Pastini — Restaurant in Portland

I had an incredibly disappointing experience at Pastini's in downtown Portland that I feel needs to be shared. I ordered food over the phone, clearly stating my previous issues with getting the wrong order. When I arrived, I asked politely if I could pay with Apple Pay, but the staff member didn’t greet me or acknowledge my request.

From the moment the “manager” laid eyes on me while I was trying to pay, it was clear he didn’t like Black people. It was easy to see. After getting home, I realized my order was wrong and immediately called the restaurant to address the issue. I spoke with a manager on the phone while driving back, expressing my frustration over receiving the wrong food. However, when I arrived at the restaurant, the manager threw my food at me and yelled for me to leave, raising his voice so loudly that all the customers could hear.

Because he assaulted me with the food. I decided to cancel my order as a whole.

When I insisted on a refund, he rudely told me I could only get a refund and not the food. I clarified that I only wanted my money back and requested a proper receipt. He printed something that wasn’t an actual receipt and insisted that it was all he could provide. He told me if I didn’t accept what he printed he would call the police. Which he did. And stated that I was trespassed. I stuck around for the police in order to get a proper receipt, but the manager refused to print one. When the second crew of security arrived, because PPB still hadn’t arrived, they had him print it with a slight attitude, but that’s all I wanted.

To make matters worse, I heard him mutter racial slurs under his breath, which was completely unacceptable. The way I was treated was not only disrespectful but also deeply troubling. I want to warn other people of color to never return here. This is my second negative experience at Pastini's, and I won’t be returning.

The food in the photo is what they originally gave me when I...

First, remember that Portland ranks locations too high. A 4.5/5 is really a mediocre place in this city, whereas elsewhere 4.5 is a damn good rating. I've generally found I need to subtract about 0.5-0.8 from a rating to get a feel for how "good" a place REALLY is...and that goes for Google Maps or Zagat or any other ranking system here...Portlanders are likely too "nice" to leave a fair review, for whatever reason, which skews rankings. I've had several cups of "meh" coffee in places with a 4.6-4.7 raing...

So Pastini's 3.8 is very, very low for a restaurant.

That said...

We ate only the cheese/sliced meat platter, a tomato cream soup, and a chicken artichoke salad.

We both felt a bit bloated/inflamed after our meal here. We drank nothing but water, our breakfast was the same as always, and we had no lunch, so I have no doubts it was the food here, as opposed to our house's food. My partner felt it a few hours after I did, and I think the was likely the poor quality cheese on the cheese platter or something in the soup, because I started to notice my gut a little inflamed almost right after leaving, and I doubt it was the chicken (likely cheap conventional chicken, though) or artichoke, though perhaps the lettuce was problematic.

In any case, tasty food, but painful bellies afterwards: not worth it.

Also...

The server was very sweet, but unfortunately we noticed after the restaurant that the chip in the credit card we used to pay was damaged and now no longer functions. We tried this in several locations before writing this review, but yup: the chip function no longer works, and in the last shop even the magnetic strip didn't work, but I'm still hoping it will in the future. There are a few very small scratches on the card, so it's likely a result of poor handling.

Boo.

Sorry to say it,...

This restaurant really hits the spot. I would be pleased to go back anytime. Our waitress, Brooke, was very helpful in answering questions about the menus and drink specials. Even addressing something as minor as which breads come with the entrées was handled kindly. The decor of the restaurant features high ceilings, tall windows, and dark warm-gray colored walls. There are no tablecloths, and that suits the attitude just fine; it’s not a fussy place. Business casual would be a apt description. The Caprese salad is delicious. As expected there’s a nice balsamic drizzle over top of it and of course chiffonade basil. Sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives add a lovely touch. I’d say the fresh tomatoes could’ve used a little more character, but the fresh sliced mozzarella was perfect. The Caesar salad was very satisfying. It featured some buttery greens as well as crisp lettuce. The dressing was classic. I would’ve preferred a few anchovies, a little wedge of lemon, and a table-side offering of fresh ground hard Parm, oh, and some fresh ground black pepper too. Nevertheless, what was presented fit the bill. The spaghetti and meatballs were very tasty. The meatballs are made of pork and beef. They have a nice homemade texture to them, rich flavor, and a delicate mouth feel. The linguine chicken piccata is great. The noodles are perfectly al dente and the buttery sauce features about a 50-50 mix of lemon and caper tastes. For me, that’s right. In an ideal world I’d say that this dish would’ve also been offended with fresh ground hard parm and a bit of black pepper. Overall though,...