Besaws — Restaurant in Portland

This really deserves 0/0 stars.

Was there @1ish for brunch. There were 6 people in the entire restaurant. Wasn’t sure if I should have taken it as a bad sign or if I caught a lull between crowds. Turns out, it was a bad sign.

The bartender was also my waitstaff - which was perfectly fine with me. I asked about the Bennies - if the Hollandaise was homemade or from a package. I was assured that it was homemade in house. Perfect, then I’ll have the Dungeness Bennie.

So everyone else in the restaurant already had their food, so I figured mine would arrive quickly - but it did not. Which made me worry.

During my wait, I noticed a front end employee flitting hither and yon (whom I heard someone call Mohammad, and he answered) moving around papers and diaries and other whatnot, then appears next to me only to start putting away clean dishes. I asked him when was the last time he washed his hands (and I mentioned the flitting, but didn’t see where he had washed his hands). He chuckled at me and left the area - but not my sight.

My Benny finally arrived with nearly hard boiled eggs (cold), REFRIGERATOR COLD crab, English muffin not even toasted, and topped with PACKAGED hollandaise. About this time I notice fruit flies circling me and the bar area. It’s a sure sign of poor cleaning habits.

NO one came to ask me about the meal - NO ONE. I finally got the barkeep/server’s attention and told them the Hollandaise was packaged. She seemed shocked, but before I could tell her of the other problems, she bolted off into the kitchen and never came back out. I assumed she was embarrassed when the chef confirmed the Hollandaise was from a package.

Enter Lady Manager, who came out from hiding to berate me about the Hollandaise being homemade. I told her it most certainly was not, and further, there were many other problems with my Benny - which is why it wasn’t even half eaten - so I mention fridge cold crab. No toasting and no seasoning, eggs almost hard boiled….plus the packaged hollandaise, not to mention the “home fries” were days old and microwaved; thus inedible.

Lady manager said “Of course the crab will have been kept refrigerated once it’s cooked” So I asked her how many days/weeks ago it was cooked, because most places cook it “to order”/have it ready on the steam tray so it’s fresh/hot for customers. She refused to answer my question of the age the crab I was served, and went back to harping on homemade Hollandaise.

So I told her to have the Chef come out, look me in the eyes, and tell me that the hollandaise here is homemade. She refused and said there’s no argument here because she already told me it was homemade. I stated SHE was not only lying to my face, but it was her being argumentative and irate. So between her bad attitude and the bad food, thats why there’s only 8 people in here at prime lunch/brunch time. (A couple had come in after the bartender/server ran off and hid).

So Manager Lady walks away, back into the kitchen and “Filthy Hands Mohammed” returns to touch clean glasses with his filthy hands, which he’d been nowhere to wash since last time I made him stop touching clean glassware, as I was clocking his movements around the front of house. So I told him to put the clean glass he’d just picked up BY THE RIM in the dirty pile and go wash his hands before I called the health department. He finally went into the kitchen - ostensibly to wash his hands - tho I never saw him again.

But Manager lady reappears again with my bill - the FULL bill, even charging me $4 extra for the olive brine I saw bartender/server pour with her fingers inside the rim of the jar to hold back the olives. Receipt pic posted below. Pic of meal can’t convey fridge temp crab, et al, (must carry a thermometer).

RL review: 0/10 Would NOT recommend in any circumstance. Filthy handling habits, extremely rude staff/mgmt, bad cleaning habits because: fruit flies, xxx??? Days/week old crab, poorly prepared/no respect for the food, packaged sauce, and $4 for olive brine contaminated by the bartenders hands. Would...

I visited Besaw for the first time this morning after many months anticipation. Upon arrival, we were greeted and promptly put on a wait l. My friend and I were quoted a 25-30 min wait so we decided to take that opportunity to explore the beautiful area, which I'm sure most people do because the area is so awesome. This restaurant is located in the Pearl district and there is so much to do, so many cute shops and places to dine . We looked across the street at this adorable shop, Cosube. The staff was so friendly and we ended up ordering coffee to enjoy while we waited for our table at Besaw's. We received a text that our table was ready about 15-20 min into our wait time. We headed over and were greeted by Enish, who informed us that our table was ready but they had a NEW policy created by management that would prevent us from enjoying our coffee in their establishment. She then gave us the option to have our drinks held underneath the front desk. A little taken a back, as this was concerning for several reasons, I explained to her that they were coffees from right across the street and being that we were on a wait, we decided to go grab a cup of coffee while waiting. She proceeded to rudely stand her ground and reiterate that this was a new policy from management and that it wasn't allowed. I realized she did not come up with the policy herself so I asked to speak to the manger as I really did not want to keep my coffee at the front desk, I didn't want to loose my table, and I really didn't want to throw the $7 down the drain. Jesse came over and immediately, with a defensive tone, asks me "is there a problem?" I was literally so taken aback. I knew right then and there, I was not going to be met with any kind of logical explanation. He rudely argued with me about the NEW policy and literally dismissed me. I came up with a solution for him and asked if we could finish our coffees outside the establishment and asked if we could come back. He said yes and we walked out. Dear Jesse and the rest of the individuals that feel the need to enforce this new policy, this is the stupidest hill to die on for several reasons. You are in one of the most beautiful and walkable areas in Portland, your restaurant is busy all the time. There are so many shops and coffee places around, it's Portland! Im sure many people have coffee in their hands when they enter your establishment. I've never in my life have heard of a restaurant not allowing you in with your coffee. Ever. It's asinine. Why are you so pressed about people bringing in their coffee. Jesse, one of your reasons was because you sell coffee at Besaw's. Never once was OLCC mentioned . Are you guys that pressed for coffee sales? Your menu averages $18 a plate and you're always on a wait, it doesn't make sense. Then for the front desk staff to offer to hold it under the desk for me is a serious concern. I would dare to say that's not food safe. I don't think that storing beverages under the front desk is health code friendly. Besaws's if you want to have a dumb policy like this, put a sign up. You’re the ONLY restaurant in the area with such a ridiculous policy. Dont blame this on OLCC. Also, don't penalize your customers for enjoying the beautiful area and picking up a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning while they wait for their table. Had there been clear signage on this insane, weird, greedy, annoying, not normal policy, I would have been more than understanding. Please do better. I will never dine here again. P.s. my server Zach was great, the food was not impressive, and the restaurant...

We have had several wonderful dinners at Besaws in the past - delicious food, impeccable service. That is why we chose to eat dinner there on Christmas Eve. We had not had a festive holiday season - our house had been for sale all summer and fall, had finally sold and we were closing on the 30th so we spent the holidays packing and purging instead of celebrating. But we decided a nice dinner out on Christmas Eve was earned. We called ahead the day before to make sure they were going to be open. The person who answered the phone recommended reservations, and accommodated us at our chosen time of 7pm. No mention was made of a limited menu. We arrived and were seated and were presented with a special Christmas Eve menu which only had a few items on it - none were the things we were craving off the regular menu which we had looked at online before coming. "Oh well, we're here" we thought... And I should say - the restaurant looked steady but not packed. We ordered vodka martinis which came in about 5 minutes. Our server then took our dinner order - I ordered the roast chicken and my boyfriend had the lasagna. We ordered the side dish of carrots to share. Our entrees came out separately - mine first, then his. We had to ask for the carrots. This is a pet peeve of mine in restaurants (I worked as a server and bartender for 15 years). The kitchen should be able to time regular menu items to come up pretty closely, and if you are expediting you should check the ticket and take all items for the table for that course out at the same time. The real problem came when I cut into my chicken. I could tell it wasn't cooked all the way by the color, and when I felt the meat near the bone it was cold. I called over our server who apologized and took it back. Then I waited. And waited. And waited. I insisted my boyfriend eat his lasagna before it got cold. Nobody came by to offer a time estimate or anything for me to eat in the meantime. Finally the chicken was delivered back to me - obviously the same piece as before, now with the skin black. I was starving so I ate it but the texture was odd. The carrots were tasty but pretty hard and crunchy and in large chunks. We had wanted wine with dinner but nobody came back to our table to check on us after I got the chicken back so we were never able to order it. The big surprise came when we got the check. I fully expected my chicken to be taken off - since it was served to me raw - or at least have our drinks comped. We were there for a special occasion and basically ended up having to eat dinner separately. But no. We were charged for everything. No manager came to apologize for the uncooked food, and our server didn't do more than drop the check on the table when I was in the bathroom. I filled out the comment card but never heard back. This review is late in coming - we have been busy moving and it just occurred to me yesterday that I never had any response to my comment card. I don't often do online reviews but I feel like this wasn't our usual experience at Besaws and someone in management should know. We will likely be back at some point in the future - although maybe just for a drink - but if that had been our first experience there it would probably...