The Deck — Restaurant in Portland

The Deck is a bit like the Island Cafe's kissing cousin, situated a little further upriver along the Columbia in McCuddy's Marina off Marine Drive, and a little more obscure: it's very easy to overlook. Hell, I did for years, until this last weekend! It has its own set of advantages: closer to home (for us), less crowded. It's a little less photogenic, and a little rougher around the edges in some places, but still a wonderful spot to enjoy some casual lunch fare and cocktails on a warm, sunny afternoon!

We ordered the Deck Burger for myself: a sort of French Dip/burger hybrid, complete with au jus; the Chapman Bleu for my wife: a cod fish sandwich boasting bleu cheese dressing and crumbles instead of tartar sauce; a Tokyo Tea for myself, and a Peaches and Tea for the lady. Both of us subbed out our included French Fries for one of the pasta salads on the appetizer menu: the Pesto Tortellini and the Sundried Tomato Penne, respectfully (the latter, without a doubt, is the exact same pasta you can buy from Gartner's deli on Killingsworth, FYI, and absolutely worth your money!).

The Deck Burger seemed a little plain: could have used more caramelized onions and maybe some other accoutrement, IMO, but it was still pretty tasty, properly cooked, and the au jus a well-executed staple. My wife's Chapman Bleu, on the other hand, left me envious: she was utterly in love with it, savoring each and every bite: the bleu cheese complementing the deep-fried cod filet surprisingly well! Both of us would be hard-pressed to order anything else on the menu, upon a return visit.

Cocktails were light and refreshing, and sizeable for the price. The Tokyo Tea, being basically a Long Island Iced Tea with Midori (I think?) was light and refreshing, and the Peaches and Tea was exactly as advertised: peach iced tea with a punch.

Service was friendly and reasonably competent, even if most of the servers working seemed to be slightly-green high school aged kids working a summer job: no complaints about attentiveness or accuracy. The river views here are almost incomparable for any restaurant on the Columbia within city limits on either side, and a gentle wake from passing ships keeps things lively, at least for those resilient to sea-sickness (it's really not bad at all!).

As I grow older, I've begun to realize that I am particularly partial to ships, docks, harbors, marinas...anything nautical by nature, as well as any restaurants that occupy said spaces or embrace said themes (Dad-mode fully engaged, I guess?!). Maybe I was a sailor in a previous life; certainly not this one, which is something I regret. Even so, despite my lack of sea-faring experience, on any sunny summer afternoon or evening, there's a decent chance you find me standing (well, sitting)...

Tried this place for the first time today based on reviews and we really wanted to love it. It was ok. Not great, just ok.

Note…if you want to be out on the water and not stuck in the shed, you have to be 21. This was a bummer as our under 21 kids were looking forward to being out next to the water. Had we known this was the case, we wouldn’t have bothered with going to the restaurant.

Ordered a few things (fish and chips, a burger, coconut shrimp).

The fish and chips were the same as you’d get from the frozen section in a grocery store. The pieces were small and flavorless, the fries weren’t cooked all the way and zero seasoning. Cole slaw seemed straight from the grocery deli counter and the tartar sauce was what I’d expect from a cheap store shelf bottle.

The burger (the deck burger, their “signature one”) was very small especially considering the $18 it costs, but it had decent flavor and seasoning to the point it didn’t need any sauce or the au jus it came with (which was overly salty). The fries, again, were unfortunately the same flavorless cardboard frozen ones.

The coconut shrimp was the star of the meal although they’re no doubt still right off the freezer shelf. The shrimp by themselves were tasty and crispy but not overdone. The lemon dipping sauce was great although a bit sweet (lighten up on the sugar and make it more tart and you’d have a winner), the cocktail sauce was flavorless. The slaw was the same as mentioned above as were the fries.

Once we ordered, the food arrived very quickly.

Final thoughts…the view is what you’re going to this restaurant for and if you’re in the bar, you’ll get it. The food is average at best basic bar food and unbelievably over priced (for the quality and should be no more than 3/4-1/2 of what they’re charging). For these prices, I’d expect fresh fish that’s hand battered on site and better than store bought sides. If you’re just looking to get some drinks and sit next to the water in the bar, this might be a good place for you although we didn’t have any alcohol so I can’t speak for the quality of their cocktails.

Will we return? No, as there are far better food options around with as good or...

Most unfortunate visit to the deck recently. I have been here a few times and thought it was "fine". Upon arrival a group of ladies were trying to hunt down their server to pay. Not a good start. Waited quite a while to get anyone to greet us at our table. Ordered drinks and food as we had plenty of time to decide what we wanted as we waited. Drinks came pretty quickly. White wine not very cold. Had to add ice cubes. And then we waited for our food. And waited, and waited. Would have flagged server earlier but nowhere to be found. Other nearby tables were getting their food quickly (within 5 minutes) and still we had nothing. 30 minutes in I finally flagged the server down. She 1st said they had limited kitchen staff today(1st possible untruth) so they were backed up. But yet many other tables were receiving their food. After checking on it she said it should be out soon. Needed to make more au jus sauce was the excuse(2nd possible untruth). Guaranteed that was in a box or can so not a 30 minute job. It seemed clear that she forgot to put our order in. Mistakes happen but telling the truth would have been the way to go at that point. What was meant for a quick stop for drinks and a snack took well over an hour. And, full circle, we had to flag her down to pay. Only positives 1) the weather was great 2) the fries...