Portland Valentine's dinner
January 28, 2015 3:30 PM Subscribe
I probably should have asked this weeks ago... My husband and I will be in Portland, OR, for Valentine's Day and we'd like to have a nice but not ludicrously expensive dinner. We like Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, northwestern, seafood. Neither of us eat beef. Doesn't need to be fancy but does need to take reservations. We'll probably be eating early-ish, maybe 6 pm, which will hopefully help us find a spot. Any thoughts? Thanks!
I live in Portland, OR. We had a holiday dinner for work at Andina -- it's a Peruvian restaurant and it was really good. Both my partner and I said we wanted to go back there! I just saw on their web page they have a prix-fixe dinner on Valentine's day.
We also ate recently at Pok Pok which is very good as well (Thai). While they accept reservations, it is just for parties of 5 or more. That doesn't sound like much of a Valentine's day dinner to me :).
Hope you have a good trip here!
posted by elmay at 4:10 PM on January 28, 2015
We also ate recently at Pok Pok which is very good as well (Thai). While they accept reservations, it is just for parties of 5 or more. That doesn't sound like much of a Valentine's day dinner to me :).
Hope you have a good trip here!
posted by elmay at 4:10 PM on January 28, 2015
Very few restaurants offer reservations in Portland. Here's a Yelp search for "takes reservations" and "liked by Vegetarians" -- on that list I see Andina and PokPok and also Nicholas which is casual but tasty. I don't know if any of those take reservations for two. Then again, Valentine's day is a special occasion so any of these restaurants might have a special meal that night and take reservations. On that list, I've heard good things about the Farm Cafe (but have not been). I don't see Ned Ludd but that place is very northwest-yum and their veggie sides are always awesome -- I would make a whole meal of those at Ned Ludd.
posted by amanda at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by amanda at 4:57 PM on January 28, 2015
I had Thanksgiving dinner at Andina and liked it a lot, but I found the atmosphere a little loud and the service a bit meh but that could have been a one-time issue. Maybe give Jake's Famous Crawfish a try? We went to Jake's steakhouse the next evening and it was romantic-ish and quiet enough for a conversation. Had we stayed longer, we would have also tried the seafood restaurant. Jake's is pretty good with occasions, see, e.g. this menu
posted by janey47 at 5:03 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by janey47 at 5:03 PM on January 28, 2015
If they still have seats, try Departure, downtown above Macy's.
posted by paulcole at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by paulcole at 5:12 PM on January 28, 2015
Here is my question on where to have dinner in Portland. We went to Higgins - not sure if they'll still have any Valentine's tables open, but we really enjoyed our dinner there. They do take reservations.
posted by hilaryjade at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by hilaryjade at 5:55 PM on January 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Departure! The chef is on Top Chef this year. We ate there last month, it takes reservations and is a great special occasion restaurant.
posted by matildaben at 5:59 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by matildaben at 5:59 PM on January 28, 2015
I came in to say exactly what hilaryjade just said ;) If Higgins is available, it is an awesome choice.
posted by ainsley at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by ainsley at 7:16 PM on January 28, 2015
Absolutely Higgins. Locally-sourced meat and veg cooked in the French tradition but with a definite PNW feel. Service is impeccable, atmosphere is adult without being too formal.
posted by Specklet at 7:31 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by Specklet at 7:31 PM on January 28, 2015
Caffe Mingo on NW 21st. Great Italian, cool space, and you can go to Bar Mingo next door if you're early for your reservation.
posted by pdb at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by pdb at 8:20 PM on January 28, 2015
Aviary has really delicious interesting food. They do take reservations.
posted by vespabelle at 8:52 PM on January 28, 2015
posted by vespabelle at 8:52 PM on January 28, 2015
Nuestra Cocina is a nice spot for a date with fancy Mexican food. Or if you want to include French, Little Bird (or Le Pigeon) both take reservations. Screen Door is more than a brunch spot - it has excellent dinner service (and does two reservations per evening). Alpine-focused Gruner is far afield of your listed likes but is delicious (and takes reservations).
Davis Street Tavern is excellent for northwesty food. DOC would be an Italian option. And there's Ken's Artisan Pizza and Trifecta (same chef) -- Ken's would benefit from you going early, as it is one that does not take reservations, though Trifecta does and is more ecumenical in its offerings.
Plenty of places in PDX take reservations.
posted by janell at 9:28 PM on January 28, 2015
Davis Street Tavern is excellent for northwesty food. DOC would be an Italian option. And there's Ken's Artisan Pizza and Trifecta (same chef) -- Ken's would benefit from you going early, as it is one that does not take reservations, though Trifecta does and is more ecumenical in its offerings.
Plenty of places in PDX take reservations.
posted by janell at 9:28 PM on January 28, 2015
Seconding Le Pigeon! I had a romantic dinner there a couple of years ago (with a reservation) and it was pretty great.
posted by jess at 1:51 AM on January 29, 2015
posted by jess at 1:51 AM on January 29, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by skycrashesdown at 3:31 PM on January 28, 2015