Chez Joly

I come here nearly every Sunday for brunch. The food is great (I especially recommend the crab cake eggs Benedict and the quiche Lorraine) and the prices reasonable. It’s rarely busy on Sunday, which I’ve never understood, considering how fond Portlanders are of their brunch. The wait staff is attentive, and I never wait long for my food. Definitely a place you should try, I keep coming back.

Good food and atmosphere, but the service was slow.

I’ve only been here for breakfast, which was good, although unoriginal. However, the service left much to be desired in that we were only one of two tables in the restaurant but were ignored for most of the meal. When the waitress would finally come to our table she would hover over us and wouldn’t leave after we had finished talking with her.

Had happy hour yesterday. We ordered esccargots, spinach cheese fondue and mac n cheese. It was superb! I will definately be returning. Plus, our waiter was on point… and adorable.

My boyfriend ordered the lamb hamburger… SO GOOD. He preferred it to be less bloody, but I liked it the way it was! Bring on the blood if the patty will be that awesome all the time!
I had the crêpe, it was good as well. I don’t remember too much about my crêpe because I kept wanting to eat my boyfriend’s burger… next time I will be getting that.

Four of us and a toddler ate lunch here last week on a weekday. The waiter seemed nice and was attentive, but nothing he could have done would have made whoever was in their kitchen MOVE. We ordered simple items – two of us split a jambon/​fromage sandwich and extra salad; one omelette and one burger. It took well over 45 minutes for this order to arrive. There were 3 other people in the restaurant. Can’t imagine what happens when the place is full.
The food: friites that came with the omelette and burger were saturated with oil, limp, and yuck. Omelette was NOT French style – brown on the outside. Burger had pieces of bone or something very hard in the meat. Sandwich was ok and so was green salad.
Having eaten at many a French bistro and brassiere, this place is no relative. Don’t go here. There are MANY great places to eat in Portland; this is not one of them.

+ = absinthe, mussels, fries, salad with bacon and egg
— = instant mashed potatoes, sauce with the salmon thickened with wayyyy too much corn starch, stale bread at the bottom of the mussels

We stopped here for happy hour recently and it left an immediate impression. The restaurant space itself is wonderful — a huge spacious ceiling and walls and walls of glass paned windows with great light. While sitting on the booth seating in the main room, I looked up at one point and felt like I could have been in Soho. I’m giving Chez Joly 4 stars since it was my first visit, but I enjoyed the house special mussels and frites and the fast and courteous service so much, I am planning on returning for dinner.

I came here having heard that Chez Joly has the best fries in Portland. It’s pretty rare that I find a french fry that I wouldn’t even think about eating, but somehow, they managed to make them here (and even more mysteriously, someone considered them the city’s best). They were soggy, tasted awful, and had a strangely sweet smell (as if they’d been fried in oil stolen from the dumpster behind a Krispy Kreme).
Unfortunately, inedible fries were the least of their problems. I ordered a steak done medium, but what I received was more well-​done than the average piece of jerky. The sauce wasn’t particularly tasty (read: it was bad) and it certainly wasn’t appetizing in appearance.
And believe it or not, that’s not the end of this place’s problem. The salad contained brown lettuce and, as the piece de resistance, two hairs. Even the bread and butter here was totally bland.
Finally, I think I should point out that the service really sucked. The staff was kind of surly, mumbly, and worst of all, inattentive. There were only three other tables in the tiny dining room, but the two servers couldn’t even be bothered to pick up the check for ten minutes. Instead, they left us sitting there ruminating about how much we’d hated that meal.
If you want good French food in Northwest, try Le Bouchon, but avoid Chez Joly like the guillotine.

First of all, my partner says she would give the food 4 stars. I say 3, and I’m typing this so it’s a 3.5 rounded down.
We came for 4:30 happy hour, and until the end of our dining experience we were pretty much the only people present. The service was good, the Cabernet Sauvignon was good (it might have been decanter a *little* too long), the food was good– I had «happy moules» and she had the jambon combo. We could have used another carafe of water, and it’s a good thing I like my pommes frites crispy, but it was a very nice place to sit out rush hour. I appreciated the atmosphere, and it was certainly reminiscent of my time in Paris, but (and maybe this is because I was a very poor student and a very poor librarian) I wouldn’t call it 100% Parisian– more like a nostalgia-​colored homage to Paris past. I did appreciate hearing French from the kitchen, though, and the music was interesting.

OK, my husband and I used a
coupon, but nobody knew that when we arrived, waited 10 minutes for one drink, waited at least 45 minutes for one caesar, and another 20 minutes for onion soup and one entrée. It was 8:30pm. Nobody was in the restaurant. 2 tables of people were eating outside. Our waitress never asked how anything was, never told us why we were waiting so long, and never one asked if our drinks or food were ok. One busboy spend the whole time we were there banging the china plates, setting and unsetting the tables. The music was way too loud for a «cozy» restaurant. The food was hot, but almost too hot. Microwaved? I could go on and on, but it’s just not worth it. We love using Groupon and
. It gets us to find new spots to eat, but once is more than enough at Chez Joly!

ATTENTION: DO NOT EAT HERE. EVER!
If I could give them lower I would. Never in my life have I had a more unpleasant dining experience than last nights dinner. Had it not been for the company, it would have been a total bust. The only thing even worth a nod was the appetizers of escargot and pâté.
I will talk about the food first because the explanation of the atrocious service will take that much longer. They need to be permanently shut down.
I don’t even know where to start. let me preface by saying, I love food, i love the act of dining, I love European style dining, all of this, however what I experienced was literally the worst experience of my dining life. I’m not over dramatic, I was a fine dining server for over 5 years, as well as a bartender. I’m not one of those industry people with no patience either, like I said I love dining out.
The apps, as I said were decent, everyone enjoyed them and it looked like even for the lack of even remotely passable service, the food at least would be decent.
oh so very very wrong, for one thing? he skipped an entire course, I watched him. he was just standing there. we did not receive our salad course. didn’t mention it just kept right on standing there. my mussels? the family recipe, were beyond over done. 3 of us ordered them, all three ridiculously over done. The frites were under cooked. we waited another 40 min before he asked us what we would like for desert. We asked him about the salad, he looked blankly at us, and said oh, i told them to make them.
At no point within dinner service which was by the way 3 hours long, did he ever check in, nor did he apologize for the long wait, or the fact we had to continually ask for water, or that he dished out or dishes by calling them out. every single time. he had one table, us, he also took the other starting where you should clock wise around the table, he wrote it down.
but I’m getting ahead of my self, lets start at the beginning, the only reason we went here is because they’re part of the Portland dining month. They had a pre-​fix meal, we went on a wed. The other server was running her butt of with the 5 tables she was serving, this guy had us, who had made the reservation.
Here’s my deal, if you’re busy, if you’re down a man, if you’re not usually a server? say something about it, say gosh folks so sorry, bla bla bla. something, check back in, be cordial, be friendly, know that your pre-​fix menu? come with a course which you completely forgot.
don’t roll your eyes when we ask for the pre-​fix menu. don’t slap down my dish in front of me after you cattle called it, this isn’t Denny’s. actually you know i bet the people at Denny’s would do a better job.
not only was he the absolute worst server I’ve ever seen, not only was he rude and slow, apparently he’s the manager.
He not only gave us horrible service, where we literally waited 30 min for the check when we were the only people there besides one other table, he had the nerve to charge us 18% gratuity. I know this is standard for a large party, i get that. i as a server would have been embarrassed to have that big a balls
lets review.rude.slow.horrible food. and an entire course skipped. and then the bill. this man should never have gone into food service or service of any kind. he should probably be a file clerk with no human interaction at all. I went to ask when the manager would be in, he says I’m the manager. I said, that’s is absolutely surprising, cause you are by the the worst server I’ve ever had in my life, in my life. like ever. I can not ever think of another situation where I’ve been this upset at dinner. I said i wanted to speak with the owner, he said they’re out of town. his solution was «would you like me to refund the gratuity» not I’m sorry, never, not through this entire meal did i hear a I’m sorry, or usually things are different.
DO NOT GO HERE. I beg you, if you value the experience of dining and even edible food, please don’t eat here, you’d do better at McDonald’s.

A wonderfully authentic Parisian atmosphere and menu are part of the allure, but the food didn’t quite deliver. I had the prix-​fixe menu and started with a pistachio pâté that was the best thing I ate, crunchy and flavorful and redolent of creamy goose organ (too much?). However, my entrée was moules frites, one of my favorite dishes traditionally, but the sauce was a bit bland. It wasn’t the heavenly, garlicky sauce I’ve had at better French restaurants, and as such, my entrée was mediocre. Dessert, however, was a dream of an almond pear tart.
This restaurant also deserves only 3 stars because the service was less than exemplary. Perhaps the waitress was distracted by my ogling brothers, but she forgot dishes several times and failed to bring refills when asked.

I think Chez Joly will hold a special place in my heart because it’s not only the setting for the first Unilocal event I ever attended, but also the first after achieving Elite status! But I’ll try to be objective.
Luckily the weather was great for our event and we were able to take advantage of the sidewalk tables and chairs. Only downside to that was that all the tables are situated in a vertical line and that makes it tough to mingle with those who aren’t seated right next to you.
We had an array of happy hour drinks and appetizers at our disposal. I had a couple glasses of white wine. I’m definitely not a wine expert or even enthusiast, but since Chez Joly specializes in the wine, that’s what we were having. And you know what, it was damn good.
I also had a basket of the fried potatoes. (I guess a French place doesn’t really call them french fries.) Also super good. Some of the people at the Unilocal event were eating this mussel dish that looked intimidating (a big bowl of shells) but I guess the good stuff is inside.
The only thing that was a little slow was the service. But it seemed there was only one server taking care of all of us so it was understandable. Another thing that was cool was that the owner of the place stopped by and said hello several times. He seemed genuinely grateful for our presence.

My family and I went here for brunch on Sunday and we were pretty content with our experience here, but not enthralled. At 2pm it was very quiet, nearly empty. The server was friendly, but seemed a bit impatient with us… which was weird since we were one of the three groups there at the time. The place is very cute and cozy, and I can imagine it would be more so in the evening with the tables filled.
I don’t have any complaints about the food– I had the Marie Scramble with spinach, tomatoes and feta, and the feta really spiced it up. Most of the egg dishes came with this incredible multigrain toast, which may have been as good as the actual scramble. They also serve both savory and sweet crepes as well as other french breakfast/​lunch items such as Nicoise Salad. The prices are pretty reasonable, ranging from $ 8 to $ 12 for a brunch entrée.
Overall, a decent place for a brunch, and great food, but not the fun atmosphere I was looking for. I’d like to come back here for dinner and see if that changes my opinion.

By far one of the best lunch places in town. Definitely on the spendier side but the taste is worth it. The owner is fantastic about checking on his customers, and it is great to see this corner of old town now have a cozy little spot for lunches. Also a delicious spot for strong coffee and luscious crepes. Someday I’d like to return for cocktails and perhaps dinner, you know the kind of place where there’s a small candle lit and couples lean over slightly to enjoy quiet conversation? That kind of place.

Very pleasant ambience; very good lunch with very good drinks.

This is a very good little French place on the border between the Pearl District and Old Town (NW Broadway). My wife had the moules (mussels) and said they were actually better than her host mom prepared when she was an exchange student. I had the steak frites, which was good for a lunch portion and very nicely done — comparable to what we’ve had in cafés in Paris. The chocolate soufflé with caramel sauce was *DIVINE* as well.
Staff were friendly and attentive, and the owner came out to ask if everything was good. We learned that he’s actually French, which helps explain the food. :)
Highly recommended, especially compared to a few of the other French places in town.

I had a great lunch here today. I’m a sucker for restaurants with lots of natural light — I must be Vitamin D-​deficient. Anyway, the great space had the added charm of one of the owners greeting us and introducing himself. I can’t tell if this is normal or if it was because I was dining with a Sam Adams look-​alike. I suspect he’s always that friendly; it made me feel good to support his business.
I got the Poulet sandwich, substituting the focaccia bread with a baquette — just wasn’t in the mood to risk bad focaccia. I loved the combination: grilled onions, smoked bacon, chicken and gruyère. Great, simple sandwich with a modest, but flavorful celery root salad. The baguette was a bit hard, but they usually are.
I’d come back for sure, maybe even try their Sunday brunch or dinner.

I’m not sure this place deserves 3 stars but based on my first experience there it at least deserves the benefit of the doubt. It’s a great space and wonderfully located. The first evening my friend and I were there the place was packed, the service wonderful, and the pâté simply devine! My steak however was slightly undercooked and I ordered it medium well so not sure how that happened. A lovely touch was the owner greeting us at the door and they even had their French poodle in that evening which was charming.
The second visit was less inspiring. Also a Saturday night but the place had only 3 other couples. The pâté was still great but the Beef Bourguignon was served over noodles like stroganoff. A rather banal interpretation of a french classic. The wine list is satisfactory. I’d like to go back but not sure if it’s worth it. Might wait for a chef change.