Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in Oregon

Description:

With its chic urban decor, zesty flavors, artful presentation, and reasonable prices, this upscale Thai restaurant serves some of the best Thai food I've had in Oregon. The pad phet gai (chicken and vegetables with homemade curry sauce) is a riot of vibrant flavors. They even do a good job with the pad thai, a dish that can often be rather insipid at some Thai restaurants. On sunny days, try to get a sidewalk table. Lunches are one of the best deals in Eugene.

Description:

King Estate is the biggest and most beautiful wine estate in the Willamette Valley, and its restaurant, inside the winery tasting room, is the quintessential wine-country restaurant. People drive from miles around to eat here, and I have to say it is well worth it. Creative Northwest cuisine is prepared using organic produce grown here on the estate, and wines served are from grapes that grow only a few feet from your table. The menu changes with the seasons, but I recently started with a wonderfully subtle dish of Pacific cod atop creamy potatoes accompanied by saffron aioli. I then moved on to a smoked and roasted chicken with chanterelle mushrooms that was one of the best chicken dishes I've ever had. Service is excellent and the views from the patio are just gorgeous.

Our Local Expert Says:

Hands down the best Indian fusion in all of Portland! Don't miss this top pick!

Description:

Vindalho is the name of a popular dish from Goa, a coastal city in India. The warm interiors feature mango and green colored walls, a high ceiling, a mezzanine level, blue light fixtures, wooden chairs and pretty, bamboo-top tables. A bar accompanies the dining section and serves fruity cocktails, beer, wine and tea too. The enticing aroma, filling up the space, will tempt your taste buds. Chef David Machado cooks up an assortment of delights. Crunchy pappadams with sweet and tangy chutneys are on the house! Indulge in them while you wait for your order. Try the pyramid shaped Samosa, tandoor dishes and warm Nan - the Indian bread. An outdoor courtyard serves as the perfect venue on a sunny summer to begin your gastronomic tour of India.

Our Local Expert Says:

Café Umbria is an absolute must-try for any visitor to Portland. Experience Portland's authentic coffee culture and order the best cappuccino you'll ever taste.

Description:

At Café Umbria, located in the heart of the Pearl District, taste for the first time three generations of practice in the coffee biz. Enjoy the casual dining style while you taste authentic Italian coffee so great, you'll swear you're in Perugia, Italy, where the family first started roasting. For those truly hooked on Cafe Umbria, purchase their ground beans and make their coffee at home as well. Not to be missed- their variations of mixed hot chocolate and coffee. If you're ambitious, catch their Italian movie nights.

Our Local Expert Says:

The interior is posh but unassuming, and the delicious fried ravioli make a great accompaniment to their extensive wines and beers.

Description:

Relatively new on the local restaurant scene, chef and owner Lisa Schroeder has taken the experience gained at the likes of Le Cirque to create wonderfully fresh, bistro-style food in the light and airy ambiance of this old Irish bank building. Prices are more than reasonable. Breakfast and lunch menus offer standard fare prepared to the highest standards. There is more variation in the dinner menu—enjoy everything from salads to pot roast and vegetable couscous. The excellent wine list offers choices by the bottle or glass.

Description:

Elegant surroundings engulf diners in this fashionable Northwest restaurant where blown-glass lighting, rich velvet walls, fair prices, and attentive service will put you at ease. Start with a cocktail or bottle of local wine from the full bar. Indulge in a heavenly starter such as the Comice Pear salad. Sauteed Silk Snapper will follow naturally. Mouth-watering desserts include Apple-Sage Sorbet and Baklava with Sun-dried Bing Cherry Sauce. You are sure to come away satiated.

Our Local Expert Says:

Caswell's is truly a Portland favorite, and not to be missed.

Description:

Truly a local favorite, this little restaurant used to be a coffeehouse down on Southeast 12th Avenue. A rent hike caused the establishment's move to this location. Seemingly all grown-up now, the eatery continues to deliver inexpensive fine food with good service. The chef loves his potatoes, and you will, too. The tubers are served up in everything from gumbo to hash. Be sure to make a reservation for parties of more than seven people.

Description:

We seek the finest ingredients, utilizing organic, small-producer items. Shaded outdoor dining in summer months. Voted Best New, Oregon 2002 by Northwest Palate.

Description:

Located on the ground floor of Ashland's premier inn, this restaurant and wine bar melds a historic Victorian setting with an ambitious menu that is primarily Mediterranean but that sometimes wanders into other corners of the culinary world. Starters here tend toward such delectable preparations as seared buffalo and bleu cheese empanadas with smoked tomato aioli and risotto-stuffed portobello mushroom with amaretto-rosemary smoked salmon. For an entree, you might find such dishes as coriander-crusted halibut with lavender jasmine rice or pork loin rubbed with achiote and accompanied by spaetzle and mango-chocolate sauce. Sunday brunch is the perfect way to finish a weekend of theater before heading home. The dining rooms overlook the inn's English gardens, and in summer there is dining on the porch and deck as well. During the Christmas season, there are special Dickens feasts here.

Description:

Located just around the corner from the festival theaters, this has long been one of the finest restaurants in town. Exposed brick walls and old champagne bottles give Chateaulin a casually elegant appearance that's accented by Art Nouveau touches and dark-wood furnishings. The menu is almost as traditional as the decor; you can start your meal with escargots or house pâté and then move on to rack of lamb. A separate bar menu (items are $9-$13) caters to smaller or après-theater appetites. The restaurant's award-winning wine list features French wines, as well as lots of hard-to-find wines from Oregon, Washington, and California. For visitors on a budget, there is a more affordable and contemporary prix-fixe menu ($38) that changes weekly. There's also an attached wine and gourmet-food store for classy picnic fare.