Departure Restaurant and Lounge

Beautiful view, nice space and good service. Food was good, however, I was expecting more from the sushi for the price. It was not as flavorful or ascetically pleasing for what we paid. Specifically the cut sushi rolls.

We dined at Departure for our anniversary , only to go back for more fabulous food 2 nights later. The menu isn't large, but everything is absolutely delicious! This is one restaurant that totally lives up to the hype!!

El lugar es muy especial para ir a comer algo light y tomarse unos tragos con la pareja o amigos!

One of the best meals I’ve had in years. Loved the ambiance and the service. Our sever Jennifer was simply lovely and the chef’s recommendations were perfect!

We always love planning our special dinners for Departure. This meal was delicious and the service was exceptional.

i enjoyed everything about Departure. the only thing that could be changed is how my server was shamelessly salesy from the beginning. it was a bit embarrassing in front of my guests. he didn't even offer to comp my drink for my bday celebration or provide a slice of cake with a candle for me.

It was an absolutely wonderful meal. The food was fantastic, the service was wonderful. The staff was constantly checking in with us making sure that we were taken care of. They were really nice and extremely professional. Always a joy to come to Portland and go to Departure for a fantastic meal

It was ok. It was pretty loud and the food was really salty. Buyer beware- they have a corkage fee of $35!

Outstanding food, service and atmosphere. Fantastic views, super yummy dishes, and a good value for the whole experience. Thank you!

What a great (different) experience!
The entryway makes you feel as though you’re either walking the runway to a spaceship... or in line at Disney’s Space Mountain.
Hostesses were friendly upon greeting, interior decor was reminiscent of the golden era of airplane travel, along with scenic views of the downtown Portland skyline.
Our server was polite and polished and gave us some good recommendations from the drink menu.
She advised us that the food was “sharing style” and about 2 items per person was good. (So we got 4 items and left with a doggie bag- 3 would have been sufficient.)
Overall this place was fun and a great experience. I’d highly recommend it to others visiting the downtown Portland area.

The food is amazing, the environment is very stylish and the service is professional. Unfortunately when the bill came there was a $4 surcharge with an explanation that this was necessary because of minimum wage increases. Portland, unlike my hometown of Seattle, doesn’t even offer a $15 min wage, it’s something like $11/hr which is not going to cover Portland rents. This was an obvious political statement by management to turn customers against the movement for a living wage. They could easily raise prices by 10 cents a dish, which would be unnoticeable at a restaurant this expensive, but instead chose to blame minimum wage for the cost. I run a business and pay my workers more than minimum wage without tacking on some bogus charge. Wages, like food and rent are part of the cost of running a restaurant. I won’t be supporting this chain in the future if they continue to scapegoat employees trying to survive in an expensive city like Portland. They clearly spent a fortune on the physical space, and it’s impressive, but they didn’t say they had to tack on $4 to pay for downtown rent, fancy lighting, and smoky mirrors because that’s obviously the cost of doing business. Instead they blame workers trying to survive in Portland on a little more than $20k a year. Shame on them!

Anniversary

Food portions are small and over priced but still a good experience for special occasion

The lady who was seating people was very rude and unfriendly.

Our water was absolutely amazing. I wish I remembered his name because I honestly would go back just for him. Thank you for being absolutely amazing!

Service and view were 5 star. The food was lacking. I am used to really fresh fish, and the sauces overwhelmed the freshness.

This is a novel restaurant and bar and the rooftop location is worthy of a visit at least for a drink. Very cosmopolitan. But well, I don't think it deserves 5 stars. We chose some of the most expensive options on the menu to get a fix on the calibre and found it to be comprised of some delicious, some average and some bland components. The sake options are very good and the cocktails are exotic but they still know how to mix a classic and didn't keep us waiting forever (a common annoyance around town). The place is jumping (busy and loud) and probably more suitable for younger types than my late 40's self. The architecture is interesting but acoustically unkind and a bit gimmicky (airplane style bathrooms cos we just love airplane bathrooms don't we?) I'd return for a drink and a snack to show an out-of-towner a city panorama but I don't feel compelled to return soon.

On a Thursday night, food took a very long time. Not the servers fault tho - he was great. Food was also creative and delicious. If you are looking for a quiet setting, this is not the place. So going after a calm work day would be fine, but it was not relaxing after a hectic work day.

Noise level excessive. Yes it was energetic, but too loud. This was our second visit and we loved the food and experience.

Our drinks were really good, the ambiance of the place was incredible, and the staff were very friendly. My boyfriend and I were pretty bummed about the quality of our food. Neither of us cared for our dishes. Mine was very salty. I couldn’t try my boyfriend’s food, but he didn’t want to finish it or take it home. If the food was cheaper, the good things could outweigh the bad food, but for a dinner that’s over $80, the food should be phenomenal.

Fantastic chef's tasting menu!

Chefs tasting menu was absolutely amazing! Highly recommend. So much food but so worth the opportunity to learn a little about a lot on the menu. Great restaurant with such a cool atmosphere & views of the city!

We love coming to departure! The team is wonderful, greeted us, addressed my food allergy, and gave us the best service and food! We are super proud of the departure team, nice job making our anniversry special, especially you GG!!

The food was beyond amazing. We chose the imperial tasting menu with wine pairing. The best meal I’ve had in a very long time. The service was impeccable. Mark was our server - attentive but didn’t hover. My water glass was never empty. Each person who brought a dish knew everything about the dish and was kind and charming. The manager Joshua sent a special glass of champagne for our anniversary. A perfect way to spend our anniversary. We will be back! Highly recommend.

Service and food were phenomenal!

Loved the decor. Food was amazing! I love how you order multiple plates and share.

Service and food was absolutely amazing

Horrible food and service must be avoided insulting and rude staff.

We loved the a la carte style! We ordered a bunch of options for the table and all shared. The service was impeccable. We loved the views from the balcony and the ambiance was fun and modern. Amazing drinks too!

We had a great time at Departure and took our family during their first Portland visit. The views are amazing and the food was EXCELLENT. Everything was cooked perfectly and the flavors were well balanced with the right amount of bite. My far my favorite was the octopus dish which was perfectly cooked. The waiter was knowledgeable with great wine recommendations as well tha paired wonderfully with the meal. Cheers to the staff at departure!

We had an outstanding experience! We seated outside to enjoy the view. The food was delicious and perfectly cooked. I would recommend that if it’s your first visit try a little bit of everything to have the full culinary experience. The wine list was a little pricy but I think that’s normal when you are in a rooftop restaurant. We ended up the night at the outside bar which has the best views. Totally recommended and will definitely will be back.

It was the best decision I made for my birthday celebration.

Gorgeous views of the city from the outdoor patio. Delicious food, fantastic service.

Had a great meal. Wanted to sit outside for the view. The only downside was the sun wasn’t down yet so I had to shield my eyes for half the meal. Would definitely bring sunglasses next time. Food was outstanding and service was great. We even got free champagne since it was my boyfriends birthday. The wagyu and tomato and peach salad were our favorites.

A great place. View. Yummy food. Great service. Only drawback: could use a few quiet nook tables.

Very cool space, food was outstanding. We ordered four items between the two of us and all four were great. The lounge next door wasn't our scene -- too many people trying to hard to be cool (in Portland...) but the restaurant was worth every penny.

Great food, best dining view of Portland in the summer. Pretty spendy. Didn’t honor one of our gift cards

No doubt that departure has sme of the best food in Portland. I'd highly recommend to anyone

Had reservations at 7 p.m. Got there at 6, so went outside on their beautiful open-air rooftop patio and had a few drinks. At 7 my party and I went in and were seated. They were plenty of waiters and waitresses moving around but nobody introduced himself. Within 5 minutes I began waving people down and was ignored. At exactly 1/2 hour after being seated, we got up and walked out. Nobody had approached the table.

The place should be great but it’s just noisy for us.