Planning a wedding is stressful. Planning a wedding during a pandemic is almost impossible. When our 2020 wedding had to be postponed a year due to Covid-19, we were left with ALL of the feelings. We very easily could have been defeated by the situation, but the staff at Opal 28 always made us feel supported and positive that our event would be amazing! Even though people were working remotely and, I'm sure, dealing with their own stresses, there was never a lapse in time for communication and answers to any and all of my questions that came up over that year. Often times, my questions were met with so many thoughtful options and possibilities that it was clear the Opal 28 staff was a trusted team with a ton of experience! On the big day, the staff took all of the decorating and arranging into their own capable hands and off of mine and the venue looked even better than we imagined! I love the flow of the space, giving guests different areas to visit in both indoors and out. The food was impeccable and I should mention that in the time between booking the venue and having our wedding, we had gone totally vegan and wanted a plant-based menu. The chef came up with an entire list of possibilities and everyone was blown away that it was a totally vegan menu. Having the available apartments upstairs was also a huge help as we were able to add one for the night to use as a staging and changing area and place to store extra needed items. I can never thank the staff of Opal 28 enough for their care and professionalism and ability to keep everything positive and calm in the face of so many unknowns. I highly recommend this venue for any and all festivities and look forward to visiting again! read more

Got overcharged $5 per person from the advertised prize When we showed proof that we clicked on a $65 deal, not $70 deal, the owner still refuses to adjust the bill read more

Opal 28 - Advertised deal - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Attended a wedding celebration at the venue not too long ago, the food, vibe and service was all top notch!

We LOVED having our wedding reception at Opal28. They have a beautiful space and make you feel so welcome that it really "feels like home." Both Kristi and Margot are wonderful to work with. We were impressed with how easy they made the process, and we hope to have future special celebrations at Opal. Kristi went beyond to make our wedding exactly as we hoped. I had a box of things (photo frames of family weddings, a guest book, menus that I made, guest favors) that I was hoping she would find spots for, and she found perfect spots for all of them! These really added some sweet and sentimental touches. She also picked up our cake from the bakery on the morning of the celebration, helped our florist in to do her setup, and coordinated food, prepared by their in-house chef. She and Margot met with us twice at the venue before the big day to walk through and make plans for each of the rooms (cocktails in the courtyard, dinner/cake in room one, dancing in room two). Even though we were worried about the constantly changing COVID restriction orders for May 2021, they kept strong lines of communication open and updated us with governor orders/plans of what we could do. We ended up having our wedding exactly as we hoped. The food was awesome. We had a family-style meal, which was really nice since this meant we didn't have to compile everyone's orders, and everyone could try some of everything! We had lemon chicken and the asparagus cannelloni (my sisters raved about this) with duck fat potatoes and lemon broccoli. We are so glad that we chose Opal 28 for our wedding venue. Thank you team Opal, you are the best! read more

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A great venue for a very small gathering, a baby shower, or a very small wedding that is very casual w/out the typical decor or events. Otherwise, don't waste your money. We had a wedding at Opal 28 this past October. We were left feeling so disappointed by the whole experience that we wanted to tell our story here so other couples don't feel this feeling when they should just be enjoying their wedded bliss! And feel no regrets for the huge amount of hard earned money they just spent. From the beginning communication after booking wasn't consistent. The coordinator assigned to us with the package we booked would take weeks to get back to us, always claiming being busy with other weddings. We also work in the wedding industry and understand this, but customer service should still be able to be managed. The week before our wedding the coordinator let us know our timeline was incorrect, but claimed things would go well despite that. I replied with a request to make changes, because this understandably made me nervous. I didn't receive a reply. Upon showing up for our rehearsal, our coordinator didn't even come out to greet us. And other miscommunications arose, despite our best efforts, which left us scrambling wedding morning to create a new seating chart. Then wedding day. We arrived well in advance, having booked the Airbnb onsite. Our coordinator was supposed to bring up welcome drinks that we were serving outside to us and didn't. Which would be fine, but she also then completely disappeared after the ceremony. Which meant me and my maid of honor had to manage timing. Especially when the venue ran us 45 minutes behind for the reception (which turned an 75 min cocktail hour into a 120 min one). So instead of being present and celebrating, I was utterly overwhelmed and stressed. Then, they didn't serve us enough food. Didn't bother to check in once our family style dinner was served to see if we're doing well. My bridal party had to make rounds to make sure our guests were okay and then to the kitchen to request more food. We had 2 pregnant women there who left our wedding hungry. Then the bar. The bartender made several comments to different guests along the lines of 'you just had a drink and now you're getting another?' Completely passing judgement on our guests for their choices. Super unprofessional. And not one member of the staff said hello or congratulations. Everyone seemed miserable to be there. Even though we had a wonderfully friendly group of ppl in attendance. As you can imagine we were very upset afterwards. As a business owner myself, I don't like leaving negative reviews. So I reached out first to the venue. At first, their response was very apologetic. But then we asked for a refund of the wedding coordinator fee's. To which they replied with the fact that they believe in review platforms and urged us to write this. They also did an "investigation" of our day with the staff. They concluded that they ran behind due to our "large amount of decor" (we had very standard wedding decor. Programs, candles, name cards, etc.) AND my bridal party did 100% of the set up as contractually Opal doesn't do any set-up. They also did it very fast. Then they addressed the food shortage. Explaining that the additional proteins we added and paid for did not mean more food, only more variety. Which no one bothered to explain to us. They ended up refunding a very small amount, but no amount would have made us feel better about the way we were treated day of and then after. If you choose this venue, because the price is affordable and that is hard to find, do yourself a favor and hire a wedding planner who will fight for you so you don't have to do it yourself! You deserve to enjoy this day without regrets! Side note: The venue is very tight for 45 people, despite claiming higher occupancy. read more

In late Sept '19, I visited Opal 28 for a wedding. The space and staff were very good and would recommend for a similar event. Opal is really relatively easy to get to, by which I mean easy bus access. However, there is a parking lot nearby too, if you must drive. Inside, the space has a few different rooms, which lends well to small gatherings and movements of people. From the side entrance (which I take as more of the main entrance), you enter into the bar area. At least that night, they had a good selection of local beers and the bartenders were very friendly. After the bar area there are two bigger spaces. The first may be a tad bigger and was used as the primary reception room. It comfortable fit several small circular tables and some large rectangular tables. The back space was used for food and also easily fit several rectangular tables, along with some couches and chairs for lounging. Unsure of the price point here, but would at least recommend checking them out if you need an event space for a special occasion. read more

Attended a wedding at Opal 28 this week and it was beautiful. The venue is charming and cozy for a small wedding and the staff was very diligent at helping transition rooms and attending to the brides' needs. read more

We hosted our 90 person wedding here and can only rave about the staff and venue. The intimate venue has multiple rooms indoors and a patio, perfect for an event where naturally people meander and socialize, instead of one large hall. We felt the flow of our wedding was much better with this arrangement. We opted to have their kitchen provide the food during our celebration for ease, and were pleasantly surprised by how good everything tasted. Our wedding menu was a hit! More than anything, the staff sets this place apart. We lived overseas when we began wedding planning, so having staff who were prompt and responsive to inquiries was essential. Bonus: Opal 28 has sample pricing so you can get an up front idea of what your ideal event would likely cost. Kara, the event planner and day of coordinator, was worth every single cent and made sure our wedding prep and day were almost free of stress, we'll as much as it could be. If we ever have another party or event in Portland, we'll be back at Opal 28! read more

Attended a graduation party at this event venue. As you enter you are welcomed into a beautiful courtyard filled with tables and chairs neatly surrounded by flowers and wild greenery. As you step down into the building you are greeted with a full bar and a smiling bartender. After grabbing a tasty beverage you can move further into the other rooms. One of which had tables and chairs set up and food table. If you are looking for a meeting place or space for an event, this place is worth checking out. read more

We had our surprise wedding at Opal 28. It was so much fun! We had told our family and friends that we were inviting them to our wedding reception and that we were getting married at the Justice of the Peace earlier in the day. We worked with Margot and our wedding officiant to pull off the surprise, and exchanged vows that night. It went perfectly! And we thank Margot for being so wonderful to work with! Margot, I appreciate your timely and professional answers to my many questions! You were amazing to work with, and so flexible. We knew from the day we met you there to check the venue out that we liked you. You made our special day more special than we could have imagined. We trusted you with making it beautiful and enjoyable for us and our guests, and we are so happy we did. Opal 28 is unique, beautiful, charming, and elegant. I describe it as very "Portland". At least my version of Portland. As our celebration went from evening to night, Opal 28 got even more beautiful and elegant. Our food was delicious! Our guests kept coming up to us asking us if we tried this or that yet. The meatballs? The chicken? The cake balls? "Oh wait, let me go get you some of that. You have to try it!". Everything I tried was amazing! They packed up all the remaining food at the end of the night and we had leftovers for days. If it sounds like I am gushing, I am. I very much enjoyed our celebration! Margot and her staff are directly responsible for that! The service was exceptional. Margot checked on me and my husband personally throughout the evening. Food was brought around cocktail-style frequently, plus the food that was out for guests to serve themselves. Her staff was very professional and friendly. And we were even able to provide our own wine for our celebration. Margot, once again, thank you very much for such a memorable surprise wedding! ~ Joy & Roy read more

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What a great little spot for events/ meals/ meetings! It's a venue on the NE side of town that you can rent out for small to medium sized groups. I had the opportunity to attend a friend's company holiday dinner here and it was very well executed. In addition to a cute outdoor patio/porch area (perfect for the warmer months), you walk inside to a bar area, then down a few stairs to two connecting rooms (cocktail hour and dinner? dinner and dessert? wedding and reception? take your pick!) Our night was a very nice sit down dinner on one side and "mingling" space on the other including an area turned into a makeshift photo booth and dessert display. I guess it must be rented by the hour because our event was 7-10pm and promptly at 10pm the nice employees were gently reminding us about the time. It was clean, well-kept, welcoming, friendly, creative and a great use of space. Very well done. read more

This venue is amazing! I came for Local Heroes PDX and really loved this spot. The staff at the bar were all super friendly and knowledgeable. The venue was clean and had comfy furniture for when I needed to plop from dancing. The patio was gorgeous and had a nice split of dance floor and mingling space. Super cool place for events! read more

We had our small brunch wedding and reception at Opal 28- I honestly would not change a thing with my experience with the event/venue/staff. I worked with Kara - who is such a calming, professional, and confident individual. I had no worries and trusted her entirely to make my small vision come true. Kara oversaw every detail and executed it flawlessly. I could not have asked for a better wedding. She coordinated all the vendors - who by the way were absolutely on point (so please, do yourself a favor and consider their suggestions) and the food was fantastic, our guests really enjoyed it. Also, little shoutout to Dan - he's an fantastic human and a top notch bartender. Thank you to the entire Opal 28 team, we'll forever be thankful for pulling off our dream! read more

I hosted a 4 day workshop here and I was very happy with the experience. The space is intimate and offers a setting where people can think outside of day-to-day constraints. The staff took care of all logistics, meal planning and one off needs. I will definitely be working with Opal 28 in the future when I need to bring a big team together to tackle tough questions. read more

We absolutely LOVED working with Opal 28! From start to finish they were an absolute joy. They were a well-oiled machine with clear and consistent communication throughout the entire process. The staff were SO attentive and kind, there were no surprise fees, and everyone went beyond the call of duty. Having an Opal 28 on-site coordinator (shoutout Ranessa) for the process and wedding day made planning a breeze. She made everything run so smoothly and we really felt that we had nothing to worry about. Even with the ever-changing Covid rules, she and the rest of the staff were always cool, calm, and collected. Being able to have the music piped through the venue sound system gave us one less thing to worry about. That also goes for their on-site catering. A few months after the wedding we're still having guests tell us how fantastic the food was, both cocktail hour appetizers and the plated dinner! (The goat cheese balls, lemonade-brined fried chicken, and avocado toast were fantastic cocktail appetizers. The salmon and carrots for dinner were also phenomenal). Having the ability to bring in our own decorations and dessert made it so we could set our own budget and do whatever we wanted. They even kept our desserts in their fridge and helped us box up the leftovers. Opal 28 also has apartments above the event space that we rented out. That made getting ready and having a place to stay really easy. We cannot rave about Opal 28 enough! read more

We can't thank Ranessa, Margot, and the rest of the team at Opal 28 enough for making our intimate wedding--attended by 13 guests and 4 kids--such a special, memorable, and elegant event. Our guests could not stop complimenting us on the gorgeous patio and delicious food, and asked us how we had found such a perfect venue. Ranessa made everything SO easy--decor, flowers, music, vows, toasts, drinks, food--and helped us achieve the relaxed but beautiful wedding of our dreams. I was so surprised when we sat down at dinner and saw that Opal 28 had even printed out beautiful customized menu cards for each table setting! We had not asked for or anticipated them, and I was so touched that those had been so thoughtfully designed and included. If we had to do it all over again, we would choose to have our wedding at Opal 28 every time. Thank you for making our evening so memorable in the best way. We are also so grateful for Opal 28's graciousness and flexibility in accommodating 2 changes in our wedding date due to COVID-19. They never gave us a hard time about it and took so much of the stress of our shoulders in trying to plan an event during the pandemic. If you are having an intimate wedding in Portland, there is no better place to have it than Opal 28! You are going to be in GREAT hands. read more

I am writing this review as a guest of a wedding reception held here. As a guest, it was a terrible experience. The staff were rude and dismissive when my wife trieed (several times) to ask a question about ingredients in the food items due a serious food allergy she has. I was able to eat the food, but it was tasteless. The guests were divided between the patio and the inside seating, creating a very disjointed celebration. In addition, there were very tight quarters everywhere. There was no place for people to gather and talk before dinner was served. Also, the narrow stairways were crowded, creating a dangerous situation if there was an emergency. As it was, people often had to jostle past others to get to their seats or to the bar, which was centrally located. It seemed like the married couple had a good time, but I would certainly not recommend this venue. read more

First and foremost, if you are looking for a one-of-a-kind, vintage style, fun, intimate, classy venue, look no further. Opal 28 is all of that plus more! Honestly if we were to have another celebration, whether it's a birthday or anniversary, we won't hesitate to rent Opal 28's space again! We had our Opal 28 wedding last month, May 2017. We rented 2 rooms upstairs and checked-in a few days earlier as we were having a destination wedding (all our 65 guests were from out-of-state). We blocked rooms at a different hotel close by (don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions where). Our rooms were ready, had a champagne on the table for us and Kristi was available to answer whatever questions we had (and that was Wednesday, still 4 days before the wedding). One of the things that I love about Opal is their flexibility. We changed our guest count so many times and yet they were able to accommodate us. I had very specific vision with decorations (we created all our decors and ordered bulks of flowers) and they were so talented in decorating the place, they made our vision came to life (it's cheesy to say but very true!)! They honestly made wedding planning so fun and not stressful at all! They were available throughout the whole process and answered all questions promptly (end of the day or within the following day). From the very beginning to the end, they made it seamless and smooth. Our guests love how unique and fun and yet relaxing our wedding was, which is truly what we strived to do from the very beginning. That would have not been possible without Opal 28's team. Also, the food was fantastic! Maybe they should open a restaurant next door on the side ;) but seriously anything that you desire, their chef can make. We wanted crab cakes, they served them and they were so meaty, they were such a great hit! We also wanted to do a continuous-small plates kinda reception where each hour essentially different food comes out, and they made that flow so well! We also had different food vendors and they worked them in our reception so easily. We ended our evening with a late night snack, garlic fries with parmesan (again, not in their menu but their chef cooked it for us). It was so delicious! We do not have our pictures yet, but you bet we will post them here once we have them! read more

Opal 28 is more than a beautiful location and really well maintained site... the staff is truly AMAZING. We had planned on being married at Opal this summer but with the pandemic, we had to adjust our date and make our wedding virtual. With all the uncertainty around COVID, it's been very challenging to plan our Wedding and make all the necessary adjustments to comply with regulations. The people at Opal were so accommodating, flexible, creative and supportive. Let's just say that I couldn't imagine working with any other supplier to prepare for this special day. I would highly recommend using Opal 28 to host your event; they are fabulous and go above and beyond! read more

I have hosted events on a few occasions at this venue, and every time they do SUCH A GREAT JOB!!! I am thankful to have found a gem that makes it so easy to enjoy hosting. Thank you to the wonderful people of Opal 28 for your hard work, your kindness, your helpfulness, and attentiveness. All are so important to have a successful event. read more

We got married at Opal 28 about 6 weeks ago. We had a small wedding of 32 guests and the venue was great for this size of an event. We had a ton of fun and it was a beautiful, memorable day. If you are looking for a venue that is "Instagram" perfect- Opal 28 has that in spades. The location is great, the space is cozy, it has multiple rooms that are perfectly picture ready and our coordinator LJ did a phenomenal job with the flowers and décor. There is a wonderful spacious patio outside where we took all of our photos and it was THE place to be during our cocktail hour. The food that was served was excellent as well- everything was absolutely delicious. Where Opal 28 fell short for us was on hospitality and customer service. There were so many things that could have been done better. When you pick a venue that specializes in weddings, and you are paying a LOT of hard-earned money to put on an event, you expect the service you get and the hospitality for your guests to be of a certain quality. After all, this is what they do every day for a living. But the problems for us began at the very start with communication with the Opal team. There were many misunderstandings, things we were misled on, policies that were not communicated to us, and it would sometimes take up to a week to get a response to an email, even for things that were of a timely nature. The planning process seemed needlessly difficult. Our biggest disappoint leading up to the wedding was having the AirBNB apartments above the venue being booked out from under us for our wedding weekend even though we were assured when we signed the contract that we would have "special priority" booking. If having those apartments for your guests, or even for yourself as a space to get ready, is make or break for you, stop reading and keep looking for another venue. (Note that Opal has no other space for the wedding party to get ready). I personally would have chosen differently had I known this would happen. As for the event itself, one expects a certain number of things to not go right during a wedding- these perfectly imperfect moments are the things that make it YOUR event, the things that make you laugh years later, the memories you talk about with your friends. The things that didn't go right for us on our wedding day were not like that. They were basic service issues that Opal should have gotten right. For example- the servers during our event would swipe your drink the second you set it down (apparently Opal's policy is that if your ice starts to melt or your red wine gets the slightest bit warm they would like you to get a new drink). This was especially annoying since we had brought in some of our own alcohol (and didn't even serve mixed drinks with ice). It felt like our bar tab was being purposely driven up. Or how they screwed up our Spotify playlist despite explicit written instructions. Or how they stopped the music right at 10pm then threatened our guests to vacate immediately or else we would accrue extra charges per minute (despite everyone actively packing up to go). Or how they didn't let us know ahead of time that we couldn't take home the extra food we had paid for at the end of the night - of which there was a lot because 1/3 of our guests were children (the Opal team knew this too and didn't have us order less food?). Every wedding has drinks, kids, music, leftover food and pokey guests, these are not uncommon situations- how these things are handled should have been perfectly dialed in. Instead, when we brought these issues up to the owner, we got dismissive, defensive and frankly passive-aggressive "explanations" that really made no sense. In the service industry when something doesn't go right, a simple "I'm sorry" or "I hear you, we will take a look at that policy" or even simply "Thank you for your feedback" really goes a long way. Our bad experiences may have been unique to our event, but how they were dealt with truly reveals how this business is run. Service recovery and how things will be handled when something inevitably goes wrong are very important things to consider when making a big decision like choosing a wedding venue. The bottom line is, if all you care about is pretty pictures and good food, then Opal 28 is a great choice. But if you know your event will be imperfect, and you care about having an experienced team run your event, and you care about the quality of the service for both you and your guests, then Opal 28 is probably not for you. read more

We got married at Opal 28 this past weekend. From the moment we first viewed the venue and met Margot almost a year ago, we knew this was the place for us. It is such a versatile and beautiful space. Many of our guests commented about how much they liked Opal 28. We had 44 total guests, and it was perfect for us. It certainly could have hosted less or more guests without a problem, but for how we decided to set things up, it was flawless in size and utility. The outdoor patio is awesome. The bar is awesome. The dining/ceremony room is awesome. The dancing/hanging out/dessert room is awesome. Each space has its own personality, but still fits together with the others seamlessly. The staff is very good at what they do. They provide outstanding service. Everybody was so helpful and kind to us and our guests. The drinks were flowing all night long and the transition between rooms and events during the wedding went off without a hitch. It's miraculous watching the spaces transform in such a short amount of time. The food was damn good. It is all made in-house. Margot was extremely helpful throughout the entire wedding process. From booking to last call. She quite literally just dropped off our wedding cake that we left at Opal 28 at our home in the rain. She is quick to respond, has great taste, and is genuinely a good and kind person. She puts her whole heart and soul into Opal 28 and it shows. If you are looking for a hip, cool, fun, beautiful urban venue for your special event, you need to check out Opal 28. We are so happy we chose to get married there. The uniqueness and versatility, value, and service cannot be matched in the Portland area. Joshua and Lindsey read more

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I won't be surprised when this space is booked solid after word gets out. Portland needed more deluxe mid-sized venues, and Opal 28 has it all: historical character and up-to-date style, easy to customize indoor rooms, a charming outdoor patio garden (complete with strings of white lights criss-crossing the skies!), a great bar, full commercial kitchen, and great assortment of on-hand items for groups like ours to use. We hosted an informal night of food and drinks with PDX Food Swap friends and featured a guest speaker from out of town. Margot's space could have easily accommodated five or six times the number of people, and yet it still felt perfectly suited to our group of 25-ish as people mingled near the bar, on the couches, outside on the terrace, and in the front room. The stash of plates, cutlery, napkins, etc., and the existing decor made it easy to set up and offer a beautiful spread, clean up was a cinch, and people are still talking about what a lovely night we had. read more

We hosted a 49th birthday party for 60 guests with the amazing help of Opal28! It was beyond perfect. They assisted with every detail, including arranging and hiring the DJ. I cannot say enough about the experience, and the overall smashing success that this event was. When a venue makes me look good, like an expert party planner, I believe they deserve more than 5 stars. The guests of the event have taken the time to write us notes about how this event was a perfect party. Our guests loved the space, the food, the DJ, and the impressive and helpful staff. Thank you. I could not be more pleased. read more

I had a wonderful party at Opal. The patio is lovely, the food is great and the service is outstanding. Many compliments from my guests on the patio, the food and everything else about the event. Highly recommend this place for any event! read more

Opal 28 hosted our intimate wedding ceremony and dinner March 28, 2014. Leading up to the event, I was impressed with Margot's professional communication and supportive approach. She was attentive, flexible and helped keep my anxiety at bay during the planning process. I thought the terms of our contract were fair and I think Margot does a great job of balancing outside vendor restrictions very reasonably. Cocktail hour, dinner and all of the Opal 28 staff during our event were great - Margot went above and beyond to help us fix a last minute technical issue and one of her bartenders even offered to drive a group of our guests to our after party spot. We rented out 3 of the 4 rooms upstairs for the weekend and found them to be super comfortable, VERY CLEAN and inviting; so did our out of town guests. We did have several things that didn't go smoothly with our event. I recently emailed Margot with my feedback and she handled my concerns with grace and professionalism which is all anyone could ask for. Although there were some disappointments, none of the oversights were intentional. Overall our experience was positive and I appreciate everything that Margot and her team did to make our wedding weekend special. read more

We had our wedding at Opal 28 and the staff was amazing. They were incredibly helpful every step of the way. They were super responsive, creative and willing to pivot at a moments notice. I would recommend this venue to anyone getting married or looking for an event space. read more

The venue is simple and very conducive to positive interactions. The food was excellent and the bar tender and on-site staff member were very efficient, friendly, and helpful. It relieved a lot of stress on my part to have their expertise for all aspects of the event. Very smooth! Thank you! read more

Great event space and the hospitality is outstanding! Have been here for multiple events and everything is always on point!

I just had a wedding there this past weekend and have been working w/ Opal28 staff and owner pretty extensively over the past few months. Margot the owner was absolutely incredible, she's down to the point, means business but is also generous and extremely kind at the same time. We were worried about size of venue for the outdoor ceremony, but in the end there was nothing to worry about. The patio was packed to the brim, but in the most beautiful way. Our ceremony also had a lot of details that were not normal for typical weddings, Margot managed every single detail and everything went smoothly and perfectly. I can't thank Opal28 enough for dealing with all my craziness. I'm forever grateful. read more

I can't think of a better place to have had a graduation party. My whole experience with Opal 28 was extremely positive. The space which combines features of vintage and modern, has two rooms, a full service bar, and an outdoor patio area with lovely market lights. We had 70 guests, and while the environment was ideal for that number, it could have easily handled more. In addition, the pricing was reasonable, with cost-consciousness in the forefront. Words that come to mind about Margot, the owner and creator of Opal 28, are: flexible, available, informative, and creative, taking into account particular wishes. Margot was accommodating and helpful, not only to myself but also to the off-site caterer; we quickly realized it was better to cut me out of the middle so that she could take over the reigns. After discussing the appetizer and dinner selection, plus the age of guests, Margot suggested having larger tables, and opening up the party buffet into a second room, so the flow of the event would fit the space more easily. It was the perfect suggestion. She also offered a wonderfully creative idea for a photo/memory guest book, that I really appreciated and had not thought of; something I will cherish. Another delightful detail she contributed was hiring a superb cookie baker/designer.  In summary, Margot has an ideal set of talents that allow her to create a charming environment, hire professional staff, work with off-site vendors, and also has the perfect industry connections. It is this combination that permit client needs to be best accommodated. She is truly an event planner par excellence, and I recommend her most highly. read more

I would give them 6 stars if I could. Beautiful little venue...but the staff was amazing. The food is cooked on site and it was amazing. We had 50 people there and the food was amazing. Worth repeating! The rooms are vintage, and very nice. Bed was extremely comfortable. It's a real plus to have the wedding there and stay on site. They honestly made it a very fun and stress free occasion. I will be using them for company events and. Haines meetings in the future. read more

Opal 28 hosted our annual Nonprofit Board Retreat and from beginning to end it could not have been a better experience! The staff was friendly and accommodating. The set up was perfect and everything was so clean! We were served a delicious vegetarian lunch and I look forward to hosting more events at this gem of an event space! read more

Amazing space, just had my daughters bridal shower here. Plenty of space, beautifully decorated. Food amazing, Staff were wonderful. Thank you so much for helping us have such a perfect day. read more

I hosted my 30th Birthday here and would definitely reccomend for use as an initimate event space. Margot, the owner, is fantastic. So helpful and kind, she made planning a breeze! At my party, we had Bottle & Bottega host a paint session in one room and ha a freshly prepared dinner in the next. There's a full commerical kitchen on-site, which is amazing (and rare) if you're looking to hire an outside chef or use a vendor of Margot's. My party size was only 16, so there was one bartender serving us but he was outstanding. Margot took the time to research my favorite Margarita recipe from Nobu and the bartender nailed it! He was so friendly and all of my requests were answered with "anything for you!". There's not too many private event spaces that offer so much flexibility with vendor use AND provide such excellent service. This place is the real deal! read more

The thing about wedding receptions is you only get one shot to host all the the people you love the most. There are so many "places with potential" or "this might work" type feelings it seems. For us, and our experience, we had none of those thoughts or worries and that is because we chose to host our wedding day at Opal 28 with Margot and her staff. We sincerely thank them and wish them nothing but continued success. We hosted 65 guests for both our ceremony and the reception. Opal 28 is the ideal event space for events of this size. That's not to say the space couldn't host double that size. In fact, for wedding planning it was nice to know that no matter how many people ended up coming Opal 28 could handle it. Love the centrally located bar which allowed guests to move around comfortably from the beautiful patio to the inside rooms. Margot does a phenomenal job of helping to decorate and knows just how to organize the space according to the needs of the night. It is such a unique and wonderful space and the apartments for rent above are fabulous as well and hosted our bridal party beautifully- so convenient and easy! From start to finish we felt cared for. Margot seemed to have it all. Extra flatware, the ability to be flexible (still appreciate the substitute last minute beer request), energy, and organizational skills. We'd be so happy to attend someone else's wedding at Opal 28! read more

If I could give an extra star to the venue OPAL28 I would. My daughter chose this venue for her wedding reception of 58 guests and when I saw it I could see why she liked it. First of all the venue has an urban vibe and authenticity that you will not find in a hotel. I'm not from the area so I would call it a Portland vibe (are you cringing?) There is a courtyard where guests can mingle before the dinner and it is welcoming and relaxed. Then there is a bar, and a wonderful dining room that has a cement wall which provides an interesting texture for a wall hanging, and we chose 1,000 paper cranes. The area for dancing is in another room which worked out fine because the people who wanted to dance did so and those who wanted to chat quietly went back to the courtyard. Guests flowed in and out of all three areas so that it did not feel crowded. From the first meeting with Margot all the way through the planning and execution of the event, everything was handled professionally and very efficiently. Communication was done primarily through their "honeybook" system. No hassles or failures in communication. Margot suggested an Opal 28 event coordinator to help with decorating and removal of the decorations. I almost turned down the suggestion and was so glad that I didn't! Kristi decorated the space exactly the way we wanted and added some of her own touches, which were appreciated. My recommendation to anyone hosting a wedding at Opal is to spend the extra money to hire the coordinator!! The staff at Opal were friendly, personable yet professional. The service for the dinner was perfect!! My daughter and her fiancé chose vegan apps and entrees and the guests loved the vegetarian/vegan choices that were so delicious and looked appetizing on the plates. The next day we were so exhausted and we were happy that we hired Kristi to take down the decorations. So, thank you Margot, Kristi and staff for making Eleana and Patrick's wedding so memorable and the process so stress free. read more

Recently I performed a wedding ceremony at Opal 28 and just loved it there!! So when it was time for my husband's 'BIG' surprise birthday party, I thought it would be the perfect place to have about 40 of our friends to celebrate with him!! It was soooo fabulous!!! Margot and her team took care of everything and it couldn't have been more perfect. Our guests said how much they loved it there and were thrilled with the food, the drinks and they loved Margot and Gen, who were(are!) so friendly and comfortable and helpful with everything!! It is a true little gem and hope to have another event there again in the near future!! Thanks so much, Margot, for making it so easy, so that I could enjoy my guests!!! Loved it!! read more

Opal 28 - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Portland, Oregon

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Perfect venue for anyone looking for intimacy and personality. My wife and I booked our summer 2015 wedding (ceremony and reception) with Margot last year. From the very early planning stages through our event date she was professional and incredibly helpful in planning and execution. For the event itself, the on-hand bar and food staff were incredibly proficient and professional with our 60-person person guestlist. You can feel confident in having them do food and beverage for any event you may be planning. During the day and evening of the wedding, we received multiple compliments about the venue for its convenience, layout and charm, and have since recommended Margot and Opal 28 to many friends. read more

Jeremy was delightful! So nice, friendly and helpful. The space here is great, multipurpose uses definitely. I recommend this place!