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.

04/28/08

Wonderful Hosts

by tedja

John and his wife are wonderful hosts. They have always been helpful and generous. Whenever I'm hungry I always think to go to Clarke's. The food is delicious and the ambience is comfortable. Food is always delicious and the service is attentive. Keep up the good work.

• Pros: Service

03/16/08

An absolutely wonderful place for our wedding reception

by ClaireandDavid

David and I have eaten at Clarke's before and loved it! So, we reserved the entire restaurant for our February 9th wedding reception! It was absolutely perfect thanks to Laurie, Jonathan, and the staff there. Our guests are still raving about the shrimp and lobster risotto, the sea bass, the tenderloin, and the incredible wine choices. Laurie was wonderful to work with during the months leading up to the reception, as she was incredibly helpful in menu selection, wine selection, and room setup, as well as really patient with a first time bride! Laurie and Jonathan also baked and decorated our cake, and that was really great as well. Everything was well organized and we had a great and friendly wait staff for our guests. Our guests commented on what a great choice of locations, and they plan to return to eat there in the future. David and I will be back soon too!

03/04/08

Good food Great service.

by AnotherAnotherPerson

a Good meal with very good service. My mother has a cinnamon allergy and the waiter went to the point of calling the pastry chef at his home to determine if there was cinnamon in the desert my mother wanted. truly exceptional service. Not a restaurant for children or the picky but they do a good job of catering to customer wants and modifying their food. For example i had a Caesar salad with steak on top and it was very good. also very good is the selection of house made gelato and sorbets.

01/28/08

Food and service very consistent

by hlcsco

One of the best qualities of Clarke's is that the food is always exceptional. The lobster risotto is a must. But, you can't go wrong with any of their five-star dishes. The atmosphere is extremely cool and comfortable, you'd never know that this beautiful food haven existed looking at Clarke's from the street.

Despite the amazing food, there is one item I've noticed to be very consistently awkward. The people. The staff at Clarke's never feels very genuine or outgoing, and I always feel awkward going there. I crave the risotto, but not enough to endure the somewhat cold staff.

Also, when you sit at the bar, suddenly the charm is gone when you watch the bartender pour your wine or cocktail through an elaborate pouring system. Its too mechanical, exacting, and adds to the coldness of the place.

• Pros: lobster risotto, excellent menu
• Cons: staff, friendliness, dispensing system

02/27/07

Great Dinner! Great Service! Order the Risotto Appetizer!

by limerick

My husband and I had a great dinner at Clarke's on Monday night. First of all, there is no corkage fee on Mondays so we brought our own favorite bottle to enjoy. Second, the service was excellent. Our server was Dana, he was as professional as they come, very helpful and friendly. I asked him about the Risotto appetizer and he told me it was worth a try. They were OH-SO-GOOD! We loved them. I had perfectly cooked steak that I keep thinking about. My husband enjoyed his pork tenderloin with an awesome side of spatzle. We had loved Clarke's before the remodel and we tried it afterwards but it was still daylight outside and felt it didn't show well in daylight. Last night, Clarke's was SO redeemed it looked great. It is still one of our favorites and the food is excellent. Great espresso too!

01/21/07

Phew! Much better than some of the earlier reviews suggest!!

by stephenocpdx

Was just there Friday for a birthday dinner. Not having been before, my wife and I guess things have changed a lot,provoking some of the recent reviews - certainly the decor is not much like pictures on the website - there were no table linens, lot of glass partitions, the whole place is very bright.

BUT, thankfully the food was very good, a short, good menu, big wine list, good desserts and drink pairings. Service was good, eventhough the place was packed, we weren't rushed.

I was kinda worried I'd picked the wrong venue, and yes it was more casual than I'd expected, though I think we'll be more likely to revisit because of that.

• Pros: wine list, menu,

11/29/06

Used to be fabulous before they remodeled, no more. Very noisy, staff was rude, pricey food arrived cold!

by joriannb

We use to come to Clarke's for romantic, quiet dinners, the food was great and the wine list even better! They have done an extensive remodel and expansion and in my opinion they have ruined the restaurant.

It was very noisy and the staff was rude. I asked if they could hang up my coat, the waiter was doing something on the computer and left me standing with coat in hand for 5 minutes while he finished what HE WAS DOING!

We ordered our entree's thay arrived cold. The menu has changed and is not nearly as interesting as it use to be.

It is very unfortunate, this use to be one of our favorite restaurants in LO but we will not be back.

Dinner for two with one glass of wine each + tip was $100.00. It is definitely not worth the $$$ anymore! It use to be!

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Not worth the $$$, boring menu, rude staff, terrible atmosphere!