Taylor Railworks

Not one complaint about the food. I have dietary restrictions and I was able to find a dish with few modifications that still tasted amazing without some of the ingredients. The service and comfort of the seating is where they lose a star. The server was a bit impatient and sitting on backless bar stools for s 3 course meal with a large group was not ideal.

Really good, and a great spot close to downtown for a really well done meal. Definitely enjoyed this place.

I definitely recommend Taylor Railworks. 4.5 stars. The food is delicious and the drinks are great. The ambiance is Portland casual yet trendy so it’s a great date spot. We had the Gotham Limited and Paper Kite cocktails, «The Boxer» yellowtail off of the raw section, the grilled octopus and the foie gras off of the small plates section, the fried soft shell crab off of the larger plates section, and the panna cotta off of the dessert section. They were out of the wagyu tartare, unfortunately.
A complimentary bowl of popcorn with togarashi seasoning was given after ordering. I’ve seen people post photos of popcorn with parmesan on it, but the bowl we got didn’t have parmesan. I didn’t see it on the menu available for order either so they probably just mix it up.
I only had a sip of the Gotham Limited (rye whiskey, perfect vermouth, boker’s bitters) and thought it was fine.
The Paper Kite (wheated bourbon, aperol, lemon, spiced tea brandy) is now one of my new favorite drinks. I happen to love citrus and tea flavors so this was right up my alley. It was very smooth and refreshing. I had a couple of these and probably could have had a couple more, but I’m sure it’s a creeper, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
«The Boxer» yellowtail dish had raw yellowtail, thai chili, roe and a vinegary dressing. The yellowtail was buttery, the dressing was fresh and acidic, and the roe gave it a nice umami element.
The grilled octopus came with fresh wide pasta (i think — at least it tasted like it was fresh), chili, uni butter, and a generous amount of parmesan. OMG, this was so good. I could have eaten two of these on my own. As a matter of fact, the next time I come, I’ll probably order two of these (and not share) and two Paper Kites and I’d be a happy diner. This is a must have dish.
The foie gras we ordered came in a savory broth with asparagus and what seemed like chanterelles and chicken. I was not expecting and not used to foie gras being prepared this style but did find the broth to be very flavorful.
The fried soft shell crab, came with a big grilled prawn, chili sauce, and fried (?) buttermilk rolls. They also provided quite a few slices of lime and wet naps with this dish. It had a nice combination of flavors and textures. I was able to eat this with a fork and knife and didn’t find a need to use my hands, so felt the wet naps were not necessary, in case you’re hesitating at ordering something that requires you to get a little messy. I squeezed lime juice over everything, but then again, I love lime juice. The crab was good, the prawn was a little undercooked, the chili sauce seemed to have a tomato base (I could be wrong) and was flavorful. The buttermilk rolls were super crispy and seemed fried, they were delish dipped into the sauce.
The coffee panna cotta with whiskey cocktail gelée came with an almond biscotti. This was just ok, we didn’t finish this.
Overall, I really liked this place. There are a couple of standout items that I’ll definitely come back here for and I’m looking forward to trying more items.

4.5 stars! Can’t quite give them 5 stars, but I very rarely do so. I went to TR twice in a period of a month for very very good dinners. Pretty much all of the small plates/​appetizers items I ordered are very good. My favorite are the yellow tail sashimi, scallops & noodles ala Johnny. The only reason why I didn’t give the 5^th star is both mains I’ve tried (ribs and soft shell crab) were consistently my least favorite of all the dishes. I’m not saying they’re bad, but the small plates were just so much better.
We sat at the chef counter one of the time and there were 4 people cooking, busy constantly and crafting everything with great care. We were really amazed on how many parts a single dish would take. Definitely interesting spot to sit for 1 – 2 of you.
I can’t recommend this place enough — just GO!

Had a very enjoyable meal. We ordered the foie gras and steak tartare as appetizers. I had the soft shell crab dish and my companion had the pasta/​octopus small plate as his entrée. Everything was excellent, service was great, except for the blonde girl who brought out our appetizers, and seem to cop an attitude about our order, she pointedly told us our chips are VEGAN. Look honey if you don’t want to serve omnivores, don’t work here!

I can’t say enough nice things about this place~!~!~! I ate here with my girlfriend last New Year’s Eve, and it was the best dinner ever! We sat at the ‘chef’s counter’ area, and it was really fun. Even though they were really busy, every person working there took the time to talk to us, and really created a great vibe. We got to watch our food being prepared, and we got to ask about some of the ingredients (we were curious about one of the little jars of Asian sauce behind the counter). If the management is reading this, please, let them know that they were one of the best parts of our NYE, and are helping you guys set the bar for what an upscale (NOT pretentious) fine dining experience can be. Thanks again, we’ll be back next time we visit from California :)

I’m going to go ahead and give this bad boy 5 stars. The interior is clean, stylish, and well designed. As soon as I walked in I was greeted in a real, kind way. We decided to sit at the bar. The bar tender was busy making drinks but still have us a greeting.
I ordered a whiskey sour with egg white and he made is beautifully. You can defiantly go here and order high quality or specialty drinks without getting a confused look. The food was delicious and came out in a timely manner. We ordered spicy popcorn, scallops, calamari, and pasta. Each dish was portioned just right.
Man I really enjoyed everything about this place. It was intimate and all around quality. I’ll defiantly be returning.

We arrived during a later dinner time of 8:30pm. The restaurant itself was nice in a warehouse looking spot. We were seated promptly and ordered some wine as well. I have to say the servers here are friendly and attentive. We tried a good amount of dishes here, oysters, sashimi, foie gras, both pasta dishes, grilled octopus, calamari, and two entrees (short rib and special of the day: skate fish). There are a few reasons for my 3 star review.
1. Small plates are great for sharing but when they are more than $ 10+, most being around $ 15, you would expect something that will blow your mind or be a bit more filling.
2. Oysters taste like the kelp that it was sitting on, it definitely had more of that ocean flavor than what I usually like.
3. Some dishes were pretty basic and I probably could recreate them myself.
4. Charging extra for dinner rolls. You charge enough for food, you cant just throw in some extra dinner rolls? COME ON!
I saw this restaurant on
and was excited to try it out with all the positive reviews. But I felt the meal was just way over priced for what we got out of our meal. For 6 people, we paid around $ 450 that included two bottles of wine. I’m not sure if our meal was worth $ 150 a person. I’m sure I could of found a few prefix dinner options instead in PDX that would of left me a bit more satisfied.

Yummy!!! The food was Delicious!!!
To start, we ordered the Steelhead Poke, avocado, sesame, yuzu, yolk. Mmm… very tasty! It just kept getting better. I ordered the market fish. It felt like Christmas when the waiter unwrapped my Salmon lol I’m pretty sure I moaned at first bite because it was excellent. We ended our dinner with the Chocolate stout cake.
The only thing I didn’t like was how loud it was and how close we were to the couples next to us. I was on a first date and perhaps I never got a second one because I couldn’t hear him ha ha For example, when he said he plays monopoly with his daughters, I thought he said dogs lol No bueno!
I must add that I liked the email I received thanking me for leaving a comment. It was a simple, but nice gesture that made me smile :)

Taylor Railworks was slightly disappointing because of all the hype. It does hold good promise with some fine tuning.
Pros:
— Incredible space and ambiance.
— Spot on service. Our waitress knew the food intimately and was well described.
— The small plated scallops were the highlight of the evening.
Cons:
— Stingy cocktails. Half-​poured and sad.
— Small-​plated scallops should have been served classically with three scallops not two.
— The brisket was dried out, but the sweet potato purée and portobello mushrooms were perfection.
— No vegetarian options.
Quite honestly, there are much better restaurants in Portland. With the proliferation of new restaurants popping up, I’m excited to try new places. TR needs to hone in on some fine details in order to make this place soar.

Wonderful service! The staff was very kind to make something off the menu for my father who is a picky eater. They went out of their way time and again to make sure everyone in our party was happy.
The food was beautifully and thoughtfully prepared. We loved «the boxer» the yellowtail was perfect! We also enjoyed the noodles Alla Johnny, a very refreshing a light noodle dish. The fried chicken was different than we expected but we’re very pleasantly surprised by it. We will be back for sure!

Love the space and everything else about this place. The cocktails were good and the bartender was stellar. The food was creative and flavorful. Great new find in Portland…

I had the opportunity to select a restaurant for an annual holiday dinner for eight. Normally I would only select a location that I had previously tried. However, based on the reviews of my fellow Unilocalers I took a chance on Taylor Railworks.
They did not disappoint. We started with a number of small plates as appetizers. All were excellent but the scallops, octopus with arancini, and the shrimp with tagliatelle were the highlites.
I could have stopped there but we each ordered a large plate. I had the brisket but we decided to go family style and I was able to sample several dishes. The black cod, crab in chili sauce and the pork all shared a level of preparation that is rarely seen in Portland.

Taylor Railworks represents why we moved to Portland. We love good food, and the food here represents the absolute best we’ve experienced in the Portland food scene. I had a simple meal, raw oysters followed by the fried chicken with clams. I’m not a writer, but just have to say you must experience this place in person. Sit at the bar if you can and watch these guys work their majic.

This place deserves the high rating it has gotten so far on Unilocal.I almost gave 4 stars instead of 5, but the service alone deserves 5.
It was surprisingly easy to get a reservation (and I love places that offer reservations on weekend nights, given otherwise you might have to wait for hours). As mentioned above, the service was outstanding. Great knowledge of the food, cocktails and wine, attentive but not overly so – just checking in at the exact right moments. And when a cocktail took a little longer than the first to come out from the bar — a delay we didn’t even notice — the servers were so apologetic and, despite my saying we hadn’t noticed and the drink was incredible — they still offered to pick up the tab for it.
I think the best drink we tried was the Gilded Era, followed by the Southern Pacific and Paper Kite. I could take or leave the Kentucky Cardinal — it was pretty bitters-​heavy, and while I like bitters, I wanted to taste something a little different.
Now, on to the food. We split one item from the raw menu («The Boxer»), several items from the small plates menu (octopus and arancini; noodles alla Johnny; grilled cuttlefish) and the steak from the entrée menu. Everything was delicious. I liked the arancini less than most other reviewers but agree, the octopus was cooked perfectly. The portions are mostly small, and so we also had some dessert: chocolate stout cake with gooey coffee-​malt ice cream covered in crunchy chocolate-​covered espresso beans.
I would definitely come back here, especially for a special occasion.

Probably the easiest 5 stars I have ever given. Taylor Railworks is absolutely the best date night spot in Portland. My wife and I went yesterday evening and could not believe how close to perfect this restaurant is.
To start, the atmosphere is intimate and relaxing. As you walk in from a dark rainy night you are welcomed by calm staff members and classy décor. We sat at the bar and really enjoyed watching the bartender mix wonderfully balanced cocktails. In further discussion with her, we learned that she is also one of the owners. My drink was nothing short of fantastic, and she performed at the same level of Tear Drop’s best bartenders.
We decided to share the market fish which was a healthy piece ling cod topped with various herbs and spices. Underneath the fish was a bed of poached fruit and flavoral mushrooms. The amount of acid in the dish was perfect. I simply would not change a thing.
I look forward to another intimate culinary experience at Taylor Railworks.

Hot and new! Wow, just simply wow! Me and my two girl friends went here last night for a post birthday dinner for me! Yeah I know, I feel special already So where to even start? Well first this place is pretty hip, great space, décor was on point. The staff especially our server was very well verse with what they offer on their menu! (This is always a big plus for me, especially when dinning on a new establishment. I want to know what you would eat here, and yeah I get it, it’s steak but how was it cooked? What’s the side dish? What’s this thing right here? And so fort) Anyway let’s get down to the food shall we? I started is off with an order of their spicy popcorn (Never really thought of having popcorn besides the movie theater) but man this was bonkers! I mean bonkers in a foodgasm goodness! It had the perfect heat plus that shave off cheese on top. It was so good my friend had to other a second round! My two friends ordered the poke and fried chicken. I ordered the market fish of the day which happened to be halibut! I got to try both my friends dish, and they were both great but the fried chicken is in its own league! My halibut was cooked to perfection with some sort of pear/​mushroom reduction. I had to say I was A tad bit nervous with that combo, but low and behold it was insane to the membrane combination! I literally inhaled my food and felt feeling sad that it was all gone afterwards. Its a bit of a love hate relationship that I do want to give them an weaken review and have high hopes that they will do great, but then again I love the fact that it’s still low key, for now. So people get here before they start having lines or month long reservations. Because honestly if they keep serving dishes like this, it won’t be long till they our on the top par of best restaurants in town!

Had the porkchop, salmon poke, and the waffle, but the best part of the night was that DAMN OCTOPUS; that dish was amazing and was the highlight of my week. I am definitely coming back to try their other dishes… and to eat that octopus again.
The atmosphere was great. The staff was very welcoming; shout out to our bartender John and chef Eric!

First time trying this place and must say, we were impressed! The décor was simple, modern, rustic yet edgy and still cozy. We appreciated the soft lighting and the ambience in general was very relaxing but still lowkey hip. Onto the food. For the «Small Plates», we ordered:
1. Spicy Popcorn with togarashi and freshly shaved Parmesan — very interesting! I wish movie theaters had this kind of popcorn! It was light, subtle but had just the perfect amount of seasoning.
2. Grilled Octopus with Yogurt and Spicy Tomato Jam — heavy hitter! The octopus was soooooo tender that the texture alone nearly made it unrecognizable (in a good way of course!). It had a perfect char on the outside and paired PERFECTLY with the tangy Greek Yogurt, tomato jam, fresh tomatoes, mint (this is what made the dish pop for me) and the pea shoots (just my guess but I didn’t confirm with our waiter. Was a bit on the salty side, but overall an EXCELLENT DISH!!!
3. Spicy Calamari and Bitter Greens — tasty! The calamari was a tad bit over fried but the batter was light and crispy. The peanuts didn’t really do anything for the dish (but didn’t hurt it either) but what tied everything together was the roasted poblano pepper schmear (a bit bitter but smokey and just the perfect amount of spice) on the bottom of the plate. We took some of the complimentary warm dinner rolls and dipped it in the schmear and that was super yummy!
On the «Larger Plates…
1. Market Fish was Sous Vide Albacore with some sort of delicious root veggie purée, beautiful sautéed assortment of mushrooms, fried brussel sprout leaves, and fresh peach salsa. FRICKKKKK this dish was delicious!!! The addition of the fresh peaches just made the dish pop. The albacore was as fresh as it gets, ultra tender and had a perfect light sear for a medium rare finish. Although it was a TAD on the salty, I’d definitely order this dish again. This is a MUST TRY people!
2. Chili Crab — I could love or leave it. Wasn’t my favorite but also wasn’t horrible. The crab was SUPER sweet and fresh so not mad at that at all. Again, the dish wasn’t horrible, it was wasn’t was we were expecting. It was overwhelming sweet for us with the Thai Chili Sauce and we were expecting something with more garlic and acidity and a higher spice level. Though I must say, we did enjoy dipping the warm, grilled, buttery dinner rolls in the extra sauce on the bottom of the plate! LOL
Long story short, we will definitely be back to try the Spicy Crab Salad, Curry Fried Chicken, Steak & Eggs, Pork Chop, Foie Gras Sandwich, Scallop Appetizer, and a few of the desserts. Okay, okay, so basically the goal is to try every dish at least once.
In terms of service, they were ON TOP of it! The waiter was friendly, professional yet laid back, and VERY knowledgable. Our waters were constantly being refilled, table being touched, and even reset between our small plates and large plates with FRESH SILVERWARE settings. This doesn’t happen at very many places nowadays. Thanks for an awesome dinner!!!

Had dinner last week with two hospitality associates. In a word, amazing! We look forward to being frequent diners.
Enjoyed ourselves so much, we are going back Saturday evening!