Sapphire Hotel

Came here on our final night in Portland. We were drawn by the multitude of options for cocktails but were blown away by the beet burger and farmers board– where you can choose your cheeses and protein. We went with a brie, a sheep milk, and a chicken liver with cranberry mousse. Figs, roasted garlic, toasted almonds, candied walnuts, and pickled veggies to boot. What a treat before our trek back to Austin.

Came for the drinks (which were awesome) but was genuinely happy with the food as well. I had the butternut squash enchiladas. Loaded with cheesy goodness. Am going to try to recreate the arugula and artichoke spread at home. Yum!

Been here 5 – 6 times for cocktails. Love the ambiance. Sweet servers. Really lovely selection of drinks and snacks.
I wanted to give it less stars because it’s usually catching sun in the Windows because we go 4pm early… and this place should be dark (in my fantasy) — so maybe I need to go more in winter that’s not their fault I guess but maybe more shades for that summertime witching hour?
Ladies powder room is lovely!
Lots of history here…

A great stand by. Whenever friends from out of town want to take part of the unique food and beverage scene that is Portland, this is invariably on the list of places to go. Service is excellent as well, which is increasingly a big deal here.

Both a craft cocktail hound and a vegetarian’s daydream. Stupendous and varied drinks. The one that comes pre-​bottled (The Closing Remark) is far and away the most refreshing and unique little cocktail this reviewer has ever had. Chartreuse heavy. Sweet. Icy. Crisp. Some others are sinfully spicy (The Bold Friend). Some savory and rich (Mezcal heavy Aquarian). Tremendous beet burger. Sticks together well. Not sloppy. Not too overdone. The bun is whole wheat heaven. Sweet potato chips are a nice touch, too. Tangy sauce is a treat, but you don’t get much. Spread sparingly. Staff seem to be peppy folks. Bartender shakes his shakers ceaselessly, but has a heavy pour. Tiny place, please note. Even tinier bar. Very nifty décor, however. Dark, intimate: a gorgeous place for a date, methinks. Otherwise a perfect stop for any cocktail you could dream up, including something with pumpkin and bourbon butter called, you can’t make this stuff up, a good ol’ Netflix and Chill.

Came in tonight to see a friend of my cousin’s, Theron, who is a chef here. He prepared special dishes for us to enjoy and try. We were treated to the Brussels Sprouts, Artichoke & Arugula Dip, Spiced Chicken kabobs, French Onion Soup, Salmon & Corn cakes, and a few other dishes.
The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, as they want you to feel at home. The drink menu is divine.
A must try if you are within a 35 minute radius!
Thank you so much to Chef Theron!
We will most definitely be returning and with new guests to enjoy your wonder food!

Great ambiance and plates, as well as unique drinks and quaint history. A great date location if there ever was one.

The drinks are good. The Spanish Coffee is very good. Pretty bad service though. Basically indifferent to unfriendly. The male bartender who served me has the personality of a stale potato.

Stopped in here just for a happy hour drink, ended up staying for hours. Pleasantly surprised at not only the awesome drinks, but also the quality and delicious food. Highly recommend!

No reservations are taken and I have no reservations about frequenting this gem in SE Portland. The service is great, the atmosphere is fun yet intimate. The staff is personable, and the food and unusual drink menu is delightful. The stuffed dates are a must have each time and the cheeseboard is not only scrumptious, but plentiful and somewhat eclectic. I’m not a bourbon lover at all, but my boyfriend had two different bourbon drinks and I tasted and really liked both. Try this out of the way place, you won’t be sorry.

I love Sapphire Hotel even though my last experience there wasn’t great, but that was just because I found out they don’t have the best communication nor are they able to accommodate groups — even with advanced notice. It’s great for dates, or maybe a very small group. It’s got a nice atmosphere, although a bit dark, but it’s pretty cool overall. I don’t go there often, but it’s not because I hate it. It’s just not convenient to me, nor does it have many vegan options.

Yeah, I still love SH but honestly, lately the past 2 or 3 times I’ve gone it just hasn’t been that enjoyable. The servers are great at their jobs despite the fact that many are lacking any personality. But the place is ALWAYS too crowded. It use to be our go-​to place but apparently it’s everybody’s now. Still they do have some of the best cocktails, bread pudding and charcuterie board in town. But I just can’t deal with the crowds.

I am generally a hard grader… I often go to a place and think «this place is great, but not sure if it warrants the 5-​star praise».
Sapphire Hotel is an exception, one of those rare places where my experience has exceeded it’s reviews. I literally left wondering how anyone could rate it below 5-​stars.
Drinks are fantastic. The selection alone can leave one overwhelmed and juggling the math of their monthly finances to see if they can somehow afford to order 1-​of-​everything.
The food exceeded expectations. Reasonably priced, high quality, exceptional flavor. Not a single item disappointed, all of them surprised. The service was knowledgeable, attentive, and welcoming.
And the atmosphere? Perhaps it’s most well known drawn, and certainly needs no introduction. Top class.
Portland Perfection.

The food was fantastic! Everything I had was top notch. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the drinks, and ended up getting a wine after a couple failed attempts to find a pleasing cocktail. This is a great, very «Portland» feel type of restaurant that would be excellent to take an out-​of-​towner to. I will be back!

Showed up and were told a half hour wait (they don’t take reservations). There is nowhere to wait inside the restaurant and it was freezing outside so we went to get a drink across the street. Back 25 minutes later and they gave away our table and told us it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour now and there was nothing we could do. Since it was freezing and we didn’t feel like treking we waited while we Unilocaled trying to find something good that was close. Luckily it wasn’t an hour and eventually we were seated in the insanely noisy dining room.
We split the chicken skewers for an appetizer. It was ok, nothing special. I had a steak since I avoid dairy and didn’t feel like a burger and there were not many other appetizing choices. Steak had a lot of gristle but it was fine, pretty unremarkable. My date had the sweet potato enchilada which was very very spicy but that was about it, not very flavorful.
Obviously my experience is soured by the not so great first impression and I know sometimes restaurants have off nights and people have bad days but this didn’t seem like that. Not sure what the 5 star reviews citing good food are about but I guess if you’re a drinker the enormous (pricey) cocktail list is worth it. I don’t care about drinks so much and the cons of the place being really noisy, having long wait with an unhelpful hostess, small menu and pretty meh food make this a place I will never revisit.

Really loved this place. The food was absolutely spectacular — everything from the appetizers we ordered, to the entrées, to the dessert, were all incredibly flavorful. The drinks were also really creative and tasted amazingly good.
The atmosphere was really inviting — definitely a place to bring that special person in your life along with you. It’s a rather small place, but the décor was really cool — the place had a really nice vibe, without coming across as trying too hard.
The service was good — not amazing, but good. The food, drinks, and ambiance more than made up for it.

I would without a doubt go here again. Fantastic atmosphere. Even when there was only one table open when we arrived, it didn’t feel too hectic or busy, as many other places seem. Food wise, we split the beet burger, which I was simultaneously impressed by the unique aspect of eating a burger made out of beets, but slightly disappointed at the lack of seasoning used. Perhaps the sauce that accompanies it would have helped, I didn’t try that. The chips accompanying the burger were a great addition however.
Their drinks, wow. I typically stick with a gin, whiskey, or glass of wine, but was quite satisfied with the decision of picking random drinks containing liquors with which I wasn’t familiar. The ‘Aquarian’, for example, includes Mezcal, which adds a unique liquid-​smoke-​like aftertaste that interestingly yet appropriately compliments the initial sweetness of the passion fruit. I also tried the ‘Lounge Singer’ and was pleased with the herbal tones that the Zwack liqueur provided.
All in all, great place to start my birthday evening!

Fancy bites of food, designed to be shared with a lover.
Alcohol. To cast a spell upon your lover.
A design scheme which I can only poorly describe as Asian brothel, meant to be a nod to the Sapphire’s actual history as a brothel (?). I’d actually like to learn more about that, come to think of it.
A good place to land if you’re out in Hawthorne with friends, or lovers.

Oh what a SEXY space.
Came with a group of friends and had a
very relaxing evening, just what I needed after a
busy weekend.
Cocktails ~ Muddled fruits and great liquor.
Mixologist knows how to make
a drink. I had the «Bold Friend»
spicy and packed with flavor.
Food~ The Beet Burger was very good and
at first I thought this would be sweet
but it wasn’t, It’s very savory and not
dry, I added avocado… Get This
Artichoke dip was as advertised
it’s good for two people, so if you
are sharing get two orders.
(kinda small) Get This
Sapphire Burger with the brioche
bun. This was very good ! I had
Two bites before my friend snatched
it from my «cold dead hands» LOL
Get This.
Service~ Attentive but not overbearing. My
water never hit the bottom of the
glass.

This is a great place for a nice romantic night out
and to have a great Cocktail and some pillow talk.
Remember, Please don’t drink and play guitar.

I visit Portland often for work. Some of the best parts about this city for me are the people, entertainment and choices of food. So when I find a gem of a place I tend to go back for more. That won’t be the case with the Sapphire Hotel.
I’ve eaten at the Sapphire only one time before with friends and the service and food was good. Their trademark drinks must keep people coming back. They are indeed creative and delicious.
Tonight I stopped in alone at about 930pm. It’s often awkward dining alone but I just could not resist having a good meal after a long day of work.
I started with black coffee with Kahlua. When my meal was served, I waited for some time before I could catch and remind the server about my wine and bread that I requested to be served with the meal.
I had ordered the Flatiron Steak with a reduction sauce, mash potatoes and a «seasoned vegetable» The seasoned vegetable turned out to be a few leaves of Romaine lettuce heated (unevenly I might add) in a pan with unremarkable oil and too much salt.
When I was half through the steak, the server stopped and asked if everything was OK. I explained the seasoned vegetable was not good — being bland and over-​salted.
I felt like she gave me a «So what’s your problem look» and shot back «So you want me to take it away?» I said no the steak and potatoes were good and I wanted to finish that part of the meal. I was hoping she might at least offer an alternative. Giving me the middle finger would have had the same effect for me.
It struck me she asked about my meal not at all out of consideration for my having a pleasant meal — but just out of pure habit. She could have kept walking and never asked for what that was worth to me.
When I got the bill they charged me the full price of the dinner with no adjustment for the badly cooked greens. What also surprised me were the charges of $ 3 for coffee and a charge of $ 8 for the shot of Kahlua in it (Geez, really?). Middle finger feeling again.
Maybe she was tired and over-​worked or the wrong profession. Maybe it was just too late to get the level of service I expected. And maybe, as is my opinion, they have enough regulars and the curious coming in they don’t have time or care what one lone customer experiences.
I have never written a review before because I understand the restaurant business from the inside and know there are just some days and somethings that miss a connection — so I tend to be laid back in judgement. But in this case I felt an exception was in order.

We came for late nite snacks and weren’t disappointed with the atmosphere… music, service, great!
Because the server said the chicken skewers were dark and white meat but they weren’t. They were all thighs. We did not like that at all.

Lovely spot! I only came here for a drink before taking off. I loved the ambiance of this place. I could see myself on a date here or on a ladies night for some noshings and drinks.
So in the past, Sapphire Hotel was a brothel and a hotel… and even though it’s not anymore, it’s alluring aspects still linger with it’s red walls, and dim lighting. The seating is intimate, and the back tables are lower with cozy chairs around them. The artwork is a bit eclectic with mosaic tiled table lamps adorning the tabletops, and local artists artwork scattered about the walls.
The dranks! Holy moly drink city! The names of the drinks are quite a read in themselves, but also the ingredients! For example: The most popular drink, vodka, lime, coconut, orgeat, shirley temple soda and pop rocks. It was a tad tart but still rather enjoyable!
I would most definitely come back for more of these drinks as well as to try the food. It was pretty packed when we went, but not so packed we had to wait for a table, which is a great sign that this place does well.
Note to self: go on a date here.

I’m basing this on one evening hanging out for Happy Hour, but I think I can say with assurance that the Sapphire Hotel is an awesome place to go. We got there early on a Saturday and found ourselves a cozy spot along the wall. The server was super sweet and helpful. She also had amazing hair!
I had the Room Service (marionberry margarita served tall) and frickin’ loved it! It looked like 2 drinks in one glass until I stirred it up a bit. Sweet but not too, boozy, but not too much. Loved it. Hubby had the Other Woman. Yes, right in front of me and everything, and I was okay with it. That one is apple bourbon, ginger and pear in a martini glass. I’m not a bourbon fan but it was good.
We each had a salad, and I had the salmon & corn cakes (3) that were delicious. He had the Five Spice Chicken, which tasted like, well, chicken with five spice. It was meh. But it was a good light dinner.
We hung out and talked and people watched and enjoyed the jazz and eventually pried ourselves up and went on our way. Very nice place to hang out and yes, everyone looks fabulous in the red-​walled lounge, don’t they?