Restaurant Review
Date Visited: 3/5/2011 @ 6pm; no reservation
Type: Greek
Alexis Restaurant
215 West Burnside
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 224-8577
Lunch:
Monday - Saturday
11:30am - 2:00pm
Dinner:
Monday - Thursday
5:00pm - 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday
5:00pm - 11:00pm
Affordability: $15 - 20 p/person for dinner
Dress Code: Casual
Overall Rating: 3 Lemon Twists
For nearly a decade, Alexis Restaurant, a cornerstone in Portland's Old town, has brought pleasure to palates and spirits alike. Authentic Greek Specialties, serviced amidst a backdrop of Greek music, laughter, warm hospitality, and an occasional "OOOPPAAAAAA" from the festive crowd, make Alexis one of Portland's most revisited eateries. Named Best Greek Restaurant by Portland Monthly, HB and I headed up there for dinner on, what we knew, would be a very busy Saturday night to test their finest culinary treats and attentive service.
Initial Impression:
Located on the corner of Burnside and 2nd Ave, Alexis was easy to find. We found some street-side parking about a 1/2 block away. From the outside, Alexis looks like a white warehouse with large Greek "A" sign on the outside. Perhaps some misplaced fraternity housing? The front doors are painted white and red, and neither have any windows. The only clue that I had that I was in the right place were the sounds of footsteps and the musical ting-ing of plates and silverware from inside.
Once HB and I opened the doors, we're greeted by a small set of stairs leading to a landing with a small flight of stairs on either side and another longer flight of stairs leading to a second floor just behind us. There, a gentle older man greeted us with a Grecian smile and pointed us towards the left side to a small table for two against the back wall. There are about twenty tables around us; all but one other are empty. Because of the emptiness of the room at this point, it gave me plenty of time to look around. I walked in from a warehouse fraternity-type building into a Grecian family home. The very-worn dark walnut hardwood floors were solid, but creaked like my grandma's screened porch door. The textured walls were freckled with awards, reviews, and accolades in a mish-mash of frames. The tables (no booths here) were all dark wood with dark wood and nicely padded chairs. The warm lighting from the ceiling was dim and cast a comforting effect to the dining area. HB and I found our table, and I grabbed my pen and paper.
Food:
Every table is served a half-loaf of wonderfully warm, homemade, Greek white bread with pads of butter. DON'T EAT IT YET. Just wait. I promise. It will be worth it. It's tough, I know. On their appetizer menu, you'll find things such as spanakopita, gyros, feta 'n olives, and much more. HB and I ordered humous (in America, we call it Hummus). Ok, NOW it's ok to eat the bread. Just be sure to dredge your bread slice into the garlic, creamy, wonderfully amazing humous. It was definitely worth the wait.
HB couldn't decide on a single entree, so he chose the Pikilia Piato w/ rice and vegetables. This dish is a combination dish with Moussaka (eggplant casserole layered with ground lamb, topped with Béchamel sauce), Dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed with ground lamb, rice, and topped with an egg lemon sauce), Spanakopita (layers of fillo dough, spinach, rices, and feta cheese), and Souvlaki Lamb (tender cubes of marinated and char-broiled lamb served on a skewer). I chose my favorite Greek dish, Pastitso (macaroni with ground lamb topped with Béchamel sauce). According to the menu, every specialty is served with soup or salad. We both selected the lentil soup (lentils, tomato sauce, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, carrots, celery, peas, and onion).
The lentil soup was very light for a tomato-based soup. The lentils had the perfect texture (if you've ever had under- or over-cooked lentils, you know what I mean here!), and the vegetables added a great balance of flavor to the soup. The serving size was average, so don't worry about your soup being big enough for a meal here.
According to HB, his dinner was great! According to him: the Moussaka can easily get mushy, but the eggplant stood up well and maintained it's firmness. The Béchamel sauce was the best he'd every had--creamy, gentle flavor, and lightly browned on top. He also commented that the Spanakopita, because of the large amount of spinach in this dish, can sometimes get "slimy." Not here. It was perfectly cooked. He initially had concerns about the Domathes and the amount of Anise-flavor, but after a few bites, said they were the best grape leaves he'd ever had. The lamb skewers were cooked a bit longer than HB prefers (he's a medium rare kinda guy), but said the flavor was good--smoky, grilled, moist, and delicious, but it wasn't the favorite part of his meal. His favorite: Dolmathes.
My dinner was exceptional. If you're looking for big bold flavor, don't order Pastitso. While I like lamb, I don't LOVE lamb, so the Pastitso is perfect for me. The pasta in the Pastitso can easily become mushy, and sometimes the lamb flavor can be too overpowering for this subtle dish. But at Alexis, they know how to do it right. The sauce in the pasta was creamy, yet firm enough to stand up to the Béchamel sauce on top. Just like HBs, the Béchamel sauce was lightly browned on top. The ground lamb added a nice flavor to the dish, but again, didn't overpower it.
Our rice and vegetables with dinner definitely weren't the showcase on our plate. It's similar to going out for Mexican food and getting rice and beans--they're usually not the highlight. The side dishes were good, as indicated by our now empty plates.
For dessert, we had two choices: Baklava or Bougatsa. HB and I have had really good Baklava before, so we opted to share a piece of Bougatsa (a warm custard in fillo dough topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar). The presentation of the Bougatsa was average. It was obvious that it was a slice from a large pan, and it had been warmed. Don't let that fool you! The texture of the custard was incredible. The fillo dough was light and flaky (although a little difficult to cut with your fork). Our plate was empty in a matter of seconds.
Food Twist: 1 twist.
Service:
The economy has hit all of us; and in the food industry you see that reflected in labor reductions. Restaurants can cut the quality of their food, but only so much. So, as foodies, we've been subject to long waits for food, refills, and general service. One of my favorite highlights of Alexis was this: they ratio of tables-to-servers was 4:1. That's right, one server for every four tables. I'll also add that there were two people seating newcomers and another person standing in the corner watching every table, every server, and stepping in to help the minute they notice a small bottleneck.
We were immediately seated; had water, menus, and bread within seconds of seating. HB and I delayed a bit on picking our entrees, but the minute I closed my menu, someone was there taking our order. At this point, we had been at Alexis for about 10 minutes. Those 18 empty tables around us were almost full now. There were two empty tables by 6:30pm.
Our humous arrived within two minutes of ordering it--and we proceeded to eat like raptors in the movie "Jurassic Park." Our waiter noticed our pending shortage of bread and said to us, "Uh oh, gettin' low on bread. That's no good when you have humous at the table!" and quickly brought us another loaf of bread.
I could give several more examples of great service; empty plates/dishes bussed quickly off our table, water refilled almost automatically, regular check-ins from anyone walking by; but I will sum it up with the use of the word attentiveness. I never once felt like a single table in the middle of a now-packed Greek restaurant. I felt like family, and I felt like they cared about my meal. It appeared they genuinely cared about me and my meal with a subtle voice tone; a lingering smile; and a friendly attitude.
With that said, let me share what took this service from great to WOW!. Seated at the table next to use were two young couples and a small toddler. Based on their conversation, they were not very familiar with non-common Greek food. The waiter came over a few times to check in on them; but on the third time he said this, "It sounds like you might be having some trouble deciding between a few items, so I might be able to help. I heard you say you're looking for XXX. If so, I'd recommend..." At this point, he proceeded to make several recommendations; including what the toddler might even be safe to eat and enjoy.
Service Twist: 2 twists
Summary:
3 Lemon Twists. This is an amazing location and environment. You won't be disappointed! Be sure to join in when a table orders Saganaki--the waiter yells out to get everyone's attention and yells OOOPPPAAAAAAAA!! as he prepares the flaming dish tableside.
Total bill: $48.00 before tip.
Experienced Customer Service Expert and Contributor,
Charity
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