PDX Sliders — Restaurant in Portland

My first time here, I did it wrong. Ignoring all rationale (and more importantly the name of the place) we ordered full sizes (FS) of the Hawthorne burger (bacon, goat cheese, strawberry preserves on a brioche bun) and fried chicken sandwich Tilikum (housemade BBQ sauce, creamy slaw, aioli, on a ciabatta bun), a kids meal burger and their fries. The Hawthorne was good, but incredibly sweet. It felt like I was eating a "dessert" burger. So if you're craving a sweet and tangy creamy burger, this is your jam... or preserves?

The Tilikum was VERY good. Juicy and crisp chicken with lots of delicious flavors thanks to the additional sauces and slaw. If you have kids, their kids meal is fantastic! Bring your kids here rather than those lesser fast food restaurants. The fries are a MUST. Light, crispy, well seasoned with a hint of truffle oil. They're seriously some of the best fries in Portland. But the thing that kept teasing my nostrils was the smell of their pecan smoked pork. It's the reason we came back to do it proper.

On the return visit, we got three sliders: The Burlington (pecan smoked pork, Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce, creamy slaw, aioli, Ciabatta), the Morrison (herb-marinated chicken with bacon, pesto, baby arugula, aioli, Ciabatta) and the Division Philly (thin sliced NY strip, grilled peppers and onions, white American cheese, aioli, Ciabatta). Another word of warning: the order in which you eat your sliders can adversely affect your enjoyment of others. I made the mistake of eating the Burlington prior to the others, and they paled in comparison. My wife, however, tried the Division Philly first and felt it was the strongest of the three. DO YOU SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE?! The sliders were pitting us against one another! But honestly, they're all fantastic, but my favorite was the Burlington. Smoky, sweet, tangy creamy DELICIOUSNESS. It's my recommended MUST-HAVE if you visit PDX Sliders. You may even want to go bold and order a FS or Loaded Burlington which combines two of PDX Sliders finest assets: smoked pork and fries.

Finally, their service is definitely worth mentioning. This place is a well run establishment. For as busy as it is, they crank stuff out fast. And they're extremely accommodating and friendly. Your kid changes their mind at the last second and wants a burger? No problem, they'll check with the kitchen to make sure it comes out with the stuff you already ordered (as long as it hasn't already been made of course). Everyone is super chill, friendly and efficient.

All in all, this is one of the best slider/burger places in Portland. The prices are reasonable, the quality is exceptional and consistent, the service is on point and the offerings are various and taste delicious. PDX Sliders: you have captured my stomach (and perhaps even my heart) and I can't WAIT until...

PDX Sliders did not respect my dietary restrictions.

I am undergoing treatment for cancer and am on a neutropenic diet, causing my immune system to be compromised. This means that I am unable to eat any fresh fruits or vegetables. I noted this in an order I sent via Postmates, and when the food arrived it had coleslaw and vegetable contamination on it that I had requested off in the instructions. I put these requests within the food order and asked the delivery driver to verify at time of pickup.

Overall I ordered: Loaded Burlington Fries: Requested without any coleslaw or extra varnishes Hawthorne Burger: Requested well-done without the strawberry preservatives and any vegetables. Hawthorne Burger (for my partner): No dietary restrictions on this one

My burger arrived with the strawberry preservatives and with a few pieces of lettuce that had made their way into the bun. After looking at it, I was able to remove the offending pieces and eat the burger after throwing it in the microwave for several minutes. The taste was alright for what it was, but even accounting for the extra steps I needed to take it was nothing special. The only request that was respected was that the burger was cooked well-done.

The Loaded Burlington Fries arrived with the coleslaw on it that i requested removed. Because the coleslaw was all over the fries, I was unable to safely decontaminate it to a point where I felt safe eating it.

My partner's burger arrived correct. She described the burger as "not terrible, but I don't think I'd pay $11 for it again". She also described it as visually unimpressive.

My partner was also able to try the Loaded Burlington Fries. She liked the consistency of the fry, but the coleslaw was not great. I did ask for the pork to be slightly on the overcooked side, so she was unable to give a fair review of this part.

Overall, we are unimpressed, and are not planning on visiting the location in person.

EDIT: I thought I would add, my partner contacted PDX Sliders to voice her complaints. While they were apologetic, we were a bit insulted by the tone of their response. They offered to hand deliver an order at a later time, but I was not sure if I wanted to risk my dietary restrictions being respected, and we declined this offer. We were also able to get a partial refund of the incorrect order through postmates, which I was satisfied with.

EDIT 2: I felt bad and the owner did try to fix things, so I'm bumping it up to a 2 star review, but I'm...

My boyfriend and I came in here Saturday the 7th with our service dog Dom. By arriving it was around 8pm so super busy, line almost out the door but wrapping around the dining room slightly. We waited about 15 minutes ordered our food and then got our drinks, very strong, careful. I got the guava raspberry margarita, amazing. I’ve never been to this location so I wanted to check out the upstairs. I have severe bpd, social anxiety, and I’m also diabetic. So it’s essential for my dommy dog to come with me everywhere. We went upstairs to LOOK and upon going up there a younger bus boy with brown hair said I could NOT have my dog with me due to health code? Excuse me what. Not sure that guy knew but legally your service dog doesn’t need to be marked. This is an essential part of running a business is to let your employees know of these laws. It’s technically discrimination against people with disabilities. I calmly said “this is a service dog, I have diabetes” (even though legally I don’t need to disclose any information or have him marked) and he repeated “it’s still against heath code”. Wow i was stunned. We stat outside a little cold for a rainy day in Portland luckily I had a jacket my boyfriend. Did not. I sat down and asked to speak with a manager, little did I know our sweet waitress Haley (sorry for misspelling) was our is going to be the manager. I explained the situation she said “that’s illegal!!” “I’m getting the bottom of this” shortly after came back and let us know that wasn’t okay, which I knew, she gave us a 50$ gift card, which is so incredibly sweet. Made us feel A lot better. She mentioned there was workers there that had other opinions to what she had to say which was absolutely shocking to me Still makes me sad to see this in Portland though. I hope it’s a lesson for that worker :/ we’ll be ordering Togo, still doesn’t compare to any other sandwich shop in Portland and our food came out in a flash despite how busy. just don’t bring your service animal? lol. Thank you Haley & Nate for your professionalism and kindness towards us. Hope to add those two other stars...