Gracie's — Restaurant in Portland

If it wasn't for the spectacular ambiance of the Hotel Deluxe I don't know if I would have rated it three stars. You walk in and you feel like you are transported to a different time. Hollywood in the 1940's takes center stage and I really enjoyed feeling like I was in a different place. Gracies is just up the stairs and to the left of the hotel lobby. It has the same ambiance as the hotel which is really pleasing to the eye and you feel like you are in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I went there for brunch and while I did enjoy the fresh squeezed orange juice with my mimosa, that might have been the highlight of the food and drink that I consumed. I ordered a crab and shrimp eggs benedict. There were a lot of menu items that included a poached egg so I assumed that might be what they do well. I received my eggs benedict, and like I so love to do I cut right through the middle of the yolk so that it could run out and create that nice sauce that I so enjoy when I have poached eggs. The egg was totally overcooked, no run of the egg, just chalky yellow yolk. Three other people at my table ordered dishes with poached eggs and their eggs were all cooked the same as mine. To the side of my benedict was a pile of dark dark, verging on the edge of being burnt potatoes, the food sadly didn't measure up to the grander of the surroundings.

I so wanted to like this place. I think it has great potential- they take reservations for brunch, the atmosphere is spectacular and they go the extra mile with their fresh squeezed juice, but if you are going to put poached eggs on most of your breakfast items, please learn how to cook...

This review is in regards to afternoon tea. You’d unfortunately have a more elevated experience with more decorum at Applebee’s, for a much better value, too. Where to start? First, with the price. It’s $60 with a 20% gratuity included. All fine if the experience is lovely, which it should be. It is afternoon tea at a very, very expensive restaurant. The windows and doors have fingerprints all over them, the booths in the dining room have dog hair and dust on them, the mirrors in the bathroom are covered in dust in the crevices. There aren’t any lotions or particularly nice hand towels in the bathrooms like there are at other luxury hotels that serve tea at this price point. I had a reservation along with other people and had to wait a long time to be seated. No one greets you when you arrive. The service was bad. Nice waitress but terrible service. There were two people to wait on and seat the entire place. There were three ungracefully cut, large, clunky tea sandwiches with stale bread. Unwashed blueberries. Literally could taste the dirt on them. No small cute little jam jars. A literal biscuit rather than a scone. One of the “finger sandwiches” had the appearance of a sloppy Joe and was served on a hamburger bun with like, chicken salad sloppily spooned onto the inside. I could have made this at home for a quick lunch. No thinly sliced layers of cucumber or salmon. All other tables I observed were waiting inordinate amounts of time for their waiters for any given thing throughout the experience. This was a joke of a tea experience. Would never come here or...

First visit to the Hotel Deluxe in Portland, Oregon, which gave us the chance to eat at Gracie’s. This is the on-premises restaurant for the hotel, serving Breakfast/Brunch until 2 pm, with no dinner service. We had a party of 3 for a late morning breakfast and were seated right away.

Service was prompt at the start but diminished from there with slow and disjointed service. As in many restaurants currently, it lacks from full and experience staff. Food was served hot, and all dishes were very well prepared and tasty, though 2 of 3 were delivered far in advance of the one. Kudos to the staff for recognizing the delay and bringing a complimentary muffin to the person waiting.

For food, the Avocado Toast was a smaller portion, with only 1 slice of bread for the sliced avocado and egg. Ordered both a Traditional and a Lobster Benedict, which the Lobster Benedict was far above better than the Traditional. Both benedicts had perfectly poached eggs, and uniquely a house made “English” muffin, more like a Johnny Cake, which was delicious.

Overall, Gracie’s is a convenient place to grab a morning/afternoon meal in the hotel and would return to try something else.

Update: Visited Gracie’s the following morning, and service was worst with continued forgotten item, and the same disjointed service. The food was still delicious and had nice portions, with again the Lobster Benedict, Club Sandwich, and Waffle with a side of sausage links. (Note: No sugar free syrup is available)

Hint for visit: If you like Benedicts and seafood go the extra cost and go for the...