The experience, alas, was not a happy one. After being told they could seat us at 5pm or 9:30pm (nothing available in between, although I called a week in advance) we opted for 5pm. Early, I know, but I don’t like eating after 8pm.

We dutifully showed up at exactly 5pm. The host, a young woman, gave us a baleful look, and informed us that we were “too early” to be seated as the staff was still in a meeting. She then oh-so-helpfully pointed out the gathering occurring in the back of the dining room. I wonder, why did they insist on having us showing up at 5pm, if they weren’t able to seat us at that time? What a delightful way to make your patrons feel welcome! She then told us we could “wait in the bar”. No nice suggestion of “would you like to wait in the bar?” No making us feel at home by leading the way, no sense that we were anything but a burden. The three of us skulked off to the bar, feeling as though we had somehow transgressed.

We sat down. And waited. No one greeted us. No one came to the table. It wasn’t crowded (one other table was occupied). After about 5-10 minutes, a very bored waiter came to the table. No hello, no greeting, no smile. We ordered cocktails, and were debating about ordering an appetizer, a discussion that was met by the server with a steely eyed expression. Sensing little enthusiasm from our waitstaff, we opted to go for just drinks. After all, we had already offended everyone by showing up on time; we didn’t want to aggravate them further. We waited some more. Finally, the drinks arrived after about 10 minutes. At that precise moment, the host bustled in and herded us to our table. We were able to snatch our beverages before being led away.

Once we were safely corralled at our table, things improved a bit. The service was friendly enough, if a bit distracted. The food was very good overall.

While I enjoyed the cuisine, the attitude we encountered bordered on snippy and disdainful. I don’t expect to be adopted by the staff of a restaurant; I just want to feel welcome. At Andina, I felt like an uninvited gate crasher, or some obnoxious relative they couldn’t wait to see the back of. I’m willing to try again; maybe they were having a bad night for some reason? I’m hoping the reputation of the restaurant hasn’t engendered the “we’re too good to serve your sort” pitfall that sometimes overtakes a successful eatery.

Reason places in Bend are included in “Portland” is not ignorance. It’s simply due to the fact that Bend on its own has only a couple places on OT, so they can’t rate their own page. It’s no reason not to “trust” them. And why is that so important if all you’re doing is making a res?

I ignore all ranking systems be they Zagat, Citysearch, Trip Advisor for restaurants, and OT.

Zydecojoe: I have woeful memories of Piccolo Mondo, but not of La Bonne Crepe that preceded it. (Wait, shouldn’t it be Le Bon Crepe? I’m pretty sure crepe is masculine.) But there sure are more crepe joints around Portland these days than ever - one right by my house called Tour de Crepe (on NE Alberta) which is in a great space, yet I’ve never tried ‘em. The thing about crepes is that they are just way too easy to make at home to justify spending $6-$8 a pop on one. Why should they be more expensive than pancakes? Because they’re French?

Not to disparage the crepe-makers -they certainly have their raison d’etre. Mais OUI!

Salud!

If the owners are reading this, my only slight criticism of the decor is that you can see the doors to the bathrooms through the windows of the “hut” in the back of the bar. Hanging some beads or shells in the windows might fix that up. Overall, I love the atmosphere of the bar. It’s very intimate and has fun things to look at everywhere, once your eyes adjust to the dim light. I really do feel transported when I walk through the door.

The “chi chi” is my favorite, lots of coconut and vodka, but maybe it’s the cute little coconut cup that makes drinking it so much fun. The other drinks are also great. They use the good booze and don’t skimp. I’d like to see at least a couple of other vegetarian options on the pu-pu menu, but at least there’s the spring rolls. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their meat.

Overall, Thatch is a great place, and I’ll be back again and again.

P.S. I thought the air was fine. Maybe all the fire-retardant new materials just needed some time to “off-gas” a bit.