Mccormick & Schmick's Harborside Portland

The services, albeit friendly is very slow. The food is over priced and mediocre. The only aspect of the restaurant I enjoyed was the location. more

I have frequented the Harborside for many years. It's right on the water at the South end of town. I have always found the staff and bartenders very helpful and attentive. The food is always fresh and served quickly. Matt and Kyle in the bar are always attentive and helpful. I think Matt's been there for 13 years now. more

trashy bartenders, terrible service... So DON'T ruin your whole night because of this joint... go somewhere else. Pros: none to speak of Cons: bad service/obnoxious staff more

It's not a restaurant that I would have ever chosen because I don't like high priced restaurants, but I got a gift certificate from my boss so I took my mother for her birthday. I asked for a window seat when I made my reservation and mentioned that it was my mothers birtday but there was no mention of it while we dined. I would have liked for it to be acknowledged and for her to receive a little dessert. I'm not talking about having the waiters sing at the table, but a little something is nice.\r General observations:\r One little bun sized piece of bread cut into 5 slices for a table of 4? Dinner was $130, and no extra bread? I don't understand ala carte dining, I gues I appreciate the lower end restaurants where you get a salad with your meal. \r My mother had the ling cod, the fish was good but it was served with what looked and tasted like plain white rice Yuck!\r My daughter had the crab stuffed salmon which was tasty, but it was swimming in a big puddle of grease on her plate.\r My son had the sirloin & scampi, no comlaints, everyone at the table wished they had ordered what he had.\r I had the wild mixed grill-no sauce on the crab cake, the salmon was over cooked and dry, the risotto was tasty, but there was that all too familiar puddle of grease on the plate.\r I've got $18 left on the gift certificate, anybody want it?\r \r Pros: It will quickly relieve you of a pesky chunk of change that's bothering you Cons: Everything else more

We ate at McCormick & Smicks Harborside tonight and though we've lived in Portland for many years it was our first time. We took our two children (2 and 10) and it was a GREAT experience. They kids muched on tender calimari and delicious steamer clams and watched the passerbyers on the Esplanade as they waited for they dinners, Dinner was not only tasty but beautiful, no detail was missed. They even took the tails off the shrimp for the kids shrimp meal. I had Albacore and my husband had Ahi, both cooked perfectly. We had a nice bottle of wine and the kids shared a deseret trio which satisfied both of them. They only thing that could use improvement was the coffee. I was expecting a french press or at least something strong and local such as Stumptown, but it tasted like coffee you got in college when pulling an allnighter at Denny's. Pros: great location for people watching and a nice view of the water, every food item was had was good! Cons: coffee was NOT good! more

We're heard poor reviews on this site about this place and were a little leary. But, we were tired after a long day of sightseeing so it was close. We were very pleasantly surprized. We were walk-ins (Friday night) got seated by the window, and ran through a selection of wonderful fresh oysters, a beer sampler, arctic char, and king salmon along with an amazing dessert sampler. The fish was perfectly done, wait staff friendly and efficient. Definitely a place to go after tiring of the higher-end restaurants in town. more

Horrible first impression as our appetizer (ahi sashimi) was anything but fresh. In fact, it was crawling with some kind of small green ""crawlies"" (since citysearch censors the ""b-word"" ;) ). While I might be tempted to put this down as a onetime fluke, even one incident of that magnitude is unacceptable. The crawlies weren't exactly subtle or hidden, so surely someone along the line should have noticed. The waitress was as nice as could be expected about it and the floor manager instantly offered to comp our entire meal, but there was no way we were staying to experience the rest of a meal there. So from what I experienced, I would guess the service is great but if you're looking for fresh (or even edible) seafood, stay away from McCormick and Schmick's. Pros: Waitstaff were friendly and tried hard to address problems Cons: Inedible (quite seriously) food more

While the seating was very prompt our waitress was not. In-fact we saw the bus-girl more than our waitress. When ordered the tuna and marlin both came cold. The waitress seemed stunned that something like that could happen. I figured if she were more prompt our food didnt have to sit and turn cold. When they fixed it they OVER-COOKED the fish (how?). The floor manager comp-ed our dessert which was good and delivered by the bus-girl. Seriously? All in all the location is great and good atmosphere. Pros: Great View Cons: Overpriced seafood! more

My family has freqented the Harborside for a couple years now and I myself have frequented the waterfront gem for many months now and I always have a great time. I request to sit in the same spot and have never had a problem! The lighting under my preferred spot is fantastic and the beautiful ladies at the front desk (especially the shorter one with a brown bob and her much taller brunette couterpart) have always been smiling and having a great time with thier job. As I've come to know them from my time spent there, these ladies always try their hardest to grant all requests that people come in with and do so with a big smile! They are genuinely in love with their job! They aren't afraid to interact with customers and shoot the breeze with some of the regulars (such as myself and a few others I usually sit near) \r Transporation is another quandry since my car was stolen...but I manage to still make it down there and its great not having to pay for parking!\r Although I usually overdress for the occasion (Im a tuxedo man myself) the atmosphere is one of class and fun. It seems I have a permenant smile on my face when Im at the Harborside! Pros: Amazing hostess duo. Cons: one of them is leaving soon. more

I loved the location of this restaurant. It is in front of the harbor with a river view. My husband and i have been there a few times and have never had to wait for a table. I personally liked the way the restaurant has tiered seating. I liked the ambiance of this place. The dress code is dressy casual. I agree with some of the other reviews as far as the prices, they are a little high . The food is good, but nothing out of this world. Service is a little slow but friendly. I think this is one of those places to go to visit when you have out of town guest visiting because of the nice location and the atmosphere is classy. I'd like to know where most people park when dining at his place because we have always parked at the parking garage across the street and have had to pay alot. Is the valet free? Do they validate parking ticket? We always forget to ask. Does anybody know? Pros: Atmosphere is classy and great location Cons: expensive food , small portions, slow service more

M&S has become somewhat of a local institution among the yuppie and upper class blue-hair set. Riding mostly on location and lots of money to spend on atmosphere, all of the restaurants in this chain, including the Harborside, have ridden a wave. Many people go here because of the lovely location on the Willamette, but the chances of seeing the river from inside this cavernous place are slim, especially if you go during a busy hour. The service in the restaurant tends to be decent, though it's such a huge place that the servers seem to easily forget some of their tables and none of the servers seems to enjoy their job or the customers, they just seem to be going through the motions. This is probably largely because they are always in a hurry to scurry to the other side of the restaurant. The atmosphere was obviously expensive and that's just about what it feels like, lots of money but no soul. I've had both cocktails and wine at the bar. The wine selection is good with nice variety, the cocktails decent, though on the weak side and not cheap. The food I've found to be unreliable in quality. If you find yourself here, go for one of the salmon dishes, which seem to be consistenly good. Then again, there are many places that do it as well for less money. Pros: location, reputation Cons: over-priced, lack of soul more

I took my family here for Easter dinner. First we had reservations, and still had to wait 10 minutes for a table, and there were plenty open. We were very disappointed with the food and the service. I ordered the Top Sirloin, which was too chewy and had no flavor at all. Actually, my whole meal had no flavor, the mashed potatoes and brocolli, none. My son ordered the Marlin, which he said was good, but very tiny for the price. I would not reccomend this place at all for the food. It was way over priced and very bland! AWFUL!\r They contacted me to make up my horrible experience. I finally took them up on their offer and went for my birthday on 9/17/06. I ordered the filet minion and my son got the New York steak. It was the best meal we both have had in a long time. The service was excellent...It was like a totally different place. It was GREAT!!! The steaks were done to perfection....I had the chocolate mousse for desert and it was so rich and yummy, I could only eat part of it... Pros: View, food, service Cons: prices can be a bit high but worth the food is usually worth it more

The waterfront only added to the whole experience. This is a place to go for an evening out, not just dinner. The bar was great for people watching, the appetizers were fast and delicious, and the service was immpecable. We didn't have reservations but they were able to fit us in, even on a Friday night. By the way, the beer-cheese soup is fantastic. The tiered seating made it seem more private without people on both sides, and the brighter lighting was a refreshing change to the dark dim booths where I can't read the menu. The service was fast and courteous and the steaks were melt-in-your-mouth. Pros: Full service bar, Tender steaks, Good parking Cons: Need reservations more

Portland has some of the best restaurants however Haborside definitely is not one of them. Ambience: It's like sitting in the movie ""Goodfellas"". The decor is just plain awful and being sat on the top tier, the overhead lights blare in your eyes. The tier system is gaudy and outdated and the only value to it is an unobstructed view to the river. Food: For $20 you can get a rubbery dry overcooked piece of Fiji Ono. I have not sent a dish back in years however, this was unedible. The Chef replied that that is how it is suppose to be. Note to Chef: not all diners lack knowledge about fish cookery. Service: Unrefined but friendly. Our server tried her best to save our table but it was too late. Considering Portland's options, try another restaurant so you won't be disappointed. Pros: Good Cocktails, Easy Parking, View Cons: Horrible Food, Pretentious Ambience, Poor Value more

I've been all over Portland's bar scene being a barkeep myself and I must say that Matt and Ryan are by far the most entertaining bartending duo in PDX. These two guys are hilarious to watch and listen to. When a crazy song comes on (80's music), they'll use the espresso machine's steam to liven the joint up. You just have to go and check them out. By the way ladies, they're single. Pros: Matt, Ryan, Booze Cons: Not enough ladies more

We ate at Harborside last night with a group of 9, most of whom were from out of town and wanted to eat outdoors and enjoy a view - naturally we made a reservation at Harborside. Our server was really, really bad - he seemed like he was trying to ignore us. Serving a table of 9 isn't easy but we had to go to great lengths to get his attention to refresh drinks, get missing parts of our dinner, etc. Good thing gratuity is tacked on automatically because he didn't deserve more than 5%. Seafood is fresh but the food is boring. I'd rather walk along the Esplanade for the view and then spend my money at a restaurant that serves interesting and tasty food. Harborside may be good for singles and cheap happy hour but don't go there for the food or service. Pros: view, beer list Cons: , bad service, muzak more

Over the past few years I have frequented Harborside and the Pilsner Room. Although the food was wonderful, the service has Always been extrodinarily AWFUL. This has not stopped me from enjoying the experience, only limiting the amount of time spent in this establishment. I management would pay attention to their servers as they do their quality of food I would make it my regular stomping grounds. I would also advise anyone that makes it in on a Friday to have the Beer Cheese soup. Unfortunalty it was taken off the daily menu, my reason for less frequent stops into Harborside, Try it, you will love it! Pros: Beer Cheese Soup, Ambience, Great Drinks Cons: Service AWFUL, Parking, Fridays only on BCS more

Service is great at this waterfront jewell. The bar also has great service and lots of good people watching. You have to try the Raspberry martini and a drink called the Portland sunset. What a fun place and great food. Pros: Drinks, Food, View and Patio Cons: Parking more

Food is great, Servers / Waiters are excellent but the prices are a bit high, no to that it matter to us. Reserervations are useless, you still have to wait. They are merely a suggestion as to when you should arrive. The ""behind the scenes staff"" seems to be disorganized. I will be coming back often but it is hard to know about what you might run into Pros: Food, Location is PERFECT Cons: Slow Seating, Slow Seating, NO NO KIDS more

What a fun place to come and relax after work. Both the bar and the restaurant are great. The service is top notch. The drinks in the bar are all made with fresh juice and there are a ton of beers on tap. Make sure to check out the drink list! My favorite dish on the menu has got to be the Crab and Shrimp stuffed salmon, WOW! The crowd in the bar is lively and fun. Only downfall that I can see is that everyone is finding out about this place and it gets busy. Pros: Service, Drinks / $1.95 Happy, Food Cons: Busy, Need Reservations more