From CafeMama's Guide for PDX-ers:
This is a fantastic concept, poorly executed and managed. I can't count the number of times I have driven all the way to NE Fremont (a trek from my house off Holgate) during their supposed regular hours, only to find it closed. Not to mention the times that it seemed like they should be open but weren't (last minute changes in hours, only open past 3 on Fridays, no Sundays, etc.). Their food is good, typically, for what it is: toddler food. Actually, I love their house-made peanut butter, and think the sandwiches are great. But the service is just terrible. Every single time I've been there, something has been screwed up, and when I bring it up (in the nicest most non-confrontational manner), it's treated with a cavalier shrug of the shoulders.
The thing is, it's supposed to be built around the idea that the mom needs someplace for the child to play. That should automatically mean, I think, that the servers are totally in tune with the needs of a mom with a young child/children. Not so. They forget to bring coffee mugs. They NEVER bring the check, even when the child is clearly melting down. They forget to make substitutions, always (Everett won't eat anything else if chips are on the plate so I always ask to bring carrot sticks instead and they always forget). They let balloons (usually considered dangerous for babies who try to eat them) roam around the floor. A couple times I got charged for things I ordered, but that never came. Their servers would all make nice friends but make awful servers. And the owner never criticizes them so they never get better.
My other beefs with PB&E's are that the bathroom is a little scary (it's hard to open the door with a wriggling toddler and/or stroller, there's no place for a kid to sit while you're changing a baby or going to the bathroom yourself) and there is no buffer around the door - an inattentive, just for a second, parent could see her toddler charging out onto Fremont with an exiting customer if she doesn't watch it. Also the chalk walls behind tables are a bad idea - people are always getting up from the tables with chalk all over the back of their nice shirts.
I have a total love/hate relationship with PB&E's, I keep going back, it keeps making me crazy. I only wish I could sit the owner down and talk some sense into her!
I have only been to PB & E's ever since they opened their SW location and I LOVE IT! I don't love many restaurants. In fact, I'm very much a harsh critic, but every encounter (and there have been many) I have had in their SW location has been more than awesome. Their service is great - quick, attentive, happy. The food is great, although my waffles last time were not so tasty but they had been on another visit, and some things are more expensive than they should be. The space overall is much more conducive to kids playing and mamas gabbing than what I have heard about the old location. The current layout is fantastic, and so is the overall design of the place. Plus Gabriel Park and SW community center are right across the street!
Posted by: Marlynn | November 09, 2005 at 08:57 PM
I had all sorts of problems with PB&E's when it was on Freemont, but I found myself going at least once a month anyway! It was so close to my house, it had a really cool community bulletin board, and I could bring a crying, purple-faced baby Fionn and know that no one would give me a hard time. It was so cool to have a place close by that at least attempted to be child / mamma friendly. Now I have another baby on the way in January, and I find myself REALLY mourning the loss of my favorite, overpriced sandwhich shop. There's no way I'll drive all the way out to SW...20 minutes in the car would totally defeat the "child friendly" portion of the child-friendly restaurant idea. Sigh. I'm always suprised that more parents of young children, who really know what families need, don't open kid friendly cafes, wine bars, food joints, knitting shops, etc. If I wasn't already running one business, I swear I would do it. It's SO needed!
Posted by: Fionasnana | November 11, 2005 at 06:28 PM
I would love to see more restaurants like PB&E's for the simple reason that I am sick and tired of going to restaurants and seeing nonparenting in action -- kids totally out of control and destroying the dining experience for other diners, and the parents (note: I am not condemning all parents, just those who decide parenting is not part of their resume!!) ignoring the rotten behavior of their offspring (screaming, throwing things, running around the restaurant like they're on crack, etc.). If young children MUST be at an adult restaurant, for God's sake, parent(s), take the screamer outside and teach him/her that such behavior is wrong, wrong, wrong (and, yes, this can be taught to a 3 year old -- I've actually seen it done once in a rare blue moon!).
So, please, yes, let's have our child-oriented restaurants. I'll stay out of PB&E's and nonparents and their kids can stick to PB&E's, Chuckie Cheese, McDonalds, etc., etc.
Posted by: Linda Howard | March 15, 2007 at 12:05 AM
I had to come find this old thread to post...i am SERIOUSLY SHOCKED at how bad our experience was there this past Saturday. I had 3 kids with me, older like 4,5ish and 3 adults. We waited over 15 minutes at the door before anyone even spoke to us, another 45 for a table that we had to bus ourselves to even sit at, then no kidding here, 1.25 hrs for food. WITH KIDS. Isn't this supposed to be a kid/family place? Who with kids doesn't want their food to come out fast? I have never been in any restaurant with service so slow, organization so poor or staff so poorly able to deal with clients. It was truly insulting. Why do they advertise to be so kid friendly if they are that poorly organized? We came to find out they "had only 1 guy in the kitchen" - on a Saturday????!!!!
I'm sorry but as a mama who eats out with my kids every so often this is a place i will NEVER step into again, it was like torture to my kids......the exact opposite of what we expected.
Posted by: anon | January 13, 2008 at 08:07 PM
Anon, PB & E's is notorious for underpaying their staff and have a ton of turnover. The owner means well and has a nice vision, but is utterly clueless about the realities of running a restaurant.
-someone within the industry
Posted by: another anon | January 13, 2008 at 10:19 PM
They closed!
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