Departure Restaurant and Lounge

Everything was amazing!

Wow!!! From start to finish Departure did not disappoint!! Wonderful favors, amazing ambiance and overall tasty dinner experience. A must try when in Portland...

Service and atmosphere was incredible. The char siu tempeh was too spicy to eat so I could only eat a little and had to take the rest home. My husband’s tuna roll was extremely small and he was still hungry afterwards. Fun place though. Might go again.

Great service, food, everything. The outdoor bar was fantastic even though it was chilly. They have heaters so it was comfortable.

Food was amazing! I heard from a local friend it Samantha so good when it first opened but got much better. Only 3.5 stars on yelp at the time of this review but likely low because of when the food wasn’t as good.
Great place for a date, business, or special occasion.
Outside rooftop patio for drinks before was amazing too.

Great food!

Excellent curry but even better cocktails!

I booked a table for a large group for my mother's birthday and we ordered enough dishes to eat family style. The whole stuffed fish was so tender and delicious and I loved the sauces that came with it. My husband's favorite was the massaman curry bison. The steak that came on the hot stone was melt in your mouth delicious. A great option for the mainly vegetarian guests was the broccolli dish. I don't know what spices they put in it, but it was so unique and tasty. Definitely a splurge but worth the money!

The service was extremely slow! Had reservations at 730 and were not seated until 815. Only had time for one drink due to slow service. By the time we were done paying it was 1030.

Interesting and different choices and all were delicious! Fun and interesting flavors - wonderful!

Server was amazing food was great ambience was good

Food was great but the restaurant itself needs some serious sprucing up. Things were very worn around the edges, walls were unclean and needed new paint, etc. It sort of made the place feel a bit dirty.

Had the Chef’s tasting menu with the wine pairing. Wine pairing should not be offered with the tasting menu since it was not paired with the dishes, but seemed like three random servings of wine. The last glass completely threw off the dessert and did not go with any of the last dishes. There was no explanation of the dishes or the wines, just names of the Dishes and the wines provided by the servers. Again, if restaurant is going to offer a chef’s tasting menu, then an explanation dishes should be provided. The food itself had some high notes but the majority was average. Kimchi fried rice was bland and crab roll was plain and the dessert was fru fru with no wow factor in flavor. The meat stick had the most flavor, but since we were not told what type of meat it was or what it was, I can only refer to it as the meat stick. The sauce for the shu Mai was good, the the shu Mai itself was “hard”. Will not be going back.

A friend and I enjoyed a wonderful vegan dinner and some delicious cocktails at Departure. Service was super friendly and attentive and the evening was relaxing and fun. Food is served family style, and everything we tried was delicious. Can't wait to go back next time I'm in Portland.

I celebrated my birthday there! It was out first time visiting. Our server was amazing! We had a great laugh with him. The place was great!

We're long-time fans of Departure - from the outdoor patio/dining to the (usually) fab food ...

But our visit this last weekend - where we had invited new friends to join us - was a very disappointing disaster ... so sad to write this, and hope it helps spark Departure back to its winning ways.

What went wrong? Extremely slow service, took 15-20 minutes to get someone to take our drink order, our drinks (gin & tonic) were weak and tonic water was flat (after waiting another - no kidding - 10 minutes to get our waitress's attention to let her know, it took another 15 more minutes to get new drinks - which were only mildly better). We know it's busy on Saturday night, but our food took at least 40 minutes to start to arrive (and at least another 10-15 for other dishes to finally come). We were unable to order Departure's signature brussel sprouts dish - as the chef decided "he was tired of it," according to our waitress - and had replaced it with a broccoli dish (we tried it - small portion, and nothing close to the signature).

Our much-loved Chili Grilled Shrimp - on this trip - was overcooked and smaller portion than previously ($18 per small bowl) - definitely not up to par.

Fortunately, we had great company and conversation (though Departure is notably loud and "happening") - and our friends' vegan dishes thankfully were better prepared than ours.

Up until now, we have recommended Departure to just about everyone we know - but now, we'll keep it on the down low, try it maybe one more time - and hopefully have a MUCH better experience, as we've had so many times in the past.

Please bring back the previous level of food and service - we'd like nothing more than to stay fans of Departure.

The food was really salty Pork fried rice Spicy tuna roll Etc

Super food and great service as always. One of our favorite downtown Portland places.

The ambiance was fun, but the food just wasn’t great. We ordered several different dishes and all of the flavor combinations seemed a little off. I’m all for creativity, but things should also taste good. The wings were super oily and greasy, the crab roll was extremely overpriced for such a plain roll of nothing but rice and minced crab meat with a “citrus” mustard on the side (a strange addition), and the desserts all included some very unusual savory elements that did not mesh with the rest of the dessert. Overall, disappointing for the price point. Also, the chopsticks were no better than a cheap sushi train. Everything was sub par and fairly expensive.

Service was horrible. We waited SO long for our server to say hi I had to ask the guy getting us water to find our sever. And SO long to get our bill I had to ask the busser to get our server.

Dinner was great!
Service staff were great and welcoming..and efficient!
It felt like we went out somewhere special!

Best of several restaurants I tried in PDX. The decor is not to my taste, I spend too much time in airports as it is, but the food was outstanding. The chicken wings are nicely spiced, as was the chili shrimp. Looks like a nice date restaurant, with quiet and secluded tables. Can’t wait to go back!

Always a great experience here! We had the sushi on this visit and it was tasty. Service was exceptional.

It was my birthday. The staff were amazing! Food was on point was amazing and very tasteful! I can’t wait to come back and visit again !

Great ambience and a patio with a great view. Delicious, creative Asian fusion fare. Highly recommend.

We sat at our table for 15 -20 minutes before being greeted by anyone. I had to ask for someone to get our server...very disappointing. Upon greeting us the server didn’t even apologize? My guest was dining with you for the first time and it left a poor impression. The server was almost arrogant for a lack of better term. Also I requested a window seat and although some were available we were sat at table behind. The food was good as usual but not a good experience.

Great food and service! Always a nice Business outing for clients.

live locally and haven't dined for dinner at departure for a long time. with a birthday occasion, we decided to revisit. we were notably surprised at the menu and the food was really good! there were options for everyone in our party.
the service was good as well!
good looking wait staff!
overall fun experience though!

Arrived promptly for our 7:30 reservation. 40 minutes later we were finally seated. No apology, just excuses. First excuse, “Diners are lingering” followed by, “Open Table overbooked us.” Not worth it.

Had a wonderful birthday dinner at Departure with my husband. Had a wonderful vegan menu and non vegan menu to please both of us. The drinks were amazing!

The server was inattentive and seemed unwilling to help clients and did the absolute bare minimum.

The food was very tasty.

Amazing as always! From the tasting menu, to roof top hour, 4th of July, and special occasions Departure is always a great choice.

Excellent service, quality and presentation. This is an easy choice for a great meal experience in Portland.

My wife and I were visiting from California (Napa). One of our goals for the weekend was to have a good dining experience/adventure. We certainly exceeded our expectations at Departure. We were more than impressed with our meal and the overall service. The food selection is quite interesting. Each item we ordered contained an abundance of flavors and you can see there was careful attention to all the details. We entertained ourselves with the roasted whole snapper, Thai fried rice, seasonal vegetables and a crab roll. As food was being delivered to nearby tables, we witnessed other items that looked delicious calling for us to come back! Once we bit into each item, the myriad of flavors and combination of spices danced In our mouths. It was delightful. We are still in awe of the experience. Portland is blessed to have this sensational restaurant downtown and my cudos go out to Chef Goudet.

This place is still amazing. They have changed some flavors on the menu and it is still just as delicious.

If you are into a food "show", this is the place to go because this restaurant half pretends to be into the food. It's full on about the "experience". They will argue it is both, but here's what is apparent:

Though they are using superb ingredients ––– the ingredients are drowned-out by sauces. And the presentation of the dish obscures that they are stingy with fish and other main ingredients.

Example: sushi.
The rolls are disproportionately rice and vegetables. The amount of rice and vegetables is 90%+. I doubt the tuna, trout or other fish add up to $1 per roll. Better to skip the rolls and ask them to bring you sashimi (it's top quality).

Exception: the beet salad. It's a symphony of wonderful flavors.

If you are into the show, the ticket price is built into the menu.

To those who are foodies, proceed with caution - and if you tell them exactly what you want, they will probably make you happy..

First of all, our server, Ben was phenomenal. He is super knowledgeable of the menu and has an easy-going demeanor that immediately warms interactions with those that he is serving. He made our anniversary dinner very special, delicious, and also really, really fun. Onto the food - my partner and I shared several plates from the vegan menu. We order the kimchi fried rice, root & vegetable roll, udon noodles, tempeh steamed buns, and last but certainly not least, the brussels sprouts! Omg the brussels sprouts. Everything was delicious but the brussells sprouts were our favorite and between ordering all of those and dessert we were happily taking some leftovers home with us to keep enjoying over the weekend. The ambiance of their restaurant is modern and showcases the amazing skyline of Portland in a sleek and sophisticated way, all the while having people like Ben to ensure all their guests feel right at home. We will be back! :)

Amazing food. Love the smal plate family style menu. The veiw is incredible.

Delicious, unique, keeps us coming back. Always great service. Our waitress, Avery, was very nice and helpful. We love trying new dishes each season. Everything we try is mouth watering good. The views are gorgeous. The restaurant is very modern and fun to be in.

The restaurant is in a great location in downtown Portland with great views of the city from the bar areas. Unfortunately the restaurant's vibe felt more like LA than Portland. The interior design is unbalanced and at times feels like you're on the set of a cheap sci-fi spaceship movie.