Al-Amir Restaurant — Restaurant in Portland

This place is the real deal! My husband and I used gift cards to dine on a Wednesday. We had not been to downtown Portland because the homeless/drug environment is not pleasant. We were able to park in front of this beautiful building that used to be the Bishops house. Atmosphere was really “old town”. I have been lukewarm in the past about Middle East fare so Al Amir was an unexpected surprise. First off, the red wine was as good as I have had in any restaurant. The combo appetizer had the BEST hummus with plentiful pita bread. I ordered the chicken kabobs and the spice they used left me wanting to come back right away. My husband ordered lamb and it was a very generous portion. The service was very warm and attentive. We came back several days later and was greeted by Mo who made us feel so appreciated. He remembered our wine selection and told us to order anything off the menu and they would make it work. This time I ordered the shrimp kabobs and thought I died and went to heaven… I gave my husband one and he felt the same. One of the owners, Lydia, spoke to us and we told her how impressed we were and we were their new best customer. They have been in business for 33 years and have had to adapt to the Portland issues. Used to be vibrant /open lunch and dinner and now are only open limited hours. Lydia has been very involved giving back to the community (in one case Transitional Youth) also meeting with city leaders to help Portland come back to its old self. She wore a shirt with “faith” on it. She was so determined that things would get better. Please go to this restaurant, it deserves all the support they can get. PS: they sell their wonderful hummus at FM, Safeway and other. Try their hummus and it will definitely lead you to try...

Yesterday, we celebrated my wife's birthday with three long term friends at one of our favorite dining establishments Al-Amir. It's an annual event, and as every year, the service is beyond belief.

We ordered a cocktail, and as always, owner Mo asked us what we would like to eat this evening. We rattled off a few favorites, and just had to have the lamb shank with all the usual hummus and so on. He said "WE'LL JUST DO FAMILY STYLE". In his usual grace, the food just kept coming in a casual but unobtrusive pace. By the time the meat dishes arrived we were nearly stuffed, but made a go of it. Oh my, we did eat well!

Not only did he not charge for the corkage of the wine we brought, he sent us home with several selections from his cellar, and it's not the first time. The next morning I woke up about 4:00AM, and realized that when apportioning the bill among the group, we hand not left a tip. I was mortified. I called the next morning just before they opened, and Mo answered. I told him of my error, and hoped he would accept my apology. He would not take my credit card, and said as long as my wife was happy with her birthday, all is good.

Whether you know this cuisine or not, you should treat your friends and family to this Portland treasure of a restaurant. You will feel like you are the only table in the place, and you definitely won't go home hungry.

Thank you...

I was in here with a group recently and it was one of the worst dining experiences I've had in Portland. As soon as we entered the restaurant I was overwhelmed by a strong chemical odor that we could smell throughout the night. It could best be described as a special blend of nail polish remover and embalming fluid. We were a large group and paid a flat $50 for a sampling of the menu (the back of the restaurant is setup for large family meals). I could not have been more underwhelmed for $50 and scanned the table several times to make sure I tried everything. Here is a sampling/review of a few of the items: chicken and lamb skewers both extremely dry and served cold, the falafel was crumbly and dry as well, the vegetables were mushy and overcooked. I was the first to try a few of the "hot" items, yet they arrived cold. Several people at our table barely ate because the smell in the air murdered their appetites. The staff almost seemed inconvenienced by our business but were nice enough to ask if we wanted more alcohol throughout the night. Perhaps a good buzz would have masked the odor in the air and subpar food sent out by the kitchen. I speculate that the chemicals typically drugs patrons into thinking they just had an amazing meal. Unfortunately for the business it did not have that effect...