Renard

‘Twas a dark and stormy night… (You know, typical winter in Portland) when a friend and I came in out of the cold at Renard. We had just the right amount of time to settle into the cosy room before the waiter came to take our order. Our salads arrived soon after, fresh and well dressed. Everything we ordered was excellent, almost enough said. My friend (who’s cooked professionally and knows a good thing when’he’s eating it!) was delighted with his beef tartere. I’ve never had better French onion soup gratin. (For years I’ve ordered it almost every time I see it on a menu, so this is no casual comment.) The waiter’s choices of house wines to compliment our meal were excellent. It’s not «cheap eats,» but would you expect it to be? Live a little!

I stopped in with the hubby completely on a whim. That’s right — no researching ahead. And I was quite delightfully surprised. The menu was basic french bistro food done very, very well. The french onion soup was the best I’ve ever had, savory and layered with flavor. The steak tartare was delish. The coq a vin was very good. Good deserts, good service. Will do it again, encore, et encore.

I’ve enjoyed meals here on many occasions and at lots of different times of day, so I’ve had everything from a full dinner to cocktails to a snack to Sunday brunch. The food and service are consistently outstanding.
I’d particularly recommend steak bavette, the sea salt brownies (if they have them), the Croque Madame, the steak tartare, beets, and their French onion soup. All are phenomenal.
Also, their prices are super reasonable. My husband and I ate here with a friend and we each had an entreé, a cocktail, and desert, and our bill came in at a little over $ 100. Pretty amazing considering the quality of food!

My review is at 3 stars but I definitely think a few changes will bump to a 5. Firstly, I’m judging the café portion. It looks like the back half is open for the morning where a barista operates the café. Super cute and has a nook with outlets perfect for working. The barista was super sweet, but cappuccino was just fine. Also the wifi was the most bunk wifi ever. If this improved, I’d be here all the time since I’m down the street. I’d like to try some grub, but since I need to be able to work, I won’t be back till ze wifi improves.

Went her yesterday and loved it. Had the steak and eggs and both were cooked perfectly to my liking. The side of potatoes included caramelized onions — nice touch! Will definitely be going back.

The manner in which a restaurant negotiates mistakes is an indicator of the quality of the culture created by the leaders and built upon by the entire staff. Last night, this was put to the test; I’m happy to say that we couldn’t have been happier with the result. The restaurant was down a server on a busy night, and had to operate with someone who doesn’t usually serve (a complicated job to say the least). This lead to some minor hiccups initially, but the impromptu server and colleagues were quick to make up for them and ensure that our orders were correct and that we were happy. The starters were wonderful, we had the classic french onion soup with perfectly melted cheese and bread that was just firm enough after soaking up the delicious broth so a not to be soggy. Beet’s with mint and spinach were a fresh and delicious starter as well. A bottle of Sangiovese wine went well with it all.
There was a mixup with our order, and one dish came out a bit earlier than the rest. The server realized what had happened and was quick to apologize, keep in touch with us and let us know when the other dishes were coming out. This was my dish, the Steak Frites, which were wonderfully prepared with crispy fries and a nice portion of steak covered in a fantastic brown sauce. Eventually the rest of the meals came out, the seafood stew was perfectly seasoned and the Coq Au Vin was classic! The owner was gracious in apologizing about the mixups and in comping us an entrée, a few glasses of wine and dessert! The absolutely went above and beyond to make sure we were full and satisfied which we all appreciated.
We’d all recommend going to this great restaurant, and will definitely be back soon

Wine: Not a bad burgundy for $ 10.
Cocktail: Rye based, lot’s of citrus, could have used a touch more rye.
Charcuterie: Good variety, the best of the dishes we had.
Chickories salad: Lots of lemon, nice and bright.
Coq-​a-​vin: Potato and carrot purée. Mostly white meat. Not bad.
Everything was nice, nothing was outstanding. I’ve had better, but I will give them 3 stars.

The happy hour burger was perhaps the best burger I’ve ever had. So there was that. Also the drinks are stellar, the space is beautiful, and the service (at times by the owner himself) was grand. I’ll be back to try the rest of the menu.

We two had an exquisite meal at Renard: chickory salad, tartare, mussels, coq au vin and beautiful desserts. The food is far better than at Nostrana at more reasonable prices. It is the equal of Ava Genes in quality, though the menu is more limited. The care the server took of us was kind and unintrusive. We had not even heard of Renard until Willamette Week published its favorable review. Our experience of this place made us think that Renard is a candidate for Restaurant of the Year. Go quickly to savor the place before everybody discovers it.

Holy smokes– I can’t believe this place wasn’t bursting at the seams with a line out the door. In fact, I question whether I should put a positive review on here, because if I make it a negative review, I might get to keep Renard a secret all to myself! But– this place deserves the accolades more than any other restaurant in Portland that I’ve been to in the past year.
Not only was the food prepared well, the ingredients used were of exquisite quality. I went with friends and we shared the bone marrow, the beets, the mussels, the steak frittes, and the panna cotta. The mussels were melt in your mouth, plump, delectable and divine. The bone marrow was fantastic. I wanted to rub the panna cotta all over my body. Ahem– I digress…
I can’t wait to go back to this delightful little spot. I feel like if Anthropologie had a restaurant, Renard would be it. I wanted to buy everything and the space was cozy yet not pretentious.
It’s a matter of time before Portlanders catch on and this place is reservation only.

I ate here for brunch on a rainy Sunday morning around 10 AM. I chose this restaurant due to being very hungry and not wanting to wait in a line somewhere else. At Renard I was able to be seated immediately and my food arrived quite quickly.
The menu is limited and the item I wanted to eat (the quiche du jour) wasn’t going to be ready for another hour. I ended up getting the french rolled omelette which was really, really delicious. The dressing on the mixed green salad was simple, but perfect. My boyfriend ordered the steak and eggs which he reported to be slightly more raw than he’d prefer (the portion of his meal I had I thought was fine). Our waitress brought us a baguette and peach balsamic jam as a starter and we finished our meal with a bread pudding. The peach balsamic jam was really good as was the bread pudding.
I think Renard is on the pricy side as far as brunch options go, but the food was great. The atmosphere of the restaurant was also very lovely. I would eat here again.

That was disgusting!!! the omlet we had tasted yak. they had no desserts. dont recomend this place!

I had my second visit to Renard last Tuesday, and was just as impressed as the first time. This place is a great example of quality yet amiable service paired with exceptional food.
My first visit was with a friend, and we got the green salad, pommes frites, and some cocktails. Everything was fantastic. I was still hungry, and got the six-​minute egg, which was straight up delicious. Hands down best egg I’ve ever eaten. For an extended dinner eaten outside on a warm summer evening, I couldn’t have asked for more.
The second time around was a solo visit. I sat at the bar after a long day at work, and got the salad again and the French onion soup. I could have just gotten the soup because it is a large portion, and very rich. This is a good thing. I’m a big soup fan and will definitely order this again.
I work close by and have only been here for dinner during the week, but hope to try the brunch sometime soon if I can make it down from NoPo.

Met up w wine friends for dinner. They have a babe, no problem. Staff were attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. Menu was delicious and something for all. We had time to catch up between courses and there was no rushing us out. Excellent craft cocktails! So glad they are here!

Renard had a very limited menu when we visited last Saturday around 1:00. They’re still getting brunch going. I truly enjoyed the jam and cheese baguette, though (I had to make it two meals – it was substantial), and the coffee was delicious. Dessert was a wonderful bread pudding with special mascarpone.
The bar was impressive, but it was too early in the day for me to partake. My lunch pal enjoyed her two glasses of wine, which was a Sangiovese, I think.
Service was friendly and efficient.
We miss the previous eatery in this spot but are hopeful Renard will rise to the challenge of serving delicious French cuisine at every mealtime.

A great addition to the local scene. Good food: well prepared and well presented. Service was a little slow but quite friendly. We were there on a Thursday night when guest count was moderate. An interesting wine list, by the glass. We never got to the bottle list. Menu calls us back to experience new items.

We stopped in for a couple of drinks and a bite — shared the steak tartare. The tartare was fantastic (better than St. Jacks). They did a wonderful job with the space, nice menu, and delicious cocktails. A great neighborhood gem. We’ll definitely be back!

Very seldom do I eat two meals in a row at the same place (other than home). This place was worthy of making an exception.
Meal 1) I started with a cocktail that was made with two kinds of vermouth and was perfect after a long hot day. I then was helped in my choice to try the Steak Frites made with Bavette Steak. The fries were perfect little golden strips of joy, the greens were fresh and the steak was cooked perfectly… and then there was the sauce. A sauce so wonderful that I thought more than twice of actually licking the place (I am sure that would be extra rude at a French Restaurant — so I used my fries to scoop it up instead. The owner said that his wife ran the day service and that I should check it out too.
Meal 2) I was greeted by the owner and was given insight on what was on the menu. I chose to have the Lemongrass Vichyssoise special — and I am glad I did. It was subtly rich and delicately tasty. The toasted baguette side was a great way to get this last wonderful dribbles out of the bowl. I was allowed to try (without the whipped cream) a prototype dessert for that night’s menu. The Olive Oil Cake was wonderful and spiced with a bit of orange zest and some Armagnac. This luscious cake was then topped with a compote of fresh raspberries and armagnac. It was delicious enough to warrant coming back to see if the cream added anything later that night.
While the original SE Portland St. Jack’s space allows for some pretty big shoes to fill, this is a wonderfully less formal (but no less tasty) addition to supplant St. Jacks.
Friendly owners, great food, tasty cocktails — a new favorite neighborhood haunt is born.

Excellent Steak Frites made with Bavette Steak. I’m now a fan of bavette steak. Fries were great. Excellent French Onion Soup. My wife had their chicken. I don’t know what it was called, but it was really good. Price is right, and they’re next door to 50 Licks, if you want Ice Cream for dessert. Excellent place for Coffee and pastry or baguette in the morning.

They did a great job converting this space. I have seen it as many different things over the years and I love what they’ve done. Beautiful natural wood and a reading nook make it super cozy. The coffee is outstanding, and the food is perfect. Light but filling. Make sure to stop by if you are in the neighborhood.