Bistro23

Perfect for a 90 degree day. My husband and I were looking for something light for lunch and this place hit the spot. Easy order, grab a number and quick service to the table.
Husband ordered the grilled cheese with tomato basil soup. Grilled cheese toast was a good size with a good crunch and he loved the soup!
I ordered the beet salad with goat cheese. A good portion with a tasty and plentiful vinegarette. Also tried the red pepper cream soup, which had amazing croutons that were round and crunchy. I usually dislike croutons but these were the best! I left satisfied but not stuffed. Definitely going to be visiting again soon.

First time here for lunch. Tiny Cesar salad need more food! Not good value but my coworker likes it a lot. If there is a next time I will get something more substantial.

This place keeps popping up on «Best of Unilocal Portland» and I browsed through the pictures/​reviews to see what the hype is but nothing stood out to me. I was meeting up with a friend for brunch and she suggested Bistro 23. Okay, sure… I am down for anything, let’s give it a try. She had been before and thought it was good. I knew it was on 122^nd, however, I didn’t realized it was all the way (you know, the 15-​minute) out by the airport.
We came around 10am when it was first open so no other customers were there yet, decided to share the full Heisenberg sandwich, a Salami pizza, and ABC salad. The cashier informed us that the full Heisenberg is 17″ long… yeah, we understand. I guess we both have a poor perception of how long 17″ is because it was huge! It was cut into four individual size sandwiches and we each barely finished one. I like the combination of ingredients in the sandwich, but we both concluded that the bread was too chewy and needed a crunch – preferably toasted. Pizza was decent, nothing special. ABC salad consisted of apple, beets, and carrots in a balsamic vinaigrette with goat cheese. It was tasty, but I am kind of bias because I love beets. Needless to say, we had tons of leftovers.
Service was good. The cashier was informative and someone came by to check on us, also to clear the dishes from the table. It started getting busier after 11am and the place was filling up. Food was decent, I wouldn’t go out of my way to drive there in the future for standard food, but maybe if I was in the area. Baked goods looked inciting though. This place doesn’t deserve two stars but not quite three stars…2.75 stars.

One of my favorites! I love the sandwich with the breaking bad name :) the serving staff is friendly and efficient I have never left here disappointed.
My only negative is the somewhat limited menu however the choices are all pretty tasty!

Fish sandwich needs work. Bad, possibly reconstituted piece of fish. Order something else.
Tomato soup was good.

1^st Timer. I was looking for a salad or sandwich and chose??? Of course the Pork Chop. YUM!
Try it out, Mikey you’ll like it!

I ate here today when visiting Portland after seeing all the great reviews on Unilocal but will not go back. I had the bacon wrapped dates small plate and the small pepperoni pizza. ~ $ 20. Things that I did not like:
1. You stand in line and order and the place is not particularly attractive when it’s twice as expensive as Panera bread.
2. When you order a small plate and pizza they bring it out together.
3. Zero charm or panache.
4. I was still hungry after spending $ 20.
Pizza was ²⁄₅ at best. The bacon wrapped dates was very good but it is almost impossible to mess that up. In conclusion I agree with Chris H from 3÷26÷16.

Great food for a business lunch. Some great choices from pizza to sandwiches to some really down home cooking, with quite a flair of ribs or chicken.
Had the small plate of ribs and they were delicious. Have also tried a couple salads and toy can’t go wrong. Everything tastes fresh and made to order.

This place isn’t good.
That’s why I’ve been so many times… just to make extra sure it isn’t good.
I’ll probably have to go many dozen times more (at least once a week) to continue to be sure if how *not* good it is…
And by all means. DO NOT get the incredibly crispy herb roasted chicken. It is so horrible I definitely DON’T order it every single time I go.

I wanted to like this place but just couldn’t make it work. The service was really bad and the food was just average. The lady taking our order had zero personality and was of no help whatsoverer. The the food took a long time to come out and when it finally did they served only 2 of our party of 3. It took so long for mine to get served we all looked at each other at least twice during the wait and said «this is really bad». Had they not started eating their food would have been cold before I got mine.
If the food was great it might have saved the day but it was no better than average.

Fantastic hidden gem near the airport. Great craft brews, amazing modern rustic menu, and the food is fantastic.
We came here because we saw and it was highly rated so we thought we’d try it out.
We had a pepperoni and mushroom pizza, creamy polenta (Yuuuuuuum!!!) beer cheese soup and the ABC salad.
The beer was fantastic, service great and menu intriguing. This place really reminds me of some super cool joints down in Southern California.
They’ve really got something going here, and we will definitely come back!

So good! I’m not a huge fan of ordering the counter but this moved fast. First off YUM I had the breakfast sandwich with bacon egg arugula white cheddar and garlic aioli sooooo good. Hash brown held up too. Not A threat but we’ll be back! :D

Found Bistro23 via Unilocalers and decided to check it out for dinner with my boyfriend. This is an American restaurant that serves sandwiches, salads, burgers and pizza and then has a small menu with rotating dishes like a pork chop and gnocchi. It is all self-​serve except for your order being brought to your table.
We weren’t expecting, from the reviews, to be ordering at the counter from a chalkboard menu and getting our own plates and silverware. This led to our expectations being lowered. However, the food was outstanding and beyond what we thought we’d be served.
I ordered stuffed dates as an app and off of the special menu, their gnocchi with a beef sauce. My boyfriend ordered an apple and beet salad.
After getting our dinnerware and own drinks, we were pleasantly surprised when the food was served. The presentation matched that of a fine dining restaurant on the salad and stuffed dates.
My boyfriend raved about his salad, and he’s not a foodie so that really says something. He said the dressing was excellent.
The gnocchi was perfectly cooked and I could tell it was freshly made. The red sauce with chunks of beef was really delicious.
My boyfriend was leery of the stuffed dates, but I convinced him to give them a try. He was hooked after the first bite. They are wrapped in bacon and stuffed with a goat cheese with balsamic vinegar. To die for. You get four dates for the serving. I wanted to get two more orders of them and take them home for the road, but gluttony is not attractive.
Bussing your own table is worth it for this type of food.
As we were leaving, we saw they have a separate dining room on the other side of the cashier/​ordering counter and had we known that, we would have sat in there. It has a fireplace and was much more cozy and inviting vs. the wide open barn feel of the dining area on the left where we sat.

Were from LA and this was our First meal in Portland! We got the Heisenberg and a half sausage and pepperoni pizza. The Heisenberg was really good! The first bite into it, you can taste a smooth creamy avocado spread, mini jalapeño bits, ham, red onion, and the rest of the veggies last (didn’t over do it on over powering the tastes) Also it’s HUGE, so they cut it into 4 slices.
As for the pizza, we wouldn’t get that again.
No ranch, by the way, on the side for my ranch lovers!
Other than that, service was great! Greeted upon arrival and really friendly environment.

This place was surprisingly good. It was my boyfriends 2^nd time and my first.
I didn’t notice many (if at all) vegan options on the menu FYI. I got the polenta burger. Not a huge fan of polenta but the flavors were on point. My boyfriend got the pork chop which he claimed was the best he’s ever had in his entire life.
The atmosphere is nice and relaxing although they don’t have an obvious identity they are going for. Half of the restaurant seems like a Denny’s while the other looks like the macaroni grill and you order your food at a counter right in the middle.
I thought our cashier had impeccable customer service skills.

Bistro23 is a chill local haunt (in a basic strip mall) with a simple order counter for service and comfy patio outside to put tranquility into your post-​work happy hour. It was much like like your last job in that Bistro23 started great, but ended less great. Even so, I’m still a fan
Before heading home to Netflix & chill, we got some draft brews. Burnside Pale Ale for her and Breakside IPA for me. For round two, we settled on Pelican Tsunami Stout. Booziness ensued.
Round one of food was some stars: filling Baked Mac n Cheese, a trio of Ribs, trendy Zucchini Flatbread, and a superstar Heisenberg Sandwich. If you want a meal, I recommend all four … especially the Heisenberg sandwich … Say my name!
A second round of grub was like a bad sequel with an over-​thought Beet Salad and overwhelmed Stuffed Dates wrapped with Bacon. We should of just headed home for Netflix a little early. To go, we added a yummy Peanut Butter Bar for dessert. Perfect for a little post-​chill snack.

Had the Heisenberg. Crisp lettuce, delicious ham (and I hate ham), garlic mayo, avocado, and to top it off jalapenos. I believe the jalapenos bring it all together with a little kick (should have asked more).
Baguette could have been toasted a little more to give it just a bit more crunch but overall great sandwich.
Could do without the bagged chips and just eat the sandwich. Half order is more than enough for a normal person.
Would recommend for people in the area. Price seems on point for specialty sandwiches nowadays, maybe cheaper at $ 8.
Friendly cashier and great suggestions. Food came out quick.
Only thing negative was there was something in my water. It’s self serve, so it was in my cup or when I filled the water. No big deal cause you can grab another, chalk it up to random occurrence or me not paying attention.

Flavors were balanced very well in both dishes we ordered. Quick and reasonably priced, if I am in the area I will for sure stop by to consume. We split the caprese salad and ham sandwich for a total of 17 dollars. Definitely satisfied.

One of my favorite restaurants in Portland… maybe ever! We used to live nearby and always passed by it, not realizing what we were missing. From the outside, you would never know that they produce such high quality deliciousness.
Since finding it a few months ago, we have been back many, many times, sometimes twice in a week, and they never disapppoint. We have tried several things on the menu so far, each thing being amazingly good, but my fiancé’s and my faves are the roasted chicken w/​mash and the pork chops. We just finished eating those very items, and my mouth is currently watering just writing about it. I don’t know how they manage to perfectly cook the thick, juicy cut of pork chop every time. Same with the chicken, they open up the chicken so you get a wing, thigh, and breast all in one attached piece… and the skin is always nice and crisp while the meat is juicy and tender. Yummmm!
Other things on the menu we have tried and all were so, so good:
Watermelon salad, banh mi sandwich, pig in the woods pizza, mac and cheese, and the scallops and risotto. We always find ourselves craving the pork chops and chicken though, and even though we’ve moved downtown, we find every excuse to make it out of town to eat here.
This is a lengthy review, and I apologize, but I have been meaning to write one for some time now so I can rave about this place.
I’d love to find out who owns this place or created the menu and shake their hand because their food always makes me happy. Thank you for that Bistro 23!

Was in Portland for work and staying at a hotel near Bistro 23. I placed the order over the phone and set out to pick it up.
They have a few vegetarian options so I settled on the Pig pizza without the pig. I also got a side of broccolini and a lemon bar for dessert.
The pizza was very tasty and the small size was perfect for 1. The broccolini was a little greasy but cooked perfectly! The lemon bar was also fabulous… not overly tart, just right. I believe they bake everything there on site each day.
The restaurant itself is cute inside. You order everything at the main counter and sit where you like.