Clarklewis Restaurant in Portland

While the atmosphere and wait staff are professional and kind, I was not impressed with the food.Firstly, their menu is like any other “fine dining” restaurant, a few pasta choices some seafood and some beef or chicken. No stretch from their culinary curators to take any risks or bold moves with the menu. While they do strive to find local and unique ingredients it doesn’t bring much to the table since that is a common find in the NW restaurant scene.We ordered Caesar salad as the first course and it was so heavily garnished with garlic it burned my eyes and my palette. Next, a pork tagliatelle and mushroom truffle gnocchi. The pork was extremely salted and that was about all you could take away from that dish. Gnocchi, while sounded like a wonderful summer dish was very bland and under salted. Not even a hint of truffle and chanterelles could be detected even though large pieces of chanterelle mushrooms were found throughout.I do believe they could really create a better eating experience if they re-tool and find a way to bring the ingredients in their dishes together for a memorable dish.

This is NOT the same restaurant it used to be. Both my wife and I had dishes that needed acid and seasoning.However, the worse part was the poor business practice of adding another 16% "Service Charge" to our bill that specifically noted that it was NOT gratuity.The menu price of my dish was already 33% more expensive than it used to be (to cover for increased product & labor costsbut they went a step further to add another 16% on top of that.Either raise your menu prices and step up the quality to match or raise the menu prices and risk loosing customers by overcharging them... do not swindle your customers or you will not have any more to serve.

Clarklewis remains a nice, upscale spot for Central Eastside visits. Our server hit the perfect combination of well informed attentiveness, while avoiding hovering.Though Ive never met a pizza I didnt like, the Clarklewis version was almost entirely made up of the characteristics that I do not prefer: the crust was very thin and crispy (almost crackerlike), garlic olive oil took the place of sauce, the amounts of sausage, mushroom, and chevre were comparatively small. The fresh arugula and peppers provided most of the flavor. So, just in terms of personal preference, this one isnt anywhere near the top of my list.Cocktails, on the other hand, were spectacular - Id happily return to try out other items on the mixed drinks menu.Though pandemic times are winding down, Im still choosing restaurants based on the availability of outdoor seating, and in this regard, Clarklewis was an excellent choice.

Unique menu executed beautifully. Great service (except it felt like we walked through the back without knowing it and no one said a thingand a great atmosphere. If Im ever in Portland again, Ill definitely visit!

TL;DR: If you’re looking for a good dining experience, go elsewhere. If you’re a Clarklewis rep, you have work to do.Details: we got a table for a birthday dinner for 2 on a Sunday night at the last seating, 8:15pm. It wasn’t too busy, and service was a bit slow but ok. We got our drinks after a while, and ordered a shared appetizer — an ok avocado/pea gazpacho — a halibut entrée, and a beef tenderloin entrée ordered medium rare. The appetizer came a bit late for cold soup, but the entrées took a great deal longer than expected, perhaps 40 minutes later. The $39 halibut was meh, a bit pedestrian. The $55 tenderloin was two approximately 2 oz. slim slices of beef, reasonably seared on the outside but otherwise raw. When I pointed this out to the waiter, he said “yeah, that’s not medium rare,” and took the plate. 25 minutes go by without a word, with my wife’s entrée gone quickly cold. A new plate was deposited in front of me without a word, and the waiter left. My wife had to get up to request her food be reheated, and her plate was yanked without a word. It was returned in 10 minutes in a salad bowl, apparently microwaved. No apology from the waiter. The tenderloin was pretty good, though not $55 good.The maitre’d came over to say he perhaps had overworked the waiter. He comped us a small slice of Safeway-quality cheesecake and two small glasses of what tasted like Prosecco but he claimed were $20 glasses of champagne. When we got the bill, he said he’d only charge me for one of the two $55 entrees — including the one that was sent back uneaten because it was raw. (Gosh, thanks.)I have a lot of sympathy for restaurants when things go wrong. I don’t have much sympathy when there is opportunity to make things better, and the restaurant/staff makes a weak attempt to do so. A premium restaurant would have at least comped one of the entrees, if not both. Clarklewis charges a premium price, and at best it’s not worth it. Customers can do much better elsewhere; Clarklewis should do much better, period.

Excellent atmosphere and delicious food. We got there pretty close to closing time and put the staff in a little pinch for time, but overall the experience was amazing. The salmon we ordered and the pork was pretty raw, and I don’t think they had enough time to cook it all the way. But the drink menu is fantastic and so is the food menu. The atmosphere is very nice and we were there on a beautiful day, so they had all the sliding doors open and it was just lovely.

Always an excellent top quality menu! Amazing meals.

Bold flavors and the best cooked soft an flaky halibut I’ve ever had in my life. Industrial upscale look, no masks anywhere. Local menu changes almost daily. The only issue we wish we would have know about is that they add on a 16% “service fee” to every bill with less than 6 people, and 20% fee for groups of 6 or more. The receipt then reads that that service fee isn’t a gratuity so that they’d appreciate gratuity on top of that. Unfortunately it took away from the overall experience.

Absolutely amazing and attentive staff (wait, water, som). Starter is almost always necessary given the portion size of all mains, but artistry and flavor is top notch, as well as visible due to the open kitchen! Weve celebrated multiple holidays and milestones here, because its one of the true foodie and experience finds in the city that actually delivers all around. Had the stage right wine which is from the owner and its very smooth. Until next time!

Beautiful atmosphere, great flavors, endless wine choices

Top-of-the-line farm-to-table Northwest cuisine. Excellent regional wines. Stellar service. And the chocolate lava cake isnt bad, either.

Came early, didn’t realize they don’t open until 5 on Mondays. Waitress was quite rude. We weren’t sure if we wanted a starter or not and the waitress said “ well what’s our plan here!?” I’m a chef on the coast of Oregon and worked in Portland at some of the finest places with the best customer service. This by far was the worst. She even warned us on how the kitchen takes a lot of time to make the meals so she’d rather know what our “plan” was. We didn’t know!? We wanted to have some drinks and enjoy our time and eat. Been to a lot of great places and we immediately felt unwelcomed. Won’t be back and I doubt this place will last.

Had a lovely dinner here with a friend, until we got our bill and discovered a 16% service charge payable directly to the restaurant. (20% for parties of six or more.)The suggested tip amounts include this service charge in the calculation.No notice on the menu. Should have read the reviews before dining here.If you need to raise your prices to make the business work, then do so. Dont surprise guests with an exorbitant service charge after the fact and then try to explain it away on the bill.You leave the servers to deal with blindsided, angry customers. This is cowardly. Their job is hard enough and they dont deserve this.Do better.

The service, cocktails, food, and wine list was simply fantastic. This was my second time at Clarklewis and it did not disappoint. I started with oysters 1 doz and we had to have more. Then the beet salad was a meal in its self. It got even better when the rabbit arrived . I cant wait to visit Portland again to eat here

The food was fabulous! We loved the beets, carrots, pizza and drinks. The service was decent. But what prevents me from giving a better review is the suprise 16% service fee. Apparently 100% of this fee goes to the restaruant and we had to tip on top of that so the servers would get tipped. Extremely disappointed and will not be going back until they change this policy. Also wish we would have known about it prior to getting the bill.

Food was great, service was great, but there is a 16% surcharge that you arent told about until after your meal. Feels like youre being tricked and puts the wait staff in a weird position having to explain that the charge isnt the tip. Just charge more instead of surprising guests with a charge after the meal.

Not my particular cup of tea. Although the food was clearly put together with some thought, nothing really stood out to me.Have had more enjoyable food at a better price. Wine and beer selection were top-notch.

A really expensive restaurant for mediocre food by Portland standards. Wine was marked up 150% and all food and alcohol has a 15% service fee which was not marked anywhere on the menu. Talking to the staff, they claim that the 15% service fee goes directly to the owner and not to any of the staff, and they expect a 20% tip on top of your service fee. So expected to pay an additional 38% over menu price and 245% over wine shop bottle price.

Sooooooo yummy! Everything was fantastic! We had the halibut and the ribeye. Oysters for a starter. Love this place! Great service from Jill. Well definitely be back!

Amazing gluten free asparagus, prosciutto pizza! Sat outside on the patio - still under construction but it will be an awesome place to come back and visit.

Delicious food but unfortunately poor service. We had planned to come here for silver wedding anniversary 2 years ago but covid prevented us from celebrating so we were so excited to celebrate 2 years later. Unfortunately, the service was very slow and there was no recognition during our meal of our special anniversary. The food was definitely good, but the overall experience certainly left a lot to be desired, especially on such a special day.

I stumbled across this place while waiting for a table at another restaurant. I can’t speak for the food as I just had drinks with a friend. The atmosphere was great and our server was kind and attentive. All great until the bill arrived and I notice there is a 16% surcharge for the restaurant, not including tip. For what? Why don’t you just charge more? I personally feel a little tricked, and for me I would have rather seen the true cost up front. The psychology of it just doesn’t seem thought out.

A true experience for your palate. One of the better dinner dates I have had in a while. Im embarassed I didnt take pictures of the amazing food, but I was too busy enjoying it and telling my wife how happy I was that we found this place. I have eaten oysters all over this town & the mignonette pairing was refreshing. The warehouse setting creates an open & warm atmosphere that really pairs well with creative food options. Cant wait to go back to this place. The wait staff is really bad, I hate to take the star, but I have to. Maybe it will keep this place from getting too crowded.

Our waiter, Jen B, was amazingly patient with us and guided us through their menu. We loved everything we got. Brussel sprouts, carrots, short rib, prime rib, steelhead on risotto, and handmade pasta. The prime rib was classic, but every other dish was exceptionally experimental/unique in the best ways. Every bite was a flavor journey. All our drinks were exceptional as well.

I love the food, staff, and atmosphere but the owners mandatory 16% surcharge to the bill was tacky. I would rather you just roll it into the cost of the meal than be given an ambiguous and pretentious fee for what???? It smells of greed!

My group has been to this restaurant many times, this is the first time we had a bad experience.Raw chicken entree (really really raw, not even close to cooked), warm off-tasting oysters, cold steak. I’ve been sick all last night and this morning from the food.The server was fantastic, which is why I’m giving 2 stars instead of 1.

Clarklewis was my go to favorite restaurant. We’d go for any birthday, girls night out, or date night out. Since Covid, we’ve only been there twice. I thought this first time was bad due to Covid, staffing issues, etc. I recently took my friends there for my birthday dinner and felt embarrassed! I’ve been raving about this place forever. I usually go for pasta because it’s handmade and just delicious! I was so disappointed in my tagliatelle. Very little flavor and it was wet, not saucy. I tried my friends dishes as well and was not impressed. The salami and cheese plate was the least impressive I’ve seen. Small pieces of cheese with some meats and three small slices of bread - no other crackers or vessels for the cheeses. The food was all good, but definitely not worth the price. The service was also just ok. Seemed like no one wanted to be there and they were trying to rush though ordering. I don’t know what’s changed, but we will not be coming back or recommending again. So disappointed.

Wow I mean wow! What a great meal. My drink was so well-balanced and dangerous I could drink them all night LOL. I got their Caesar salad which was so garlicky and delicious I do feel for my taste it was overdressed but again so delicious. I ordered the steak which was cooked perfectly the seasoning and butter was balanced. The potatoes that came with it were unbalanced cooked some were soft and some were at the cusp of underdone But again it all tastes good. The chanterelles were also delightful. My brother got the salmon which again he ate the whole thing and agreed did it was all wonderful tasting. My father got three starters the oysters the Caesar salad and the tartar. He was over-the-moon happy with his choices. We will be back to try more!

The food was good but not amazing. The salmon accompaniments werent great and possibly undercooked, the dessert seemed a bit burnt. The server was great and super helpful with description of menu items and recommendations. Lovely ambiance. But I felt disappointed with the food quality for the price point.

It had been a while since we were last there,, so we decided to have dinner this week. Absolutely delicious meal. We were among the first to sample their Fall menu. We dined on oysters, amazing pan-fried salmon for my husband and melt-in-your-mouth venison for me. We shared the dark chocolate lava cake and it, too, was exquisite.

An attractive restaurant but food was kind of ordinary. Pasta dish was solid, as was a pepperoni pizza but a duck dish was incredibly dull—duck was kind of tasteless and the vegetable mixture was a mash of uninteresting flavors. Servers were nice and professional when they were at our table (on patiobut left us alone for long periods, never asked if we wanted another glass of wine, offered desert and we waited 20 minutes after finishing and had to go in search of server to ask about check.

Delightful is the best way to sum it up.The staff was delightful and the food was superb. The presentation and the wine choice by our server was on point.

Ordered beetroot salad, linguine, and vegetable pizza. We had been here before, ordering the carrots and veggies pizza, the experience was impressive.Unfortunately, this last time did not meet our expectations. The salad and linguine was ok, but the pizza crust was way too crispy like pita chips. But we were starving...We politely told the server about the pizza, after we paid, so they would know that we were not trying to get a refund, but just giving feedback.This is where we feel that the service couldve been improved= the server was polite, and explained that some people before had asked for the crust to be more crispy and that we should ask for chewy next time and that theyll be happy to do it. Its silly to ask for a chewy crust beforehand, any pizza place worth their salt would apologize for a crackery crust.If someone asked for crispy, THEN you say "please ask us ahead next time " but a chewy crust is the mark of a knowledgeable pizza maker.

We just had an amazing dinner at Clark Lewis! Gracious and friendly service and all six of us loved our meals. The roll up doors made us feel safe and well ventilated, even though we were eating indoors in the beautiful dining room. Loved it and we’ll be going back soon and often. Keep doing what you’re doing.

This is the 3rd or 4th time weve been to Clarklewis in the last year+. The staff is always super nice - even when super busy. The food is always in season, ridiculously fresh, and always delicious. Great cocktails. Great wine list - with a super helpful sommelier. Definitely a must-visit!

great food! our server was wonderful!

Went to Clarklewis for my bday dinner tonight and had a delicious meal. The Zucchini blossom stuffed with cashew ricotta just blew my taste buds away.A plate so delicious I had to share a photo.Get there and get yours before its gone. #SeasonallyDelicious

Overall it was a little disappointing. We had the fried halloumi, brussel sprouts, pizza of the day and salmon. The halloumi and brussel sprouts were good and flavorful. Unfortunately the pizza of the day was not good. The smoked Gorgonzola did not melt well and the crust had a tough consistency more similar to toast. The salmon texture was good, but the char was so agressive that the primary flavor was a bitter burnt taste. Unless you want to swing by for a few cocktails I would not recommend the food at this price point.

A vibrant restaurant with delicious seasonal selections. The cocktails are fresh and beautiful. Spring is in the air, make sure to book ahead.

Consistently very good food. Swank yet relaxed atmosphere. Excellent service. Not cheap, but worth a splurge. Their roll-up walls allow for lots of fresh air in an inside space and theyve installed a premium air filtration system to further reduce the risk of Covid transmission.

A top-tier go-to foodie experience! Very unique menu items and ingredients, definitely above par even in foodie driven Portland.Theyve installed special air filtration and overhead fans to circulate and even had some of the outside windows open. Itll be even more delightful come summer.For apros, we especially loved the diver scallops with mushrooms and also the celery bisque.

Walking in with a reservation we were asked to be seated at a table and when we asked to be sat at another table, that was not in the middle, the hostess got an attitude before she went to check her other reservations and then did infact status at another table.The waitress was nice and got us drinks, I ordered a martini and usually in a nice place do not have to say" please not shake it". So when I got martini I was shocked to see ice on top. I sent it back.We ordered from the dining month menu. This was our first time at ClarkLewis and wanted to see what they showcased on their dining month menu.I got the Butternut squash chowder with sunchokes and persillade butter, my mate got Beets with watercress, pickled avocado, red onion and pepita salsa verde. My soup was lukewarm but still good.We both ordered the Salmon with potato confit, Swiss chard, braised almonds and artichoke barigoule. The Salmon was very bland and the almonds were too crunchy for the softness of the dish. They would have been better chopped or shaved to add texture to the dish.For dessert I ordered the Passionfruit panna cotta with almond crumble and candied citrus and he orderd the Chocolate tahini mousse cake with blood orange sauce and sesame peppercorn brittle. We both enjoyed the desserts.Overall the experience was not what we expected from a place with white tablecloths.

Great space good service and on average good food. Not much in the way of mains for vegetarians. I had the spaghetti (the only vegetarian main), which was just okay and had a creamy garlic white sauce ($21). It seemed very rich with subdued flavor. My partners Salmon ($35, farmed Kingwas cooked to perfection and had a very delicate flavor with little seasoning. Prices were reasonable.

Nice ambient, nicer service. Food was quite good but overall salty.Loved the pastas, must be house-made. Market green salad was not worth it. Other happy hour menu was pretty good.

The food was well made. The steak dish was my favorite as it was cooked right and the cauliflower purée was really good. The only downside was the dessert. It was a chocolate tart but the tart shell was too thick and it was cold which made it hard to cut with a fork or a knife. The ambiance is nice as it has wall to wall windows which brings in a lot of nice natural light.

This was a first visit and I came for dining mi th with a reservation for 6. The service was excellent. It smells like a wood fire when you walk in. Very sleek and chic.I had the old fashioned which was smokey and tasty. Though I had been looking forward to the duck fat old fashioned but their online menu had not been updated and it was temporary.I felt like there werent a lot of crowd pleasers on the starter menu, fancy cheese and oysters were not options for my crowd that was half pregnant women. We had the bruschetta and I wished it had mushrooms or another ingredient. It seemed really vegan.We all ordered off the $33 three course dining month menu. I started with a carrot bisque that was velvety and flavorful. I then had the mushroom truffle risotto that was unfortunately soupy, underseasoned and did not have truffle. Did someone forget the truffle salt? No one will know. It was disappointing. The chicken and steelhead looked good. The steelhead had the smallest portion by far but appeared satisfying. Both desserts were delicious.Overall I had been wanting to come here for over a year and was disappointed in the food. I saw some items brought out that were not on the dining month menu that looked much better and were plated well. Thats what you get for $33. Pictured are the steelhead and the desserts.

We got there around 515 and we’re one of the first to be seated that evening. Great atmosphere set inside an old warehouse across the street from the original Bunk Sandwiches. Service was helpful and swift with delivering drinks and plates. Food came out timely and allowed us to have a great conversation with friends without being rushed or waiting too long for the next course. Radicchio salad was awesome! Not too bitter. Steak was grilled perfectly and the pork chop was done to my liking. It was served with a diced apple concoction and something else with it but I can’t remember but that’s beside the point of the dish being paired perfectly with the right portion of protein to starch and veggies. Excellent job Clarklewis!

We go here every year for our Christmas party and they are always very helpful navigating through the menu and give great suggestions. Their food is delicious, I highly recommend enjoying a meal there

When we got there, found it it was prom night. Go kids and hope their night was great. With that, the place was packed, but we did make a reservation via OpenTable. Before I go into the food, I will say that I was really impressed with the staff. Being so busy, I expected it to be tough for them to get around. They were well staffed and the wait between visits was just right. Didnt feel neglected or where I had to wave someone down. BRAVO!The food was fantastic. Started with the charcuterie board that was delicious. For dinner was the below images. Didnt try the fish, but the steak was perfect. Not sure what the orange sauce was, but loved those little ball like things. So tasty and a touch of sweet. I wish I knew what they were. They all compliment each other very well. The carrots and broccolini were tasty too. Not disappointed in any way. I will be coming back. Portions were just right. Ate all except for a small amount of the beef.

Had an absolutely wonderful meal here. The cinnamon-infused Old Fashioned is amazing, and so was the steak. One of my new favorite restaurants in Portland.