Northport — Restaurant in Portland

My spouse and I visited Northport--open for 5 months now, yet this was our first time--on Halloween for some drinks and snacks. It was a smart choice.

This will be a positive review, so I hope Google Reviews doesn't flag it as some phony, inside-job thing.

We had previously eaten a couple times at its predecessor, Swift & Union and left each time mostly unimpressed. Indifferent service, overly salted food, and nothing remarkable about the atmosphere.

This time and now "rebranded," redesigned, and with a new menu, we struck gold. I had a cocktail special cocktail--which, if it's so special, why isn't it on the menu, I think--that was crazy good. On second thought, it may have been the Cool Hand Luke. Whatever it was, it was creative, nicely presented, a liberal pour, and refreshing. Floating in the glass was a thin slice of dried lime with a little witch's hat on it. Perfect for Halloween! My spouse had the rosé, which she liked.

At one point, I stood up and walked to the bar to check out the decor and lineup of bottles. There, Robbie engaged me, and we chatted a bit about its predecessor S&U and the goals in the new place. He may be a partner in the restaurant, I recall. He said that they strive to be as close to farm-to-table as possible. Though there is a big screen TV in the corner of the bar, it doesn't dominate--this is not a sports bar. Rather, the TV seems more like a necessity these days for a citizenry fixated on screens. So be it. I think the place would be better off without it by letting its polished, vaguely contemporary shelving, industrial decor create the vibe of a modestly upscale special place for a date. I took it that way regardless of the TV.

Zach was our server. He is friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. E.g., he suggested the drink I ordered. We told him we wanted to be a "low priority, low need" table, so he checked in with us every 15 minutes or so, allowing us a leisurely evening over small plates. I appreciate that.

We started with the crab cakes. Crazy good! These did not at all seem like those typical Sysco or Costco frozen crab cakes with a homogenous consistency and absence of personality. The flesh was alternately lumpy and sliver-like; the crust wasn't greasy and was just the right thickness and not so thick that one bite would collapse the whole structure. Delicious!

The steak bites were perfect, too. (This was our own little version of "surf and turf.") Cooked to our requested medium rare, they almost melted in the mouth. Cooking small pieces of flesh to such a light temperature can be tricky. These guys nailed it. We didn't eat all the bites, so Zach boxed it up for WITH AN EXTRA SIDE OF PEPPERCORN SAUCE, which is a buttery gravy and accompanies the bites. We've never had anything like it, and it matched perfectly with the meat skewers. This stuff should come in suppository form. Not only that, the way Zach arranged the leftovers in the box was pretty. Not just dumped from the plate into the to-go box, but laid out in a "we-hope-you-enjoy-this-at-home" way. The bites came with fries, which the kitchen could easily have ignored given the excellent meat. They didn’t. The fries were crunchy on the outside, the right temperature, and super flavorful with an actual sense of potato. Their crispness went well with the softer meat.

By this time, we were starting to get full, so we cut to the chase and ordered dessert. Tiramisu. I don't precisely recall everything about elements of this dish, but I do remember being surprised at its atypical look--it was not that stereotypical tall cube of layers of egg yolk-sugar-mascarpone and pastry. This was delicate without the brutality of being overly lady finger-ish or overly gooshy with all that zabaglione.

So there you have it: Cool and comfortable vibe, and great service, great drinks, great appetizers, and great dessert. We're heading back next week for the grilled trout with avocado-cucumber salad. Stoked this place is in the neighborhood. Five stars, two thumbs up, and all the rest. Go here, eat, drink,...

This is my neighborhood, and I really want to love this place. The breakfast food we got was very good, as was the coffee. I am willing to change my mind, but they really do need to make some adjustments to make this place feel neighborhood friendly. Kenton is tucked away, people aren't flocking here as a food destination. The majority of the people eating in kenton are from close by, and so not fitting the neighborhood vibe is not going to fare well for business.

Your policy of not giving out booths unless you have previously reserved one is absurd. When there's only two tables with people at 11:30 on a Saturday, during peak brunch hours, in a large restaurant with like 20 tables empty, and two local people walk in and ask for a booth and you say that's only for reservations, and then multiple more parties walk in and ask for the booth and you say it's only for reservations, and then we all sit there for an hour and have our meal and leave, and most of those booths are still empty, you are breeding resentment towards your business. This isn't LA, this is working class Kenton. If you treasure your four precious booths, then do a cheap renovation and put more booths along the windows, and some two-seater booths along the low-wall where there's only two-seater tables. Then, you could end your booth reservation policy and stop alienating the locals. And there's not enough business at this place to even warrant this policy. every other breakfast place I go to that has tables and booths, the booths are first come first serve. In the cutthroat landscape of the pdx restaurant scene, It would be wise for you to listen to people who actually frequent our restaurants. The restaurant was nearly empty most of the time we were there on a Saturday. And on a related note, when you walk by the restaurant, it feels, unapproachable. All the tables with cloth napkins and glasses on them do look very pretty, but it feels like fine dining, which the menu is not, and not as much of a nice casual neighborhood spot. My top recommendations would be put in more booths, that makes people want to come in, and makes it so people coming in don't feel alienated by your booth reservation policy. And consider changing up the table settings: a little tray with salt and pepper maybe a little flower vase, maybe some hot sauce etc. I guarantee it would entice more people to come in for brunch.

I asked for jam for my toast, and was told there was none, but was offered some strawberry coulis, which was tasty, but I was charged $2 for precisely 2 tbsp of it. Your prices are already high, which is forgivable, but for those prices, being charged for jam with my breakfast is insulting. Petit province has a generous portion of delicious house made raspberry jam that comes with your breakfast, and you can even ask for extra and that is no charge. Nowhere I've ever eaten breakfast has charged me for jam for my toast. Jam is like ketchup, salt and pepper, hot sauce etc. It is a courtesy offered as part of your meal. If you want the kind of patronage that Petite Provence, Gravy, Tin Shed have, consider offering more small graces, such as a small portion of your strawberry coulis included with a breakfast that comes with toast.

Our server was lovely, she was attentive and kind and a true professional. We were very sweet with her and shared how great the food was, but it seemed like a drain on staff morale that people are annoyed by the booth policy. Putting the servers in the position of having to enforce the booth policy is very awkward. You can tell that the servers know that customers are insulted with that policy, and that they know it creates a more negative dining experience for the customers. They were apologetic about not being able to give us a booth, especially in a nearly empty restaurant, and we expressed it wasn't a problem and hid our disappointment, though we could see it brings down the morale of the service staff to enforce this thing that alienates...

I was pleased to see a gluten-free option for the chicken sandwich listed online, as my wife has a gluten allergy. We placed a to-go order, selecting the gluten-free version specifically for her. When asked about sides, we inquired whether the fries were gluten-free and were informed they were not, so we opted for just the sandwich. I ordered the same sandwich in the regular (non-gluten-free) version.

Upon picking up our order, everything seemed properly labeled. However, when my wife took her first bite, we immediately realized the sandwich was not gluten-free. This is not a minor mistake—gluten causes her severe reactions, including hives and extreme digestive distress. While that alone is serious, what makes this situation even worse is that she had just given birth five days prior and was still recovering from the physical toll of childbirth and excessive blood loss. Instead of enjoying a stress-free meal, she was hit with more health complications and unnecessary suffering.

The staff we interacted with were polite and friendly, but I find it deeply concerning that at no point did anyone question the order. Why would a customer request a gluten-free bun for a sandwich that contains gluten? Why is that combination even an option? From the menu design to the ordering process to food preparation, multiple layers of oversight failed. If this mistake had involved a life-threatening allergy, the consequences could have been catastrophic.

Thankfully, my wife’s reaction—while serious—was not life-threatening. But the fact remains that she suffered because of this error, and it could have been far worse for someone else. These kinds of mistakes are not just inconveniences; they can be life-altering.

I’m not angry at the individual staff members, but I am incredibly frustrated that such a critical error occurred. Because of this experience, I cannot in good conscience recommend this restaurant to anyone, nor will I be returning. I sincerely hope the establishment takes immediate steps to prevent this from happening to...