RingSide Steakhouse Downtown

10/31/06

Ringside caters to a very specific crowd

by theveggie at Citysearch

This place has an overt 'old boys club' feel, so you'd better brush up on your wine and steak trivia if you want to get in good with your waiter. The restaurant is cozy and intimate (in fact, my knees got very intimate with the extremely low tables) and is a great place to spend a lot of money on dinner.

That said, the food, notably the onion rings, was delicious.

• Cons: valet parking seems to skip out early

10/13/06

great steak, dark atmosphere

by juniper420 at Citysearch

I love to eat out at fancy steakhouses, so I am little biased already. There are two locations for the Ringside, one near Gresham and the Burnside location that this review showcases. The Burnside location has a better atmosphere and waitstaff. I have had good service here always, so I am surprised by the reviews with bizzare waitstaff behavior. The wine list is long, but disorganized and our waiter didn't know what to recommend when we described to him what we liked. I think a waitstaff should always know the wine they serve, especially at a steakhouse where the wine can compliment your steak so well. However, this is one of the few steakhouses where the hefty pricetags actually include a starch and green, whereas most of them are just as spendy and the items are ala carte. The restaurant itself is very dark, tradtional steakhouse feel.

• Pros: good steak, not ala carte
• Cons: dark inside, parking

10/04/06

Disappointed!

by guanaca99 at Citysearch

Alright, I've been to their Sunday Happy Hour, and it was GREAT! Had some out of town guests last week and decided to bring them here. Now the food was hard to judge because of our waiter. He completely ruined our experience. From the minute we sat down to when we got up and left. He first brought us onion rings without us even having ordered them. While I know their onion rings are great, 2 people had allergies at the table. We kept asking him to take them away, he refused, he actually split them up among the guests, saying we were narrow minded! Even after we told him of the food allergies.

If that wasn't bad enough, when our meal was brought out, he went ahead and decided to season our meat right in front of us without asking or being asked to do so. He was just BIZARRE! His behavior was so disturbing, I was embarrased for my guests. Needless to say we hightailed it out of there without even finishing. It's a shame, I'm sure their dining room experience is great, but I think it will be a long time before I bring any out of town guests there.

• Pros: Parking, Valet, Nice Atmosphere
• Cons: Service, service, service

09/01/06

If you want great food this is it...

by jpeters231 at Citysearch

Ok, clearly "maguro," the person who wrote a comment two below this one has no clue about what a steak house really is! He obviously feels more at home in a commercial restaurant, not Portland's finest. It's all about stamina and quality in this town, Portlander's are not the easiest to please when it comes to food since there are so many great restaurants in the city. It says something when a restaurant has been around for over 50 years, right? I would venture to say that it is almost impossable for this staple restaurant to ever pass it's "prime (rib)." If you are looking for an eclectic atmossphere with some of Portland's finest service and food this is the place to be. Just take a look around at the menus on the walls and read what all the celeberties have to say about it. Not to mention the awards that cover the entry wall. Yes, some may say that it is out dated but that's what makes it The Ringside and keeps us all coming back.

FYI: maguro, a prime rib will always be marvled in fat, if you don't like it get a Filet Mignon (know your meat before you complain) and creamed spinach is just that creamed not steamed. Better luck to you at Portland Steak and Chop!

• Pros: You can't beat it!
• Cons: cigar smoke late night in the bar

06/26/06

AWESOME STEAKS

by pufski at Citysearch

IVE BEEN GOING HERE FOR OVER 28 YEARS AND IT IS THE BEST STEAKS IN TOWN

PS ONION RINGS ARE THE BEST ALSO

• Pros: EVERYTHING
• Cons: NON

Businessmen and couples flock to this traditional steak bistro for hefty fare complemented by formal service.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
This dimly lit bistro provides hearty fare in its heavy-brick dining room with cozy tables, a blazing fireplace and tuxedoed service. Diners sample its legendary crisp, thick-sliced onion rings with house dipping sauce and its signature baked sweet onion soup with Gruyere cheese. The bone-in New York steak is 20 ounces. Side it with sweet corn casserole or béarnaise asparagus. Leave room for decadent chocolate-mousse silk pie with a candied almond crust and chocolate ganache.

06/13/06

Why all the good reviews?

by maguro at Citysearch

Ringside can be fun because of the stuffy old-fashioned atmosphere which is clubby. The liquor flows and maybe that is why it gets many good reviews. There certainly are a share of reviews that mine echoes which is that is it over-rated and past its prime (rib). Service was formally friendly but the waiter kept trying to "sell" as many a la carte items as possible: greasy onion rings (those are fun at Seaside, not at a steakhouse), soggy, wet creamed spinach that was more like cream of spinach soup. The prime rib was as fatty as could be. I keep trying this place over the years because I imagine I am missing something.

• Pros: Near Thai Orchid, famous
• Cons: Food, service, claustrophobic

06/03/06

Happy Hour

by dyno13 at Citysearch

If you are a night owl and looking for that late night snak this is the place to go. The food is exceptional and the service is personable. The main menue durring regular hours has something for everyone, except kids. The bar area does fill up quickly durring happy hour so get there quickly or you'll have to settle for a sub par happy hour somewhere else in town.

• Pros: happy hour, variety, parking
• Cons: not enough room

05/30/06

Excellent!

by rainyday at Citysearch

We recently celebrated our anniversary at the Ringside and it was second to none!

From our server to the food and wine, everything was excellent!! The steaks were absolutely delicious and done exactly to our specifications. It doesn't get any better and we'd highly recommend this classic restaurant.

• Pros: food, service, parking

05/05/06

Great Midweek Experience

by ccrun at Citysearch

My wife and I had dinner here on a Wednesday night (6pm) for a celebration. The restaurant was already busy (reservations are a must!). The service was exceptional (waiter took care of our needs while not being intrusive). The steaks were some of the best I have ever had!

• Pros: Lengthy wine list, Great steaks, Exceptional Service
• Cons: Reservations a must, Can get pricey, Can get crowded