The Tavern at Heathman

Review summary

1. A

   Arley Ann

   Portland

   8 reviews

   2.0

   8 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   Unfortunately the holiday tea at the Heathman is not what it used to be. We waited at least 10 minutes at the empty host stand before anyone even spoke to us, and then it took almost an hour to get our food, my young child was on the verge of a meltdown. Our server was clearly run ragged, she had way too many tables and was definitely doing her best. I can’t understand why the food would take so long when it’s a pre-done selection, no ordering. Once the food finally came, the selection was pretty uninspired for the cost. Aside from our server, the friendliness and service was lackluster. I assume everyone is overworked and grouchy, so it’s the fault of management not the servers….but it doesn’t make for a very pleasant experience. We’ve been doing holiday tea at the Heathman since I was a child, and I love going there with my family every year, but we may need to find somewhere else, sadly. The ambiance is also very cold compared to the past. I miss the big cozy booth in the center of the room, comfy seating, the decor. It feels like a collection of furniture from 3 different restaurants just jammed in as an afterthought now. We still had a nice time once the food came, mostly thanks to our server. $400 for 2 adults and a child, warrants a more pleasant experience. Buyer beware.
   

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2. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Portland

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   They sat us (as well as several other reservations) about 40 minutes after our reservation time saying they were running behind. They never caught up which is strange. All the food is premade. Tea takes a few minutes to steep. It took us 25 minutes to place our order and then another 30 minutes to get the tea. Looking around and everyone is in the same position of waiting. Two servers, but even if that makes it short staffed, everything is premade. The food was so disappointing. The price for the four of us, two kids, was $300. $300 to wait for uninspired food. We were so exhausted from waiting we skipped our next adventure and went straight home.
   

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3. M

   Maggie

   Portland

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Terrible experience. Took 45 minutes to get seated for our 1pm tea reservation. After an hour we had been served tea (yay) but not the cocktails we ordered or any food. We could see that other tables were also not getting their food so at 3pm we finally left. Haven’t been to tea here in almost 20 years and won’t be going back any time soon.
   

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4. K

   Kathleen

   VIP

   New York City

   8 reviews

   4.0

   8 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Lovely service with some good courses and others a little mixed
   

   The Tavern at HeathmanResponded today

   Hi Kathleen, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at The Tavern at Heathman. We're glad to hear that you found our service pleasant and that you enjoyed the courses you tried. However, we're sorry to hear that some of our dishes didn't quite hit the mark for you. We always aim to provide a variety of choices for our guests, and your feedback helps us improve. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again and provide a better experience. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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5. J

   Jeannie

   Greater Boston

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Gracious staff. Excellent flavor in our meals. Quiet ambiance
   

   The Tavern at HeathmanResponded 2 days ago

   Thanks for the review, Jeannie! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your meal and the ambiance of The Tavern at Heathman. It's always our goal to provide excellent flavor and a quiet ambiance. We appreciate your kind words and look forward to serving you again soon. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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6. B

   Brittany

   VIP

   Portland

   5 reviews

   1.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   Awful, terrible, no good Christmas dinner. Not returning. Service was fine-ish, food was genuinely awful. $100/person and not worth leaving the house for in the slightest. Lesson learned. We politely grinned and bared it but all agreed was a horrible experience.
   

   The Tavern at HeathmanResponded 2 days ago

   Thanks for the feedback, Brittany. We're sorry to hear that your Christmas dinner at The Tavern at Heathman didn't meet your expectations. We take pride in our food and service, and we're disappointed to hear that we fell short on this occasion. Your comments will certainly be shared with our team to improve our guest experience. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future. Best, The Management Team
   

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7. N

   Nancy

   Vancouver

   2 reviews

   2.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   The ambiance of the Heathman has changed to boring grey instead of the warm reds and wood of the victorian era. The food was not very good. I ordered Monk fish since I don't eat red meat. I would have like a better substitute like salmon instead. Mandy our server was wonderful.She went out of her way to make our meal enjoyable.
   

   The Tavern at HeathmanResponded today

   Thanks for visiting us, Nancy. We're sorry to hear that your recent visit to The Tavern at Heathman didn't meet your expectations. We appreciate your feedback regarding the ambiance and the quality of our food, as it helps us to improve. We're glad to hear that you found our service satisfactory. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again and provide a more enjoyable experience. - The Management Team
   

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8. L

   Lori

   Portland

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Heathman Hotel is a beautiful hotel and Portland institution. HOWEVER, my biggest peeve, and I don't peeve very often, was the food and quality and quantity of food for a set menu of $100 per person for Christmas day. Let's start with starter..I am fine with potato chips and french onion dip, fun, taste fine, festive, I knew it was coming. I had crab bisque and my daughter the salad. There was minimum crab in bisque, come on, at least have ONE morsel in the bisque, it was flat and tasteless. The salad was just a salad, lettuce and one sundried tomato. The truffle mushroom risotto was underdone (yes, I know there needs to be a "bite" to good ristotto, not a a crunch) and 2 mushroom. I had the monkfish and my daughter the beef wellington. The beef was good and done well but the pastry was wet and fell apart. My monkfish was plentiful but it truely was not anything special. The only saving grace was dessert. WHICH is done ahead of time. So my peeve...is this. If I spend 100 dollars for a set menu I expect much much more and to be blown away by the food. The service was fine, but had to ask on more than one occasion for more water and the food coming out felt rushed. I would not recommend and will not be a repeat customer for Christmas again
   

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9. A

   Alana

   VIP

   Portland

   20 reviews

   4.0

   20 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   Hotel guest - food marginal - service disingenuous - felt rushed - bar tender rushed to close and slightly rude
   

   The Tavern at HeathmanResponded 2 days ago

   Thanks for the feedback, Alana. We're sorry to hear that your experience at The Tavern at Heathman didn't meet your expectations. We strive to provide top-notch service and delicious food, so we're disappointed to hear that we fell short on this occasion. We will take your comments on board and work on improving our service and food quality. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide a better dining experience in the future. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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10. h

    holloway

    Portland

    3 reviews

    2.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4

    There were 4 of us. 2 dishes were good, one was meh and the fourth was inedible- the yogurt and granola was salted. I’d requested no honey to be added so there’s that.. but it seemed like they used the salt shaker instead. The server told me that was’impossible.’ Everyone at my table tried it and tasted salt..not a little.. a lot. I love salt! Just not on my granola. I get people make mistakes.. the server must not think so. She said it’s a very popular dish and I’m sure it is .. unless it is salted. She took it off the bill which she should have done. I would have appreciated a different response but she stayed her ground that it was not salty- could not be. Other than that she was nice.
    

    The Tavern at HeathmanResponded 2 days ago

    Hi Holloway, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at The Tavern at Heathman. We're sorry to hear that your dish didn't meet your expectations, especially regarding the saltiness of our yogurt and granola. We always aim for perfection and it seems we missed the mark this time. Your feedback about the salt shaker being used instead of a salt grinder is noted as well. We're glad you appreciated our service and we hope to have the opportunity to serve you better in the future. Best, The Tavern at Heathman Management Team
    

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