Dragonfish Asian Cafe

My wife’s cocktail was awful. The fish and veggie dishes were sauced beyond recognition of the raw ingredients. The pot stickers were cooked like fried won tons. Not a pleasant experience.

Decided to drop by for lunch en route to the Art Museum.
Glad I did. Great place to eat at the bar as it’s relaxing, and some of the seats face the main dining area. It’s pretty busy. No one has to wait for a table, but the two waitress and the bartender had their hands full.
The bartender recommended the chicken, prawns and scallops main dish. Good thing because the menu doesn’t say anything about the noodles that come with it. Decided on a great local pinot noir, after trying the two choices.
The food takes a while, so it’s probably not the best place to go on busy Fri/​Sat nights.

Had a gift card to use here and decided to drop by.
I’m a fan! However I only go during lunch the dinner prices are a bit steep but it’s still good for the quality of the food IMO.
I usually order their bento’s which is what I think their best item on the menu is, if you’re looking for something that will fill you up with a group a friend and you aren’t too worried on money give this place a try, be aware their service isn’t the best when it’s really busy most of the time during peak lunch hours.

Came here for happy hour, and
we really enjoyed the drink specials and the atmosphere, but the service was terrible. We sat in the bar with empty glasses (only two other couples were there) for 15 minutes before I actually walked up to the bar myself to order another drink. We had the katsu salmon which was delicious, as well as the garden salad. Don’t waste your time– there are plenty of other bars/​restaurants in the area that will actually care that you exist.

Love that it’s below Paramount. Super convenient if you are staying in the property. We ended up starting or ending our night here or at their adjacent bar during our recent stay in Portland. You can’t beat their HH, lots of bites and drinks to be had. The price is more than awesome-​you can definitely get your tummy and drink fill on a budget! The servers are nice and efficient. Our sever on the last night was hilarious and adorable! And gave us great info about other spots to check out while in town… Winning!

We came here for happy hour last week.
The service
Nobody greet you or help you find a table. You are on your own which is normal for happy hour. However, it takes forever for them to come and take your drink order. It also take them forever to get your drink which is basically very easy and should be done within 5 minutes. However, when the food did not come as late as the drink.
The food
We ordered various kind of sushi. It would say the sushi was not that good. It was really a super mediocre sushi. We also ordered salmon teriyaki, dumpling, ginger caramel chicken. All of those were mediocre with the exception of salmon teriyaki. Salmon teriyaki was a bit better. But overall the food was just ok.
The Location
It is located in downtown. So, it is very convenient to access. Parking would be easy and difficult at the same time. If you are lucky, you can get parking close by. If not, you have to park further. The worst is to park in the parking garage around that area.
The Atmosphere
It is a small restaurant. It was packed when we were there. The distance between chair and table is very close. It is unmovable (we sit in kind of sofa and table attached into one). No japanese feeling inside the restaurant. It is OK if you want to hang out with friend. But it is not OK for you to date here.

This review is for my happy-​hour experience at this restaurant/​café.
It was Friday night and the place was jammed pack. It took us a long time to get an order but it’s understandable. For a drink, I had the warm sake (Gekkeikan Sake) which the menu claimed that it’s the sake of the Imperial Household of Japan. I liked the tasted and the warmness of it even though it would get cooled down so fast. You might have to drink it while it’s still warm. For the food, I ordered a small plate of Califormia Roll (which equals a half roll) and 2 pieces of eel (unagi) nigiri. The California Roll was so-​so but the eel nigiri was very tasteful. I would have given this establishment 4 stars if the server didn’t forget my nigiri order and I have to ask for it twice.

I’ve been to Dragonfish twice as my roommate loves it. The first time was happy hour and it was good. Not fantastic but better than most.
The second time I went was a wednesday evening and it was dead and I expected the service to better than meh as it was. The menu is alright but it was more adventurous than need be. There were some of the general staples (I love spicy tuna) but they were all «fancy» but not in a good way. The rolls are huge and was embarrassed in front of my date because I couldn’t eat the pieces in one bite and Sushi isn’t supposed to be a two bite meal.
The old fashioned I had was good though so I have to give them props for that. So I probably won’t eat there again but drinks are a possibility.

Went here for dinner last week for brother-in-law’s birthday meal. $ 180 including tip for four adults, two kids. This is a good deal for good quality fish. The menu was very interesting too, including one roll with lime, one with macadamia nuts and blueberry sauce, etc. Interesting twists on old favorites.
They also have the standard fare, salmon nigiri, eel, edemame. They were kind enough to make tempura veggies for my daughter, which is not on the menu.
Our server was fast and efficient, keeping our drinks full and food coming quickly.
Parking was easy in the parking lot around the corner, they were very quiet for a Saturday night. The hotel they are in is nice, maybe we will stay here next time.
Being in Oregon, they had a very nice wine list. The cold sake list was short, that’s really my only complaint. I’d love to come back without toddlers and really enjoy a meal here!

Twice I have dined here — after a not entirely pleasant first experience, I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt and try again but was met with an even lower bar.
First, the fact that the restaurant and bar are split into two locations on either side of a hotel lobby is a little confusing and gives an overall uneasy setup. If you’re going to have two entities, at least call them by different names, not «Dragonfish Restaurant» and «Dragonfish Lounge.»
The food is decent, but nothing to boast about. The service leaves more than room for improvement. Working in the customer service industry myself, I’m always astounded when a server doesn’t put forth any effort to be pleasant or helpful whatsoever. In the case of my most recent visit, my female server was downright rude to the point that I almost asked someone else to take over.
On top of her demeanor, my food and my other person’s food came out five minutes apart. I’ve worked in food service — I know she has no control over it, but at least leave it under a heat lamp for a few minutes so we can dine together.
Will not be going back there. Maybe my experiences are unique and I just had bad luck?

Dragonfish has a good deals during happy hour, but the busier they are… the worse the food gets. I had a great dinner here and came back that same week for happy hour. Our sushi was warm and tasted bad… the server was new I think and never brought us chopsticks or napkins… or trays for our soy sauce too! Overall their happy hour just seems to overwhelm them.
But the dinner I had here was good. I had a roll with goat cheese and something else delicious inside topped with a cashew pepper sauce… that sauce was heaven! I had the vegetable curry too… but it was overpriced and lacked flavor.

As an update to my previous review, the honey-​lime crab roll will make you want to run out of the place with the plate so you can secretly lick the honey drizzle off like a sugar addict.

I have to say, I was pretty blown away with my lunch today. This my new favorite lunch spot within walking distance from my office. And worth a trip if you’re not in the immediate vicinity as well. It was ready 10 minutes after my call-​in order, and totally do-​able if you only have a 30 minute lunch. For me, it means I leave 30 minutes early, so the food or company better be amazing if I’m taking an hour!
I got a bento box, $ 10. I ate half, so really it’s $ 5 plus time saving for tomorrow’s lunch. They also have $ 5 take out specials I’ll be indulging in soon. The carmelized Chicken was delicious, the beef was pretty good, too, all on top of rice and this taste-​sensation cabbage of my dreams. The salad and miso soup they give are also really good. Now to the sushi… Although not rolled very tightly, it was some of the best I’ve had; great flavor, and actual fish in the spicy tuna intead of a tunafish mayo mix.
All of this, great portion for $ 10 so I’ll be revisiting leftovers tomorrow, as well as revisiting Dragonfish for more exciting options. What a tempting and exciting menu! Can’t wait for happy hour, their drinks sound amazing! =D

It’s taken me a while, but last night was finally time to do Happy Hour at Dragonfish Café. Lucky me, I was going to the Schnitz to see Storm Large perform with the Symphony!
We met at 4:30, all of us fairly hungry and very parched.
DC, the friend who was smart enough to buy the tickets months ago, started a trend for the table, she ordered the Lemongrass Lime Rickey (house-​infused lemongrass & kaffir lime vodka, triple sec, lime juice with a splash of soda.)
It was a very refreshing cocktail, not too sweet, and for $ 5, a superb deal!
We also ordered Edamame $ 2 (good, very salty), several orders of half rolls $ 3 for 4 pcs including Spicy Tuna Roll, Calif. Roll, and Crunchy Crab Roll. All were fine, nothing great.
The Chicken Lettuce Cups were better than fine, actually very yummy, and only $ 4.
Our servers were very friendly, and provided good service.
It’s a good place to go for Happy Hour, not super wonderful or fantubulous, but good, and a really great value!

I went here for lunch with a friend and was super excited because I’d been there once before for happy hour and had decent memories of the food being good. However, the food was only mediocre at best. The miso soup was ridiculously salty, and the chicken yakisoba was much too flavorful for the small amount of noodles it was cooked with. For a stir fry, there was way too much sauce.
I tried my friend’s sushi – seemed all right. Nothing to write home about.
The service was also all right. It took forever for us to get water, and it took forever for the server to bring a take-​out container.

Happy Hour at Dragonfish is outstanding! Excellent drinks and lots of choices on the menu for good eats. We always recommend people come here when staying downtown if there are a mixed bunch in the party. The menu is extensive enough to accommodate non sushi eaters without being stuck with just rice or cucumber rolls to eat. Their ginger caramelized chicken is oh so good!
On this particular visit we came here for dinner as a table of 8 originally. We had a couple more added to our table with a little fuss from the staff, stating that the table sizes weren’t to be more than the size of 8. Not true. We all fit in comfortably enough. When we left we saw a party of at least 15 seated in the front room. Table of 8 huh? ok…
Because we were stuffed into the private back room I was concerned we were going to be ignored or have slower service. Luckily that wasn’t the case. We had to keep shooing away the waitress since we were busy talking and not concentrating on ordering. When we finally did order, only one appetizer was missed and was quickly removed off the bill. All the food came out at the same time.
All told it was a good time with lots of super good food and drinks. Everyone had a great time and thanked us for picking the location of the get together.

The venue is nice-​ish, the restaurant is in a good location, and the food is moderately good.
Though I had a good time with my friends, it’s because I like my friends. Not really because I like Dragonfish.
I can’t quite put my finger on why it’s just a «so-​so» restaurant, but for one, the sushi wasn’t great. And I likes me some sushi so maybe they should re-​work their happy hour menu. I really wanted to like this place, too!

Located on the ground floor of the Paramount Hotel, across the street from Director’s Park in downtown Portland, Dragonfish is a mash-​up of the cuisines of various Asian countries, and sushi, with a sprinkle of American fusion added.
I’ve been here several times, even tho I am not a big sushi fan, it’s been a preferred location for numerous business lunches over the past year.
While I always thought it was «nice», it really didn’t float my boat as a preferred dining destination for me.
But last nite, after viewing a couple hours of the best British television commercials at the Portland Museum of Art, Mrs. BDB and I walked down the park blocks searching out some grub. You can rarely imagine a boy so torn as we got down the block, Dragonfish on one side of us, Violetta on the other (and I wouldn’t mind seeing if that latter had improved since my last visit).
But always eager to bring a smile to Mrs. BDB’s face, I steered in to Dragonfish, because a) she loves sushi, and b) she hadn’t been there, and c) she said she was buying.
Dragonfish has a half dozen full entrees as well as some seasonal ones; the sushi focus is on mash-​up rolls, but sashimi (the fish/​seafood only) or sushi nigiri (the hand-​formed rice topped with seafood that Americans are so familiar with) are available as well. Frequent robo-​sushi type diners might be confused by Dragonfish’s menu, which does a poor job of explaining the options. Fear not, tho, the servers are usually well-​versed.
Mrs. BDB started with a poke, the Hawaiian version of ceviche. Poke (pou-​KAY) means «sliced or cut» in Hawaiian. The «Spicy Poke», her selection at $ 8, was tuna, toasted garlic, sweet chile sauce, rice vinegar, seaweed and ginger. It came with small dices of the tuna, in a savory sauce, with fan-​tailed pieces of pappadum (a ‘spicy’ fried Indian cracker for cradling.
I started with steamed dumplings (of course), a Thai peanut chicken concoction, packed tight with premium white meat. I enjoyed them very much.
For an entrée, Mrs. BDB went with a roll, and some of her favorite nigiri. I opted for a most interesting mélange/​fusion/​mashup of Chinese influenced seafood hot pot, in a broth that was straight out of Louisiana gumbo cookbook, with the addition of cilantro for a SE Asian influence.
Lots of squid in that puppy. The broth was very tasty.
We passed on dessert in favor of an espresso and Earl Gray under the stars (and rain) outdoors at Violetta.
If you absolutely love sushi, you’ll love Dragonfish. If you’re not familiar with sushi, this is the place to get your feet wet. Some online reviewers say it is spendy, but I don’t think so. Our dinner, with a small bottle of saki and a beer, was less than $ 50.
BTW, just for the record, I am writing this whilst eating a 7-​Eleven Italian Baguette, which I have previously opined about. Apu, at my local 7-​Eleven, says it is one of their best sellers.

I’ve been here a few times. My bf would often stay at the Paramount Hotel for work and became a fan of the Dragonfish as it’s in the lobby.
When he first took me here I was a bit hesitant as I’m not familiar with sushi (or I wasn’t when I first went there).
We ordered some little plates and shared a variety of dishes. I found it more than enough food and very tasty.
I have heard it’s the place to go for happy hour so I definitely want to try it then.

OK, I’m hooked. As a serious creature of habit, I tend to do things over and over again, often to the point of annoyance to my friends. But when something is good, it’s good. They just don’t understand and so in the end, I often end up going alone.
I wrote a letter to the chef not too long ago, complaining about the elimination of 2 of my favorite foods from the menu as well as raising the prices. I just don’t understand that business concept in a tanked economy. I never got a response so I’m taking it they didn’t take too kindly to it. My constant kudos to Drew, their star server. Aside from the food and atmosphere, service is the one thing that will bring me back and I can always depend on him to give me what I need. Going alone for lunch on a holiday with a dinner menu only, I was offered the Bento of my choice anyway. Now, that is serious service and a show of appreciation for my business. It’s evidence that If you take care of them, they will take care of you.
I usually hang out at Dragonfish for lunch on Sunday and even though they eliminated the Dim Sum, the bentos are still a pretty good alternative at a reasonable price. The Guacapoke is also an excellent choice and I recommend it highly.
Yes, I will continue to go here as long as it’s good for me. Great atmosphere, excellent service, good food and well, there ya have it.