Virgo and Pisces Restaurant & Bar

Yeh-​to-​the-​ikes!
I was ready for HH so I meandered on down the street, by-​passing other mainstays in favor of places I haven’t tried before. This is where V&P comes into the picture.
I’ve had a beer or two here during a previous visit, and you can’t really go wrong with beer. This time, I tried one of the sandwiches (Chicken Teriyaki) on their Happy Hour Menu. At $ 5.00 USD, I thought it was a pretty good deal as it also came with a bag of chips.
Well, it was a bag of chips but it ain’t all that. The sad excuse for a sandwich was all about bulk and not about taste. The chicken breast, although nice and tender, was as delicious as tofu that had been left out in the sun for weeks. It was bland, as if someone had just lightly brushed it with store-​bought teriyaki sauce. I cringed every time I bit into the flavorless thing, and was downing each mouthful with a few gulps of beer.
Too bad.
It looked like a decent HH spot, especially since they serve the HH menu from 4pm to close, Monday thru Thursday. But, the only reason I would return to V&P would be if it was the only restaurant open on Earth, and I had a choice between eating their food or resorting to cannibalism.

This Aries is a good match for Virgo & Pisces!
I held a fundraising happy hour event for
with almost 60 people at V&P a little over a week ago and it was a huge success! The owner and his staff did everything they could to make sure everything ran smoothly and that our service was fast and friendly. Seriously, they bent over backwards and it was apparent that they appreciated the business.
All of my guest were pleased with the food and service and the prices are great! Most of the happy hour servings are meal sized. I ordered the Tilapia fish and chips and they came out crisy and hot. The fries are especially tasty!
Boy & Bean donated an hour of their time to entertain us with their music, which Steve, the owner, had arranged.
I highly recommend this place, especially for a large party!
Cheers!

The food here is poor-​to-​mediocre in quality. I would not recommend the pasta dishes.
They do serve a nice fresh-​squeezed orange juice, and that was the highlight of my 3 trips to this place.

We like to go for their happy hour specials, although my brand Pabst Blue Ribbon is always $ 2 a pint, 7 days a week, which is nice.
The fish & chips at 5 bucks is quite a value. The tartar sauce alone, flavored with a little wasabi (V&P’s signature is bar food with a twist.) is worth an Abe Lincoln. The Banana-​Nutella crêpe is fantastic.
Service is a roll of the dice, you will always have a friendly server, but their attentiveness, even if there’s 2 tables in the whole joint– is just not there some nights. Sometimes you’ll go in there and 2 servers will be drinking at the bar while the bartender is eating behind the bar and pouring himself a drink.
So the food’s quite good, the service can be a bad joke, but I’ve never once regretted going in there, and count it amongst my favorites, due to location.
The 2010 update is that Virgo and Pisces went out of business. Not a surprise, but sad all the same. It was a good enough bar to frequent at least a bit of the time.

The gluten-​free pizza advertisements have always made me want to bring my wheat-​hating friend by this place. Today, it finally happened… and it probably won’t happen again. The pizza was the cheapest version of the pie I’ve ever come across. The tomatoes on the caprese were those large, cheap produce versions to go along with the not-​so-​tasty sauce and cheese. The crust, however, was pretty decent. If only they could spread the love to the toppings.
The drink menu was cute, having a listing for each sign of the zodiac. I didn’t care for the Aries — way too sugary.
On the plus side, they have lots of outdoor seating and they advertise resume-​building workshops.

This place gets its two stars because it’s close to my apartment and I got a good buzz on for $ 6 thanks to $ 2 pints of PBR. I also had a $ 5 Caesar salad from their happy hour menu. Salad was okay — it was edible, but there wasn’t enough cheese on it and for a wasabi-​based dressing, there was little kick to it. (Wasabi should kick you in the ass, man.) Service was indifferent. The female bartender all but ignored me and the male bartender served his buddies — who got there after I did — before he even looked my way. I shouldn’t have to wait five minutes for someone to take my drink order WHEN I’M SITTING AT THE BAR and the place isn’t busy. Also, the bathroom lack paper towels and RUNNING WATER. WTF???
I’ll probably be back just because the beer is cheap, but overall, this place is disappointing.

«Hey guys, how’s it going? Can I get you some shots?»
It was 4pm on a weekday and I hadn’t really eaten. But I almost did it.
The décor is typical bar with a weird twist of restaurant thrown in. Plenty of outdoor seating to watch the B&Ts (Bridge and Tunnel) wander around. When we walked in looking for a cheap PBR (a constant search that is often rewarded in this gleaming gem of a city), we were greeted by an empty bar with a waitress (?) sitting at the end. She could do nothing for us in the drinks department, but after a few seconds the bartender emerged in all his bro glory (brory?) and hit us with the opening statement. He was so sincere that I almost downed 5 Tuacas and a bourbon. But I settled for a Peebs and left with a smile. I’ll have to go back a few times to see if the niceties continue, but for now this Gemini is pleased as punch with this astrological area’s customer courtesy.

Many of the original reviews of this place were about confusion. What, exactly, is this place supposed to be.
It’s still there. Doesn’t bother me, tho.
This trip to V&P was about breakfast and featured three decidedly scruffy looking, but competent and friendly servers. I sat at the bar where dreadlock’d chick was in charge. I got the eggs & bacon. The scrambleds were good, firm but not dry. The bacon right on the edge of not-​floppy/​not cripsy and ever so slightly sweet. Not enough to invoke the dread (to me) sweet vs. savory clash. The potatos were home fries, which means everything from tiny diced faux-​hash browns to big chunks of fried potatos. These were big chunks of fried potatos, crusty with, I dunno, something good.
And free donuts! The menu makes it look like they only come with bennies, but not so. They were housemade plain cake donuts and they were just a little crunchy on the inside! Incredible. They had housemade raspberry frosting on them. Not so much my thing but pretty good still.
And out of pure WTFitude they had live music at like 11am on a Saturday. Like, I don’t even know. When I left they were singing Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby. Is that jazz? I dunno.

In between a half organized game of softball, where drinking was encouraged on second base, and hula hopping in Wallace Park, Alexis C. and I stopped in at Virgo and Pisces for a quick bite to eat and a beer.
Alexis C. (a Pisces with fish tattoo) and me (a tattoo free Virgo) grabbed the sole open table by the front door. Around us, happy hipsters sipped on $ 4 martinis and AND $ 2 PBR’s. Our drinks took a bit long to get to us, so we stared longingly at their drinks.
Our waitress was flustered, probably tired and hot from running around on the hot pavement, handing out those PBR’s, without being able to help herself to one. She was in the weeds to the point that she was making things harder on herself, running from one point to another with out consolidating trips and giving herself unnecessary work.
My blood sugar level was low… low to the point where I get a little Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But not low enough not to be able to commiserate with her; I waited tables at a popular Irish pub in Chicago, I remember serving on the first hot day, and she was doing the best she could.
On other trips to Virgo and Pieces I have tried the pulled pork sandwich and the Thai tofu crêpe. On the hot day in question we had potstickers (solid) and a Thai salad of some sort, that had wilted from the heat before it arrived to us. I ended up really liking our waitress by the time we left, but don’t think I’ll miss this place when I move out of NW.

Just tried this place for a quick happy hour and was pleasantly surprised.
The bar area was pretty full (although it looked like kind of a nice, yet smallish place to sit) so we decided to sit in the larger dining room area. It was brightly lit with an energetic vibe. I think they were setting up for karaōke at a small stage there.
The HH menu was actually pretty decent for both drinks and cocktails. They had a long and enticing list of flavored martinis– We got lychee and another melon-​type flavor, both tasty and around 6 bucks.
We ordered 3 different apps; Chicken Satay which was super basic and almost looked familiar… like I had seen this same plate at several different restaurants. Tasty nonetheless. Also tried the crispy tofu, which came with a couple of different sauces, though I could only differentiate peanut as one of them. The tofu itself was delicious, light, and as promised, crispy.
Lastly, a plate of potstickers was acceptable, though not incredible or special in any way. In fact they kind of reminded me of the frozen ones I get at Trader Joe’s.
in any case, the staff was very friendly and service was good. Plus, on happy hour we got 4 specialty cocktails, 3 apps and a tip for under $ 40.

In his hungover stupor, my bf was aware enough to recommend this place for brunch.
Yes, this place does suffer a bit of identity crisis. Pretty handblown glass lights hang over the bar area, but then there’s the divey video lottery area in the back. Then again, what video loterry cave is not divey…
We sat down at the bar since it was pretty crowded and we were instantly greeted with a friendly smile. The waiter dealt with my indecisive girliness pretty well I’d say & I finally settled on a peanut tofu crêpe. The bf got an apple sausage scramble.
We were given lightly sugar dusted doughnuts while we waited for our food. Fried dough is much better than bread. Fluffy & not too sweet.
We weren’t in the mood for mimosas or bloody marys, but we did notice they freshly squeeze their juices & had plenty of fresh ingredients for probably an awesome morning cocktail.
When the food arrived, I wasn’t sure how that was supposed to fit in my stomach. &, remember, I’m a pig. The crêpe looked big already but it was folded in half upon itself! There were roasted potatoes & salad too. (See pics.) The scramble was also a huge mound of food, but he handled it just fine as usual. The peanut sauce was housemade & tasted really fresh. Definitely made with organic or fresh PB. No Jif here. The hearty tofu & crispy veggies worked well in the chewy crêpe. The salad was perfectly dressed and I can never deny potatoes.
The waiter/​bartender was super nice and sociable. A lot of people were hanging out, studying, and laptoping. It felt like an adorable neighborhood joint that happens to have delicious fresh food.
The bf was plenty impressed w/​himself having come up with the idea afterwards. I concur.

Maybe it was the fact that my friend and I arrived during a lull in business, but I really liked Virgo and Pisces, despite the fact that I am neither. *eg* Right away we were greeted by an exuberant hostess, and our friendly and helpful waiter was at our table within seconds.
What did we have? Crepes, of course! Mine were served with an intriguing combination of fresh strawberries and Nutella that just melted in my mouth — absolutely delicious! My meal was simple, but it was enjoyable, relaxed, and in no way did I feel pressured or hurried by the staff to vacate. The dining room is charming in many ways. All in all, I’m very glad I went.
At any rate, just ask Melinda B a few scrolls down — we went together, and it was very pleasant.

Ah, the joy of the Happy Hour expedition… unwilling to imperil life and limb by walking any further on sidewalks slick with ice, we were delighted when M noticed the sandwich board in front of Virgo & Pisces restaurant. Such a delightful array of happy starchy fatty crave-​foods! Yummy fish ‘n’ chips, astonishing scallop «cigar», warm and satisfying soup, and everyone’s favorite: the sweet-​savory pot-​stickers.
Oh, and did I mention that my lychee martini was PERFECT? I could drink those all day.
I even liked the hat on our pleasant and enthusiastic server.

This is another of my favourite places to get breakfast.
The scone and/​or doughnut that the bring with your coffee are scrumptious.
The breakfast offerings are quite large ranging from crepes, to omelets and benedicts.
I really like the staff here too, they are fun to have a bit banter with.

If I lived in the neighborhood, this would be my Cheers bar. The bartender was a great guy and introduced us to the world’s greatest dirty martini, the pirate hooker martini which was a dirty martini with smashed olives in it. Oh yes, I did love this martini.
They do a late night happy hour starting at 9:30 and we took advantage. I saw a very lovely shrimp cocktail ($ 5 for four lightly fried prawns) go by so I had to have it and also ordered the fish and chips (three smallish pieces with a load of fries– $ 4). They also did an interesting fried tofu plate (local tofu, I’m sure since I had just seen the Ota tofu factory earlier that morning).
The bartender was so nice, he charged my call drinks as well. Ha! He did mention the place does not have a jigger so he is quite adept at eyeballing pours.
When you walk in, you’re immediately greeted with the bar. There’s a small room off to the left that houses the lottery machines. The large dining room is to the right, up a couple of steps. There’s one uni-​sex restroom through that dining room.
I was rather amused by some guy walking in for a single Grey Goose shot while his woman stood impatiently by. Then he got some sort of «bath» shot of OJ and Cranberry juices. Odd. They skipped out rather abruptly. Liquid courage, perhaps?
Oh, and a fun husband and wife duo sings here on Saturday nights called the Boy and the Bean. They do a lounge act and really lent a classy vibe to this already cool restaurant and bar.

Hey, this place has AWESOME vegan options! Who knew?! Not I, until last night.
They’ve got a fried (in rice flour – so it’s gluten-​free) tofu plate with 3 dipping sauces (2, if you’re vegan – one of them is a lemon aioli) for 3 bucks on their happy hour menu, and a «Tempeh Napoleon of basmati fried rice, roasted tomatoes, sesame sauteed spinach, and miso vinaigrette» on their dinner menu.
The tempeh itself could have used a *tad* more flavor, but the spinach and rice were delicious, and once I added some sweet chili sauce to the tempeh, left over from the tofu appetizer, it was even better.
The wine I had was great, and the bartender Kate – who’s friendly and cute and great– made homemade lemonade for my friend’s whiskey and lemonade. Yum!
She also told us they could take any of the crepes and make them vegan – the cook would scramble the fillings and just leave out the egg-​y pancake.
They’re open late, the service was good, and they’re veggie options were better than expected.
Minus a star because the Martini I tried to get first was really really gross – I guess I don’t like vermouth, or muddled olives.
Stop by for happy hour and chat with the bartender – it’ll be a great way to spend an hour or so.

Darn, it! What can I say that hasn’t been said? It’s clean, nicely decorated, mostly empty, and the food is so so. The martinis aren’t bad, and pretty good for the price at happy hour, which is the only time I go. The fish and chips aren’t what they used to be. The fish was cut thicker, and had a better breading previously. Now, it’s kind of a sprinkle of cornmeal on some really small thin fillets of I’m not sure what kind of fish. The fries could be great if they were crisp. And dang it! What’s with the wasabi? It’s in the tartar sauce, the coleslaw, and the ceasar salad. It’s hard to stay away from the stuff. Since I don’t like it, I’m kinda stuck.
On the upside, I like the staff. They try really hard. I am giving an extra star for effort. The brunch looks good, and I will most likely give it a shot since it’s right down the street, and I haven’t noticed any wasabi mentioned in the French toast. Yet.

How can this place have only 3 stars? It’s got a Sunday happy hour, a prime location, and eclectic menu with ½ way decent food, and the staff is friendly.
But for each plus… there is a minus…
For instance the Happy hour menu is a little… petite (small). While our ‘cigar’ wasabi scallop roll was only $ 3, (and ironically served in a glass ash tray) we could not find anything else on the happy hour menu that looked appealing.
For dinner we had savory crepes — Smoked Salmon Lox (Triple redundant!), and Curry chicken with spinach. Each was $ 9, and came with a nice little side salad… aaaand a huge heaping side of utterly flavorless roasted potatoes. I fed them to my dog, no lie.
And for dessert, we ordered nutella, banana crepes… WITH vanilla ice cream ($ 6). I say with because it somehow it arrived without. So the server rushed into the back to make the ice cream (they make it there), and came back with an icy mess (and the crêpe ½ gone). Next time pick up some breyers at 7 – 11 and save us the heartache. The crêpe itself was decent however.
And so the service was very very friendly, though as others have commented, a tad slow. The two servers got into a deep deep discussion on the merits of the cage fighting that was being shown on the TV, and ended up not noticing our less and less subtle pleas for service.
In short, this place is all potential, and «coulda been a contenda» in Bahston-​speak. With the right mgmt is still could be.

Its not that the food was bad. It was fine. The sweet crepes were better than fine, they were delightful. But the vibe in here is just weird. The service is friendly, but slow and strange. The atmosphere was hodge podge…
Nice view of a bustling NW corner for people watching over your achingly slowly delivered crepes.
Addendum: this décor in this place gets weirder every week. I am now officially scared to enter.

Walking in to this lovely little restaurant, my breakfast-​hunting companion and I were a bit apprehensive. The place was almost completely empty, and my first thought was that perhaps they weren’t open for the afternoon. That worry was over nothing, however. Almost immediately after we stepped hesitantly through the door, we were greeted by a very friendly hostess who seated us by the window & brought out water and coffee while our server simultaneously presented us with menus.
Service was fast and super friendly for the entire duration of our visit. I never came close to seeing the bottom of my coffee mug, which was kept at least half-​full at all times with some certified organic brew roasted by a company in Bandon. Many items on the menu noted the local origins of the ingredients. I had an absolutely enormous portion of vanilla-​crusted french toast with marscapone cream accompanied by an equally generous topping of fresh blueberries.
Also! Before we left our server let us know they have plans to «very shortly» start showing cartoons on a projection television during weekend brunch hours! Saturday morning cartoons + bacon & roasted tomato eggs benedict = best place in NW Portland to hit up for brunch, my friends.