Ten 01

This place is awesome! I’ve been there twice and the last time it was better than the first.
Food is great, service is fast and friendly, ambiance is really good, especially if you sit upstairs.
UPDATE: This is closed. :-(BUMMER!

It has been a harsh couple of months for the Portland restaurant scene with several notable closures. Within one month, two places that have received their fair share of positive press and attention in the Pearl District have closed their doors.
Ten 01 is a good example of why restaurants really need to focus on consistency to thrive and survive. I visited three times during the past 18 months and had three different experiences. This is one of the main reasons why I didn’t post a review before now. If you scan the reviews by date (always a very handy tool), you will see swells and dips that reflect several changes in the kitchen and chefs.
On all three occasions, I was taking advantage of some sort of special pricing (Street of Dreams coupon, Portland Dining Month prix fixe, happy hour). To their credit, I always received good to great service, even when the coupon was shown in advance. I never felt like a second class citizen by not paying full price. That is a good thing because it was one of those places where you felt like you were paying a ‘Pearl District surcharge’ rather than just the meal in front of you.
So do I give it five stars for the ‘power lunch’ where everything went perfectly, four stars for those truffle fries and a solid happy hour or three stars for an uneven dinner (heavy on the salt)? I was left with a three star rating which are kind of a downer to write. For me, a four indicates that I recommend a place and I wasn’t confident enough in what type of experience others would have to go that high.
The reason I did recommend Ten 01 to family and friends was the atmosphere. In a sea of bland industrial spaces, Ten 01’s upstairs dining room was unapologetically romantic. Even though some of the tables were close together, it was the kind of place I wanted to go on a date with my husband even though all of my visits ended up being with friends or family. For all the joys of dining in Portland, romantic spots can be tough to find.
So it is too late to visit Ten 01, but I hope that the next tenant doesn’t mess with the space too much. Viva la romance!

Drinks and Appetizers = A (especially the beet salad)
The entrée left a little to be desired, as my trout was undercooked. However, the rest of the meal and wonderful service completely made up for my half-​deceased fish.
I really REALLY recommend ordering dessert! At $ 7, the Brown Sugar Bar will be enough for at least two people to share. The oatmeal ice cream on top is the «icing on the cake» as it melts into perfection with the bite that includes a little bit of everything. I say it was absolutely heavenly — and so was the Valrhona Chocolate Cake.

This is an incredible restaurant.
I just hosted a large event here a few nights ago and I was impressed. The food was fantastic. The Chef created a menu for us and everything was cooked to perfection and presented beautifully. The entire staff was professional knew their food and wine.
The Events Director, Didier, orchestrated a beautiful evening for our group. The transitions from cocktails and appetizers downstairs to dinner upstairs seemed to flow smoothly thanks to the team at Ten-​01. I received nothing but compliments from everyone that attended.
One minor problem was that the upstairs group dining seating was a little tight. We had long banquet tables set up for 70 and it looked amazing but it was a little difficult moving around. However, the service was so amazing we didn’t have to get up much at all.
Great food, great events planning, great service, and the desserts are WOW.

My review is on happy hour only.
I met a friend here on a Friday night at 5:30. The downstairs bar area is very nice, and I have to say that staff was great! Very attentive.
The happy hour menu was a little to expensive for my taste. I recall a $ 5 olive dish, and everything else was closer to $ 10.
I had the butternut squash soup which was the special. It had a cranberry sauce in it and was amazing. But I thought the happy hour price as around $ 6 dollars. I got the bill and it was $ 9.no big deal. I ordered some sort of cocktail for $ 5. I beleive it had ginger beer and brandy? Not remarkable. My girlfriend had the truffle fries which were great, and also the risotto. mmm! Very good! I also had a califlower gratin which I really liked.
Overall the food was yummy and the atmosphere is fun and upscale, but the happy hour prices are a little to steep for my blood.

What a great value! Rabbit pâté for under ten bucks! Good wine list. Really cool bartenders served us up a Delicious spread and their recs for food and entertainment at other venues in the city.
Small plates dominate. The pâté stuck out as a winner. But, our clams were kind of mediocre. Delicious fresh scallops were tasty and spendy (7 dollars per scallop with some plate accoutrement).

Consistently good — especially the awesome wine list and nice, simple cocktails. I could rave about the Château Michel chardonnay they have currently for several hours. :)
I like the upstairs/​downstairs split. We can eat fine dining upstairs if we wish or bar food downstairs. The $ 4 burger downstairs is exceptional value.
Always like the service and the friendliness of the staff — who seem actually interested in your experience being good rather than the frequent insincerity you get in some higher end restaurants.

Matt B. and I had a late dinner in Ten 01’s downstairs area, which boasts small plates with prices not too far off from its happy hour menu. The service was the best we had in Portland, with a waitress who actually checked on us every once in a while, and I liked the elegant upscale setting. The food was fine, if not particularly special, and I liked the fancy cocktails.
The bread was a plain soft white and it was replaced when depleted. A $ 4 order of bar nuts was very tasty, a mix of house-​candied nuts with Maldon sea salt. We got cheese and charcuterie plates and both of these were pretty well done. The cheese plate came with Fourme d’Ambert, mimolette, and idiazabal with quince paste, green apple, and long sea salt lavash crackers. The Fourme d’Ambert was particularly good, a creamy blue cheese that went well with the membrillo. The charcuterie plate brought finocchiona, black truffle salami, espelette salami, bresaola, and Iberico ham, along with cornichons, pickled shallots, mustard, and crostini. Each cured meat was pretty delicious, and the pickles were great accompaniments. The one cooked dish we got, though, was the least impressive. This was the baked meatballs with San Marzano tomatoes, sofrito, and grana padano — they were edible, but very uninteresting.
We had a couple cocktails with our dinner and these were decent. Death in the Afternoon was a bubbly drink with absinthe, sugar, and sparkling wine, and it was strong with a nice bit of sweetness. Stringer’s Bell was a bit out of my league. With bourbon, Cherry Heering, angostura bitters, and lime zest, it was way too potent for my palate. Matt drank it though while I nursed my girly absinthe drink.
All in all I wasn’t displeased with Ten 01, but I don’t know that it was memorable or worth going out of your way for. I did like the service and atmosphere, but the food, while fair, wasn’t exciting. The cheese and charcuterie were both quite nice, but I’ve had better of both elsewhere. That said, if I lived in the area I might give the place another go. Maybe the meatballs were a fluke.

Every once in awhile, Gayle and I will have a dinner together that fires on all cylinders. Gayle calls these events «Kick Ass» meals, which combine excellent food, great service, inspiring and heartfelt conversation, an intense romantic connection, and usually a really good Bombay Sapphire Martini. All this was our recent dinner at Ten-​01, and more…
Ten 01 is a restaurant that combines contemporary design, with environmentally friendly principles, and casual elegance. The street level dining room combines the energy of the bar (and a good burger), with the action of an open kitchen. We were on the second floor (by the rail) looking down on that and outwards towards Powell’s and the immediate Pearl District neighbourhood.
The Concierge at The Nines recommended Ten-​01 and made our reservations. After an earlier breakfast recommendation misfire (Bijou Café) by the hotel desk, we were wary. However, Christina had a very good grasp of her restaurant facts and inspired our confidence to make the short walk over. She also pointed out that it was impossible to under dress for dinner in Portland.
Upon entering Ten-​01, we were impressed to be quickly greeted by name and seated immediately. Our waiter for the night promptly checked in, and soon after the Sommelier introduced himself and made it know that he was at the ready to help with the restaurant’s extensive wine list. Ten-​01 emphasizes French wines, but also has strong wine selections from other countries such as New Zealand. But before we could consider that, complimentary flutes of champagne were served, courtesy of Christina at The Nines. Very classy.
Table service during the entire evening was fabulous. The food was even better. Gayle had the Cattail Creek Leg of Lamb (with local summer squash ratatouille, seared eggplant, garlic confit, and san marzano tomato jus), while I chose the Fish of the Day (Halibut). And as an extra treat, we were served a tasty amuse bouche starter. Both of us also compared our meal to a recent outing at Commis and decided that we enjoyed the boldness of Ten-01’s flavours better than the subtlety of our equally excellent Oakland meal.
When a romantic evening is going so well, there’s always room for a shared dessert and coffee. We chose a lemon blueberry tart that had just the right combination of flaky, creamy, and tart. It was simple, fresh, and delicious, and a perfect dessert coda for a perfect evening.

Classic Portland scene.
Calm, collected and chic.
I went for the happy hour which is good and affordable.
The food offerings are fairly decent.
The meatballs that I’ve had is good. I should’ve ordered more but I was saving room for sweets at the other door.
The vodka martini that I’ve had is relatively cheap as well.
The service is prompt and warm. No hipster servers, no atitude whatsoever.

**SOLID HAPPY HOUR STOP IN THE PEARL**
3.5 stars.
Good HH stop in the Pearl District.
Grabbed a seat at the bar and allowed the bartenders to pour us a couple of flawless $ 5 HH cocktails.
MUST ORDERS (HH menu):
*DUCK WINGS
*TRUFFLE FRENCH FRIES
RECOMMEND.

Came here on a Friday night with a Groupon… I was afraid it would be super packed so I made reservations through Unilocal/​OpenTable, but it turned out not to be necessary… there was plenty of seating in this 2-​story establishment.
Ten 01 fits right into the Pearl District as a fancy upscale restaurant that you would probably want to dress up a little for (though not everyone does).
I ordered the smoked salmon appetizer as my main meal and it was amazing. I’d highly recommend that one. I wasn’t too hungry and was pretty full on the bread anyways. We were treated very well and also given samples of little dishes too… yum!
For a poor starving grad student that has to pay to work (me :S), Ten 01 is probably not highly recommended. But if you actually make money and have people to impress, Ten 01’s entrees at $ 20−30+ might do the trick.
Thank you Groupon! Maybe someday when I actually have an income, I’ll come back again!

I went there for dinner by myself. They sat me down with their extensive wine list and the dinner menu. I wasn’t that hungry so I ordered a salad and their clam appetizer with a lemon drop. After I ordered, I saw that other people around me were getting food that I didn’t see on the expensive menu– turns out they forgot to give me the «downstairs menu,» even though I was downstairs. The food I had was good though, and the ambiance was lovely.
I don’t think my server was happy to have a 1-​top in her section, and when I presented my groupon (plus an appropriate cash tip), she and the host turned their noses up at me. She took down the groupon number off my iphone and then took the liberty of pushing the button to make sure it said used, pushing the button several times and freezing the app for me– as if I might go back and try to use it again if she didn’t do that. The server even mentioned that I got my meal for free– I corrected her, telling her that no, it was paid for.
I don’t think I’ll go back as this experience left me feeling a bit snubbed.

Great service.
Impressive selection of whiskey and other hard beverages.
Elegant venue with nice feeling to it.
Not a five star because: Food was tasty but only average.

A Haiku Review of Ten 01:
Very expensive.
Try to catch the happy hour.
Mashed potato tots!

Here comes my review of the century.
I turned in my Masters thesis for corrections, so my parents said, «Oh, go out and treat Tatiana M. and yourself to a nice dinner.» So, we thought, let’s go to Ten 01. It’s classy, in the Pearl, and requires a bankroll. We didn’t go during happy hour (which I’ve heard is good), but had thrown caution to the wind so it just didn’t matter.
Service was great. I had just stepped off the train, so I had a lot of bags, but the hostess gladly checked all of our coats and etc. We were seated upstairs in a nicely furnished dining room, and we got a little something, compliments of the chef. That’s always a good sign.
TM and I both ordered drinks, and a charcuterie plate with chicken liver paté and house pickles. It was delicious. The paté was a little rich, but when is a paté not rich?
For our entrees, TM had the risotto (which we have been enamored with ever since Gordon yelled it at some inept Hell’s Kitchenite), and I had the salmon (with an inkling that I should have had the pork). We waited a little bit for our main course, but were otherwise occupied with the appetizer and our drinks. The server was friendly and she checked in on us once and a while.
Our entrees arrived and we dug into our $ 30 and up plates. Now. I am a man of wealth and taste, as I have said before. But really I’m just a man of taste and there is not a wealthy bone in my body. Therefore, I eat primarily at fast food joints, happy hours and my bag of Fritos next to my bottle of 3 buck Chuck. That said, my palette is discerning and can spot similarities a mile away. On this occasion, my salmon with a smoked hollandaise was reminding me of something, but I couldn’t quite place it. I tasted. I let TM taste. I tasted again. There was a familiarity about the smoky, meaty, creamy sauce. The bready, blandish salmon. The ninety-​nine cents-​ity of it all.
I paid $ 30 for a Jack in the Box Junior Bacon Cheeseburger in the form of salmon.
Don’t ask me how, but that dish tasted exactly like my old college standby off the J in the B value menu. I kid you not.
When I spend over a Benjamin for a dinner for two at a fancy place and leave thinking I just took her to the place by the freeway with free tacos on select Tuesdays, I am a bit distraught. That is not good enough. I’m glad the appetizer and drinks were well-​made, because the entrees were sub par. Next time I will go with my gut and stick to happy hour. At least they didn’t make it until I ordered it.

I had the turkey sandwich with housemade cranberry marmalade and black pepper cream cheese spread.
Holy God Almighty. It was so good… and it was served with TRUFFLE FRIES.
I have also had the roasted chicken with celery root, butternutsquash risotto with black truffle and chicken jus.
I was in heaven and did not want that meal to end. I wanted to lick the plate and i regret not doing so.
I don’t know what this «ok food» rubbish is from other Unilocalers… but I was nothing less than impressed with the quality of the food and the ambiance.
it’s like the food here was designed for me. it gets me. i love it.

This place has great food, a really nice atmosphere and a really good wine list. So why only 3 stars? Because it’s boring. This is what I would classify as a typical Portland restaurant — typical food, typical pricing, typical alcohol selection, etc. Nothing stands out about it. So, for me this will get buried in the long list of Portland restaurants I dined at but to which I never returned.
I do have to point out the one part of the night that did stand out. My girlfriend is 6 months pregnant. When I ordered a glass of wine our server asked if she wanted any. She said «no, I’m pregnant.» To which the server replied «oh did someone tell you that because you’re pregnant you can’t drink?» and then «who told you that?» Now don’t get me wrong, It’s not that we think you can’t have a drink of alcohol now and then while you’re pregnant. However, this guys then went on seriously trying to convince us to order her wine and that drinking was ok while you were pregnant. The only thing that kept me from laughing hysterically in his face was that, at the end, he finished with «but don’t take my advice, I’m just a waiter.» Exactly.

After deciding to play hookey and take a few much needed mental health days to enjoy the summer sun and all that Portland has to offer, the Tall Leggy Blonde (TLB) and I headed down to the Pearl. The weather was warm and we wandered around the blocks, occasionally stopping in any store that happened to catch our eyes. With the hot sun beating down, our legs tiring and our mouths becoming parched, we decided to make a quick stop at Ten 01 for happy hour.
I knew I had heard of this place on Unilocal,but didn’t remember the details… luckily the truffle fries immediately caught our attention, so we promptly ordered these delectable potatoes along with a couple of adult beverages. The French fries were amazing… alone they are worth stopping by for. The Hopworks (or HUB as they seem to be known as) beer was the perfect compliment to the fries and quickly erased the memory of dry mouth syndrome I was experiencing earlier. The TLB had what she claimed was the best Bloody Mary she has ever had the pleasure of drinking. I could tell that she wasn’t exaggerating. The pickled vegetables used in her drink were all homemade and canned by the bar manager, and when added to the mix which included a special habanera sauce, it all perfectly combined into one hell of a drink.
It was late afternoon on a Thursday, so there was only one other group in the bar. Our waiter was fantastic and attentive, and the bartender was quick to share the secret of her amazing Bloody Mary’s. While we only were there initially for a quick drink and some fries, we will certainly be back for dinner.

I just returned from here and I’m more than stuffed! The food was so amazing it was impossible to stop. I had some of the best scallops and the most amazing dessert. The service was perfect, everyone was pleased with their meals and the atmosphere was just right.
I have nothing to complain about except that I ate way too much!