Salty's On The Columbia River

My wife and I went to Salty's in Portland last week for our wedding anniversary. The food was amazingly good. The atmosphere was relaxing and the view of the Columbia river was beautiful. The only shocker was the prices. It was one of the most expensive restaurants we have been to in quite a while. But since it was our anniversary, it was worth it. more

Good food great view, good service but expensive more

Overpriced and under portioned!!! more

As always they did it again 100% Plus. Always beyond expectations!! I can not say enough about the -- People -- Service -- Food and Atmosphere!! We will be back at every opportunity. more

Salty's is one of my favorite restaurants in all of Portland and Vancouver. The food is presented well and tastes great. Coconut prawns are wonderful! The staff are always pleasant and helpful. The atmosphere is welcoming and warm and the holiday decorations are festive and makes going to Salty's fun. I have never had a bad meal here. Thanks Salty's. You are doing great! more

The food is so good, yet the service is what stands out. Everyone remembers you, and everyone pitches in to make sure you have what you need without being superficial. I often dine alone and have always been treated exceptionally well, never rushed. They do change the menu, which I do appreciate. I love trying new dishes and have never been disappointed. I've ben to the brunch, dinner, lunch and happy hour. I've enjoyed them all! more

So, I should say that I never rate or comment on anything, but I am compelled to come to Salty's aid because of some terrible and, frankly, questionable reviews that I noticed. I grew up on the Texas Gulf Coast and we had our pick of classy seafood establishments like the Pelican Club, Clary's and Shern's. Salty's could give any a run for their money. It's not pretentious, I like the tasteful seafood house decorations (I want that sailboat model!), the waitstaff is 100% professional (you can tell they need a gastronomic C.V. to get hired) and incredibly accommodating. Oh, and the food is terrific, too. Fresh, well prepared and worth every penny. Is it expensive? Perhaps some items are...but then you are ordering the surf and turf...which is by definition a little on the spendy side. But I don't see any cheap chain restaurants with anything close to Salty's menu perched in such a fine location. Let me tell you about the last time I was at Salty's: I had a moment of accidental popularity when I invited a bunch of people out on my last day of my previous job. I figured a few would show up and we could cozy in at the bar, but....and this should be a testament to how good the place really is...the place was packed with regulars and other parties....and then more of my people showed up than I expected. I saw the staff start to look worried, but then, like the consummate professionals they are, buckled down, opened up more space reserved for larger parties, and kept the drinks and oysters flowing. Every time a new guest showed up, the front desk carefully directed the person to the correct party. So defending Salty's from some of these other attack reviews is my way of saying thanks and showing my appreciation for a job well done every time I come back. If you want swanky digs that follow every fashion trend including ambivalent waitstaff, there are plenty of options in the Portland region. If you want a classic seafood restaurant with great service and great food...Salty's is your place. PS I would recommend calling ahead for parties of more than a dozen! more

The people that review on here must be crazy or competitors trying to bring them down, because we have had nothing but great times! We went for anniversary then went back to try their brunch. The seafood is definitely local and the service is exactly what you would expect from a classy place. We brought my parents when they visited Denver and they loved it! We always brag about the Portland food scene and wanted to impress them. There are plenty of cheaper, non-impressive places to choose from... but why risk it. more

We went to Easter brunch on Saturday at Salty's this year. We received a phone call from the restuarant the day before and we were informed that we would only have the table fo 1 1/2 hours. We were seated at 1:00 and then told that they would be tearing the brunch down at 2:00. When items ran out they did not refill them. There were no salads or fresh fruit. The food was boring and cold. The floors were dirty. They charge $45.00 per person for this brunch. This is the most over priced and worst brunch I have ever been to. more

The company I work for buys a lot of gift cards for it's customer from this place. I recieved a gift card and took my wife out for a nice dinner. I am not into seafood, so I orderd the best steak I could. I belive it was $50 or so dollars. They brought out the steak looks great and what i could saw off of it tasted good. I had the server bring out another knife and still couldn't cut into the steak. I had the steack sent back and the server cam out and said the cook had a hard time cutting the steak and they said they would bring out another steak. Well after my wife was done eating a very small steak arrive not cooked to how I had orderd it and it was just as tough as the first one. I let the server try to cut the steak so he could see how tough it was. He was extremly embarrased with the food and even more embarrased when he talked to the manager. They didn't remove or discount anything for the meal. They gave us a 15% coupon off of an appetizer the next time. This happen a couple of years ago but I was just talking with some friends and told them about the service, when they complained about a recent outing there. more

Friend's Birthday, looking for that special dinner. Sevice = great. Drinks = we had plenty. Appetizers = $30. Ciopinno's *2 = good. Surf and turf *2 + 2 raw lobster tails @ $45 each = do over for chef. Grand total = free dessert. Didn't expect comp, but did expect dinner to be right the first time at that price. more

My Husband & I spent Valentine's Dinner at Salty's and were so disappointed we will never return. We usually spend Valentines, our Anniversary & New Years Eve but this restaurant has really changed for the worst! The service was awful 2 1/2 hours to eat .The Valentines dinners included a salad or appetizer, dinner & only 1 dessert available. We did not feel full when we left & were hungry an hour later. I had waldorf salad with apples, walnuts & bleu cheese. This was spinach stems & was hard to eat(where were the greens), 1+ walnut, no bleu cheese & 4 - 1/2 "" slices of apple. My Salmon was brown & dried out with a few fingerling potatoes. The dessert was 2 small pastry tarts which was hard to cut. My husband had scallops & greens, for the price was terrible. more

Ate in Saltys last night for the first time. I'm a visitor in town visiting some friends who live here in Portland, who had not eaten in Saltys either but knew of it's reputation for great seafood. On arriving the valet parking was a nice touch, and the desk staff very welcoming, however, the restaurant itself was drab and shabby, I'd say it hasn't been refurbished since the early nineties. That said, great view on the water, and hey, we were here for great seafood, not interior design. Our server was friendly and took our drinks order after passing out menus, which is about sixty percent drink, with the balance being food. This could have been a good sign, a short menu, allowing the chef to focus on a few dishes, and ensuring really good food, however, this was not to be.....and the stale bread served to us should have served as a warning. Two our the group shared a seafood combo for two to start......shrimp, calimari, and crab cake, all deep-fried and pretty much tasteless, and a pretty mean portion for $25. For my entre I treated myself to surf and turf, lobster tail and beef fillet, lobster was fine, steak tasteless, and a potato cake that was inedible. I suspect it was frozen and deep fried. Oh, I forgot the chowder, they offer it to everybody in such a way i thought it was complimentary - it's not - and it was very average and ""gloopy"". So, back to the surf and turf, in short, very average, and get this, $53.99!!! In summary, a huge disappointment, very average, in need of a facelift, over priced, and trading on a reputation that is not remotely deserved. more

We have been going to Salty's since the late 1980's. We always loved taking our customers to Salty's for a enjoyable dinner. Our business moved out of town so we have not been at Salty's in the last 5 years. Pros: View is wonderful Cons: Bad quality of food more

We were looking for a special place for our 45th anniversary and decided to give Saltys a try. When I called in for our reservation I was asked if were celebrating any special event and I told the lady it was our 45th wedding anniversary. She congratulated me and made the res. From then on it was all downhill. We were about 10 minutes early but that was ok since they seated us 10 minutes past our 6:30 time slot. We did get a table right next to the window which was nice but it was so close to the other tables that we really had to fight to squeeze into our seats. Anytime someone moved next to us they bumped the back of our chair. The next thing we noticed was the noise, this is a very loud place when it's busy and since they cram people in so tightly the sound level is bad. Our waiter stopped by briefly to say hello and that he would be right back. His name was Jerry and I he and I have a totally different idea about what right back means. It was almost 15 minutes before we saw him again. We ordered a bottle of wine before dinner that was another 10 minutes ( at least we had some water to sip on) He finally brought the wine and served us each a glass then told us he would go get something to put the wine in to keep it cold. You got it another 10 minutes before he made it back with the ice bucket. We ordered our food right away since we couldn't be sure when he might come in for his next landing. I will say that it looks like he had several tables and they have to run up and down the stairs for everything at this place (don't get in their way or you will get run down) so I am sure he was very busy. Why they don't have more help is beyond me. My wife ordered the shimp which she enjoyed ( she said the cocktail sauce was the best she had ever had) and I had the ""fresh"" Salmon, if it was fresh caught it must have taken a long time to get to the kitchen. It was tasteless and a bit dry, I guess I was lucky that they serve such small portions. My wife and I both enjoyed the garlic mashed potatoes but the string beans had a wax like texture were covered in oil and had no flavor. From the time we ordered to the time we were served was very reasonable so that at least was a big improvement. We decided to keep going and have some dessert since we were both still hungry. She ordered a Strawberry/Chocolate special that she loved and I went for one of my favorites the Creme Brulee. Of course It took another 15 minutes for the desserts to arrive (they must have had to send out for something). My Creme Brulee was the worst I had ever tasted, overcooked and bland, I couldn't eat it, they did credit the bill for it at least. Now all we needed was the bill and someone to take our card, oh well whats another 20 minutes. I am still wondering why they go to the trouble of asking you if you are celebrating a special occasion when you call in? I did see some tables with balloons and one table got a lighted cake but I guess anniversaries don't count as special, especially if you eat at Satlys. After 45 years together I can say that it did not spoil our evening we have had many worse disappointments in our lives than a bad restaurant experience. All I can say for this place is NEVER AGAIN! Pros: Great location and view Cons: Service, price, food more

Salty's has one of the best brunch menu's I have ever been to. It is all you can eat and includes such things as crab legs, salmon, omlettes, crepe bar amongst many more delicious items. You can't beat the beautiful views of the river which you can see though the ceiling to floor windows. THis is one you do not want to miss. Pros: Excellent selection of fresh fish Cons: Must make a reservation more

My family has been going to Salty?s Easter brunch at least 10 years and has always been extremely happy with the service and the quality of the food. This Easter was a much different story. The service was good: we were seated right away; the wait staff was not as attentive as in past years. This year had to wait for champagne or coffee refills and to have our dirty dishes cleared from the table. Champagne used to be included in the price of the brunch but this year they charged an additional fee. Since I was paying this year for the champagne I would have hoped they would keep it going but only was given 1 refill. The server was very friendly but I believe probably had to many tables to server everyone well. The main problem this year was the quality of the food. Not up to par with years past. The oysters were small and had very little meat in them. The shrimp was rubbery, appeared to be over cooked and not divined, impossible to peal. They said they had prime rib on the menu but I have never seen a piece of prime rib look like that. It wasn't very appealing. I guess that?s why they gave you a piece that was only 2 bites. I told my family we will have to find another place for brunch next year. Some sad as this has been a place we've looked forward to going. more

My family had a reservation for Easter Brunch at Salty's. We were seated about 20-minutes late, but we maintained a pleasant and professional demeanor as we were seated and began our $45.00/person brunch experience. I wish that I could say that the management at Salty's maintained a similar professional & pleasant demeanor. After we had been enjoying our brunch for about 70 minutes, we were approached by a manager that told us we had expired our 1.5 hour limit and we needed to be leaving!!! Mind you, we were seated late and had NOT been there 1.5 hours. Additionally, when we told her that we were seated late and did not leave, she sent another manager over to bully us out of the restaurant... REALLY, this is FINE DINING?!?! I don't think so. Sorry Salty's, if you are going to claim to be & charge for fine dining - you need to put a higher emphasis on customer service. Perhaps you need to re-think your goal of serving 1700 guests in one day... your greed is compromising your ability to serve your customers. I am more than happy to pay for a nice Sunday brunch, but I expect to be able to enjoy my experience without being bullied out of the restaurant. This waterfront dining experience really missed the boat! more

My wife and I have a Special Dinner every Time we Visit Portland. The Lobster is excellent and the atmosphere is breathtaking. For a night to remember check it out! Pros: A view to remember and Fantastic food Cons: Tooo far from Home more

Lets start with the $7.50 draft beer ! Lets add in the $25.00 for a small piece of overcooked halibut. Lets add in the $45 for a bottle of average table wine. And we'll finish with a $9.00 dish of ice cream ! Need I say anymore ? You have to be a Kentucky Fried Idiot to ever go there a second time. If you recommend THIS place to anybody but your worst enemies, you really need to get out more. Pros: Average food and beverages, dumpy Columbia river setting Cons: Holy Crap can you say OVERPRICED TOURIST TRAP ??? more