Portland City Grill is a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

located on the 30th

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load ...

of the

U.S. Bancorp Tower The U.S. Bancorp Tower (also known as the Big Pink) is a 42-story, skyscraper in Portland, Oregon. It is the second tallest building in the city after Wells Fargo Center, and with its nearly office space, it is the largest in Oregon in terms of ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Known for its happy hour and views of the city and surrounding landscape, Portland City Grill is often listed as a recommended restaurant to eat at in Portland. Portland City Grill is owned by Restaurants Unlimited Inc, based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Description

According to Kelly Edwards of Scott/Edwards Architecture, the ceilings were kept low and the light subdued to preserve the surrounding views.

Interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

er Janet Henrich stated that one goal was to have the setting very different from Atwater's Restaurant and Bar, so a more "pastoral" feel was created using river rock,

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

tile, and

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

. Henrich attempted using as many materials as possible that could be naturally found in Oregon, including river rock, ribbons of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

, and beams of Douglas fir from an old barn to line the ceiling. In addition, artwork and photography by Oregonians were used to decorate the walls.

Food

When the restaurant opened, Fleenor and Pacific Coast Corporate Chef Keith Castro focused on adding

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patties, ...

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

, and

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

to the menu.

History

For nearly two decades, the space currently occupied by Portland City Grill belonged to Atwater's Restaurant and Bar. Al Fleenor and Robert MacLellan, founders of the Portland-based company Pacific Coast Restaurants, convinced officials at Unico Properties to lease the space for another restaurant. Unico had previously planned to convert the space into executive offices. Beginning in March 2001 with the assistance of R & H Construction, Scott/Edwards Architecture LLP, and Nelson Henrich Interiors, construction began on a $3 million makeover that doubled the capacity of the space to accommodate 206 patrons in the restaurant and an additional 160 guests in the bar. Portland City Grill officially opened on March 19, 2002. View of Portland from Portland City Grill

View of Portland from Portland City Grill

In 2004, Portland City Grill became Oregon's first and only restaurant to make ''

Restaurants & Institutions ''Restaurants & Institutions'' ''(R&I)'' () was a trade publication and web site owned by Reed Business Information serving the information needs of foodservice professionals at chains, independent restaurants, hotels and institutions. The editor- ...

'' magazine's list of the "top 100 highest-grossing independent restaurants" in the United States, placing 43rd place on the list after reporting a sales total of $10.9 million in 2003. As of the 2014 rankings, it had fallen to number 54, though revenue had increased to $13.3 million.

Reception

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Willame ...

'' voters ranked Portland City Grill first place in the following categories: "Best New Hometown Restaurant" (2002), "Best Restaurant to Bring Friends from Out of Town" (2004), "Best Meat Market" (2005), and "Best Happy Hour" (2004–2007).

References

External links

Portland City Grill's official site
{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon 2002 establishments in Oregon Restaurants established in 2002 Restaurants in Portland, Oregon Southwest Portland, Oregon Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019