Tropicale — Restaurant in Portland

I've only drank a beverage out of a pineapple during travels in Hawaii, so going off of word of mouth, a friend and I head to Tropicale for the first time to have enjoy this novelty.

We approached the lively, crowded outdoor seating area, and noticed there were seemingly two entrances, an immediate regular door, and an open garage bay door further down. Within both entrances, there were employees making drinks behind countertops, but there was no clear signage on where to go or wait.

So we walk in the first door and immediately as we cross the threshold, a slender, mustached femme with a wavy banged bob hairstyle shouts "We have a line" and extends a limp wristed arm with a downward palm wave directing us toward the door. Only that shoo of a hello was said, four words. There was no line, and it being our first time here, how were we supposed to know? I immediately respond and ask where the line would be, but she has her head down ignoring us, and it was the customers at the counter who politely answered the question. I thank them for the information and we go wait in queue. (For everyone's info, it is by the wooden pillars under the patio outside the door) Myself and my friend work in the service industry and understand the hustle, and it doesn't take much to make someone feel welcome.

When it's our turn we order two pineapple coladas and fish tacos. We are given a number and we choose a table, sit down, and it is only a few minutes before the drinks and food come out. Instead of a garnish of dark cherries and grapefruit as the menu states, the pina colada is garnished with simply a pineapple slice and the inedible dried grapefruit. Quite alright, as the drink was delicious and absolutely refreshing on a warm day. The fish tacos were served as a pair and decent, and the smoky habanero salsa it was accompanied with was quite good.

There was table bus service, and they were quick and warm for which we were grateful. Though they would have likely had to declare the tip, I would have tipped the people working the tables directly in cash to avoid them having to pull tips with a coworker who has such a curt demeanor. Despite the yummy coladas, that particular employee really left a bad taste in our mouths, and if the hankering for a pineapple drink arises I would sooner travel to the tropics or use my blender at home than return.

TDLR: If you've ever been to Yamhill Pub downtown and interacted with the owner, this place is pretty much an overpriced hipster version of that. At least when I go to Yamhill, I go in with the...

To the bartender/server woman with the dark brown hair and bright red lipstick who screamed “we don’t serve sour cream” at me twice on 6/30/22 in front of my friends when I asked if the sauce that came on my fish tacos was mayo-based or sour cream-based: thanks for ruining my celebration dinner and my first time at Tropicale. And also, thanks for telling me if I didn’t like my food I could go buy something else. You are the sole reason I’ll never go back to Tropicale.

To the lovely young man behind the register: thank you for seeing my shock and dismay and getting me a new order of tacos. Thank you for your understanding that while I hadn’t clarified at the register that “salsa Frita” was a mayo-based sauce and not a traditional salsa, that you could try to make it right for me. You are what stellar customer service is about and I thank you sincerely. You’re the only reason for the second star.

Unfortunately, nothing will ever get me to go back to Tropicale after this experience, it was humiliating and unacceptable. Miss bartender gal: I hope it makes you feel big and strong to know you can single handedly ruin someone’s night and shut them down, and put a damper on their celebration. I was there to thank my friends for being so good to me while my mom was in hospice and dying, and I got screamed at by you. I really hope it fills your soul to know you shut me down on that occasion.

Lastly, I get that there are some very subtle differences between sour cream and “crema” (which is on your menu btw), they are essentially the same thing, culinarily speaking. By asking “is this a sour cream-based or mayo-based sauce” I guess you’re right, I meant “is this a crema-based sauce.” A good, intuitive, kind server would have gotten my meaning though. Yelling at customers is not a good...

I've been seeing/hearing about Tropicale for about a year and have been wanting to try it that whole time. I obsessed over their Instagram and wished I was there but then, something would come up so we couldn't go. We finally tried it this weekend and wowie, did it live up the hype.

Let's start with drinks. I'm not usually a piña colada girl (as in i would rather not drink than drink a piña colada) but theirs were fresh and good and I'd consider getting one the next time I go. Their traditional margarita hit the spot but didn't wow me.

We ended up ordering the pulpo, los maduros con carne, and the tostada ahumada. Everything was fantastic! The pulpo came with chorizo and potatoes and was topped with a chimichurri and crema. The different flavors and textures worked so well together. Los maduros con carne was something I didn't know i needed in my life. The sweetness of the plantain topped with the savory pork - probably our favorite dish of the night. The tostada had the least wow factor in terms of presentation but it was very very tasty and we would definitely order it again. This was enough for food for my husband and i because we'd had a late lunch but, if you're hungry, I'd suggesting ordering another dish.

There was a line when we got there and they seat you after you order as tables come open. We probably waited in line for 20 minutes and then another 5-10 to be seated. Don't know if that's typical or if we just got there at a good time but it wasn't...