Initially, Hugo’s<\/a> had my interest piqued at ‘blind tasting,’ a farm to table concept, a James Beard pedigree, and recommendations from some palates that I more than trust.\u00a0 Basically, everything I could hope for in a night out.\u00a0 Unfortunately, after our arrival, the meal quickly and irrevocably went downhill.<\/p>\n

So, what does it take for me to leave a restaurant?\u00a0 Like, actually get up an walk out?<\/p>\n

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I left a restaurant before the meal was finished.\u00a0 Especially\u00a0during a tasting menu.\u00a0 So, what does it take and how bad is it that I can easily convince the entire party to do follow suit?\u00a0 Let’s get into it, shall we…<\/p>\n

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• Not clean tables.<\/strong>\u00a0 Upon sitting down, we realized that our places at the table were rather sticky.\u00a0 Like, distracting and to the point that our glasses had to be wedged off the table every time we picked them up.\u00a0 When Hubs politely pointed this fact out, it was explained that the varnish on the table needed to be redone (and the implication was this was somehow his fault…).\u00a0 The space in front of Hubs was wiped down, but the rest of the table was left still sticky.\u00a0 Nope.<\/li>\n
• Timing\/pacing.<\/strong>\u00a0 Much like our visit to Core by Clare Smyth (review posting soon), although in the complete\u00a0opposite direction, our meal at Hugo’s had significant pacing problems.\u00a0 In this, after happily placing an order to try the tasting menu, it was 40 minutes before we received the first course, and 90 minutes before the second course.\u00a0 We were closing in on almost 2 hours when the third course finally arrived and we decided enough was enough.\u00a0 I was hungry.\u00a0 Worst of all?\u00a0 The four top DIRECTLY next to us was clearly also enjoying the tasting menu and seemed to zip straight through the courses.\u00a0 The two top at the bar that arrived after us?\u00a0 Yes, they were about to pass us.<\/li>\n
• A lack of training.<\/strong>\u00a0 On a Saturday night in peak summer season in Portland, I expected a well-run restaurant and a memorable night out.\u00a0 Instead, we had complete and total awkwardness.\u00a0 In nearly every conversation, something went wrong.\u00a0 Empty glasses and dishes were left on the table.\u00a0 A minor discussion would\u00a0be, my sister’s empty glass was collected, that was it.\u00a0 Not a “did you enjoy it?” or a “would you like another?” Thus, she was left without a drink for twenty minutes.\u00a0 It’s not just a money-making opportunity for the restaurant; it’s the idea of taking good care of guests.\u00a0 We also are still waiting to find out just who ‘Ben’ is.<\/li>\n
• Inflexibility.\u00a0<\/strong> As is usual, the tasting menu is ordered for the entire table.\u00a0 No problems there.\u00a0 Hubs and I wanted to do the wine pairing.\u00a0 Our waiter had to check if the request could be granted.\u00a0 It couldn’t.\u00a0 Honestly, I don’t know why a restaurant would turn down a $75 per person request.\u00a0 Especially if we had been a two top, which I assume would’ve gone over just fine.<\/li>\n
• Not pouring at the table.\u00a0<\/strong> It’s a pet peeve of mine, but my sister’s glass of prosecco came to the table in a strange glass (albeit with a generous portion).\u00a0 We didn’t see the bottle.<\/li>\n
• Strange pouring.\u00a0<\/strong> Our Sauvignon Blanc was shown at the table (yay!) and then set on a ledge next to the table.\u00a0 We were informed it was currently a bit too cold, and thus needed to be brought to temperature.\u00a0 I get that, but why just leave it on the ledge behind me?\u00a0 Why not follow up with a…I don’t know…bucket, or really any device made to keep wine.\u00a0 We poured the remainder of the bottle, as no one ever came to see that we were enjoying the wine or its temperature.<\/li>\n
• A lack of follow up from management.\u00a0<\/strong> See below.\u00a0 Without a chance to provide additional feedback, as a customer, I’ve now completely lost interest in this venue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Some good things came out of this:<\/p>\n

  \n
  • A professional manager.\u00a0<\/strong> When we did finally give feedback, it was handled in stride.\u00a0 The meal was comped (not what we were after, but the correct decision), and we were promised a follow up\u00a0a few days later (this happened on Saturday night and as of now, neither my sister nor I have heard anything).\u00a0 She offered to personally supervise the rest of our meal, but at that point, I had no confidence that our meal would be finished in any normal amount of time.\u00a0 We thanked her for her offer, tipped the wait staff, and left to go get some pizza (mashed potato pizza, which was heavenly).<\/li>\n
  • The food.\u00a0<\/strong> While the first dish was lacking salt, I loved the soup and the toro (pictured) was quite nice.\u00a0 Such a shame that we’ll never get to try the rest of the menu.\u00a0 Altogether, the food was not enough to keep us in the restaurant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Would I go back to Hugo’s?\u00a0 No, not at this time.<\/p>\n

    Who is Hugo’s best for?\u00a0 Those who want to dine at the bar, or can’t get into Eventide next door (which is awesome, BTW).\u00a0 If you’re looking for drinks, head down to Portland Hunt + Alpine Club.<\/p>\n

    Have you walked out of a restaurant?\u00a0 What prompted you to do so?\u00a0 What would you have done in this situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    <\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n