King Tide Fish & Shell rates somewhere between three and four stars for me. The food and drink ranged from good to disappointing. Service was good, but the atmosphere was a little weird. If this restaurant is convenient to you, then it's worth checking out. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't go out of my way for it.
We were vacationing in Portland and wanted to eat oysters. Someone in our group searched for restaurants that served oysters near us. King Tide Fish & Shell was one of the results, and the pictures and ratings looked good enough.
We had a Saturday 8pm dinner reservation for eight people. I booked on OpenTable and got 1,000 points. 1,000-point reservations are rare. They're usually 100 points or nothing. On OpenTable, I could only book for a max of six people. I called the restaurant and they were kind enough to accommodate eight people and still get me 1,000 points. I appreciated that. Thank you to the staff who helped me with that - it was the lady who answered the phone and the manager.
Book your reservation using OpenTable and earn dining points which can be used to redeem restaurant discounts, Amazon gift cards, hotel stays, and magazine subscriptions.
King Tide Fish & Shell is located inside the Kimpton RiverPlace Hotel, which is situated on the waterfront in downtown Portland. Since we visited at night, we didn't get to see much of the views of the Willamette River and surrounding area. I caught glimpses of the Hawthorne Bridge, lit up, and a walking path from the hotel to down along the river. I'm sure the views are much better during the daytime.
King Tide serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Happy hour is 2-5pm daily and brunch is served 8am-2pm on Saturday and Sunday.
We parked for free on the street next to/in front of the hotel (S Harbor Way). It was free for us because we parked after 7pm on a Saturday. If you park on S Harbor Way, paid parking is enforced 8am-7pm Monday-Saturday and 1pm-7pm Sunday. There are signs and a kiosk near the parking spaces. You can also pay with the Parking Kitty app (code 61692).
When we left the restaurant, I noticed one of the employees was reading a ticket she just got for parking in the same row as us. I felt bad for her since she probably just wanted to go home after her shift.
For a Saturday night, the place was pretty dead. That was generally the case for the downtown area we drove through. This wasn't surprising to me since a lot of downtown areas are like this (not as much activity during non-business hours). We pulled up to the hotel valet parking sign, but no valet person came out -- that's why we self-parked on the street. No big deal, but this added to the "weird" atmosphere.
When we entered the hotel, there was a kid working at the front desk and no one else to be seen. We found the restaurant and were seated in the indoor dining room by the bar. There were three customers at the bar and one couple seated with us in the dining room. That was it, at the time we arrived. The restaurant looks like it has a nice, spacious patio, but I couldn't really tell since it was dark out. TVs at the bar were playing sports. Some of the TVs were on and some were off. Again, it was just kind of weird, like the place was "half open" or something. In general, though, the restaurant was clean and had an aesthetically-pleasing, modern design to it. I can see the vibe being totally different and better during, say, a busy weekend brunch.
Here's what I tried:
* Taro Chips (complimentary)
Shareables
* Market Oysters ($28 per 1/2 dozen) - cocktail sauce, fresh horseradish, yuzu mignonette, lemon
- Carbajal from Shelton, Washington
- Netarts from Newport, Oregon
* Wedge Salad ($16) - blue cheese, bacon, tomato, crispy shallots, house ranch
Classics
* Mussels ($27) - pancetta, white wine broth, topped with herb fries
King Tide Signatures
* Pacific Halibut ($39) - miso cauliflower puree, glazed carrots, caper sauce, finger limes
Signature Cocktails
* Japanese Garden ($15) - raspberry-infused Roku Japanese gin, matcha green tea syrup, fresh lemon, rose water
Everything was good except for the Pacific Halibut entree. The dish was presented beautifully, as were all of the dishes and cocktails, but the fish itself was tough, dry, and unappetizing. I think it was overcooked. The Japanese Garden cocktail wasn't anything to write home about either, but admittedly that might be a personal preference. It tasted medicinal.
We enjoyed the Market Oysters and ordered several dozen. The oysters were fresh and high quality. The Netarts were relatively big and meaty while the Carbajals were smaller and more flavorful. Both were deliciously briny. I liked the Netarts more, but you can't go wrong with either. The Taro Chips were unique and yummy - a pleasant surprise. The Wedge Salad and Mussels were both very good. The salad was crisp, refreshing, and sizable with a nice variety of ingredients. The Mussels were warm and tasty with a delectable broth and hearty fries. read more