Clarke's Restaurant

09/03/08

A very nice surprise!

by 1carbon

I'll start by saying that I'm a food snob, so if I give a restaurant 5 stars it probably deserves it.

We started with a basket of bread, and it came with butter and a blue cheese butter which was quite tasty.

After reading about the lobster & shrimp risotto from other reviewers here, I just had to try it. It was excellent. I'm glad I ordered it even though I had a bit of shrimp in my entree. It was more on the rich side but somehow went down easy, so you could eat the whole thing (some rich dishes you just can't finish).

For my entree I had sauteed free range chicken breast with bay shrimp in a madeira sauce. It came with fingerling potatoes and asparagus. This was just as good. The chicken breast was so tender and not dried out at all (quite moist actually). My friends ordered the risotto cake and "noisettes of salmon & sole a la basquaise" (see their menu on the site for details), and both were also great.

As for dessert, I think it's safe to assume it would be as good as everything else was, especially with what I read on the dessert menu. Unfortunately, I didn't have any room after the risotto and healthy portion of chicken. I can highly recommend this place and will definitely be returning (probably for the halibut and dessert).

• Pros: amazing food, free parking, convenient location
• Cons: the main food was too good, so I didn't have any room for dessert

05/20/08

Simply the best in Oregon!

by jamesjr

Clarke's Restaurant has reached the pantheon of fine dining in Oregon. Chef Jonathan Clarke presides over the preparation of a wide range of contemporary cuisines - French, Italian, and American. This family-owned restaurant dishes up food that covers the gamut from simple to esoteric and absolutely sublime. There?s a menu choice to reflect many culinary moods or needs. In a word, Clarke?s delivers a consistent quality of excellence.

I was stunned the first time my wife and I visited Clarke?s by the originality and the sheer array of splendid tastes that confronted us. And we are still stunned, literally every time we dine at this exquisite restaurant.

The appetizers are thoughtful and beautifully executed. I highly recommend the Lobster & Shrimp Risotto. All of the entrees at Clarke's exhibit a variety of preparations and flavors that will appeal to the most discriminating diners. Yet every dish is approachable: no pretense here. My three favorites are the Grilled Beef Tenderloin, the Muscovy Duck Leg Confit & the Fishermans? Pie. People who dine here are as passionate about eating good food as a restaurant like Clarke?s is about preparing it.

The service is always, gracious and impeccable. In summary, this restaurant is the complete package...Excellent food and wine, a professional wait staff, dedicated owners and the feel of international influence in the atmosphere. Dinner at Clarke's is almost always not just dinner, but an event unto itself. And that speaks volumes.

• Pros: Ambience, Great Service, Outstanding Preparation and quality of food
• Cons: no lunch

05/12/08

Fast food

by gregandtammy

We would have rated this restaurant three stars except for one complaint: we were asked to leave. We were a very quiet party of five for dinner starting at 5pm and we politely obliged the request to leave at 730pm. We were asked to leave with the explanation that there was a party of 12 that they wanted to seat. There seemed to be plenty of room in the restaurant at that time at several empty tables.

The food was good but not great, except for the special appetizer of halibut cheeks which was excellent. The wine was delicious - our party tried a bottle of the house pinot gris and petite syrah and both were excellent. The service was very good and all of the courses were well timed. If you have your heart set on losing track of time and getting lost for three hours of dinner and conversation, this may not be the place for you, but otherwise the food and service are good or better.