Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Its a chain restaurant … service is good, food is mediocre. On par with claim jumper, maybe a little lower than cheesecake factory. It was one of the only things open over the holidays so that’s why we went in.

Just fine for a corporate chain brew pub. Beers are cold. Service is (usually) decent. Happy hour food is a reasonable deal. And location is convenient.
Nachos. They go so well with beer. And they’re ok here. Better to have a couple beers first so you don’t judge them too harshly. Hopefully they don’t melt them to the sheet they’re baked on. Cuz that time kinda sucked.
The mini tacos. Good. But why so much garlic. And I like garlic. Good thing I don’t have a date after this. Sheesh.
But in the end, yay. Beer.

I was recently asked to meet a date and his friends at this establishment, and the first thing that went through my mind was, «Really? Why on earth? Oh yeah, they’re not from around here.» Seriously. The locals know to stay away from this awful chain restaurant. In a city where you can’t walk a block without running into a nationally-​renowned purveyor of yummy local, sustainable, craft, geek-​tastic deliciousness, Rock Bottom is a giant waste of time and money. More so if you’re challenged with food allergies or veganism — just keep walking past this one. Homesick out-​of-​towners looking for an okay lemon drop, mediocre beer, and edible food, you’re in luck: it’ll probably be just like your Rock Bottom back home.

I’m a regular to this spot till last night happened. My friends and I came in a little after midnight, and the workers told us they already did last call. About an hour and a half early before they closed at 1:30am? Could be because they looked like they were having slow business towards the end. But it sucks to have last call super early. Probably won’t come back here at night anymore.

It’s near the waterfront, good area that’s conveniently located near Pioneer Square shopping area. They are able to accommodate large parties. Service is wonderful. There’s lot of food options, nothing too fancy. Great place to just hang out and have drinks. Happy hour is only for upstairs.

Good was okay, my sour beer was food but nothing I want to remember. My husbands Malbec wine tasted like the dirty glass it was placed in. I had a sad wedge salad that lacked flavor outside of the blue cheese dressing and bacon. Pretty disappointed considering this is our first time in PDX and our first brewery we stopped at.
Also our server Ashley, I believe, rubbed me the wrong way as she only spoke to my husband and made eye contact with him far too much. Never asked if I wanted another beer, someone else asked me (nice gent who brought our food). Also there was a hair in my husbands pasta, I know it happens but it really takes away from the experience. And no, we didn’t tell our server we aren’t those type of people.
Overall I wouldn’t return.
I’d say this was a ‘Rock Bottom’ experience if you ask me.

Really disappointed in their performance. This is the first time I’ve been here but chose to come because I always see it packed. We waited an hour before our food arrived for which I had to ask a server if our ticket was not put in on accident and only received a snide remark. The people around us who all arrived after us all got theirs. We sat with empty water til again I had to ask for some. When our food finally arrived it wasn’t even good. I ordered a medium rare cheddar bacon burger which sounded delicious but came well done, charred, and dry. Really disappointed by the food and service. Only saw our server twice… Definitely would recommend going to the thirsty lion or any better bub in Portland.

Service-​wise, this place is definitely a Fail for me. I think this is one of those restaurants that pretend their space is busier than it is (ie the resto is empty but they won’t seat you and make you wait for 15 minutes at the door first). The only other reason for the wait could be that there aren’t enough staff to help us, but if that were the case, I wish that was communicated to us (they told us the dining room wasn’t open yet, but when we were finally seated, there were already 5 tables seated (wtf?!).
Food-​wise, I had a blackened chicken salad. I like that they make their own dressings; other than that, the taste and presentation is so-​so. It tastes like 24hr diner grub — you know, the kind of food you eat when you’re hungover and starving and there’s nothing else open around.

This place was always busy when I passed it so I decided to check it out thinking it might be worth the while if so many people seem to enjoy it.
My mother & I had spent the day adventuring & were super hungry so we came here since it was on our way home. We were seated in a boring part of the restaurant. Our waiter was very good, he explained all the beers to us since they didn’t have anymore of the descriptive sheets that the flight usually comes with.
The food was okay. We had a salad & fish & chips. Salad was boring & mediocre but the fish & chips were satisfying. They had a tempura like texture, which was interesting but not necessarily negative, just different.
We needed extra plates, but when we tried to flag a waitress who passed us (our waiter was outside taking someones order so thats fine) she completely ignored us even though it couldn’t have been more obvious. Whether I’m your table or not… ignoring customers when you can clearly hear them is a restaurant no-​no in my opinion.
Upon realizing this place is actually a chain restaurant it kind of loses its appeal. Our experience was not a bad one, but did not leave a lasting impression on us. Overall it’s just okay. I could go back if the occasion arises or if I’m in the area but I’m not jumping at the opportunity.

I think the Unilocal average rating is spot on… nothing spectacular here. Sat at the bar, watched some Thursday night football, bartender was friendly, drink was tasty, food was blah.
The end.

I was in Portland for business and stopped by Rock Bottom with a coworker who cannot eat gluten due to Celiac Disease. We both had an excellent meal, and they had no trouble catering to his gluten-​free needs.
Service was great, drinks were refreshing, and food was tasty. Atmosphere is perfect for game day as well. I will return if I’m in Portland again soon.

Beer brewed in house is awesome. You can see where they brew it and can ask about their process.
When you walk in it is very spacious and nice opening with an upstairs area as well. I cam at a very busy time during a football game night so it was really crowded so was not as comfortable as I would have liked. Service was still alright; they tried their best but it was still slow and at times people were not heard at the bar area.
Got the burger for dinner and it was above average and pretty simple but it was big. It came with some fries which wasn’t too bad. I would say its a better place for drinks than the food. I personally just didn’t have a good experience as I would have liked but overall its a place you can try once or grab some drinks with some friends.

For $ 6, the flight was great… Got 6 different beers
Didn’t try the food but would recommend going for drinks.

There are many reasons to come to a place like this that are probably much better than mine but I came for the carrot cake. A former co-​worker had highly talked it up and I woke up one day recently with a craving.
I had the opportunity and was close to the area recently around lunchtime during the week and thought I would drop in. It was a disappointment.
For starters, the customer service for a to-​go order that was a piece of cake. well should have been, but it was inexperienced from the start. The staff seemed ill-​equipped to handle anything but walk-​ins. It was around 1130am and they were not busy. It took several minutes to get my order taken and paid for and then probably at least 10 minutes to *get* my order. All things considered, this was an unacceptable wait for a piece of cake to be boxed out and walked out of the kitchen.
The cake itself? Sized for two? As advertised although a bit underwhelming. It’s an extraordinarily large slice. The flavor was lacking although it was nice and dense and moist save for the bottom which had been overcooked. The cream-​cheese filling was average and mostly too sweet. I had them put the caramel sauce on the side so it didn’t make the dish soggy but I wonder why anyone would want or need caramel on carrot cake.
Next time I want carrot cake, I’ll probably bake my own or look for recommended places on Unilocal

Came in here from the Riverwalk trying to escape all the homeless people and beggers and decided to try their cider. Sat outside and watched the workforce flow during lunch time. Judging on only the cider and the friendliness of the staff I give this place a 5. I didn’t try any food or any other drink but I can tell you that it’s a great location, with outdoor seating, friendly host/​server and fantastic cider. It was also super wallet friendly!

The staff is super friendly and the restaurant is in a cool location a couple of blocks from the waterfront. They have live music on Friday and Saturday night with outdoor seating.
It attracts the over 30 crowd, good food and reasonable prices. I love their Sangria and Veggie burgers. Good Sunday hang.

I’m fairly certain the menu here updated recently. There were several new selections, that appeared to have a hint of culinary flare. I did not try any of the new items, but decided to order the bacon/​chicken mac & cheese (by suggestion of our waiter, who was a very pleasant fellow). I must admit it was tasty. Spiral macaroni can be dry and chewy if it’s not prepared correctly, but this bowl of mac was tender, rich, and packin’ in flavor. Try sprinkling a bit of Cholula on there, too, if you’re feelin’ spicy. Also, they make a decent old fashioned — proper flavor and not weak, either!
I stand by my previous opinion. This is not the spot for your «special» occasion. But If you don’t feel like washing the dishes, this is a good spot for a casual week night dinner. And for that, I raise you, rock bottom… one more star.

I didn’t expect much from this chain restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised. The spinach and artichoke dip was some of the best I’ve ever had. The service was excellent and our server was quick and personable. She refilled our drinks before we even had a chance to ask. Now, that’s service! What also impressed me was how the hostess saw two guys light up cigarettes on the sidewalk nearby and promptly walked out and asked them to move to another area. Nothing can ruin a meal more choking on cigarette smoke.
Overall, a great experience.

Mid-​afternoon isn’t exactly prime time, and Rock Bottom isn’t exactly a small, local, upscale or exclusive brew pub, but you wouldn’t have known it from our server’s attitude. My friends ordered and then I asked if they had any beer flights (since I didn’t see any indication on the menus). Our server just said «Yes» and walked away – no explanation or description, no «is there anything else I can get you…» Just walked away. Eventually she showed up with a flight of six samplers and told me which was which. Of the six, I only really liked the India Steinhaus Lager and the All Nitro Long Coffee Ale. Two of us ended up ordering a full glass of the Coffee Ale. While it was good in a small sampler glass, more wasn’t necessarily better. We didn’t end up ordering any food, as it seemed like typical chain restaurant fare.
Good people-​watching spot.

Your typical chain restaurant with the typical chain restaurant food, I was not impressed at all. The prices here are pretty high as well. First of all, this restaurant is way too crowded for what they serve. The wait was about fourty five minutes, and then another half hour to fourty five minutes after ordering food. There is much better food out there in Portland, I just did not understand.
I ordered a turkey burger with a side of mac and cheese, and I was not impressed with either of them.
The mac and cheese was very weak in flavor. Seemed dried out, not very creamy or cheesy at all. It was at that hardening of the cheese stage.
My burger was very bland and dry, and it fell apart. Not flavorful, juicy or enjoyable to the slightest bit.
Granted they were very crowded and busy, but imagine your turkey burger and mac and cheese sitting under a heat lamp for about 25 minutes. That’s what it was like.
One of the people I was with ordered dessert — ice cream sandwiches. They apologized and gave it to us on the house because it took about 25 minutes to get them after ordering dessert. They came out starting to melt already.

Une bonne adresse chaleureuse pour boire un verre (grand choix de bieres, bonnes margaritas) et manger un repas rapide, carte americano mexicaine, servie sympa, grande salle chaleureuse et terrasse exterieure sur le trottoir proche de Pionner square