Mermosa PDX — Restaurant in Portland

This was quite an interesting experience. We arrived as the brunch place we were originally going to had a line out the door, and both of us were desperately hungry for eggs benedict. We looked at other brunch places and found this place just a block away, so we thought why not! When we arrived, we were greeted wonderfully and quickly seated. However, we noticed that our table - and every round table in the front of house - was very wobbly. This didn’t inspire much confidence, but we were willing to stick it out.

When we opened the menus, both of our jaws dropped - $24 Eggs Benedict, apparently served over a medium egg - rather than poached. This was quite surprising, as most benedicts cap at about $18 in the area. There were bold options, pulled pork, fried chicken, and a vegan option. They had a hollandaise sauce, and a cheese sauce option as well - which the waiter recommended.

I was skeptical and ordered the fried chicken with classic hollandaise - and my partner ordered the pulled pork with cheese sauce to be adventurous at the gentleman’s suggestion. We also ordered a mermosa tasting flight, which was quite good. Floral, sparkling wines that were very flavorful - I would like a bottle for myself! However, I would forgo the artificial flowers on the caddy, they have a habit of picking up dust.

Average wait time for the food to arrive. The presentation was beautiful - and portions were generous. I understood the choice to go for a fried egg with the protein options they offered - it was able to cover everything beneath it. Everything was freshly made and cooked perfectly, and the hollandaise was up with some of the best I’ve had. However, the cheese sauce was very… weird. My partner and I both noticed a strange aftertaste, kind of like Velveeta - which was off putting for the dish. Unfortunately it was a miss for both of us - I would be surprised if any sane person chose that over the fantastic hollandaise. Perhaps I overlooked, maybe it’s a vegan option?

Overall, the atmosphere did not account for the audacious prices. This is in the ballpark of a posh celebratory diner, rather than a casual brunch/dinner spot - which may be what you were going for. If the prices were just a bit more reasonable, and the furniture were to be updated; I could see this being our go-to spot every weekend! The work of the cooking staff is truly fantastic, and we felt very much welcomed by the front of house. We’ll definitely keep our eyes on this place, there’s much...

On 8.6.23 we arrived at 12:20pm as previously arranged & was told that we could not sit with the main group that only had about 11 women of color at a table.

They set us at a booth adjacent to the main party. We were treated like walk-ins, totally fine by us. 20 minutes went by before any server interacted with us. When we did get service, it was disjointed, jug of water, no cups, or menus. Then another server told us that there’d be another server that was coming to help us. 15 minutes later another woman who came solo was forced to sit at the booth with us because she was not allowed at the main table, and we still didn’t have a designated server, mind you this is close to 1 o'clock. setting the stage: 3 people at a table, no menus, no attention whatsoever, we had to wave down a Server to tell them that we needed service immediately.

After 1pm, a fair skinned woman was ushered to the same table where we had been denied earlier. Is that colorism or some type of bias of which I haven’t been told about?

Here's what I know from this experience, if you are a woman of color who's not an acquaintance of the owner you can't speak your mind about flavorless food or the bad service. As a business owner myself, I understand the rigors of starting a new venture, but we should not let positive criticism be shrugged under the rug.

The only thing good on the menu from what I've heard is the salad 🥗. I had a hard time, even deciding what to eat, why? nothing looked appealing and we decided to only order one plate as a tester: finally got served burnt chicken & waffles. I was disappointed to say the least. The cornbread waffles were bland.

This is the place clout chasers in Portland are calling "just for the vibes" and maybe a drink but its not a place you really come to eat.

Hands down 0 stars: here's my advice since the owner has already told me she doesn't need my money... it’s not a place I would go if you want good service. Now going forward, if they respond to customer feedback positively, they might withstand the test of time.

My initial 2 star review was left in real-time on 8/6 12:20-2:30pm. The owner asked someone who knew me to take it down and as a courtesy, and against my principles I did at their request. I was promised that I would have an opportunity to provide direct feedback with the owner, but that has yet to happen. Instead I have been attacked & bullied on...

This was a 2nd chance for this establishment. The first time we walked out without even trying the food, the service and demeanor was so poor. This time I was a guest of someone else’s reservation, and it was by far the WORST brunch I’ve ever had dining in Portland, especially at this price point. My first drink, a Mimosa Margarita, listed as Teq, lime, agave, and presseco.. came out purple and tasted like pure cosmo mix. It was all syrup, very little spirit.. I returned that for an old fashioned, to mitigate their ability to “dumb it down”. The old fashioned was actually not bad. So there’s that..

The food was absolutely terrible. 2 of us were starving so we powered through about 10% of the plate before tapping out. The other 2 couldn’t choke down 2 bites. The gravy was 1/2 bacon grease. It was completely broken and separated before even hitting the table, absolutely disgusting, and so over salted, you felt like a cow with a salt lick. I don’t know of any self respecting southern kitchen that would ever deem it acceptable to serve pre-packaged rolls as their biscuits, but they definitely do here.... and the “biscuits” were cold and rock hard @ $18, soaked by some runny purple pickled cabbage from a jar (seriously?) and then bacon grease and Campbell soup gravy slopped on top..

My chicken was fully over fried to bitter and foul.. and the waffles were completely cold.. the server/mgr dumped my syrup container on the table when delivering my plate, and just left it.. When I asked for something to clean it with, she forgave me, and said it’s ok, things happen?? What? You spilled it, not me.. 🙄

Obviously we barely touched the very poor food, and I let them know what we thought of it, They did comp our bill thankfully, and obviously for good reason. While the food was dismal, I appreciate the gesture of the free drink I guess.. but then to have the condescending pink wigged “mgr” gas light us while we’re looking at full plates of uneaten coagulated grease gravy, telling me she’s sorry WE feel that the food was poor and that their food is award winning.. it’s just laughable.. I look forward to what will hopefully be an ungrade in the space when this place finally folds up.. as they are 0 for 2 in my book.. and I want to like any place in this space next door...