Coquine — Restaurant in Portland

Had lunch there. Long wait. Food very tasty. Small portions, large tab. Have been trying to make reservations for dinner for the last year and a half! Their reservation system is very frustrating- no availability or availability at late hours. Usually end up patronizing some of the other great restaurants in Portland.

Addendum: had dinner at Coquine on 12-21-18 with two other people. The food was delicious, the service very attentive, the decor rustic and subdued and the cost very high. Ordered the socca, a small, original chickpea pancake with perfect taste ($7) that we split among the three of us. Each of us ordered an appetizer. Each was in the $15 range. The shaved cauliflower crab and beet salad. All beautifully presented with the right amount of dressing. Very tasty. For main courses we ordered the roasted chicken to share, the black cod and the rack of lamb. Main dishes cost was in the mid $30. It took them close to an hour to serve the main dishes from the time we were done with the salads. it would have been nice if they served some bread and butter but it would have needed to be ordered a la carte. The dishes were nicely presented, savory and in small portions. The chicken to share temperature was a little cooler than expected. The wine list was diverse with nice wines that paired well with the food and the cocktails were well mixed. Cocktails cost over $10 and glasses of wine around that or a little higher. The desserts very original and nicely done but enough for just a couple of bites for more than $10 each. We enjoyed our visit. However, we did not feel we will rush back to patronize Coquine anytime soon. In a city with such a great gamut of gastronomic options, Coquine stands out as being able to serve a variety of original, well prepared dishes but at what we felt was a rather excessive cost. Our pleasant experience, at a tab of more than $250 for three people with tip, left us wondering if we should consider visiting next time some of the other more easily accessible Portland establishments that provide food as good as Coquine’s, in an environment with a nicer decor, that serve a little larger portions, more promptly and at a more...

Coquine is GREAT! I spent a lottt of time researching the best restaurants/fine dining in Portland for a recent trip with family, and landed on Coquine and Langbaan. While the latter was a big miss (see my review), Coquine absolutely delivers. I can't say with any confidence that Coquine is the best fine dining in Portland (and it's super annoying when other reviewers who only visit one place throw that label around lightly!), but I wouldn't be surprised if it was. If Michelin ever gave stars in Portland, Coquine would absolutely deserve one (coming from a guy who has eaten at 169 Michelins around the world).

Coquine is all about the food. The presentation of dishes isn't the most refined/polished, but that doesn't matter when the flavors, freshness, and quality are this on point! The agnolotti was one of the best pastas I've ever tried (which says a lot), the lamb ragu (which I was not looking forward to as I'm not the biggest ragu fan) was totally tender, delicate, and not overly savory (my biggest issue with ragus generally), and the cheese course was a unique gem (as shaved cheese over a bed of salad and cherries).

My only small issue with Coquine is that the pacing is very inconsistent (it took 30 minutes after the soup course for the pasta course to arrive, vs. only 5 minutes after the pasta course for the lamb course to arrive). Why this was an issue was because you can see into the kitchen, and one of the chef's is frequently on his phone. Now perhaps he needed to be on his phone over and over, so I want to give benefit of the doubt, but his demeanor generally seemed very casual, and twice we saw our server ask him for the status of our courses. Again, I might be wrong, but the amount of phone time vs. cooking just isn't a good look.

Overall though, don't get me wrong, Coquine is amazing! At about $130 per person including tip and drinks, it is a total steal for this quality of food. I hope Coquine gets a star, gets more attention, and that you dear reader go dine there in the...

My wife and I have been long time fans and costumers of Coquine. Unfortunately, I had a really bad customer service experience today. I planned to meet my wife for breakfast after her walk. I arrived first and asked if we could sit outside. The lady behind the counter asked, how many in your party? I said two. She said "sure, you can sit anywhere outside". There were three empty tables. I picked one of the two that were shaded. The other smaller table was getting full sun. Then, another waitress came and told me I couldn't sit at that table as it was for a party of four. I told her I would like to stay there because the small table didn't have shade and I was waiting for my wife. She still insisted I move. I mentioned that there were no people waiting and that she had another party of four table available. She then got upset and left me there without taking my order or offering anything. So I went back inside and told the same lady that initially told me to sit anywhere outside about the situation and that I was a little upset. She then, without out any apology or offering any type of accomodation, she said I couldn't sit in a table for four. I told her I could understand if the restaurant was busy and there were parties of four waiting, but that wasn't the situation. I also told her I didn't want to sit in the small table with the sun hitting my face. I told her I wanted to stay at the table I had choosen. She kept telling me the same "those tables are for party of four" still no apology or any type of accomodation offered to me. I left when it was made clear that the only table they would offer me was being blasted by the sun. An apology would have gone a long way. My wife and I have sat at that 4 to many time in the past. Really sad this happened. I have loved this place, but I won't...