn’t have to pay an extremely high price. We were seated within 10 minutes of arriving without a reservation.
Although the service was slow, the server was attentive to what we wanted & made great suggestions. I ordered the half grilled cheese sandwich & cup of tomato soup lunch combo. The tomato soup was delicious but what really knocked me off my feet was the grilled cheese. It was not your average grilled cheese because it contained caramelized onions & goat cheese. It was the perfect size portion & didn’t feel too heavy after I ate it. If I lived in Portland, this would be my go-​to lunch date spot!

This place has great atmosphere and service, however my selection was not comparable to the atmosphere and hype.
I ordered the tomatoe soup and grilled cheese sandwhich. I would not order it again. Nothing special, and the sandwich was a failed attempt at the grilled cheese.
People love this place and I can see why, but the food was a disappointment.

The vibe here is wonderful. We came here to eat lunch and wait for our train south. The christmas music was loud and pleasant to listen to, and the server (Doug) was attentive.
We ordered a combo of soup, salad, and sandwich and I don’t think you could go wrong here. The house soup, which rotates daily, was the best of the bunch but the salad and sandwich weren’t far behind. This is exactly the place we needed today, and coming right at the open couldn’t have been a better situation

If the length is daunting, check out the «Too Long; Didn’t Read» below :3
When I read «Picnic House», I do not first think of food, or picnics. I think of the Robot Fraternity from Futurama, and the Dean constantly yelling «Robot House!» But unlike, Robot House, The Picnic House is not about shenanigans or endless drinking [though they have some great options!], they serve delicious and beautifully presented food within an elegant and fun atmosphere.
While perusing the town of Portland earlier in the day, we walked past The Picnic House, and with a quick glance inside, I made the comment to my fellow friend-​traveler that it looked very cute and sophisticated inside, and that we should attempt a dinner there. It just happened to work out later that evening, as we were lying in our hotel room, that we stumbled upon it on Unilocal,and decided to make a reservation. Good thing we did too; once making it inside, the group in front of us was told it was a 45 minute wait. Utilize the online reservation booking!
I came in craving veggies, so after looking over the menu, I decided to go with the Beet Salad [Beets, Goat Cheese, Pomegranate, Beet Dust] with a side of their soup of the day: Butternut squash. My friend went with the Macaroni and Cheese — an option I was very pleased with, as I was also able to try it.
The salad was excellent. Goat cheese on anything is amazing, and it very much added to the salad. It was a cute little fall mix of beets, pomegranate seeds and arugula/​kale. Their also-​fall themed soup, the Butternut Squash, was a nice addition to my dinner, and I will successfully declare that I ate everything that was put in front of me. With no regret. The Macaroni and Cheese was absolutely delectable. With truffle oil, squash and the obligatory amount of cheese, the two bites of this dish that I had stuck with me all night. It was extremely rich, and after consuming almost the entirety of his meal, my friend was very full and bloated, and had become walking Mac and Cheese. [Lesson: split this dish and a salad with a friend, or take half of it home.]
And again! Another huge plus for me: The Picnic House uses a ton of local and organic ingredients in their food. I love it.
The atmosphere within the Picnic House is enjoyable. It’s darkly intimate, with fun decorations and tall curtains. I did feel like the most popular people in the joint however, because we were placed at a table where the surrounding guests could easily talk with us and eye our food. It wasn’t particularly bad — just less able to have a one-​on-​one conversation with your food partner/​friend/​lover/​etc. In the back area, it was very French-​style seating, that’s for sure.
The Picnic House supplied us with a tasty, and somewhat heavy meal. The prices really were not bad at all for the amount of food we got, as well as the great service. [And I’m always willing to pay a little more for locally sourced items in restaurants]. The Picnic House inspired warm feelings when filling my stomach with healthy ingredients/​foods, and reminding me of Futurama.
TL;DR:
Robot House! Er… I mean Picnic House! PH provided us with a lovely dining experience; great and friendly staff, yummy food, and a unique ambiance. With locally sourced ingredients, and nice prices, Picnic House is a great stop in Portland. Walk the town, online book a reservation for later in the evening, watch a few Futurama episodes, and then head over to the Picnic House for a deliciously enjoyable night of dining.

With a décor that lives up to its name, the Picnic House may have just been a welcoming trap into those places that transport you far away promising culinary excellence only to meet dissapointment. Worry not, the Picnic House elevates the picnic palate to its deserved origins in form of beautifully carved sandwiches, salads and soups and a drinks menu to match.
My first picking (cold roasted shrimp salad sandwich with brown rice salad) was simply stunning to gaze and digest. Wife’s bacon sandwich with mixed greens wasn’t too shabby either. Time, money and stomach well spent on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
There is enough on the menu to warrant our return and we will be back to eat well (as Virginia Woolf would say «eat well to live well»).

Perfect end to our Portland Walking tour. Lunch for seven at what was the old Heathman Hotel, now at least for three years The Picnic House.
Greeted and seated thanks to reservations via Open Table. Easy, peasy.
The majority of the group ordered the mushroom soup and a salad combo, even though the temp outside was reaching 95 degrees. I had the tomato salad, a bit skimpy but delicious. Others had the. Chop salad, Asian salad and then sandwiches with soup. Wonderful.
Many in the group had attended functions here for private events and some others frequently lunch here.
We will be back.

Wow! This place is good!
I was surprised that it wasn’t very packed when we arrived, even though when we called in for a reservation, they said there won’t be any availability till 7:45, but when we got there at 7:15, we were seated right away at a fairly empty dining room.
We ordered a vegetarian charcuterie plate to share — I had my doubts at first, but it turned out to be really delicious. I loved the marinated portobello mushroom, and the mushroom pâté. The picked radish was refreshing, and the vegetable terrine is a very creative way to dress up veggies.
I got the roasted pork terrine with potato gruyère gratin, mustard mousse, brussels leaves, red pepper purée. I looooved my dish. The roasted pork terrine was very juicy and flavorful, and the mustard mousse cut the grease perfectly on the terrine. The potatoes were equally amazing with cheesy top and creamy layers of potato slices!
I would absolutely return to try some of their other items on the menu. The service was prompt, professional and friendly, and the food is absolutely delicious with a very reasonable price!