Departure Restaurant and Lounge

The food wasn’t out of the ordinary. It was good but nothing that would go out of my way to experience again.

Really great food and a really incredible view! We loved it! Also, I’m vegetarian, so the vegan menu was perfect for me since the waitress said that most of the regular menu items are made with fish sauce. My boyfriend, a meat eater, loved the vegan options we got too!! If you’re vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, or none of the above then this is a great place to go!

Pretty expensive for what you get, but what you do get is delicious. Just hard to justify $30 fried rice.

we have eatedn there before last year & noticed how dirty the ceilings were and the womans bathroom was dirty and had non functioning sinks. This time I heard they closed down to upgrade the kitchen & had employees help with the cleaning of the dining area......... big improvement!!!

Food was so consistently over salty that is was uneatable. Send 3 dishes back and replaced with other way way too salty dishes. I love salt in my food and for me to send food back it is truly way too salty! We would never return.

Loved every minute!

We always celebrate birthday dinners here. We love everything about Departure. Amazing ambiance, friendly staff, incredible food & drinks!

Excellent food, bar, service, and ambiance. Highly recommend!

Little disappointing. We were first told by Departure that they were booked for the night and then thru OpenTable were able to reserve a spot for two. When we got there we were seated in a tight room with 3 other couples within inches of us and was right next to the bar. The bar was very rowdy and loud. If I would've known where we were sitting I would have just sat at the bar instead. Food was good but very small quantities. For the pricing I felt it was just 'OK' level of service - I give 3 stars.

Cool, relaxed vibe. Appreciated the separate vegan menu! Bibimbap arrived sizzling hot as did the wagyu beef. Creative cocktails too. Great views all around.

Fantastic service and even better food. Already recommended this place to a friend headed to Portland next weekend. Headed back next time I’m in town for the crispy pork belly and spicy broccoli.

Great views, service and yummy food.

The food was thoughtful and playful, and most importantly was delicious. The staff was amazing, and the room is beautiful. If If I had any critical remarks they would be directed at the wine pairing with the tasting menu. The wines were good, but nowhere near as special as the meal was.

Many of the "best" places in town sound like you are standing in the middle of the freeway with cars zooming around you. This place doesn't. It feels cosy, and warm. The wait staff is great. Everyone takes care of you. And the food is fabulous.

This is a nice restaurant. Views are the best. Rooftop bar is awesome. It is pricey and the portions are VERY small so just be prepared for that. Tables are SO close together. You can definitely overhear your neighbors conversations. We were kind of loud so I felt bad for the folks sitting right next to us. So if you like yummy food (but expensive), small portions, sitting close to others and a restaurant with a great view, this place is for you.

Birthday dinner for our son. It was great!!

Departure was one of the two best restaurants we went to during five days in Portland. A menu with a really fine array of choices, and everything we had, especially the Bibimbap, was terrific. And the service (from Jennifer) was excellent. A nice view of Mt. St. Helens in the distance, too!

Great view of downtown Portland. Our food was delightful (my wife still talks about the wok fried rice) and our server was wonderful. I had the bibimbap and the gochujang (sp?) had a surprisingly potent kick, compared to others that I've had recently. Definitely looking forward to a return trip!

We’ve been to Departure many times, this was the first time since the renovation.
My husband and I had 5:30pm reservations on a Sunday, arrived early and popped over to the outdoor bar: the weather was fantastic and we got a seat with a view-the drinks were good too!
After our drinks we went in to be seated at our table by the window (with a beautiful view of the river) and were served right away..water..menus..AND a glass of complimentary pink champagne having been recognized as frequent customers-a nice surprise!
Most of the food we ordered was outstanding..miso scallops and chicken wings, the wagyu beef and basil roll was bland. We usually order the bibimbap and dungeness crab rice but decided on a few new items.
WE MISS THE SHU MAI!!! (sp) AND the Elixir of Life drink!My life would be perfect if only these were brought back home.
The service is always, always impeccable.
During the summer we will be here at least once a week for the outdoor seating, bar, tasty drinks and delicious food.
Thank you, Departure!

Great food and service!

An amazing place for a special night out with a significant other, family, or the client you’re looking to impress.

The pork belly was so good. The wagyu steak was great according to my daughters who ate 2 orders of it. The service was wonderful.

Had a nice birthday dinner. Didn’t (and don’t) expect anything special treatment because of this -just the reason we went. The food was very good as was the service. We didn’t get the window seat we had requested when the reservation was made over 1 months prior. We were sat in the second row from the window.
Not sure if the good food and expensive price is worth making requests with the reservation well in advance.

I love this restaurant, but it’s becoming increasingly expensive. Most mixed drinks are now $15.

The experience was not perfect, but I will definitely give it another try. My salad and dessert were amazing. The green curry was not inedible, and I am not a picky eater. It was surprisingly bad.

Food was terrific and worth the poor experience. Noise levels were next to impossible to have a discussion with the person across from you. The two person table arrangements were untenable as they are stacked in a row so close to the table on either side of you. Reserve a table for 3 and let them know your 3rd person cancelled after you've been seated at a decent table.

Sophisticated, professional, dairy free dining. Will definitely be back!

Made reservations at the last minute so it wasn't the restaurant's fault we were in a corner with a woman seated so near us that she joined our conversation! And besides the space, everything is coming up roses here! We participated in March dining month and what options! My spouse wanted to dine somewhere with "big flavors" for the birthday, and we hit it! The collard greens with peanut oil popped, the fried chicken and kimchi were zingy, a bison curry packed a whallop, and I adored the stir fried broccoli. My mouth was alive! Then came the chocolate toasted coconut dessert, with a candle and we wished to come back! The staff was super nice, attentive; we adored her too.

Lovely setting, views, awesome asian fusion food, must go to!!

Great location and view. Wide selection of Asian influenced food. Several other the dishes although tasty and unique were too sweet for my tastes(Korean style fried chicken). The coffee was served at room temperature. The dessert was a little too sweet as well. Great view and friendly service. Prices seemed a little high

Everyone was great serving my friends and I at my 70th birthday party. Especially loved the chocolate dessert with shaved ice, etc!!!

Wow! The food was delicious. This was our first time here and we went on the Portland Dining Month. One of us ordered from the regular Portland Dining Month menu and the other from the vegan PDM menu. The Shaved Collards and roots were especially delicious. I wish that was part of the regular menu. The Charred beets first course was OK. But the Korean fried chicken and Green Curry were both wonderful. The only choice for dessert was the Toasted Chocolate custard but we both enjoyed it. The vegan version was made with something besides real ice cream but delicious, none-the-less.

This was a good introduction to their food without the high prices.

We did not love our experience at Departure. From the time we arrived we were told that we needed more members of our party to arrive before being seated. After more than 15 minutes of waiting we told the host half of our party and we were hoping to be sat. He asked our name and when we told him he responded, "Oh, I thought you were another party... we could have seated you".

The restaurant is pretty but we were seated in a booth right next to an apparent dish drop off area or something because there was lots of loud banging of dishware directly behind us during the entire visit. Our server told right off the bat plates were "small and most people order at least two dishes". This is kind of a turn off being told plates are small considering the price is not. I ordered the Miso Scallops which were cooked well but the sauce was too overpowering, it tasted almost like a Thai peanut sauce and I could not taste the scallops at all. My husband ordered the XO Fried Rice and had 2 small pieces of sausage in the entire plate, otherwise it was mostly just spicy rice. Plates were cleared pretty quickly after our food but we did wait a long time for our bill to arrive.

We did like the entire menu is dairy free however our overall experience left us feeling underwhelmed and unimpressed.

Simply amazing. Food was incredible. Service was world-class. Departure is my go-to for special occasions that we want to remember.

Amazing food and wonderful service! Definitely would go back!

Our servers were Laura / Jennifer.. my girlfriend and I first timers / Departure was on the Portland restaurant month celebration and I’d always wanted to check it out / truly impressed by what was offered by the chef for the Restaurant month in Portland/ tried the coby beef also / dessert presentation impeccable 👏just blown away by the whole experience!! Thanks so very much ...Robert Croft/ Teri Sekera 🌹♥️

Anniversary dinner on a Saturday evening. We went early evening and were seated immediately. Server got us drinks and recommended items on the menu as it was our first time there. The view is outstanding! Seating is a little cramped but we had fun talking with the couple beside us. The food was different, but delicious especially the bibimbap ! I would definitely go back to try other things on the menu.

Absolutely wonder food, however it is expensive as well as the drinks figure 200 with tip for 2 people.

Enjoyed evg and food very much. Service a bit slow and noise level a bit high

This was my second time at this place. Happy hour menu was very limited, however that wasn’t the issues. The FOOD, everything we ordered was EXTREMELY SALTY!!! We let our waiter know and he said he would let the chef taste it and he will get back to us. A moment later our waiter was at our table, asking if we wanted anything else, since the dishes we order has a lot of seasoning. To be honest this was no seasoning, it was SALT....we were very disappointed. I certainly wouldn’t recommend ordering food here, place is great for the views and afternoon drinks.