Radio Room

I like the friendly staff and the almost never ending brunch menu. My usual here is actually the Pork Tostadas with a side of Truffle Frites.
I also like the «Starving Artist» which is a huge, hearty bowl of soup (ours was chili), two hunks of rustic bread, and a glass of wine for about $ 9. The waiters/​waitresses here were very nice and that is so awesome! I like the Radio Room’s unique layout with outdoor seating on a rooftop patio as well as lower floor patio complete with fire pits.
Definitely a destination for fancy cocktails as well: the lavender lemon gin drink seemed to be a favorite among our group.
All in all a nice place though I haven’t had anything on the menu yet that has blown me away. Definitely will return to try more!

When planning to have drinks and stay for a couple/​few hours keep track carefully. We were all charged for extra drinks. They charged one person for 8 beers. There’s no way he consumed that much. Just be aware!

Get the Starving artist what a unique combination of soup and wine for $ 9,this place’s got to be my favorite! Brussels sprouts were another hit as far as the service goes its fantastic… cool joint for sure

Yes yes yes. Happy hour on a Friday afternoon, this is just what we needed to cool our heels and chill out on a sweet roof deck. $ 4-​$ 8 apps and a great list of beers on tap. We had the truffle fries (not too salty, just the right amount of umami) and the caesar salad (fresh, great croutons, not over-​dressed) and were completely satisfied. Waitstaff was super friendly and attentive and the roof deck has both sun and shade, making everyone happy.

Service was good. Food was good. Questioned the cleanliness of the dishes when I picked up two dirty looking mugs in the self serve coffee area. Beautiful patio area.

Tonight, the kids and I ate at the Radio Room over on gentrified Alberta St.
A little history first.
When I was working as a dispatcher for Radio Cab (see what I did there?) we always had a hard time sending cabs to any bar… and there were many… on Alberta street. It used to be quite the circus… and you could buy anything you dreamed on that street. 14 year old hooker? No problem. A pound of coke. No problem. Motorcycle parts? No problem… wait…what? Yes, motorcycle parts. There was a motorcycle salvage place right on about 14^th or 15^th. Rumor had it, the Gypsy Jokers ran it… supplied by ripping off unsuspecting motorcycle enthusiasts. It’s actually the only business left from the old days still there.
But, cab drivers hated that street… it was trouble… rumor had it.
Back in the day, I would drive cab on Friday and Saturday nights to supplement my dispatch wages…3 kids, a wife, and a mortgage, you know. And, in those days, I teamed up with a driver named Coop… he would watch my back, I would watch his. This worked for both of us and kept us free from harm on a few occasions. Well, on one particularly slow night, the Jockey was hopping… busy as hell.
Let me back up here a little. The city was broke down into different dispatch zones… Rose City, Montavilla, Hollywood… you probably have heard of those places if you’ve lived here in Portland. The Jockey was a zone where a bar named the Jockey Club was… so, the zone around that club was called «the Jockey.» The Jockey zone included Alberta Street from Interstate Avenue to 33^rd.
So, anyway, the rest of the city was dead, but the Jockey was hopping and Coop and I decided to work the zone.
One of the best nights driving I ever had. The people, predominately black, were nice as hell to us as getting a cab in that area was next to impossible… and they wanted us back in the future. I never told my wife that that was the area I was driving when I was in a cab… she would have shut me down in an instant. Made a bundle that night and every night I worked the zone from then on.
Enough of history, on with the review.
We went to the Radio Room, as I said on Alberta St. This was the second time… maybe the third time I had eaten there. Their web address is
. (Yes, Martin, I know I don’t have to put the http… go to hell)
We started with drinks… my daughter getting her obligatory bloody mary, Martin got a Pendleton on the rocks…(hard day at work)…and I got their upper deck lemonade. It’s vodka, fresh lemonade, with a splash of raspberry in a sugar rimmed glass. Quite the refresher for a warm summer night.
We started with their house made hummus plate… we’ve had this before. It’s good… olives, diced tomato, onion, a bit of goat cheese and of course, pita wedges.
For the mains, Brittney had the Black Market hash…
Martin had the fish and chips…
And I had the fish tacos…
oooooooooooooooooooo…pics!
You can see the food is really good here… but that’s not the real reason I’m writing this post tonight.
(good god, man… you put us through all that history, all what you ordered, and the pics, just to say you aren’t writing about it?)
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
What I am going to write about is the waitress. I don’t know her name, but she has waited on us not only this time, but the last time we came to the Radio Room.
Even though she has only waited on us twice, I’m going to miss her… she told us at the end of the evening that tonight was her last night and she was moving to Seattle to pursue her real career. She was what a waitress should be… yes, I know, I’ve ranted about service before. But this young lady should be an example for all the other waitresses out there. Attentive without being conspicuous, happy, and knowledgeable in her menu.
Most waitresses have two of those attributes, some only one… but to find one that has all three is golden.
Goodbye, miss… thank you for your fantastic service. I know that you will do well in your future endeavors.

I now understand the low reviews. It breaks my heart to write this review because I used to love RR but after the last three visits, I gotta say that there’s better out there.
The patio is still fantastic on a sunny day but the rest has kinda gone down hill.
Food portions are tiny in comparison to what you used to get. And I feel like quality of the food has also taken a turn for the worst.
Service has become slow and painful. Over 45 minutes to get a meal? That’s been my experience the last 3 visits. Now, before you crucify me I have to say it wasn’t busy. It wasn’t the servers fault, it was just slow, slow, slow.
Sunday fundays will no longer be at RR unfortunately until they get back to where they used to be.

I don’t think there was a radio in the room, at least not that I could see. Maybe it is referring to radio waves. Those are everywhere. That’s probably what they meant.
I ordered some sort of hash… I think it was wild salmon with kale. That sounds right. If that is not on the menu then I had whatever dish most resembles wild salmon and kale. I asked for two extra poached eggs but I only got one. My lady got an extra poached egg though. So as a table, we got the two extra. Maybe it was a sign that I was supposed to share. But I am not good at sharing, so this was not well received. Not by me.
My group was talking about how good the coffee was but I think it was a placebo effect, as it was our first breakfast on our trip to Portland and there was probably some subconscious preconception that the coffee was going to be good. I thought it tasted like regular coffee.
Our server looked like a tatted up Laney Boggs from She’s All That. I’m cool with that. What happened to Laney Boggs? She would totally fit right in in Portland. I’m going to look her up.

This place was busy on Sunday night. I ordered the hibiscus 75– not for me. Half the bar was staff and while they added energy it also made the place feel unwelcoming. I also got the Casear salad– delicious!

Cool atmosphere but it is expensive for the what it is, the food is just ok and the service is terrible, it took
Us more than 40 minutes to get our food and the waitress was never around.

It started as the fall back restaurant for a Sunny Sunday Search for Outdoor Patio Dining…
Our first choice had a wait… quite unreasonable. so a quick reference and stroll down the street to a delightful discovery on foot find.
Awesome outdoor ambiance, good eats — I had Brussel sprouts… that were perfect. and the rest of what came with it.
A good fish and chips.
Many snaps for the patio and food! If I am pleased you will be as well.

TWO HAIKU REVIEW:
Decent food and yet,
Servers unattentative
But I’d try again.
Fish & chips quite yum,
And menu looked really good,
Not hipster as thought!
FM (pro): good food, nice atmosphere
AM (con): not a ton of space, and servers a bit overtaxed for a weekend lunch

Love Radio Room! It’s such an underrated little gem amongst the more popular venues on Alberta. We’ve never had to wait for a table, the servers are always friendly and helpful and the food is delicious. They serve a strong cocktail and lots of different, cool areas for seating. Some of the food items I recommend:
— Garlic truffle fries
— Poutine (out of this world, my husband ONLY gets this dish when we go)
— The breakfast sandwich is huuuuge and so tasty
— Kale chicken caesar salad
Definitely give this place a shot if you’re in the area; you won’t be disappointed!

Good spot to get started at and pre funk. Its near a bunch of other places so its fun to grab a drink or two here or even after your evening out. They are open til 2am.
I ate here last week and just had hummus and fries. The hummus was average but the fries were good. They were pretty greasy but still crispy. They come in a soup bowl which is deceiving, I thought I had more fries that we got. We ordered more. Their aioli is good too but they charge you $.50. Boo.
If you go in the summer, they have a open breeze rooftop area that is great. They also have a firepit downstairs that you can sit around that is fun. Now (fall/​winter) they have it tented so you can still sit out there in the cold if you want.

Wow oh wow. Grt bloody Mary’s and if u like it spicey they will make it that way for u. I also ordered some coffee and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of non dairy creamer options. Now onto the food I ordered the sxsw and it was soooooo good. Ginormous potion I had ask for a box as soon as it came out knowing there was no I could way all of what was in front of me. They also have a tremendous amount of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options.

So, I live down the street from the Radio Room, and I must admit, I’ve been coming here off and on throughout the years. I rather enjoy this bar, its comfy and the staff are always nice. During the summer its wonderful to sit up on the upper deck, for which they even have a drink named for, and enjoy the view. Just yesterday, I tried their Belly Bleu Burger without a bun. When it came out it looked like a salad and fries. There was so much arugula and bleu cheese that it made my heart sing. The patty itself was large and thick, with good flavor. The pork belly wasn’t as rendered down as I would have liked, but paired with the onions and arugula and bleu cheese, it was delicious.

Went here for happy hour with some coworkers. They have a fantastic happy hour selection of food and drinks! The food was definitely great and they even let us reserve a table in the bar area (which usually happy hour places never let customers do) so that was really nice of them!
It is a classy restaurant. Definitely would come here for a lunch or dinner when I am back in the Portland area.

I can’t say I have ever had a bad meal here. I’ve tried everything from the beet salad to the beet soup to the fish tacos and the mac and cheese. It’s all good! My fiancé raves about the burgers. They have a great cocktail menu. For brunch, they have awesome bloody mary’s and mimosas (you can get one with blood orange, yum!) You also have to get an order of the truffle fries to share with the table, I promise you won’t regret it.
The atmosphere here is great too. They have a cool patio for outdoor seating in the summer. We went with some friends last night and sat on the patio that is covered with a tent for winter. I wasn’t cold at all and they had the fire pit going.
It can get a bit busy here at times, and sometimes they are a bit slow on drinks. But as long as you have good company, it has never been a bother to me.

I went here for Christmas brunch. I was excited that there was a place that was open, and that they offered a couple of vegan options. They were packed and they offered something for everyone. The ambiance is quirky and fun. The service was on the slow side, but that can be expected when there aren’t many businesses open for Christmas day. My vegan hash consisted of sweet potatoes, apples, arugula, and it was good, but I’m thinking maybe I should have tried the savory crepes instead. I was there with a mixed group, a vegetarian that got the eggs benedict and an Omni that got eggs and bacon. For some reason, we thought toast came with her meal, but sadly when we mentioned it, the waitress brought the toast, but we were charged $ 2 for the side of toast.
I would come back to try their regular menu and see what vegan dishes they have.

I never really knew that portlandians like to eat out for breakfast. We literally drove an hour around to find a place to eat. I had given up on Unilocal.I called many places on different sides of town to ask if there was a wait. An hour and a Half long. It got to the point where I just asked how long the wait was. And they were all over an hour long. EVERY single place had a line out the door.
Finally we stumbled upon this place. No line, NO WAIT! We were even told that we could sit wherever we wanted and we will be helped
We sat inside because it was scorching out already all the way in the corner. And could you believe, we were helped within 5 minutes of sitting down? How did they know we were here? Amazing customer service.
On top of that, our server was so nice and so helpful!
I ordered the breakfast burrito. I wasn’t expecting much. Being a Californian, I’ve had a million different breakfast burritos. Holy moly! Never had anything like it. It was so filling and so tasty. I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough! If you frequent my reviews, you know I hate soggy wet burritos. And they were smart enough to put the pico de gallo on the side! Whaaat!!! They also had this mayo green looking cream aioli on the side. I didn’t know what it was but it was so good! This was also the first time I ever had the aardvark hot sauce. And I loved it so much, I went to the grocery store just to buy it! The best spicy hot sauce I’ve ever had.
My bf ordered the French toast, with bacon and eggs on the side. Yum yum yum! Perfectly cooked, crisp, unburnt bacon. Nice fluffy egg and the toast was crisp and soft.
Nothing to complain about here! There should be a line out the door.