If you are looking for fine dining, you might check out Lucier (which is owned by the same owner as fenouil). I haven't been to Lucier but fenouil is one of my favorites.
doesn't have to be fine dining, but all is good! even small hole in the walls (I rarely go to the eastside FWIW and usually chill in the burbs).
I'm a huge fan of McCormick's happy hour. 4-6 and 9-close, iirc. You get dinner-sized portions of things like Burgers, shrimp, cod, hummus, dips, etc from .99 to 3.99 with a 2.50 drink order. My wife and I gorge ourselves each pre-game for less than 20 bucks with tip.
http://www.clubblazers.com/the-concession-stand/nicks-coney-island-t992.html NICKS see video at bottom of thread
If you like Indian food, go to Bombay Cricket Club on 19th and Hawthorne. And please, stay out of the 'burbs. Enjoy your time in the city. Much, much better food and entertainment there. There are TONS of GREAT restaurants in the city. Just go to wweek.com and read up.
The best Lebanese food in town is also the cheapest--Nicholas'. It's on SE Grand just south of Andy & Bax.
The Screen Door, mid range price, most meals come in and $16 and under plus drinks: http://www.screendoorrestaurant.com/ Acadia New Orleans Bistro if you want to spend some $$ (50+ per person for food and drinks). http://www.creolapdx.com/
For Happy Hour, I like the Heathman (excellent burgers) and Dragonfish (sushi and edemame, stiff drinks ... of course I guess the latter depends on the bartender). Heathman isn't much for atmosphere, but they've got a money happy hour menu, and their burgers are the bomb. Dragonfish is pretty cool (go to the bar side, not the restaurant side). It's in the ground floor of the Paramount Hotel just SW of the Fox Tower. Food is good, and they've got huge windows, so tables next to the sidewalk are good people-watching. And I've had good experience with the drinks there. Plus they have a drink on the menu called the "Pearl Necklace." Guaranteed to impress any female companions. You already mentioned Portland City Grill. That's a good spot. Excellent views, good happy hour. You've always got Higgins and the VQ, but those places always seem a little stuffy to me. Older business and pre-theatre crowd. Henry's in the Pearl is decent if you want to do the whole gawk across the bar at the females thing. Definitely some talent in there after work on a weeknight or later on Friday or Saturday nights. Food there is OK - I like the teriyaki chicken skewers and the calimari. HUGE selection of beers on tap (probably the biggest selection in Portland), and they have an ice rim on the bar to keep your beers cold. And they've got a billiards room upstairs that has nice tables and is usually not too crowded. Also a decent amount of big screens showing sports (but I wouldn't go there for a sports bar). Make sure to wear a striped button-up shirt and designer jeans so you can look like the rest of the dudes in there. Old Town Pizza is a genius spot if you're out late and you've got the munchies and/or want a cheap drink. After 9 o'clock, slices of pepperoni and cheese pizza for a dollar and well drinks for $2 (might have gone up to $2.50). Also a good pre-func spot before you head out to the bars. Perfect spot after a Blazer game. My buddies and I usually go Blazer game, MAX over to Old Town, hit up Old Town Pizza, have a few, then head out from there. -Pop
yeah, done drangonfish (stayed at the Paramount once) for happy hour. good menu. I'll be sure to check out Henry's for HH. I've gone there for dinner once before. those cajun/creole spots look awesome!
If you are staying in the 'Burbs in the west side - there is a fantastic, authentic dim-sum restaurant in a little strip-mall on Murray Blvd. across from Nike.
Or, try Arabian Breeze on NE Broadway, same owners as Nicholas but a bit more diverse and adventurous menu. If you are DT, hit up Huber's (Portland's oldest restaurant) for Spanish coffees at HH... And BEST Pizza in town (some of the best in the country) is at Apizza Scholls on SE Hawthorne
A good downtown Italian place is Allessandros. The owner and chef are from Italy and the food seems pretty genuine.
