Grüner Restaurant Review

Wonderful service, great atmosphere & the menu is diverse. Our food was delicious!

Great cheeseburgers, fries and beer. Upscale but not too expensive.

The food was amazing and the service was attentive and friendly. Could not recommend more!

Superbite...was good. Not great, but good. Upscale place with small portions and well seasoned dishes. Their "bites" are like miniature snacks cooked by professional chefs. Platters leave something else tout be desired. For Portland restaurants there is more bang for your buck, but you won't be wholly unsastisfied.

OMG. So good. I had the Croque Madame, which is amazing. The tomato makes it, & I don't generally like tomato slices on a sandwich. Two others had the Croque Monsieur, which was also delicious. The Oeufs en Meurette was ridiculously good. Drinks were also incredible.

Food was very disappointing!! By good customer service.

French bistro but there are a lot of very non-french menu items like hamburgers and fries (though both items were delicious). The food is good and presented well. Had the french toast but I recommend splitting it or eating or for dessert because it is very rich and sweet.

Excellent service and food. Definitely will go back.

Great place to relax, people watch, eat good food or all the above. Certainly worth a return visit. Prices are appropriate.

Fantastic dinner. Staff was attentive but not obtrusive. Lively spot good for private celebrations or just a delicious meal.

My wife and I dropped by without a reservation and were seated at the bar. The bartender Beau(or Bo) and he was the one serving us the evening. He started by taking our drinks order, and always made sure our glasses were filled or if we needed more drinks. I did request a custom shot, which he delightfully made for us. We ordered the French Onion soup, the steak and frite and the fillet mignon. The soup arrived a few minutes later, along with some bread a house made sauce. They timing for the steaks was perfect, because by the time we finished the soup, our steaks arrived right away. And extra treat was when I asked for some ketchup, and they got us a home made batch, which was perfect. The food was delicious, and cooked perfectly to order.

During our dinner, the staff was professional, and kept checking up on us.

All in all, we had a blast and a marvelous night.

Wasn't that impressed. Don't get me wrong there was a few things that they nailed. But for the most part from what we ordered I would have expected more flavor and seasoning. Deserts was simple nothing crazy. Staff forgot my beverage from the bar. Just a few things to work on.

Wow. Just, wow. I came here for a birthday and I'm glad my girlfriend picked this place. The atmosphere, the food, and the staff were all just incredible. Our meal was so silent once the entrees came because everyone was so focused on their amazing food. Would definitely recommend going here.

Soooooo good! Been wanting to come here for so long - finally worked out.

Everything was excellent.

The complimentary soup and bread to start were super tasty. The bread and butter had just a little saltiness that I loved.

The onion soup was delicious. The thyme crouton inside gave amazing flavor. The gruyere cheese on top was perfect. Soup itself was flavorful but not to salty. Flavors melded together perfectly.

The burger has to be eaten with a knife and fork, but so good. High quality meat, house made bun, carmelized onions, and a side of frites with it that were great. House made ketchup and aioli were a great complement to.

My wife had the filet which was cooked a perfect medium rare. The only minor complaint was the peppercorn crust was a bit to spicy for her. She said she would order it again and ask for half the amount of pepper. I liked it, but it did have a black pepper kick. Once again- only a minor issue. Some might like the heat.

Dessert was the chocolate mousse with chantilly cream and cocoa nibs. Ummm - not sure if I have the words to describe how good it was. Absolutely a perfect ending to a fantastic dinner.

Wait staff were professional.- friendly, and did a phenomenal job. Great night.

Nov 2019 -- Update to original review:
We went in with reservations and were offered a table right in the traffic zone from the door. When declined we were offered a table at the far end in the traffic zone from the kitchen. Finally we were seated one table over from the one by the kitchen traffic. No-one else was seated at that table during the time we were there, suggesting it is no-one's favorite.

Food was generally good; not exceptional, and perhaps more expensive than last year. I ordered a salad and the quenelle appetizer. The quenelle dish included two quenelles in a lot of very heavy lobster sauce. A few more quenelles and a lot less sauce would have been much nicer. I would not order the quenelles again. The baguette served with our meal was notably exceptional; chewy and fresh, served with good butter.

Bistro Agnes is still offering only drip coffee. No espresso offerings. Good to know. It would be nice if a cappuccino or latte were available at the end of a meal.

Service was polite, but not warm or friendly.

There are too many great restaurants in Portland to keep this one on our favorite list after this experience.

Original review from Nov 2018 or so (5-stars)
A very nice French restaurant. This is one of our current favorites. A good variety of menu items to choose from, and reasonable prices. We ordered a beer, a vermouth, chicken liver pate, a salad, a soup, the mussels entree, and coffee and our bill was $75 before the tip.

The tables are rather close together and the restaurant is small. So no private conversations here. Overall the ambiance is cozy and comfortable. Currently they do not have an espresso maker, but they say they are working on it. With luck we will be able to order a cappuccino soon.

Of special note, this is one of the few restaurants in Portland that has Punt e Mes, an Italian vermouth you will either love or hate. Try it!

Had their 9 course meal. Everything was good. Spagettio's were amazing.

Incredible food and exceptional service. Consider the Prix Fixe for special occasions, you won't be disappointed.

Great regional French cuisine but stingy booze pours

Excellent meal. Diner was essentially "perfect". Recommend the Escargot, Fillet, a Fries and Profiteroles. The place is not cheap - but eat slowly and savor the flavor. It is worth every penny. Will come back here whenever the evening calls for French Bistro

No Bistro Jeanty but appreciate its simplicity and approachability.

I'm a bit torn on my experjence. The food is obviously very high quality and the service was amazing. That said I did find every dish to be quite heavy with lots of rich sauces and butter. Combine that with the expensive prices made it hard to give it more than 4 stars.

The food, atmosphere and service - all outstanding. I have not experienced that level of service in a very long time! Kudos!

Very nice. The staff is attentive and friendly. The menu is interesting and every dish we tried was very good. The coq au vin is particularly good.

Delicious authentic French bistro with excellent wine and cocktails

Really enjoyed

The service was fabulous and the food was was excellent

Attractive space, friendly efficient staff, good food

Went here for breakfast and had one of the best Crouque Monsieur.

I live and work in the neighborhood and pass by this place a few times each day. I don't know why I didn't try it sooner?! Everything far exceeded ALL of my expectations, across two visits. That's near impossible in my book.

We started off with Brunch on a Sunday. We ordered the Warm Chouquettes, the Grapefruit Brulee, and the Gruyere and Spring Onion Scone to start with while we tried to decide on our entrees.

The Chouquettes were perfect little puffs of Pate a Choux Pastry dusted with Powdered Sugar and served with the most incredible Cherry Jam.

The Grapefruit Brulee was an absolute treat! Wedges of grapefruit coated with Candied Demarara Sugar, Cinnamon and Tarragon. I'm not sure what I expected to get when I ordered this, but it was so unique and delicious that I feel it's something everyone should try!

I ordered the Scone even though I was sure I'd hate it. I'm a pastry chef and savoury scones always disappoint me. They're usually too heavy and no one gets the seasoning right. My husband couldn't believe I ordered the scone. After I took a bite he asked me what I thought. I told him he had to taste it, because it was the best scone I'd ever tasted that someone else made! It was perfectly light, and the seasoning was spot on. You MUST order it!

We thought we had plenty of time to order and enjoy the rest of our meal, but received a text that we had to be at Union Station to pick up a friend within 30 minutes. We informed our server of the rush and they were beyond accommodating! We were still able to order entrees and they had us out the door at the exact time we needed to leave.

The next day we went back for an unrushed lunch, so we could try more things.

I started with the Cavalier King Charlie Cocktail (Dry Gin, Lemon, Blue Pea Flower, Tonic, Champagne Foam), which was beyond phenomenal! Easily the best cocktail I've had in Portland in 5+ years here. My husband took a taste and declared, "If the colour Purple has a flavour, THAT'S IT! That's what purple tastes like."

They have an extensive Absinthe menu, and are very well versed on all aspects of the selections and the history. My husband tried two different varieties and was very pleased with both selections.

For lunch we began with the Soup Du Jour and the Escargot and Button Mushroom Gratin. Both were absolute perfection!

For entrees we ordered the Pain Perdu and the Grilled Duck Sausage Ratatouille. Again, both were perfect! I don't even know what else to say, except that while I'm typing this I'm thinking about how soon I can go back there again.

Desserts were perfectly executed as well, we tried the Riz Au Lait and the Meyer Lemon Tarte.

No matter where I dine, even the best of meals, I usually have one small complaint about something, be it service, execution, cocktails, dessert, or whatever..... there's always something I will be a teensy bit unhappy about. But not here. That's over two visits also. Neither my husband, nor myself, could come up with one single thing that was less than stellar!

Best quiche in Portland! Great atmosphere. Attentive staff. Highly recommend.

The food and service were absolutely excellent! Reasonable prices as well! We aren't in Portland very often, but will go back!

Outstanding in every way. Took a customer for a business dinner. Will definitely be back with my wife. Great spot.

Just wonderful...we had the beef short rib bourguignon and the coq au Vin. The portions were very generous and so tasty. The malted chocolate mousse is definitely enough for two.

Food and cocktails were off the hook. Service is kind and efficient.

The El Camino Royale was the best bourbon cocktail I've had anywhere. The truffled Spaghettios and Blood Pudding are a must.

It loses a star because it's overly expensive for the tiny bites you get. We ordered 4 plates plus the spaghettios and we left still hungry. I really hate the racket that is the small plate/tapas movement. Cocktails and wine are obnoxiously expensive, too.

This was an outstanding meal! The veggie (impossible) burger was out of this world!

As a visitor to Portland, we debated which restaurant we wanted to try for Sunday brunch as hadn't been disappointed in any meal thus far. We chose Bistro Agnes and were very happy.

I won't give them credit for the gorgeous weather and people watching. But will give them credit for everything else.

Having spent and entire month in France earlier in 2019, they should be applauded for the efforts.

Everyone lent their hands in our service experience. Hostess, manager / owner, kitchen crew and obviously the server. We were in need of nothing. Kitchen was well oiled machine.



Only complaint was that the wine list had zero to no value. Selections were well represented from France, but you get what you pay for. We would have had an extra glass if priced 20% lower.

Will be back because ofstellar overall experience for food and service. Thank you.

Steak Frites, Little Gem Salad, Croques Madame and Monsieur, Escargot, yummy cocktails, wonderful whites and reds! Yum! Bistro Agnes is perfect in its understated elegance.

There's a busy, yet comfortable atmosphere here. The staff was friendly and the bartender was very informative about different wines and wine culture. I tried escargot here for the first time and it was delicious. The price seemed to match the experience very nicely.