DAME — Restaurant in Portland

The setting/ambiance left much to be desired. Dame had too many wobbly tables squished into a small space. I was practically rubbing elbows with patrons on my left & right. Their conversations boomed over the romantic date I was hoping to achieve.

Saturday night 6pm service, ordered the Wagyu Carpaccio, Cesar Salad, Dungeness Risotto, Squid Ink Pasta, and a bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

The staff was polite and helpful albeit felt like they were constantly looming overhead.

The Wagyu Carpaccio should have been an indicator of what’s to come. Flavorless Wagyu was adhered to a cold plate, then sprinkled with a salty fried morsel. The beef was cold, oxidized, and lacked flavor. The Cesar salad was surprisingly worse. Large chunks of romaine were lightly dressed, thrown on a plate with 2 pieces of prosciutto. The large pieces of bitter romaine, together with the large piece of prosciutto made for a bit of a mess. As well as less than desirable mouth feel.

45 minutes later our entrees arrived. The risotto lacking flavor, accompanied by a very small portion of crab. The risotto is $32. When a dish is comprised mostly of rice one would hope it would contain a healthy portion of crab. I would have happily paid $40-$50 for more crab, which would have balanced the risotto with its salty complexity. In current form the risotto sauce lacks both flavor, and the salinity the dish deserves.

I will conclude with the fact that the tables were so close together, the servers butt almost knocked over my dates wine glass.

Needless to say we proceeded to another restaurant to conclude our night. Dame is an uncomfortable environment you’re hoping to escape as soon as you sit at their...

Party of 6 for wife’s 40th bday dinner - We all LOVED the food! Summary/Highlights: all the pastas were amazing but the squid ink was our least favorite, for apps we all loved the salad & focaccia. Entrees: the Trout was the best trout I’ve had in my life. Full Review: We made a reservation with the RESY app and were seated in the back room where we shared a table with two seatings. It was plenty big though and was at least one chair between groups so we weren’t exactly next to each other. All of us on one end. I ordered two bottles of sparkling Rose to start for the group along with with every appetizer except the soup. Olives were just olives and are tasty but I could skip that next time. Focaccia was amazing and so were both salads. We shared everything family style. We all enjoyed the pastas so much. So light and fresh, seriously so good. We got every pasta dish. The Cacio e pepe was good, the raviolis were so good, and the butternut one AMAZING. The squid ink wasn’t bad but it was very soupy:lots of broth with a lemon flavor and the squid ink flavor is kind of lost. The trout was also a crowd favorite and I really believe the best I’ve ever had anywhere hands down. We also got the pork chop which was tasty but maybe we were all too full by this point to say it was amazing. Desserts also good. Highly recommend this restaurant and staff. We really had a great experience. Too busy and didn’t...

We stopped because we were picking up our in-laws from the airport, and I wanted to have a good meal if I was coming all the way from Eugene.

What I didn't expect was to have one of the best meals of my life! The atmosphere was lovely, though the music was a little loud. Our server was nice and knowledgeable of the menu, and the food was out of this world phenomenal.

Everything we got was treated simply and with love. The warm olives were soft and fruity, the Focaccia had a beautiful crust with a delightful soft spongy crumb, the sprouted broccoli had a bold char flavor, and the squid ink pasta was the best pasta I have ever had. The pasta had a wonderful chew, the shrimp were perfectly cooked, and the broth was a deft balance of unctuous fat, slight heat from the Calabrian chiles, and well-rounded tomato flavor.

For dessert we had the ricotta doughnuts which were tender, peppery, and served with a bright lemon curd. I would gladly go here time an time again.

It far exceeded my expectations for a good meal after terrible Portland traffic, and made navigating the insane Thanksgiving traffic more than worth it! If you have a chance to go here DO IT!

What are you waiting for? GO NOW!

The owners, chefs, and staff truly have something special here and I hope they continue this great work of love as long as it...