Restaurant suggestions in downtown Portland, OR
 

Good morning! I'll be traveling to Portland, OR, twice in the next couple of weeks on business. I've never been to Portland and am very excited to finally see it!

Just wondering if anyone has any good restaurant suggestions for downtown, preferably within walking distance of the Marriott City Center on Southwest Broadway. I'd love to try some yummy Oregon cuisine (whatever that may be - seafood?) at about $15 to $25 per entree. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Red Star Tavern -- delicious, local food with lots of great Oregon wines by the glass.

Jake's Famous Crawfish is both a local favorite and a tourist destination. Up on 12th Ave, about five blocks from your hotel. Higgins at Broadway and Jefferson is also well regarded (I've never eaten there).

Andrew

SWBroadway is a good spot downtown for you to get anywhere to eat and sightsee.. you are about 2 blocks from the streetcar where you can venture farther into other neighborhoods.
Andrew is right, Higgins -1239 SW Broadway- is very good and a nice example of using the local produce on the menu.. not to mention a very pretty restaurant.
In town there is also the Heathman Hotel , nice restaurant, nice bar where you can eat also.
I love the Red Star Tavern on Alder & 5th, the chef wins awards all the time. (I am partial to that hotel too - the 5th Avenue Suites)
Personally, I think you should walk North or take the streetcar and come into the Pearl or NW neighborhood...soooo many great restaurants! :)

This is great - thank you all!

The great thing about Portland is that it is really compact and so you can walk all over. So definitely hit the different areas such as the Pearl and NW.

For great views and drinks head to Portland City Grill (skip on a meal though).

If you like beer, there are lots of places, but Henry's in the Pearl is fun and has over 100 on tap. Lively place and good food, and if it is warm you can sit outside.

Another vote for Red Star also.

If you like Gelato, hit Mio Gelato. They also have good panini's.

Andrew has great insight and I'll second his suggestions for Jake's Crawfish and Higgins. If you can make it over to the Nob Hill area, Wildwood is excellent. We really like it for lunch and dinners are nice also there. :)
If you like chocolates, check out the Moonstruck Chocolates. I have been enjoying the Sundae truffles my husband picked up for me when he was in Portland a few days ago.
The Heathman is another consideration, we have only had desserts there but they were yummy and the dining room is very pretty. ***kim*** ((#))

Yes, kim, the Heathman was mentioned, since it is downtown where the OP is asking about. Wildwood is one of many restaurants in the NorthWest area of Portland that is recommended...but for now, we should try not to confuse her more with restaurants out of the area she is interested in. Surely when you have visited Portland, you have eaten somewhere other than Higgins and Wildwood and lunch at Carlyle?
Those chocolates must be good LOL There is a Moonstruck near the 5th Avenue Suites hotel also, so there is not need to go to NW23rd Street.

Though I agree that Andrew does have insightful advice, with no offense intended, I'm not sure I see it evidenced in his post on this thread, kim. ;-)

Has anyone mentioned Southpark Seafood Grill? It's just a few blocks from where you'll be, Meredith, and I think it's pretty "yummy". :-) Pazzo and Typhoon would also be good choices, but I don't know if they qualify as "Oregon cuisine" (Italian and Thai, respectively). For that matter, Southpark is "Mediterranean", so does that qualify. ((?)) We can all agree on Higgins; great NW cuisine made from fresh local ingredients.

Have a great time here.

How could I forget Southpark?? You will love it Meredith!!

LOL @ Oregon cuisine!

I'm thinking that is limited to the yummy piece of (Tillamook) cheese in the cheeseburgers at Burgerville, USA.

But you won't find a Burgerville in downtown Portland! I love Burgerville and the Walla Walla onion rings there! :)
Meredith, we also enjoyed a very nice lunch at the Benson Hotel. The restaurant is called the London Grill. It is very elegant and they have very good crabcakes. ***kim*** ((f))

Oh man, I can't wait to eat my way through Portland! Thanks again, everyone!

Burgerville? lol

Meredith, no doubt about it, you can definitely 'eat your way' through Portland..

If you're dying for a taste of Burgerville while staying in downtown Portland, you can take the MAX (free) over to the east side to the Convention Center stop and walk up the hill on MLK Blvd - there's a Burgerville right next to the Starbucks.

Personally, I think Burgerville is overrated. They usually get my special order wrong, and it takes them 2X as long as any other burger joint to bring food. I prefer either a cheaper burger joint or a sit-down at McMenamins, which makes GREAT burgers.

Andrew

And breakfast! Don't miss the salmon hash with poached eggs at Mother's. Amazing.

After being disappointed in Seattle at the much praised Wild Ginger for "Asian", we ate the next night at Typhoon in Portland and raved about the flavors. "Death by asparagus" -- amazing.

And yes, we too really liked everything about Red Star Tavern (except its name).

Glad to see that I am not hte only one that does not care for Burgerville. Course, I don't care for any fast food, lol!

As Neopolitan mentioned, Mother's is a great place.

What? No "In n Out Burger" in Portland? =-O
How gauche! 8-|

Kal--Glad to see you! I've missed your fun posts:)

mms,
Thx! I gave it up for Lent so look out, baby!!!

But I must remember, one person's "fun" is another person's "humourless". [-X

Mrs Kal had a great trip to Portland so there just may be a P'land GTG sooner than later.
Think we should tell Scarlett? :-"