Trader Vic’s

Cheers! Great time, wonderful food– the bar was a delightful time!

The food can be a bit on the pricey side. Their chicken lettuce cups are not delicious by any means. Sweet potato fries, kahlua pork sliders and coconut shrimp are good choices off the HH menu. The peach mai tai is my favorite drink. A good place to go, but there are other restaurants that have great food and drinks for cheaper.

Bar tender was rude and service was terrible.

Sat at the bar with 1 friend. Arrived at 6 on sat night so it was quiet. I lived my Caesar salad and we shared the crab dip, which was decent.
We ordered the original and guava Mai tai– both were excellent and strong! Although it’s a chain, it’s still a good place to go get a quick drink. Loved the tiki torches!

Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars (waiter: Jacob)
First timer. Food was PHENOMENAL and the waiter, Jacob, was fantastic and helpful. We ordered the Hanoi wings, coconut shrimp, snowball vanilla ice cream dessert, flat iron steak with risotto, and Caesar salad. ALL were very good.
As far as the drink that we ordered, Dr. Funks (secret menu item-​limited item), 1944 Mai Tai, and Fog cutter, they were very tropical and just the right amount of alcohol. If you like sweet and tropical drinks then definitely order from their menu.
Great job Trader Vic’s!

The drinks will knock you on your butt! We were in town from Phoenix celebrating our birthdays. We decided to end our evening with a good buzz and what better way to accomplish this than with some serious tiki drink indulging? We tried a little bit of everything on the menu. The bartenders here were great. The ambiance is kind of «eh». Lots of candles and very low lighting. From what I could tell though the bar seemed dated (furniture and carpet). The bar was pretty empty for a Friday night; but this worked out nicely for us because it gave the bartenders a chance to chat w/​us about Portland.
I love that each drink had its own unique glass to be served in too. The zombie was our favorite but at a tiki bar that’s kind of a given.
If we’re in Portland again and have a rum craving… we’ll most certainly be back. I give the drinks a 4, the atmosphere a 3, and the staff a 5

The Bahia drink is amazing: «A snowy concoction of light rum with coconut and pineapple. Innocent looking but watch it!» Bitch is right, watch it! I ordered two and my face was melting off by the time we left. But damn if they weren’t straight up delicious!

15 minutes since sitting to get a drink and give an order. Lots of promises for water refills, only relief once. Drinks aren’t bad, food was OK. .nothing outstanding. .so many better offerings in the pearl… why would i come back?

Serious, this is my 2^nd time and her 1^st time. Honestly the night was perfect because of our bartender Don. People told different things about this place, but really we only enjoyed because the staff made this place what it was. Mistakes happen, but to really go above and beyond to make us happy is even an understatement. Thank you Don and the management staff. You made our night! We will be back with more people to share the 44!!!

Trader Vic’s is a little change from what you would define as Portland. With a Polynesian feel, the restaurant is decorated with plenty of lanterns, tribal masks, plants and of course. fire. If fruity cocktail is your thing, than their drinks menu will be your go to. I’m not a huge fan of very juicy/​fruity drinks but the Scorpion (run, brandy, OJ, and almonds) was a good choice. Even too big to finish. For dinner, the Udon Noodles were pretty good, but a bit pricey for the quality. The noodles were a little too hard to chew, and very spicy. The waiter had told me they weren’t «that spicy» and «not as spicy as the drunken noodles.» Of course, everyone has a different tolerance of spice, and I must be in the low tolerance group.
Overall, good service and the ambiance is great. The venue is big and bathrooms we’re clean. I love the decorations and the waiter was nice. But I will forewarn that their menu does run on the pricey side.

Review for: Trader Vic’s
I really like the south seas tiki ambiance of this place. It somehow avoids the darkness of other restaurants of its ilk while retaining the look of lighting by fire everywhere. Tables vary in darkness suiting all kinds of dining out scenarios. It is simultaneously a good business destination, romantic, and even kid friendly for well-​behaved kids. The service I’ve seen is top notch.
Just be warned that the menu prices on their website are way out of date, sometimes 50% HIGHER. It could be an accident that they never upgraded their prices online, however this is a common thing in the restaurant business unfortunately.
One party member had a BURGER and shared some with me. we agreed it didn’t taste like anything just mystery meat, no intrinsic meaty flavor. If they are going to charge a fortune for a burger they need to learn how to make a great one. It is the quality, the cuts that go into it, freshness, preparation, etc.
A favorite appetizer experience at a tiki restaurant is cooking BEEF on a stick OVER A FLAME at the table. It is the classic South Seas tiki restaurant experience. But this beef didn’t look like the classic long beef thin cut that looks like real beef of a tiki restaurant. It was a tiny soft flat cube of meat on a stick. Didn’t offer any beefy resistance, no bite. The sauce for the dish was non-​classic too, was some kind of more sticky sauce not sure, not as tasty or relevant to the theme as usually encountered in a tiki style restaurant.
They said they are taking this beef-​on-​a-​stick on a fire appetizer away, I assume because people are not reordering it. I suggest that they instead return to the original experience people are after when they order the appetizer. real beef that looks and chews like beef and a classic non-​sticky sauce to rub your beef on a stick in.
The RIBS are really great, not fatty, though 50% more expensive than they used to be and only 5 pieces. 6 – 7 ribs is an expected portion in Portland for the price, thus how small the plate looks. The kids portion of ribs is crazy expensive at $ 3.33 per rib.
The drinks are expensive enough people really felt uncomfortable ordering more in my party. 2 drinks can cost as much as some entrees.
I highly recommend Trader Vic’s for the atmosphere, the service, and some of the food. Now if they could nail the value thing down and make the quality of the food great more evenly, that would be great. In this town though, if you are not a luxury brand like say Ringside you have to keep value in mind or repeat customers will only see you on special occasions, if they haven’t forgotten you by then.

Went here on a Wednesday for a late lunch. The place was nearly empty but from what I gather, the crowd shows up in the evenings.
First time at a theme restaurant like this and I rather enjoyed it. Great open air seating with a perfect vantage point for people watching the streets.
Had a Pad Thai variant which was very good. The real attraction for me to return however, was the absolutely amazing tropical cocktails (I had a virgin Mai-​tai, well two of them) and friendly service.

My husband and I were at Trader Vic’s on Tuesday at about 1pm. There were only about 7 customers there (including us, this should be a hint, right?). My husband ordered a coffee drink but the waitress said it wasn’t available since they didn’t have the right mug (???) so he settled with different coffee drink which after about 10 minutes came out luke warm, not hot. He sent it back and he had to wait for about 15 minutes to get his drink because the waitress said she had to brew a new pot (whaattt??).
We ordered 2 chicken rice bowls and a bowl of wonton soup. We waited for a looong time to get our food. Except if they had to catch the chicken from the farm first, I don’t see any reason we had to wait for our food for 25 minutes! The food was decent, but honestly, it’s not worth the wait or the price.

My first visit to Trader Vic’s was quite nice! The food was really good, the tuna poke was my favorite! If you go, you just try it! The ambiance is nice, especially the flowers and waterfall when you walk in! I got the burger, it was great! I will definitely be going back again. It was too hot for the windows to open, but all the windows open and I’m sure that is a nice touch during the beautiful weather days!

If possible to give a zero star… I would have given this restaurant a zero star.
The drinks were not so good… the food was horrible and still we ended up paying $ 45 per head.
This is by far the worst food I have ever had in Portland.

Poor service and overpriced food/​drinks makes this place «one of the worst» on my list of places in Portland.
What use to be a fun and happy atmosphere has been changed to a money hungry, unpleasant environment filled with employees wishing they were anywhere else but at Trader Vic’s. The morale at this establishment is AWFUL!
I was seated 10 minutes prior to happy hour ended. However, I watched the servers all talking and gossiping — even looking my direction a couple of times while I tried to get their attention. They purposely waited until happy hour was over, then when I ordered they «gleefully» stated the following, «our happy hour ended, so you won’t be getting any discounts».
Because I was meeting friends at the theater, I decided to go ahead and have a drink (at full price) and ordered their pork sliders. Drink arrived watered down and the sliders were just barely warm… both were $ 8.00 EACH and there were only 2 TINI little sliders that tasted more like they had been microwaved then prepared fresh.
THIS PLACE HAS GONE DOWNHILL CONSIDERABLY. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND GO ELSEWHERE — WHERE STAFF IS HAPPIER AND FOOD IS BETTER!
TV in the bar? I doubt Trader Vic would approve!

A year later… The Tiki masks only get you so much credit.
First off, let me start by saying our server Jacob (was great!)
The drinks… Great. $ 5 for a pacific though??? No thanks. $ 10 for a small Spanish coffee that tasted like straight black coffee, whip cream and alcohol??? Rip off. It was so gross that my fiancé had to ask for cream.
I came here last night for my 35^th birthday with a party of 8. Thought we would try something new and a place that was ok for kids. The drinks and appetizers are about the only thing going for this place. We had the crab/​artichoke dip, wings, ribs, green beans and wonton things. All of these were decent.
Dinner on the other hand. I myself had the short ribs which seemed burnt on many of the exterior parts. I am not one to complain about my meal especially when I eat the whole thing so I am doing it here. I wouldn’t be doing it here if it weren’t for a few other things that happened. My dad ordered lobster. Let me start by saying he never looks for a free meal, eats at fine restaurants a lot. Eats lobster a lot. The «stuffed lobster» was average at best, according to him. The shrimp on it was supposed to be sautéed. It looked raw, borderline iridescent. (yikes!). Others in the group had grilled shrimp, drunken noodles, kiddos had the burgers.
After the $ 500.00 bill came, which is no big deal, my dad mentioned that he was really unhappy with the lobster to our awesome server Jacob. The head chef who appeared to be running around with his head cut off all night did not seem interested in the slightest saying he gets his lobster daily and «I don’t know what to tell you, walking off in mid conversation» Dude,…loose the attitude. Not sure what was up with this place, I know it was 1^st Thursday, but the head chef delivering food, pouring waters? running around outside the kitchen? Did someone call in sick? It wasn’t like it was a packed house.
The GM came over to apologize about the experience which was greatly appreciated. The lobster was removed which wasn’t the plan, but after the sour attitude of the man in the white coat, it should have been rude. We all know he didn’t cook it, so not sure why he was so butt hurt over it.
With all of the options in the area, true this has a unique theme, but id rather go to a place as crappy as red lobster, or beaches rather than go back here. Sorry Mr. GM and Jacob. You guys were great. $ 83/​per person I expect an amazing experience and that is far from what we received Oh ya… 18% gratuity was included… but then again, our server was very deserving.

Another Dining Month adventure… I normally steer away from chains, but this is supposed to be a good one. It was certainly fine. Nothing outstanding, but not bad.
The salads were both good. Not heavily dressed but enough to add flavor. My mahi mahi was pretty tasty. I enjoyed the fish the most, the risotto crab cake not as much. It had an odd flavor. The Flat iron steak was good though, and I liked all the sides it came with. Our son got a couple appetizers as his meal; he loved the Shoyu Fried chicken, and didn’t love the Shortribs Bento box (meat was not easy to eat). Desserts were not great — my apple cobbler was incredibly sweet — so sweet I couldn’t finish it. The peanut butter lava cake was very peanut buttery, according to my husband. I don’t like pb…
Service was attentive and pleasant. Lots of tiki faces looking down at you from around the room. It was fine, but didn’t knock my socks off.

I can’t say enough good things about the food and drinks here. Amazing happy hour starting at 3pm. The Kailua pork sliders are amazing as well as their famous Mai Tai. Mmmm

One part of me says 3 stars, the other part says 4. It’s a struggle but in the end 3 won out. I remember coming here awhile ago for an Elite event and really enjoyed the food. It was fun, it was happenin’.
I’m not sure exactly what made us choose this place for dinner with my fellow Unilocaler friend. I guess we’d been avoiding it because it’s just another big chain. It doesn’t really feel like it but it is.
We both ordered the same thing: Ginger Crusted Wild Salmon Sautéed snap peas, carrots, mung beans, peanut vinaigrette, wasabi mashed potatoes, crispy rice noodles. Although I’m sure they are delicious, we opted for other than the mashed potatoes and I have to say, the salmon was done to perfection. Flavorful, well seasoned, and done just right. It was a good portion served medium rare. Yes, it was a surprise but a very pleasant one indeed.
Now for the service. Who are you? Are you actually from this planet? Up until bill time this guy was doing a great job and we were both ready to reward him handsomely. Then he veered off the path and crashed and burned like a Kamikaze jet fighter from WWII. He brought the bill and wanted us to pay immediately. Something about the dining room closing. After the signing of the check was complete, he then came by and immediately snatched it from the table. Now, I don’t know much about waiting tables but I know enough to know that what he did was not acceptable. He might as well have said, «Now, get out.» The manager, though a nice touch, was hovering at our table throughout. I appreciate that… to an extent.
Not sure what the future holds for us here. Overall it was good but a little spendy for what you get. We might try it again.