The Corner Room
completes Harding Lee Smith's trio of restaurants in Portland, which also includes The Front Room and The Grill Room.
Located at the corner of Exchange and Federal Streets, The Corner Room occupies the space that formerly housed the Salt Gallery. The interior has been transformed into a contemporary eatery, complete with tall ceilings, wood floors and whitewashed walls.
It was standing room only opening night. Many patrons had stopped first at Grace before moving on to try out The Corner Room. Portlanders love restaurant openings! The staff handled the crowd with expertise; there was little evidence of opening night kinks that plague many restaurants.
Value is what you can expect when visiting this restaurant. Wines are mostly in the $20-$30 range, while pasta entrees are all $9 for "traditional size" and $15 for large. Paninis are $8, while Pizzas are priced in the low-to-mid teens. 
"Create your own" antipasti allows dinners to mix and match meats, cheeses, seafood and vegetables. We selected the Shrimp & Ceci ($6) and Eggplant Caponata ($4). Served chilled, the Maine shrimp were combined with marinated chickpeas, scallions, garlic and olive oil. This appetizer was light, fresh and delicious. The eggplant, pepper and onion medley also contained raisins, making it a bit sweeter than I expected, though it was wonderful when spooned on the soft Italian bread.
My husband described the mozzarella en crozza ($9) appetizer as "similar to french toast, but with cheese." Mozzarella cheese, on a Baguette slice, is dredged in flour and egg, then lightly fried, to create soft pillows. Paired with charred cherry tomatoes, this appetizer was outstanding! Equally impressive was the Roasted Beet Salad ($8) with arugula and Castelmagno cheese. Perfectly 
dressed with white balsamic vinegar, the medley of flavors worked wonderfully together.
I love fresh pasta so I couldn't resist the house made Pappardelle and Mushrooms ($9). Soft ribbons of pasta were tossed with meaty mushrooms, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley. Though the pasta was slightly overcooked and a bit starchy, I enjoyed the dish enough to finish every bite. My husband selected a special offered that evening - Pan Roasted Cod served with mussels ($15). The seafood was set in a Sambuca sauce that added an enjoyable touch of sweetness.
Our waitress - Jordan - was knowledgeable about the wines and menu items - impressive given that it was opening night. When we asked for her recommendation on full bodied red wines by the glass, she steered us to the Gabbiano Chianti ($6.50) and the Castello Moracia ($8) - both of which were excellent. The latter was my 
favorite as it had characteristics similar to those of Zinfandel - smooth with a slight pepper finish (it is so nice to enjoy wine once again with dinner!).
The only dish that did not impress was the tiramasu ($6); it was overly sweet for our taste and saturated in soupy custard. When we expressed our dislike, we were told it was an unfortunate casualty of a snafu involving "the Pepsi man and a refrigerator." I would have simply removed this item from the menu, rather than serving a sub par dessert. However, to the credit of staff, the item was removed from our bill when they learned that it was not to our liking.
My only word of caution for those visiting this restaurant is the noise level. While the noise makes for a festive atmosphere, I would think twice before having a business lunch or a quiet date night dinner at this restaurant. But for those seeking a fun, moderately priced meal out with friends, The Corner Room fits the bill. It definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of food, atmosphere and price.
Bottom line: In a city with many Italian food options, The Corner Room finds its niche as a moderately priced restaurant with creative cuisine.
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Corner Room - Portland, Maine
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18 comments:
I ate at The Corner Room Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed every part of the meal. Every dish was packed with flavor and the prices are quite reasonable. It's a great addition to an already competitive line-up of Italian restaurants in Portland.
Ate there tonight and the service was unbelievably slow. It wasn't just us, it was everyone around us. We all kept looking at each other. Some of it had to do with our waiter. Seemed like a nice guy but was clueless with everything.
I never ever complain about service because I work in the food industry and waiting doesn't bother me, but this was absurd.
Nice space though.
Truthfully, it needs work. None of our 4 top's dishes were served at the same time; made for a not-so-great experience.
Understandable, as they'll no doubt work out the kinks.
BUT, does anybody else out there think that the pasta portions are just WAY TOO SMALL? All four in our party thought so -- and we're fans of the other 'Room's. Sorry, no way I'll be convinced that it's got the same price/value as the other places. Very disappointed.
The portions were really small for the price. I know the traditional size shouldn't be like an entree but at that price it should be bigger. I always thought the value was decent at his Rooms along with speedy service. The kitchen looked professional and everybody was moving but nobody at the tables was getting food. Again, it's the first week so it's best to give them some time.
We ordered the "large" size pastas, which cost $15, and were appalled by how poor a value they were.
Really. Just appalled.
We'll wait a couple months and try again, but if they don't improve the value significantly, I'm very sorry to say that that will be our last time.
Seriously...you are going to criticize a restaurant that has been open less than a week? Let the darn place get their groove in place before you condemn and be the first to post a negative comment. Jeez....
I think a restaurant better have its act together & be "on point" before opening its doors. Sure, the staff & pace of the kitchen can be adjusted, but the food had better be excellent, high-quality & reflective of the Chef's concept. It is unfortunate & stressfull, but the first few weeks of opening are the most important for critics & regular patrons -- FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT.
We were there last night for dinner. Simply....AWFUL. The bar area is nice, great Bartender John is there, other than that, awful. The Bruchetta appetizer stunk, my husband's pasta dish was a tiny serving, overcooked and dry. My mushroom pizza tasted fresh out of a frozen food pizza box...but worse. Can't say we would EVER give it another try. They should be ashamed of themselves for this place!
I've have dinner and lunch at the Corner Room and found meals to be exceptional. I could tell the staff needed more time to find their rhythm but everyone was pleasant and working hard in a very busy atmosphere. The pasta dish I tried, Gnocchi with brown butter and sage was exquisite. As for the portions I found the small traditional size just right but can understand a large man wanting more. I think the point is to order small portions of appetizers, perhaps a salad with a small pasta dish. For once it’s nice to dine instead of gobble great amounts of food.
Keep us the good work Mr. Smith your concepts are innovative, and your food is superb. I will continue to dine with you every chance I get.
Clearly I dined at a different Corner Room. One with mediocre food at best (my pasta was significantly over-cooked and bland). Not sure what constitutes "traditional" portions, but mine seemed a bit scant. Maybe I'm just a "larger man". Wine list, however, was quite nice. Affordable, tasty options. The food was not enough to get me to go back. Everything just felt fake and/or forced to me. It would be nice if the server we had could at least pronounce the items correctly. Details, details, details. Maybe the bar would be worthwhile. Considering Paciarino is cheaper and puts out a much better product, not sure why one would choose this offering. This seems as if it will be the least successful "Room" but perhaps I caught the restaurant on an off-night.
Just had a fabulous meal at Corner Room. Loved the mix and match antipastos and felt the portions were generous. My group of three women (who like to eat and can eat ALOT) had a bottle of wine, 2 veggie and 1 seafood antipasta, 1 bruschetta, 1 salad, 1 large pasta and 1 secondi, and 3 desserts and coffees for less than $50 each. We were quite satiated and thought it was an excellent value. Some plates were more innovative than others (the porcini-dusted halibut with salsa verde and radishes was incredible!) but all were very well executed and beautifully presented. Pacing of the meal was excellent for us as we wanted to linger...and our waitress was extremely well-informed about each dish. One comment: that the space is cavernous and so it is very noisy, much like the Front Room. At the end of the night, with only four tables remaining, I realized there was some lovely jazz playing and wished I'd been able to hear it throughout the meal over the din of conversation.
I've eaten at The Corner Room 3 times now, and the food has been above average. I think the portion sizes are just right if you approach the menu like a classic Italian menu, lots of courses of reasonably sized dishes. My only complaint is the service. I overheard a manager telling the wait staff that "Waiting on tables is only 30% of your job", and it shows. Meals seem to constantly come out at different times, which I would say is the main problem. This past Friday I went in with my husband and we had a server named Jordan, and he was by far the best service we've had there so far. He was knowledgeable about the food and wine, and suggested some of his favorite dishes (which were excellent), as well as being extremely pleasant to speak with. We'll definitely be going back, but I hope the overall service improves.
I just visited the Corner Room for lunch and order the lasagna with egg plant, spinach, goat cheese and was told by the server that it was huge and could be shared. No way, it was small, mushy and very little spinach and I was unpleasantly surprised. Because we have dined at the Front Room numerous times and once at the Grill Room...$15 plus $2 for a small diet soda was horrible. I tried to call to talk to the owner/manager and was put on hold and had to hang up. At least provide a salad and make sure to tell people its ground up eggplant and is not a large serving. We will continue to go to the Front Room because it is done right all the way around. By the way I had to go across to One City and pick up a salad for $5.00 so I could say I had something to eat for lunch. Sorry to be cruel but $15.00 is shameful for what was received for a lunch.
There are two separate instances that I have been to the new Corner Room which I will share with you.
Though quite frankly, my criticism will not be of the food, but of the wait staff. One time for dinner my three friends and I had above average meals, though our waitress stressed and pressured us in to getting the larger size entrees, which was not needed. If you are starving, go for the larger size. If not, then the regular is fine to fulfill your needs.
The waitress that evening was rude, terse, and didn't really seem to care about us or our meal. She did not smile once, even though we were very pleasant to her.
The second instance was during the lunch period. Six of us came in for a late lunch. We called ahead and asked for a reservation, however the person over the phone stated that none was required. We entered the Corner Room and asked for us to be seated - the waitress asked if we had a reservation...we answered that we were told that was not needed. She shrugged off and walked to another waitress, waving her hands in complete frustration at moving two tables together - the place was scantly populated, there was plenty of space.
So she was frustrated and waving her hands about us...hello? We are standing 20 feet away and can see you in plain sight.
I did get their names, but do not want to be "that guy" and put them here. However, if I return to poor service (not that I will be going for a long while) then I will not hide my disgust and let the manager, staff, and these restaurant review blogs that they need to tune up their staff.
Also, we went to the Corner room within the last two weeks, and after a month of being opened, expected better service.
Went there a few weeks ago. It was the Worst Experince I have ever had at a restuarant in Portland! We were passed over 5 times to be sat on the list. My husband even pointed out where we were crossed out a rewritten 5 names down. I didn't even let that bother me as I was so excited to try this place. Once sat, we waited for what seemed like an eternity for our waiter. We finally ordered. We got our meals (2) at different times. I sampled mine and thought it tasted bland. I asked my waiter if it was a fluke i.e. busy night, but he said he didn't know because he doesn't eat the food. I have had the exact same dish on the hill many times at the Front Room. He took it back to the kitchen and retunred with more sodium on it than most people eat in a year. When I politely told him that now I really didn't like it and I really wasn't going to eat it, he took it away. He then charged me for the dish that I didn't eat. When I pointed out to him that I didn't think I should pay for a dish I didn't eat the Chef's wife came over to berate me for not understanding the difference between this dish on the hill (same Chef) and this same dish "rustic Italian" style.
I have never been treated more poorly at a restaurant in Portland! I remain stunned that this was the Owner!
In short long waits, small portions, slow service, inept wait staff, and loud atmosphere! There are way more restuarants in Portland that deserve my patronage!
I had lunch at the Corner Room, bland and boring Panini, but gave it another chance last night with dinner...even after reading these reviews and comments by others that seemed pretty negative. I hate to say that they lived up to the negative comments. The server, although she had a great personality and was very knowledgable about the menu, she was slow to take our orders for dinner, and dessert. We had questions about the menu, but it took her a long time to return to the table to answer our questions, and then we had to wait again for her to come back and take the order. (We were there for 2.5 hours total for dinner and dessert which seems long to me and the hard bench seat was hurting me by the time we were done.) The menu was difficult to translate so we took the safe route when ordering. My friend liked her seared tuna very much, her boyfriend's said his spaghetti and meatballs (can you get any safer?) was good, but the "traditional portion" for $9.00, was served in a small and deep oatmeal bowl (a little ridiculous looking for a man to eat dinner out of), and made the small portion look even smaller. My pasta was extremely bland and boring (bolognase) it was basically a $15 dollar bowl of dry tasteless noodles. After a few bites you got tired of it...even w/ lots of salt to add flavor. My husband like his Chicken Marsala (it was tasty), but left him wanting more...it was a very small meal. We definately had room for dessert so we all got the Chocolate Walnut Torte w/ Gelato. It looked great, but was very dry and without the Gelato I wouldn't have choked down much of it. We all agreed that it was dry and would have been better at least warmed up.
A friend and I ate at the Corner Room last night. We enjoyed ourselves and have no real complaints. We got there earlish 5:30 and were seated right away. Our waitress was knowledgeable but did try to push the bigger portions. I inquired about the Lasagnette of squash and chard, and was told it only came in a "large" size but when I wondered aloud whether I would have room for a salad too, she told me it well it wasn't really that big. I ended up ordering the beet salad and the lasagnette, both were very good, taste and portion wise. My dinnerdate ordered a ceasar salad and the smaller portion or the pasta and mushrooms. The salad was a good size but to me the pasta looked like a little kid's lunch in a small white bowl. She said it was good and even brought some home but it sure looked tiny to me. We shared the Tiramisu for dessert, it was good but certainly not the best I've had. One other note, by the time we left it was sevenish and the place was very full, with people waiting and very noisy. Overall it was a good experience but I would hesitate to go there very hungry. I would like to try the mix and match antipasto maybe sometime for lunch or before a movie.
After receiving a gift card and waiting to use it on my birthday, my husband, daughter and I visited the Corner Room. I was so excited as I frequently dine at the Front Room and have tried the Grill Room. Both of which I have been very happy with. After waiting for what seemed to be more than ample time to be acknowledged, a "water boy" filled up our glasses. He said our waitress would be right over. Twelve minutes later she came to our table. I would not have minded if she had just stopped by, said hello, she was busy and would be with us shortly, but she never did this. She took our drink orders and came back to take our dinner order. She never mentioned if there were any specials so I am assuming there weren't. We ordered apps and salads. My daughters calamari was excellent. My husband's caesar had lettuce and cheese only on it. Not a crouton to be found. I ordered the corner room salad which was good except that my panini came with a corner room salad. The waitress should have told me this or recommended a different side as to not end up with two salads!!!!! A good waitress would have pointed this out. My daughter and I both had two different paninis which were both good. I actually gave 1/2 of mine and my second salad to my husband as he was crying in his "baby cereal bowl" size of pasta with crabmeat which he had ordered. He said it was very bland and had no crabmeat in it. We found out when our bill came that she had wrote down linguine with clam sauce instead of what my husband had ordered. For a check of $87.00. poor service and not so great food........I will not be returning or recommending the Corner Room to anybody!!!!!!! Also emailed the Corner Room, and no response from anyone!
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