Departure Restaurant + Lounge Review

My experience: we went there for my sister s birthday it was excellent!!! The waitress was very nice. There was this guy who stop once in a while to check on Us he was my favorite, I don t know if he was a waitress or a bus boy not sure but, we follow in love with him. he has great customer service and he was on top of everything....

Had one of the most amazing Sushi rolls in the world! Beef tartar with Eel; it was heavenly!

Plus a special treat; Duck fat Ice Cream

Lovely atmosphere, felt very futuristic. Food was fantastic!

We walked in last night 10/25/19 around 9pm and they told us that the wait will be 45-60 min. They told us we are welcome to sit at the main bar inside, but there were no seats available
therefore we decided to go outside and sit on the balcony. As we were passing the hallway that leads to the back side balcony we noticed that so many tables inside were clean and empty. Also I couldn t help but noticed three bigger tables are just there dirtying and no one even cares about it. Can someone please explain to me why so many people are waiting for up to an hour to be seated and bunch of these tables are clean and empty. This is not only one recurrence, this happens a lot in Departure restaurant. Because of this long waiting bunch of times we just turn around and go elsewhere.

My sister and I had an absolutely fantastic time here! We were just expecting a beautiful view and some yummy food, but we got so much more. Our server, Austin, was very professional and eager to engage with us. He had an awesome knowledge of the dishes and was willing to chat with us about the history and inspiration behind our favorites. All of the food was divine, and the one dish that we didn t love was replaced with no hassle (or charge) to us. The food was spectacularly crafted and delicious, as were the cocktails. I really can t say enough about this place. It is a must.

Departure is one of the gems in Portland. What makes it stand out is Peking Duck month in December. This has become a family tradition. Wonderful service and superior chefs.

I really wanted to like this place because of the cool location, good view and friendly server but.. my husband and I did the Imperial Tasting Menu with wine pairing and I just cannot get over how salty everything was. 7 out of 9 dishes were so salty my tongue was just feeling raw at the end. Wine was not paired well either. So disappointing.. dishes were so salty that wines just tasted all bland when eaten together.

Beautiful setting. First time at this place, meeting with friends. Nice view of downtown. However, their happy hour did not satisfy me. Food is good (especially the fried rice) but expensive and served in very small portions. Afterwards, my friends and I decided to eat at another location nearby to fill up.

Its a bit pricey but well worth it. The ahi avocado role was amazing, the peppered blackened chicken and pork belies are to die for. Miso soup and the banana split were exceptional. If the spiced hot sake is still available its an increadible flavor. The service was bar none (Thank you William!) and this will most definitely be on our return list when we can afford it.

My husband and I went there to celebrate our anniversary and he mentioned that when he made to he reservation. Every member of the staff we encountered offered us congratulations. It was a Thursday night and the place was completely packed. Every aspect of our meal was filled with the pomp and circumstance one would expect from fine dining, though the wait staff was quite personable and not stuffy. They were offering a Peking duck experience and we opted for that and a couple of house drinks. Everything was exquisite. No joke, somehow, even the water was amazing. We liked it enough that we plan to go again soon. Oh, and the view were a nice addition to the dining experience. The pic was taken from the lovely bar terrace.

Departure is a very stylish and trendy place. The outdoor bar gives a great view of the Portland city. As for the restaurant itself, the ambience is very modern and classy, and certainly people who come here are that way.
We got one of the Junmai Sake bottle for the table, which was suggested by our server. It was a great Sake. As for the food, we got 6 different dishes. If you're hungry, portions sizes and about medium, so might want to get two different entrees.
We got the kani avocado roll, chili prawns, chicken sautey, departure wings, Tasmanian trout. They were all delicious, my personal favorite was the chili prawns.
Their green tea sundae desert is a must.

great food! love coming here in the summer, great rooftop bar!

Great vibe. Beautiful location. Modern aesthetic. Tasty Asian fusion cuisine. Check out the outdoor rooftop lounge.

The place to go if you want to get dressed up for dinner in Portland. Fun, airport-themed vibes, with an incredible view. Food is delicious (make sure to get the fried rice), cocktails are awesome (plus they have a great sake list), and the presentation/service is fantastic. I prefer going here in a group of 4 instead of just a date night so we can order more items off the menu like the whole striped bass. Although most restaurants in Portland are allergy and diet-friendly, this one actually has separate menus for many diets, so just ask for one. It is always packed here, so be sure to make a reservation.

Super views of Portland at night. Was visiting from out of town and heard good things about the rooftop bar and it did not disappoint. Lots of people around and was a pretty great atmosphere. Reasonable drink prices to boot! Best of all it provided great views of the city at night and we had a blast hanging out outside in the summer chatting with friends. Definitely recommend stopping in for a drink.

Great views, elegant atmosphere, and good happy hour.

Beautiful place and definitely want to go back. The food was to die for and so was the view. The bartender didn't make overly strong drinks and was super nice. Definitely recommend going.

Food and drink was good. Giving this place only 3 stars because of the poor and slow service. (Would have given 4 - 4.5 as the food and drinks were good)

Server had a tone of arrogance as we had to follow up with items several times.

My boss picked this and I agreed as it's in the notes hotel which I usually have great success with but this was sadly disappointing. Brought us the wrong sake, food was a bit ordinary for the price tag

This place is nothing short of amazing! I have never been so fulfilled during a dining experience. It was a long wait, about 30 minutes but we'll worth it. The staff were awesome and very helpful in navigating the menus, including a special gluten-free menu. The food was delectable combining unique flavors and the view was wonderful, overlooking Portland. I will definitely be returning but next time with a reservation.

My boyfriend and I enjoyed a beautiful anniversary dinner here and it was perfect. The view from our table during sunset was so jaw dropping all while sharing multiple delicious vegetarian dishes together. It was so memorable and wonderful. I cant wait to come back and try more of that bombastic menu!

Iconic views from this downtown rooftop bar. Pioneer Square is Portland's living room and Departure is Portland's party room. Bachelorettes, birthday girls, young hipsters. Everyone wants a picture so be a sport and someone will dp the favor back. Spendy but worth it.

Extraordinary Asian tapas that are imaginative combinations of unique flavors. Good drinks. Hip Deco. Fantastic rooftop spaces and views.

Pretty good views & good deals for happy hour! There are other sushi places in Portland if you are looking for solely a dining experience, but they do not offer this view. Granted they close dowm parts of the deck when it's windy & such.

We were 4 adults and took the chef's tasting menu (85$ per person).
What a delight!

Visited Portland and I had to check this place out. I was very satisfied, the place is phenomenal. The view, the food and everything was bliss! Definitely coming here again when I visit.

- I dont say this very much, but just wow. The restaurant itself was just wow. We got to have dinner outside on the rooftop, it was such a great experience with even better food. Everything was fresh, flavors were on point. Id recommend to anyone.

Love Love Love one of my favourite places in Portland. Great food, ambience & wonderful views.

Food and drinks are great! Definitely would recommend.

The atmosphere here is amazing. The view is pretty great depending on where you're seated. The waiter I had was friendly and recommended some stuff for me to try and I was impressed.

An amazing dining experience! Walking into this restaurant felt like walking into the future for some reason, I thought I was in the Jetsons. The staff here, from the host to the waitress, were amazing. The drinks were delicious too with many interesting choices to choose from. BUT the food here was out of this world. We tried the smoked salmon roll, the fried pork belly, and the bibimbap. All of it outstanding. We sat in the middle of the restaurant but the glimpses we got of the view it was gorgeous. I highly recommend this place, but so do the other thousand people here. Enjoy!

I love this bar. It feels like you re eating in a restaurant in Cloud City. I ve been twice in eight years and the service and food has been phenomenal both times. I went the first time with my husband right before our wedding, so it was great for us to go back and reminisce and create another wonderful memory.

My boyfriend and I's first date and now constant anniversary spot. Going here made quite the impression on me! Best gluten free vegan food around, with a fantastic view and service! My favorite is the sweet potato sushi.

Went there last night with a good friend from the area who reccomended we stop at this restaurant for a quick bite and drink. The view was incredible and the service was exceptional. Our server was very well knowledged on the food and drink menu and knew what to pair with what. Exceptional experience and will definitely reccomend this restaurant to all my friends and family in the area!

I can't speak enough about the service and people working at Departure. I was in constant communication with Arianna about a large group (that kept getting smaller) She was extremely communicative and flexible with us when things changed on our end. I can't speak enough about how wonderful she was to work with.

The actual dinner was fantastic. We got the chef's tasting menu which was a flat amount per person. Our server, Laura, was an absolute joy! She was just as attentive and professional!

Food was fantastic, view was fantastic, but the service really put it over the edge!

Book early! They fill up!

One of the best places in town. Good is amazing, including veg/vegan choices. Cocktails are tasty and quite original (tequila + gochujang?). When the weather is nice, the rooftop lounge can not be topped for the views and ambiance. Great place for large groups, also.

Pricey, but great food and drink. Japanese American fusion. Steak cooked on a stone, smoked octopus, scallops were amazing

This place has the best location overlooking downtown and the waterfront. The ambience itself earns a 5 star. The outdoor is very clean and well done. Be mindful that their parking is expensive so you can walk a little if you want a cheaper parking. The food we ordered was very very well seasoned and had a very gourmet taste to it. Also be mindful that the place gets packed very soon around an hour or so post opening at 4.

A top spot for Asian food. Nothing but enjoyable experiences here. Prices are fair I would say.

Service was excellent (attentive, but not overly), the pork belly was delicious. The yuzu chicken skewers were ok. Golden Triangle cocktail- this, was amazingly smooth, delightful, and not too sweet. And the view- wow!

Really fun place. Fantastic atmosphere. Great food. Incredible drinks. A bit pricey, but you're paying also for the experience.

My kids and guests loved this place. Pizza was super delicious and bucket of fries was great for party of five. Really nice staff and delicious food! I'm definitely coming back here whenever in Vegas. They even gave Cheesecake to my kids - On the house!

Management needs better policy or training of staff around handling customers with food allergies. My niece had a really bad reaction to a dessert in their price fix menu because the wait staff did not or could not inform of us ingredients in any of the dishes.

They actually served many dishes that had cashews that we could identify, but the dessert had it buried within the pineapple cake.

My niece immediately felt sick so we had to confront the staff to double check the ingredients, in which we finally were told that the dish did indeed have cashews.

An hour later, my niece threw up multiple times and an epi pen had to be administered as well as a trip to the ER.

I would suggest if you have any food allergies or have children with them to avoid eating here until they are able to tell you the ingredients of the food that is prepared for you.

I understand if you cannot guarantee trace elements or cross contamination, but if you are putting raw cashews and serving it to customers with cashew allergies in which we told up front that we had, then you are endangering your customers lives.

There are so many things to commend this restaurant: vegan and gluten free options, great ambiance and view, good service. So why the two stars? Two of the three main dishes we ordered were so salty it was hard to enjoy the top notch ingredients in the dish. There's a pitcher of soy sauce on the table, far better to let diners add their own than overuse the soy sauce in the kitchen.

The drinks were quite good, but the dessert was lacking--a peach ginger ice cream was flat, without strong flavors of either ginger or peach. Maybe we went on an off night, but I would not go back with all the other great dining options available in Portland.

This was all around a great experience. We went for our Anniversary and the food was phenomenal. The taste notes in each of the dishes were exquisite and excellently put together. The view of the city from the balcony was also beautiful and the service was top notch. Highly recommend!

Cool spot and beautiful view. The food is way too salty though. Would be 5 stars if they took it easy with the salt shaker.

Came here a few days ago for a dinner with 3 other people. The decor and atmosphere of the place is very interesting! It's an Asian-fusion place (I always am skeptical when they say Asian fusion). The food was good but quite salty in general. Not sure if it's because the flavours are very powerful but it felt quite salty.

We finished our appetizers and was waiting for our mains for a while so we decided to ask the server. We're pretty sure she forgot to put in the order although she told us that the kitchen was backed up. We had a various assortment of food - the bison curry, bibimbap, crab rice, most of the veggie appetizers, the vegetarian buns and it was GOOD but not amazing.

I think it's worth a try to go to Departure to try it out since it's quite a hype in Portland from what I know. I think next time, I might skip the dinner and go to the bar to try out their many drinks.

Asian food, mmm, my favorite treat. Do yourself a favor and try this place. I had a brother come into town and asked me to take him back here. Makes me feel like I am back in Tucson.

Amazing views of pioneer square and downtown Portland! Great food and drinks as well. I've always loved the rooftop views, and the city lights from above at night. It sparks a magical feeling, deep in one's soul. Making even the darkest spot of a broken or lonely heart, begin to glow. Reminding us it's the simple things in life, that ignites Hope and a burning desire to keep living and remain strong. Seek Love, Happiness, and a power greater than our own's face and voice, to guide and keep us on the path we were called to be on. Above all else, Keep Love Alive, Share it, and Live Well.

Was excited for the experience and food, but left disappointed and frustrated. The view is fantastic, however the food I did get was good, but not anything special (broccoli) I ordered the skirt steak as well. Took almost 45 minutes for it to arrive and when it did it was not cooked like I asked. Was told they could make it right, but alas it again took so long I said no thanks.
Again very disappointed. Other restaurants with roof top bars are a better option and have better food.

The most enjoyable meal I have had in any restaurant. The food was amazing and served family style, so everyone can share their picks from the extensive menu. Gluten-free menu was offered, to my delight, and made the whole evening easier. The staff was amazing and attentive. Their cocktails are superb. Very cool place to hangout and make great memories with friends.

Excellent view and outdoor seating. Virginia, our server, was great. She helped replace a dish, Mahogany Noodles, that the noodles were undercooked. Since this restaurant is in The Nines Hotel, you pay a premium.

This is absolutely great and food was so good. This place is amazing. I love the rooftop so much and the weather was perfect. I was in Portland for an awesome celebration and we took a party bus to super cool venues in Portland. I love this place the food was absolutely delicious.

Spendy, but very tasty food. Portions are generous and one dinner typically will feed two non ravenous adults. Awesome views from top floor; best if you go when it's not rainy so you can enjoy the rooftop views.

A really great stop in Portland. Entirely dairy-free all the time, they also cater widely to gluten-free and other allegies quite well. We went in for Portland Dining month this weekend and while the food was good, the food service (not table service) was awful. There were four of us and we mostly did the dining month deal and a couple of sushi rolls. The table next to us had three people, were sat after us but about 10 minutes, and got their food (pretty much the same as ours) much, much faster. They were in and out in under an hour, meanwhile 1.5 hours in we had only received our beer salad. It was bad food management. Anyways, I would still go back, but maybe when it was less busy? (Which is rare, so who knows... )

This place is incredible!
The environment and view is top notch, the service is over the top, the bartenders know the menu in depth and the prices are VERY reasonable.
This is a "Dairy-free" kitchen with plenty of vegan options and a diverse menu.
I cannot recommend this place enough, if you visit Portland, Departure is a must.
Great date spot.

I don t know what I expected, but it wasn t this. Food and atmosphere were amazing, prices were fair, and it was a great experience overall. Highly recommended.

Friendly staff, good old fashion, and majestic views.

This restaurant serves many excellent dishes with refreshingly pleasant servers. It is on the 15th floor of the Nines hotel so you must enter the hotel. The menu is varied offering everything from sushi and kushiyaki to wok fired entries. The roasted carrot salad was particularly prepared well. They also have some fine wines to match.

The best vegan meal for my 51st birthday overlooking Portland. Hands down the next in every way!

This restaurant is my favorite restaurant. Of all restaurants I know I like it most. I always suggests to my friends to go to that place. when I I need a decent lunch, this restaurant comes instantly to my head. splendid and all kinds of food and a large list of dishes.courteous staff, and nice vibes. And very important, the pay is honest. I sent my friends to this spot with no doubt.

Laurent is God. He is at the top. Great guy, with an attentive team and great French food. These guys deserve the best they really earn it.

I would have put 5 stars on for a review as I have enjoyed being there. I found out that supposedly as we were celebrating an occasion, our party was supposedly being rowdy and it was taken to the higher up manager to deal with. If our party of 6 was being rowdy as I was told by someone, why didn t this so called higher up management address the situation? That is what I find mind boggling! Seems like things are being made up and now my impression on this restaurant is left with a dirty review because of people working there that want to make up lies. We are of class and not people who doesn t know how to act in restaurants. We were courteous, polite, and even stacked up the plates to make it easier for the guy to clean the tables. As a matter of fact, we were handing the dishes to him and he thanked us for helping and making his job easier! Y all make it sound like we were jumping on tables and acting a fool! Shame on you!

The food was excellent. Service was surprisingly exceptional. All the dishes were good to great. We had the server recommended everything. Overall 4.5 stars. Great food from the kitchen. Staffed appropriately for a very busy and popular destination to eat and be seen. The wagyu on the hot stone was perfect. Scallops were too. The sous vide chicken was excellent. Sushi rolls were decent. The pork belly was outstanding!

Amazing view of Portland with delicious cocktails and great snacks (haven't had the main course in a few years). It can get pretty busy but it's always worth checking if there is standing room on the balcony to see the city skyline.

Great spot for elevated vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Be warned, a lot of it is Asian fusion food so don't expect anything other than that.

It's also quite a hefty price tag for small portions, so order a lot of stuff to share.

The dessert is the highlight for me here, so don't skip dessert and maybe get a cocktail or two as well.

We came by our last day in Portland and it was a lovely afternoon happy hour stop. The food was really delicious and the view was amazing! Did we try everything? Maybe?

Had a great Experience, the imperial tasting menu is worth the price of admission. Our waiter Austin made my wife and I feel very special on our Wedding Anniversary. I will be coming back again . Spectacular view on the Patio ! Thank you to the whole Staff. Austin you keep doing what you do . Your first class.

Departure has delicious food and great drinks. That's not too hard to come by these days however, so what really sets it apart from the rest is the atmosphere. Departure brings about a high class asian dining experience like no other. And by high class I mean very high, as in several stories high. Departures greatest aspect is that you get a fantastic view of the city with your meal. I would definitely add this as a mist visit location if you are ever in Portland and want to experience a great night out.

Gorgeous city view, stellar service and delightfully surprising dinner. Even with an abbreviated menu during COVID-19, you'll find something to facinate your pallette. The creme brulee banana split was amazing.

The food was fantastic, the view was great, and the staff was outstanding (our waitress's name was Jessica).

More specifically, the food was fun, creative, and beautifully presented without giving up any taste for novelty. I was particularly impressed with the care given to the side dishes, which we're every bit as interesting as the meat dishes.

We also loved Jessica. She was absolutely charming in how she gave our 80-year-old mother personal attention and totally won her over.

This will definitely be a new regular spot for us.

Great up and out of the way restaurant and bar. Top floor of a very nice, new and expensive hotel. Good views and food was fusion great news with focus on Asian origins. Little known secret bar area out past restaurant entrance. Walk down the hall, and there is a rooftop bar area. Wonderful. They close early though. No late nights in Portland!

Amazing food and service. The views are incredible.

Great place to relax and have a drink! Highly recommend visiting here if you ever travel into Portland!

Is it safe to go there?! Since it s in downtown Portland?!

Nice interior. Upscale company. Food is not even near the pricing scale they charge. Better Than average quality of cocktails.

One of the highlights experiences in downtown Portland. The service was outstanding! Reservations are highly recommended as this place is very popular, especially during decent weather. The happy hour has some very affordable options. It is very classy place and would highly recommend it!