Wonderwood Springs — Restaurant in Portland

This place could be so amazing, if it weren't for the staff. They made a simple mistake with our drinks and Just Kept Escalating! If you look at my other reviews you'll see I am an overly generous reviewer. This was absurd though.

So, it was really mellow when I entered with a smiley, friendly group of 4. There was no line, and as many employees as customers in the cafe. The staff were fun and friendly when we first entered. We ordered a variety of drinks. One person in my party asked for oatmilk. They accidentally made the wrong drink with oatmilk. As they handed them over, they were very clear "This has the oatmilk" they said about the only one marked BB. The person grabbing the drinks didn't know who had what. So they were also tasted to confirm. When I let them know what happened, they checked the ticket and corrected me. "The BB has whole milk." "It's supposed to, but it was made with oatmilk and the one that was supposed to be oatmilk was made with whole." They shifted around, glanced at other employees for backup, but wouldn't look at me. I waited for them to think it through. "We'll just remake it." they said, sounding upset, to a nearby employee - while still refusing to acknowledge I existed. After a little wait, I set the full drinks on the counter in front of them and walked back to my group. They were so determined not to acknowledge me that they left the drinks in place, even setting another customer's drinks next to them. There was confusion. The other customer almost ended up with our drinks and had to ask repeatedly which drinks were theirs because the employee was pretending ours weren't there! It was absolutely surreal!

But that wasn't the end of it. They intentionally made the new drinks wrong! There was little to no flavor added. So they just tasted like cups of warm oat and whole milk! Presumably, to make sure we could taste that they used the right milk this time? Shortly after retrieving the drinks, a different employee approached us...well, me directly. This person had been very friendly earlier, but was aggressive and standing oddly close. "Do you like them better now?" they asked me. My drink had been made correctly from the start. So I turned to the others. "Did they use the right milk this time?" I asked. This employee wasn't avoiding looking at me though. They glared directly at my face the entire time. My party said "yes." The employee continued to stare at me expectantly. "Apparently, yes." I said. Without any twitch of acknowledgement, they walked swiftly away and joined the rest of the staff in pretending we didn't exist until we left.

For what it's worth, the 2 drinks that were made correctly were delicious and unique. If the staff weren't so horrible, we'd probably be dragging different friends to join us here several times per week. Everything else...

This place is an absolute gem and I'm excited to return. The ambiance is so lovely, the place is jam packed with art and even the the bussing station matches the theme. I could go on and on about how cute, cozy, and unique wonderwood springs is. For example, there's free coloring pages at the front, many many board games and a few books for borrowing, and most importantly, a themed bathroom with a disco ball. Additionally, the costumer service is so good. I had a bit of a snafu regarding my food. I ordered a breakfast burrito as is without bacon but when it came out it had bacon they then made me a replacement that disappointingly also had bacon and the employees that my parents and I interacted with were so so kind, helpful and went so far as to give me a free round of mini golf for my trouble after already remaking my food once and refunding my meal, which I will say I'm very excited to return and do. I didn't have much of my first ir second burritos because I'm vegetarian but what I did eat was good I don't feel I can give a real review on the food given the fact that I didn't eat more than a few bites. Definitely come here if you have a chance, the only type of person who wouldn't like this place probably hates fun. I will say though just maybe don't get the breakfast burrito if you...

The first time I met Mike, it was June of 2022. Through Instagram, my friend had discovered his art installation called Dinolandia. It was a wonderous place located in downtown Portland, and it was full of dinosaur themed art where you could meander to your heart's content, find hidden dinosaurs or mini ducks, and easily spend too much in the giftshop trying to take home all of the great souvenirs.

Fast forward to December of 2024. My ability to visit Portland was no longer something I could just do and take for granted as I'd moved even farther away. On a whim, I looked up Mike to see if he'd done more art installations since Dinolandia. To my great joy, I discovered Wonderwood Cafe. My partner and I were able to go and we experienced the same amount of fun and whimsy that I felt going into Dinolandia. We drank Enchanted Elixirs and shared some french fries. I completed the scavenger hunt and we did some radical coloring. While most of the theme has changed, there still lingers a few of the original dinosaurs and souvenirs. We didn't get to minigolf during the trip, but I'll be sure to visit again the next time I make it to Portland!

Thank you, Mike, for the creation of such fun and wonderous art installations! I am glad there are many more opportunities to experience...