Urban Pantry — Restaurant in Portland

I really wanted to like this restaurant but a couple of unfortunate experiences have lead me to a one star review. For starters, the service is absolutely terrible. The first time I went into this restaurant on a weekday at lunchtime. As I walked up to the counter to order, the lady there looked directly at me and left the counter, no acknowledgements of any kind. I was waiting for at least five minutes before I decided to leave the restaurant. Next big issue with the place is that the food is seriously not worth it. My second experience with Urban Pantry (again, weekday at lunchtime) I had a bit more patience and waited to receive service. I was a little more understanding as the poor guy behind the counter was flustered as could be while the same lady from before seemed to take it pretty easy back in the kitchen of the restaurant. He failed to mention that my order of macaroni and cheese would be served cold, as it was part of their "heat and eat" division of the menu (he did inform me after I had submitted the order and sat down)--I didn't sweat this too much...until I actually received the macaroni. Upon receiving it, I discovered that it was served in a metal baking tin, so there was no way for me to even run back to the workplace and heat it in the microwave, yay for no lunch. The person who I was with at the time ordered a sandwich. Points for him actually being able to eat it right then and there (no baking necessary), but huge deduction for the tiny size and dryness of the sandwich. Make sure you have some water to eat with this sandwich because it will cut your throat up like sandpaper; or maybe you can power through the dryness of it since it is only a couple of bites big--you decide. I would NOT recommend this...

We ate here during our trip to London this summer and loved it - we would give it ten stars if we could! It was only a brief walk from our VRBO and made for a perfect, quick brunch. We only had to wait five minutes max to be to seated and the wonderful hostess apologized profusely for the wait (which of course she didn’t need to as it was totally easy), and the staff in general were just lovely. Our food was beyond delicious and they took very good care with my treenut allergy, making me feel very safe. The atmosphere was wonderful - it definitely had the neighborhood, local cafe vibes. We still rave about the Urban Pantry six months after our trip, so we highly, highly...

Urban Pantry is independently owned. All good is cooked and prepared at location. The owner is right at the register to greet you. Very kind guy. The chicken noodle soup is rated one of the best in the city. To be honest it was pretty good. I did add a little seasoning because I love pepper. The ingredients were clean, fresh, tasty and cut to perfection. I also had the Greek Salad. It was delicious. Everything tasted freshly picked. Inside, it’s super simple but has a lot of...