Green Dragon Bistro & Brewpub
938 SE 9th Ave
(503) 517-0660
pdxgreendragon.com
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How to begin? I know Jim Parker, one of the owners of the Green Dragon, and I worked on a first draft of their website. And perhaps you know of Jim Parker as well. If you frequented the Horse Brass or Concordia Ale House in 2005, chances are you were served by Parker. If you love Oaks Bottom, know that its first iteration was guided by Parker as an owner.
The Green Dragon is a lofty goal: a tavern serving small, unusual great beers, serving great bistro, non-tavern, meals, microbrewing their own craftbrews, AND, distilling their own fine liquors. It's rare to find a place that does any one of these things well, none the less a combination of the four.
It's located in the old Yamhill Brewing space. Luckily, everything is exponentially better in Green Dragon's iteration.
The space is divided into a large bar area (with foosball!) and a smaller restaurant area.
It easily meets the first goal. With 18 or so taps, there is always something interesting and unexpected on. For example, yesterday, I had a glass of the excellent Mia & Pia's Pilsner, from K Falls, driven up to Portland in a milk truck. In the half-dozen times I've been in, I've tasted new-to-me beers every single time. That's exciting.
Foodwise, it's good... but at this point not great. The menu is small, and there are no burgers or fish-n-chips on it. The fries are consistently excellent and garlicky. Serving bowls are massive, insanely huge. And yet, the caesar salad tries hard, but the dressing just doesn't have any real zing. I've tried a number of things on the menu that really haven't been compelling. The cajun meatloaf sandwich is tasty, but inconsistent with the portions, and frequently cut into chunks so it can't be dipped into the chunky "cajun" "au jus".
If you sit at the bar, you're interacting with some serious beer geeks who won't steer you wrong. But if you're sitting on the restaurant side, it's potluck if you'll have a server who really knows beer, or can handle more than a couple tables, or who'll know when the kitchen is out of things (like what you ordered).
Of course, the brewing and distilling operations are still to come. The space is industrial and relaxed. Tables on the bistro side are covered with chalkboard, and your table comes with chalk to keep you busy while you wait for food.
The other fly in the ointment is the temperature and lighting. It can be seriously cold in there. It's a warehouse space, so I bet it's a bitch to heat ... but I hate having to wear gloves when I'm drinking beer. Lighting in some areas is good, but in others, it's rather dark, and heaven help you if you came in to read a book and drink a beer.
All my misgivings aside, I keep going back. I trust these issues, however, are going to work themselves out. GD has been open now for about 2 months. But I hope these issues will be addressed soon.
filled under Portland Oregon Taverns
November 27, 2007 |
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Last month myself and 7 of my friends descended upon this joint. I concur with all that you have said...but would like to add my spin on things:
Beer...Good! But wait. no happy hour?!?! (note that this was 30 days ago)
Food...YUMMY! meatloaf is gooooooooood.
Service...sucked. And when I say 'sucked' I mean it was so bad that the reason we left was because we were thirsty hungry folk. Sucked so bad that I felt like not even tipping. Now I used to 'tend. So I know that when places get slammed, service slows down. And I also will give folks lots and lots of time when dealing with large groups. But so fawking bad that we went up the street to Squeeze (?) just so we could get a pitcher.
I'll give them one more shot...but just one more.
They do have a happy hour... for food. I didn't steal that menu, unf.
And yes, I've heard about the service from other folks too. Jim?!?
Well, having been there with you VJ, much of the climate control issue could be solved by fixing the front door, which stays open in varying positions whenever anyone enters or exits and seemed to be taped up with masking tape to try (unsuccessfully) to fix the issue, or by creating some small vestibule for these 8-9 months of cold(ish) weather in PDX. The picture with the open "garage" door for nice weather looks great... almost like sitting outside.
The lighting... welllllll, gotta agree. Even when it worked, the lighting was strange. Either make it light enough to read or make it a cave. It was fun to see the folks headed in and out of the BR while the electricity was blown, though.
I tried only the beer (yum--and a very nice selection) and fries. No probs with service per se.
Love you VJ--
edsel
Well, I was excited when this place opened a couple of blocks from my workplace in a neighborhood devoid of good lunch options. Sad to say I won't be dining there anymore because of one thing: hygiene. Several of my coworkers were put off by the lack of cleanliness and the habits of the highly visible kitchen staff; no one has gone back since the cook licked his fingers several times while making me a sandwich. I refused the food and called the county. Let's hope they shape up.
Dare is ask if it is vegan friendly?
I do so love beer and wanted to really love this place. When we went it was just after they opened and the beer menu was chalked and sort of illegible as to what brewery made what. It was a bit confusing.
I'm a vegan, not a picky vegan, but I really had to stretch to find anything on the menu. When I settled on a a sandwich with out cheese I was asked "so you want grilled vegetables on bead?" i was not really happy with the food at all
I was disappointed with the vegan options but I did think the service was good. We sat at the bar in the bistro and our sever was nice and knowledgeable.
Hi. Great pub...I got to stop over there for Elicia's party last month ...very nice beer too.
Thanks for hosting Larry and his Belgium beer from Vancouver. It is very good stuff...and cheaper than a flight to Brussels! Your patrons will be very happy.
PS. Your map to bike feature does not work ...it needs the town and state as part of your link.
Cheers