Pacific Boil & Lounge — Restaurant in Tigard

I’d been to Pacific Boil with my daughter two years ago and it was delicious. So this past weekend, when friends from out of town, suggested we go find seafood, I agreed that Pacific Boil was a good option, I was wrong.

I’m giving this establishment two stars for the mid-level service. But if I were basing reviews simply on food or cleanliness I would give it zero stars.

Upon arrival, there was a large group of people congregated outside of the entrance smoking and blocking the doors. Inside, there was a woman giving herself a sponge bath in a bussing tub in the bathroom near the entrance.

We sat at a table and were given sticky menus. Then the waitress, who gave us the menus, disappeared for about ten minutes into the back without taking a drink order so we moved up to the bar instead hoping that we get a little bit more attentive service that way.

We ordered our drinks at the bar and waited for them to be served as we had to listen to the staff in the bar discuss some of their coworkers’ drama for quite a while which added to the less-than-desirable environment. It was not a fun environment at all.

I found a few things on the very sticky menu that would be acceptable. I ordered clam chowder, a wedge salad, and fried oysters.

The kitchen staff seems to be pretty out of touch with the food service process. We ordered three clam chowders to start. It took about at least 10 minutes for the kitchen to microwave some ✨extremely runny clam chowder, ✨and even then they only completed two of three orders 😕 it took another five minutes for the third one to come out. So I sat there waiting for my chowder while my male companion waited with me because he had already been served his chowder. At the time we ordered the clam chowder, we were up-sold on three slices of garlic bread for four dollars. That garlic bread was served 10 minutes before the first two chowder orders came out. By the time I got my chowder 15 minutes later, the bread was dead cold.

Next, I tried the wedge salad. Do not, I repeat, do not get the wedge salad. I promise you will be disappointed. First of all, it’s not a wedge. The leaves are just thrown on a plate dry with some blue cheese crumbles, super old, stale bacon and diced tomatoes over the top. The dressing is Absolutely putrid. The best way I can describe the dressing is old Kraft dressing that has been sitting in the back of the refrigerator for seven years. And you get a tiny little 2 ounce ramekin that you have to dip your lettuce leaves into. I requested a different kind of dressing and it was equally disgusting.

The fried oysters were a massive disappointment. But they were better than the salad. They were served with an orange dipping sauce that just tasted like fry sauce. I asked for tartar sauce, and it was what made the fried oysters edible. I wasn’t served a lemon, so I doused them with Tabasco instead.

My two friends had a seafood boil. And I tasted a couple of the shrimps and a bite of the crab, and although it was very flavorful, somehow the seafood still taste dry and aged. The best part out of the seafood boil was...

WoW! We had a solid go to spot in CA before we moved up here to OR. We are located in Salem, and have tried about six different "cajun" places north/east/south and west of here, and none would even garner a 3 star review. All were cheap imitations of Cajun fare.

Pacific Boil didn't look like too much from the outside, we went in expecting mediocrity. It's in a strip mall with a typical strip mall sign announcing it's presence.

We were pretty early on a Sunday(11:30ish) nobody else was there so we got a clean, yet rustic booth next to the window. Sam was our hosts name (don't know if he was the proprietor or not). He was very friendly and gave us menus and water/soda very quickly. We went with the Crab Boil pot that included 4 snow crab halves and two pounds Shrimp and Mussels along with some corn/potatoes and sausage. We included a dungeness crab to the pot as well. The appetizer was the fried soft shell crab.

Perfect!

10/10 on everything

Fried soft shell crab served piping hot! with a savory dipping sauce. CRISPY and spiced just right as should be expected.

Crab pot comes out SUPER HOT as it should be. the food came in a large,thick metal bowl that retained the heat throughout our hour long seafood fest. I can not exclaim this enough. Every other Cajun place arrives above warm, and five minutes in, the entire pot is luke-warm. Eating seafood this cold is unacceptable at any restaurant! Pacific Boil DELIVERED! The "Old Bay' stood out, AS IT SHOULD! All seafood in the pot was tight to the bite as all fresh seafood should be, and tasted like it came right off the dock today.

Unassuming atmosphere and incredible food with prompt attention to the little things like drink and crab eating utensils. The little things combined with the main event have led me to 5 stars!

I hope this place never changes. We'll frequent this place as our go to Cajun eatery from here on out. No need to go...

Visited with my wife and daughter recently on a Sunday evening. This space used to be the redoubtable Gaffer’s Fish and Chips, in the Tigard Village mall. The restaurant was about half full. We were seated immediately. The server was efficient and helpful. We tried the ‘Build Your Own Boil’ because we could have exactly what we wanted (Dungeness crab, green mussels, clams, broccoli, taters, corn and sausage) We selected the garlic butter sauce, mild. I ordered a side of their Old Bay extra spicy sauce because I love heat. I was not disappointed! The seafood tasted fresh and was perfectly cooked, especially the crab, basically a whole one, minus the carapace and guts. There were about a dozen each huge mussels, and large shrimp (unpeeled, head on, the way we like ‘em!) and more littleneck clams than we could finish. The two largish spuds were quartered and nicely cooked through, perfect for sopping up the sauce which was at least a cup of butter and an equal amount of chopped garlic. The ample serving of broccoli was al dente. We also ordered some garlic bread (‘cause that’s how we roll) and it was ok. The sweet corn was a little disappointing, probably frozen, but after all it was January in PDX, so what did you expect, and at first we thought the kitchen had forgotten our sausage because the pieces were dinky and hidden under everything else. Minor complaints. This whole giant seafood binge cost us just $100 including the tip, and was definitely worth it. We’ll be back to try the other side of the menu (all the deep fried stuff) and we’ll let you know...