Laurelhurst Market — Restaurant in Portland

The perfect evening for Mr. and Mrs. M.

Jess, Jess, Jess. Our servers name was Jess. I hope you are as lucky as we were to be paired up with one of the best servers we have ever had. She made our night one of the best we have ever had!

My wife and I had been apart for 2 months. My wife came home just in time for Valentines day and we had arranged far in advance that we wanted to have our Vday dinner at Laurelhurst Market. I grew up a few short blocks from here and had been here years ago. We were looking for the best steaks and we were not disappointed!

Jess greeted us warmly and engaged us as a friend we had known forever. We knew what had wanted to eat for weeks as we had been awaiting to be reunited for so long. We were going to go ALL OUT!

We started with one of their specials, 1/2 dozen oysters on the half shell. Delicious, these were excellent and a perfect start to our feast. Great flavor!

We followed that with the caesar salad. A perfect ceasar! not over powering, not soaking wet with dressing, just crisp and perfect!

Next came the Waygu couotte medium rare that we ate as a shared appetizer. This is a must have! Not sure if it would have been enough for me as main course but my goodness! The flavor and tenderness of this meat paired with the sauce was spectacular!

We both decided the rib eye would be our main course, also medium rare. Excellent! I am picky on my steaks and these were perfectly cooked and tasted amazing. An excellent steak!

All through our visit, the food came out perfectly, it was timed exactly as it should Jess had arranged. Jess checked in on us regularly. Our water was always full, our cocktails were never in danger of being empty and our silverware was replaced after each course. Keep in mind this was a very busy night packed. We never felt for an instant that we were going to be in need of anything.

Jess complimented us on the best ordering of dinner in the joint and said she had shared it with some coworkers. Again, she was just so warm and friendly, it was like being waited on by a close friend. You don't find that much anymore. All too often you are being processed.

Through our many interaction with Jess, we had shared our story of how we had been apart for so long and that she had made the night everything we could have asked for and more. We looked at the desert menu but just wasn't sure we could stomach anything more and had decided to pass on desert. That is when Jess went a step further. She insisted on providing us a desert on the house for our very special night. She brought us the Dulce de leche semifreddo. WOW! What an amazing desert! Seriously, you need to try that to! It was very sweet gesture and was the perfect ending to our perfect night.

You need to try everything at Laurelhurst Market. Everything we had was one of the best we have had, and we have had a lot. Try to be seated in Jess's section and I am confident you too will have a night to be remembered. The anticipation leading up to this night by my wife and I had set some pretty high expectations, but Jess and Laurelhurst market exceeded them beyond our wildest...

Worth every cent. We celebrated my husband's birthday here on a lark, wondering if we'd love it or hate it. So, cons: we waited 20 minutes on a Tuesday evening--so imagine it on the weekend. Be sure to ask if they can save a table for you if they won't do reservations. The space is not very big, so the servers are often squeezing between small tables arranged very closely to each other. Ostensibly, they can pair up tables as needed to accommodate larger parties, and there's a bar for those who can't wait and must be accommodated now. ;-)

The pros: Service was great. We were checked on often, and not at annoying times--such as when your mouth is full and you can only flash your thumbs. Our water was refilled often. The salt or cheese used to finish the dishes is a bit strong for only us, because we have watched our sodium intake over the years for my husband's hereditary heart issues, but the water balanced this very well. We were absolutely fine. Nice servers, normal people, no highbrow acts.

This is known for being kind of a neighborhood hot spot in the Laurelhurst area, and for being a great place to dash in if you need to pick up smoked duck breast or venison pate from the meat counter to impress your favorite person at home for the night in. The meat counter had loads of variety. We are already making plans to bicycle back soon for the charcuterie board and a couple sandwiches on a warm summer afternoon.

We ordered fancy drinks, fearing we'd loathe any witches' brew that might be concocted, but were pleasantly surprised with how balanced the drinks were. The food was a bit of a wait, but this was to be expected as it was still busy and my husband wanted steak (of course he does, the meat eater). Me, I wanted all the nice things without breaking the bank, so I picked out a handful of yummy items I wanted to try, remaining ambivalent about the steak options. I mean, it's steak. Come on.

So, we started off with veggie turnovers. These were made with some amazing sauce. If I had to venture a guess, not hollandaise but some kind of blanc beurre. This was followed by a hearty bowl of lemony greens for me and his steak-and-greens dish, sharing the beet/pistachio butter appetizer between us. Don't knock my picks: the drink, the turnovers, the salad, or the beets. It is a real joy to eat vegetables when they're prepared extremely well and at the height of the season. It was all so fresh. We topped it off with crepe coffee cake. And when I say crepe cake, it is literally a bunch of crepes layered to look like a cake. The cream and still-warm roasted hazelnuts set it off.

We left feeling very full, but not gross. Go if you can. I regret...

UPDATE 1/3/20 I can not believe we have been coming here all of these years. We just left again...this is one of our top 5 in Portland. Thank you Chef Ben for always making this an incredible experience. If you have not been here...Try it for Lunch...and Dinner...INCREDIBLE. UPDATE: 4/16/17 Congratulations as to being voted "BEST SANDWICH" in Portland..you deserve it......and THANK YOU for adding Chocolate Chip Cookies for lunch...WOW............My wife and I have found a new favorite in Portland. If you are looking for the dream sandwich, here you go. This place is a butcher shop/deli by day, and at night transforms into one of the best restaurants in town... We are always greeted with a smile, Kyle is up front and has been so kind and helpful. This review could go forever....but I am going to try and cut it short....First off...lunch. You can pick a daily special, or create your own...I always create my own...I get the Roast Beef with Aged Cheddar cheese on Ciabatta bread with greens, mayo, and olive oil...Make sure you get "Pickled Red Onions" and or "Pickled Zucchini" added to your sandwich...they take it over the top. All of the sandwiches come with chips too. Words can't describe how fresh these sandwiches are.... Then we go to Dinner. First off...Make reservations. The wait can be long, and I don't want your experience here foiled by being frustrated due to the place being very busy. That being said...You have to try the Grilled Shrimp in the pea sauce....as the appetizer. Note: all items that you get here are chef prepared quality...so if you are just looking for quantity...this is NOT the place. Small to medium size portions presented elegantly with flavors that will take your pallet on a ride. I have experienced the steaks, the burger, and the fish...and each one has been great. My wife and I LOVE dessert, and this place has a dessert that is our absolute favorite in OREGON...and we dine out a lot. You must get the "Dulce de Leche Semifreddo" . The first time I read the description I was like huh?? This is good?? This is our absolute favorite dessert now. We are ruined. The creaminess, the textures, the flavors are so over the top on this one...you will love it. Before I write reviews, I like to visit a place a few times. We have visited here now 10 times plus over the past few months...and we can't get enough. During the summer they have a lunch bar b que on the side of the building which is killer, and tonight....while we were eating chef/owner Ben came out and introduced himself...what a great touch...what a great experience. ...