I need a decision on which restaurant would be festive and dressy but have fabulous food for the weekend before Christmas. Am thinking of: The Heathman,Portland City Grill or Paley's.Cost is not an issue. Thank you.

I have only eaten at the Heathman..it was very nice. Erractic service but perhaps that was a fluke. The food was nice, the room very pretty.
I have heard that Portland City Grill is only good for drinks with a view.
Paleys is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in town, it is also in a charming area and house/building..I might chose that. They are also known to be quiet..which might be nice.

Definitely skip the PCG. The views are nice there, so we only go for drinks when out of town visitors come. I have been to the Heathman for dinner, but not recently. It was always very nice. We went at Christmas time, but not the actual holiday.

I posted this to your other thread, artjoanne...

The "well dressed patrons" criterion is a crap shoot in Portland, regardless of the restaurant. Of the three, you have the best chance of that in Portland City Grill, then Heathman. But IMO, Paley's has the most innovative and best food of the three. Heathman is very good too, just maybe less surprising. Portland City Grill food is good, but if not for its location/view, probably couldn't compete with the other two.

If dress were less a concern, I might suggest Carlyle or Hurleys. I might suggest them even with the concern about dress.

For fabulous food, you might want to consider Hurley's. The small dining room is very elegant and the service first-class.

We also enjoy Paley's Place very much. My son just dined at PCG last week on his honeymoon and really enjoys it here. The views are supposedly amazing from the top of the restaurant.

Heathman has a very elegant dining room, I've only had dessert here but it was wonderful. Have a great time in Portland and let us know how it goes. ***kim***

Not on your list, but the Chart House in the hills to the southwest of the city has great views of town and has a really warm atmosphere - romantic and elegant. The food is also quite good, though it might not be up there with the top of the top.

With the Heathman on your list, would you consider Higgins (if memory serves, the owner of Higgins used to be chef at the Heathman). We've been going to the restaurant since it first opened and were always pleased. My in-laws (from McMinnville) go there on occasion and enjoy it a great deal.
http://higgins.citysearch.com/

"festive and dressy but have fabulous food"
On further thought, I would say that dressy can be up to you, since beachbum has noted, people wear what they want to wear here. regardless.
And I think festive will be a given at that time of year.

So now we are down to Fabulous food...
Paleys is considered one of the best restaurants in the city.
Portland City Grill is considered a good view..They searve a $100 filet and lobster tail, terribly expensive but you cannot reserve a window view table, and their big draw is Happy Hour..
The Heathman does have an elegant dining room but so do many of the better restaurants in town, and most of them have desserts.
But as good as the food can be and as pretty as the room is, they have a hard time serving a full table without some sort of glitch..which can be overlooked most of the time.
And you can reserve a window seat. We always do.
I think I would ( and might) choose Paleys Place.
But their idea of festive might be much more understated, then I would say Heathman LOL
I bet this was clear as mud

Higgins is also very nice. The salads and starters are a bit ordinary, but the entrees are very well prepared. Desserts are wonderful here! ***kim***

Ummm... kimamom... On artjoanne's other thread, you recommend Paley's Place. On this one, you recommend Paley's, Hurley's, the Heathman (based just on having dessert there), Portland City Grill (because your son likes it), and Higgins. I think artjoanne can only choose one. Can you?

In spite of the great food, because of your other criteria, I'd toss Higgins from the list, artjoanne. Of the three you listed, because of reasons noted by Scarlett, I'd choose Heathman. Going off-list, Hurleys gets my nod, but with a slight reservation for location and dress of patrons.

Gee, when I saw the title I thought that Scarlett was inviting us all up for Christmas dinner!!!!!

crefloors--That is a great idea! Think of the fun we could have!

I might even drive down from Seattle....

For the "festive and dressy" part I would have to agree with those who recommend The Heathman. It is always beautifully decorated for Christmas, and while I agree dressing up in Portland can be a bit of a crapshoot, you are more likely to find people dressing up at The Heathman then many other places. The food there is also wonderful. We have often spent our New Year's Eve there having drinks (after our annual NYE Dinner at the Genoa), where they have wonderful live jazz music.

LOL, OK, I can see that I will have to let the Yankee know that a few people will be joining us for Christmas

beachbum, good advice. Higgins is nice too, but for the same reasons, I would forget it for this dinner.

LOL! I can just see the Yankee wondering who the heck all these people are that keep showing up at his door

I don't know, he is sorta getting used to this new way of life LOL
The people from our building wanted a photograph of us with Pup for their advertising!

We all promise to bring side dishes and of course a nice slice of prime rib for Pup.

Then we must have a party
Who is bringing dessert?
artjoanne, I think you can consider yourself invited also since this IS your thread ~
Do let us know which restaurant you choose !

My anniversary is next week and we are trying to choose one of these also
Paleys is the front runner right now but my Yankee has ideas of his own~~

Scarlett- last Sat I did an Epicurian
Walking tour of the Pearl - kept looking at all the buildings wondering where you lived and watching for standard poodles ( I think thats what I remember you having) .
Anyway- it was a fun tour and a beautiful day-