The Picnic House - Portland

Perfect lunch spot and great area for a casual business meeting! Definitely seems like a popular area for lunch downtown. I went here for a business meeting. We had placed a reservation because of how busy it would be. It is a very unique and authentic spot. It used to be a hotel back in the day and they have kept a lot of the old architecture which was cool. The menu provided a wonderful selection and options of soups, salads and sandwiches. They have a lunch special where you can do half half of each. I had the Italian and the soup of the day. Delicious. In my opinion it is an better version and an official restaurant compared to something like Panera Bread. Good environment for casual meetings or just a nice lunch out during the work day.

Simple and really delicious food in a very nice setting that looks like they're going for a 20's World Fair theme. Everything we ordered was quite tasty: hanger steak, delicata squash salad, and butternut squash risotto. Service was on point and unintrusive. We also tried a cocktail, the Seelbach, but thought it was just ok. Overall an excellent spot for a nice, quiet dinner with an unusual but very cool vibe.

The food and atmosphere are both unique and fun. Although the menu is not extensive, everything we tried was delicious. My husband and I did the 'Have a Picnic ' special and shared a soup, the apple turkey sandwich, and the vegetable gnocchi all highly recommended! Michael, our server, was very accommodating to my food allergies and answered all our questions. He even made notes of my allergies for the staff preparing our meal, and then chatted with us about the history of the restaurant space. This is a great dinner stop for out of town visitors or locals!

Visited this wonderful place around the corner from Hilton Hotel as I was visiting the city for the first time. Michael was our server and he was the best EVER. Funny, witty, sarcastic and a delight. LOVED the tomatoe soup. Went back the next day for another cup. I do wish they had bowls as the cup was not enough. Lol

I adore the picnic house. The quality of the food is always excellent and I love their changing menu. I'm not a big fan of the entrees and sides being ala carte, however. I think the picnic style choice is good for salads, soups, and sandwiches, but I preferred previous menus where entrees had set, complimentary side items. The choice is nice, but ultimately the chef is going to know the best food pairings, not me.