Cafe Dacx - CLOSED

09/02/05

Great place to take vegi friends

by adriennesi

This is a wonderful place. Excellent food and the service. If you have friends/familiy who don't eat red meat or chicken, this is a perfect place to celebrate a special occasion. Delicious pasta and seafood.

• Pros: Food, Service

06/08/05

OK, it's not exactly Mediterranean...

by korsakova

Went one night during the week for a semi-special occasion and was met with a stoic kind of romanticism (sparse, Euroesque candlelit room of a renovated house) and resonably tasty food. Ahi was commendable, and Brazilian black bean soup was nicely spiced. Yes, the mountain of iceburg lettuce and chopped tomatoes on half of the plate was like a bizarre afterthought and not particulary complimentary to the dish. And my dinner partner had a less-than-stellar entree that was just trying too hard. Still, there is good potential here, especially if you are among the leisure class here with lots of disposable restaurant dough to throw around.

• Pros: Can be tasty, attentive service
• Cons: For the price, food could miss.

05/31/05

Just Love it

by profwho

Been to Cafe Dacx in 2003, 2004 and again now in 2005. I live in Austin TX and make a point to go to Cafe Dacx as often as possible when I am in Portland. It is JUST FANTASTIC, among the top 3 restaurants of all time for me. The food is incredibly fresh, amazingly presented, and just really really really tastey. And it's not overly expensive. The waitstaff are all AMAZINGLY nice. Forget the other places in town, get over there to Cafe Dacx and have some of the great stuff Chef Lisa is preparing. It's amazing... really really really really good.

• Pros: creative food, incredibly tastey

04/17/05

Simply the Best

by carolk28

We heard about Cafe Dacx from friends and then on citysearch and we ended up signing up with citysearch just so we could say that Cafe Dacx is simpy the best seafood and Mediterranean food in Portland and also the best seafood that my husband and I have encountered on any of our travels. The seared ahi and shell fish sheet pasta was delicious and seemed to melt in your mouth. Our salads were generous and the ceasar dressing was out of this world and the presentation of all the plates was perfection. To top everything else, the apple cheese cake was incredible. The atmosphere is fun and our server was great. She told us that the cafe is remodeling the deck and some of the interior and it really looks great. We'll be back for lunch and dinner.

• Pros: Flavors, Service, Presentation

02/04/05

if you want us back

by sthelenstastebuds

the 'sheet' dish scallops were pale,they needed serious high temperature searing; back off on the honey.the sea scallop dish needed the same treatment along with too much zest. windows inside and out needs cleaning, power the wash deck or install drapes to hide it. replace broken toilet seat. the staff was friendly and competent.ambience overrated. the celery root apetitizer was unique.

• Pros: celery root
• Cons: too much raw veggie, too sweet, presentation

01/15/05

Nice find!

by oinkmur

This place exceeded our expectations. The food and the service were great. Dishes on the menu were very reasonably priced and prepared with elegance by the chef. Some of the stuff you'll find here you'll have a hard time finding on other restaurant menus. Wine selection was ok, but prices were just right. Our server was also very nice and attentive. Highly recommend the smoked salmon pasta dish. Yumm!

• Pros: Good food, Great service

08/04/04

A place that knows how to season food

by wjs0301

Not a salt shaker in sight and none needed. The food blew us away. Our two entrees were entirely different yet equally delicious! Flavors would unfold in your mouth! Very good wines at affordable prices. Desserts were just as well done as the entrees; even the coffee was excellent.

Our server was knowledgable, efficient without being obtrusive.

Noisy street traffic was a little distracting for our outside table, but certainly did not diminish the entire dining experience.

Can't wait to go back!

• Pros: Great service, Creative dishes, Nice size portions
• Cons: , noisy street traffic

05/26/04

Moved from NYC for this!!

by lga2pdx

One of the things that has impressed me most about Portland is the food. I discovered Cafe Dacx on an exploratory trip in 6/03 and it was the best food I had. In the past 7 months since arriving, it's still the consistently best food I've had in this great food town. Creative, fresh food without an ounce of pretension. Solid, affordable wine list. Great for a special occasion or just grabbing a bit in the 'hood. And Lisa and Suzanne make every experience enjoyable! Bravo, ladies!

• Pros: Creative, fresh food, Totally unpretentious, Great value

05/04/04

Awesome!

by leo7leo

I don't usually rate restaurants, but this place deserves it! I've been there twice and it doesn't disappoint. Food is great (start with the torza as for entree, scallops best I've ever had). Menu has nice variety (my wife likes the chili glazed shirmp). Always fresh ingredients. Staff is super friendly.

• Pros: Food, Friendly Staff

03/31/04

Seafood is the star of the eclectic Mediterranean-inspired menu, served in a friendly, intimate setting.

by Contributor

The Scene
Casual lunch spot by day and date-worthy by night, this inviting little bungalow is a spot of cheer between chichi 23rd Avenue and industrial Northwest. The cafe has made fans of diners who realize the food is just as good as, if not better than, many of the more trendy, spendy restaurants up the street.

The Food
The menu is Mediterranean-themed and globally influenced, and chef-owner Lisa Hite does wonderful things with fish. Coriander-crusted ahi tuna is grilled to tender rareness, accompanied by soy-lime sauce and sassy wasabi mashed potatoes. Halibut is coated with toasted hazelnuts and bathed in a creamy blue cheese sauce. Lingcod bursts with flavor--it's lightly fried in Thai coconut batter, topped with a sweet-spicy glaze and served with snowy-soft coconut rice. Homemade desserts rival any in town, including a dense chocolate ganache with walnut crust, a feathery-light chocolate peanut butter torte, and rich coffee-toffee ice cream cake.