Dockside Saloon & Restaurant

Great friendly service, clean and nice for a classic American greasy-​spoon, with an humble authenticity not often found in Portland.

The breakfasts are in my all time top five. Worth going here. Not a Velveeta joint, thank God. They use real ingredients in their omelettes. House made corned beef, Tillamook cheese. It is rustic and in a weird location, but shake that off and head in. Sane prices, good coffee, excellent food. Bloody Mary’s extraordinaire (uses Demetri’s base… the best ever). Yeah baby!

Great no-​nonsense neighborhood institution. And no, it’s not gonna be torn down… the plan is to develop a building right around it, leaving all of its original structure and Tonya Harding history in tact. Well maybe they will remove the dumpster…

Good food, decent price, friendly staff, great service. Great experience! I had the California chicken sandwich with Cajun spices, was really good. Oh and they had beer! Yay Beer!

Been twice now. First time I got a California burger and coleslaw. I would say the burger was above average – good, honest grub. Had a Cobb Salad last time, which came with two biscuits. It was fresh and not bad. However, $ 13 seemed a bit pricey for the salad.
Waitstaff is friendly and quick; a good place for lunch. It’s honest to goodness food; nothing super fancy, but well-​done food.

Went to Dockside for the first time today after the Shamrock Run. Heard great things and was excited to try it. I was super disappointed. I ordered the Kittridge Bridge which is corned beef hash and eggs with hash browns. When my plate came out it was a big plate of extra crispy, brown/​black food. It was SO over cooked, each bite was like eating potato chips. I asked the waitress if this was «normal» and she took my plate to the kitchen to show the cooks, «Yep, that’s normal.» Funny because every other plate on the table had nice golden brown hash browns. At that point I just sucked it up and ate the parts of the hash that I could and left the browns. If they were going to stand by that food, I wasn’t in the mood to argue. Also, never got my toast. The reason I gave 3 stars is that every other meal on the table was yummy so I was the only unlucky one.

This is one of those places you will never find absent; A: you live in the area or B: you are a Unilocal fan. The area is rapidly gentrifying with new apartments but sitting in the middle of all this, next to a large area empty area, is this slightly crooked building. Do not judge the book by the proverbial cover since inside is a very cool pub with a great vibe.
Atmosphere: My kind of place with that lived in look but clean and surprisingly bright. A
Menu: Very much a pub menu so it you are thinking micro greens head in another direction. The rib eye sandwich was awesome. These guys serve a clam chowder that is fantastic. (This is coming from a native Bostonian who spent summers on the Cape and MV where clam chowder is king). A+
Drinks: Decent but a bit thin. B /​B+
Service: Perfect A+
Price: Sound A
Parking: Easy A+
This place is a winner.

We stopped by yesterday for lunch and the place was pretty packed but no wait. We sat by the windows and the lovely server Karen greeted us and got the drinks going super quick (I was on my lunch hour). On Fridays, they serve breakfast all day so we ordered the Hawthorne platter and a Club sandwich.
Oh my, the hashbrowns were crispy and buttery delicious! The Club had tons of turkey meat and bacon. The potato salad on the side was made with real chunks of taters. Overall, it was a hearty meal (also put me into a food coma by 3 p.m.).
Would highly recommend this place for breakfast! Their happy hour features $ 3.95 snacks that sound pretty awesome, too. And of course, a huge shoutout to Karen for always keeping our cups filled and me in and out in under an hour.

Very friendly waitress, wife had a Cajun– Chicken salad and said «best she’s ever had» Mine was average French Dip. Interesting fact that GRIMM tv show scene will be filmed there soon

, they close at 10 p.m. what kind of bar in Portland in damn near what used to be the industrial district. Closes so early

There is no better breakfast, service, or price in the downtown area. Period. Angel is an angel breakfast maker. They cook my egg over medium. Just right. No Runny Yoke. The hash browns are buttery and crispy and shredded — NOT home fries. Te Pancakes are not as good as at The Original Pancake House, but whose are?
Also service is so friendly and fast I feel like we are family, now.

Food and drinks are good enough for a dive bar. Service is sooo slowwww it’s actually mind-​boggling. I’ve sat at the counter and can see the guys back there cooking away, but it still takes way longer than I think it should. On the plus, the Bloody Mary’s are good.

Love eating breakfast at any hour here and of course this is the spot for a great Bloody Mary!
The staff is super friendly and you will never have bad service.

I would probably give this place 5 stars if we hadn’t been there with a group of 13! The size of the group totally overwhelmed their kitchen and it took them an hour to get our food out. But when they did… OMG it was wonderful! The hash browns are so so crispy, I don’t think anyone in town can match it. The fried eggs were perfect, the pancakes. yummy! My grandson usually eats two bites of a meal and declares he’s ‘all done’. He ate nearly his entire HUGE pancake (possibly because he was so hungry from the long wait!). It was truly a delicious meal. I’ll be going back, but in a smaller group.

Great place! It’s a classic dive, clean, good food and great service. It doesn’t have much curb appeal, but it’s larger inside than it appears.

This establishment has good drinks, good food, and good service. There’s not much more you need.
I recommend anything on the menu, especially the breakfast burrito and the Bloody Mary!
Enjoy.

You can come here with bedhead!
(yeah, its a long book-​like review but you have nothing better to do)
The ‘ambiance’
This is the one place I’ll throw on clothes and head out the door for without getting myself all proper and such. (well this place and work). You’ll find folks in their Patagonia attire, hard core bike riders clunking through in their bike shoes, construction types in flannels and some like me– you’ll spot the bedhead.
I hate to call it a dive bar, but some do. (btw what makes a place ‘a dive bar’ for you? cause this ain’t it for me) Dockside is a comfy, relaxed joint.
No stiff service, la tee dah crap that so many think they are owed anytime they grace a doorway. When you come in the waitress with a coffee pot might wave it your way and call out to ‘sit anywhere’. Don’t get all jacked up and offended. Go to the Benson if you need fawned over.
They don’t need to have a matching beer selection to every other joint in town– it’s the Dockside. Hit the easy button and order something.
They don’t strive to, or need to, meet or surpass other joints in town– it’s the Dockside and it will be what its been since 1986.
Get in, find a seat, read the history of the place, watch one of the many TVs, people watch, read a newspaper, talk to your friend, slow the F down and dont think you’re all that– you’ll have a dandy time.
Parking
For YEARSSS, perhaps since 1925, parking has been easy. Jam your ride into any spot you find. Now construction is taking place all around this little eatery, the fences have gone up and the new kid in town isn’t playing nice. Parking is a going to be tricky but here comes the good neighbor part (so far I cant find them on Unilocal to give them a big atta). There is a flooring business just to the north across the street from Dockside and THEY are playing nice. They are allowing Dockside patrons to park in their lot and I say GOOD FOR YOU! I just might march in there someday and tell them that. If you park there be a good citizen, no trash or whizzing.
In our world where everything is becoming MINE and YOURS here is a fine example of OURS.
Food?
OMG THE HASHBROWNNNNSSSSSSSSSS
Specials are always a great selection and the regular menu you cant go wrong with. Many of their items are named after the bridges in Portland (this is a local joint folks– not a chain) and I dig it.
I had blueberry pancakes just last Sunday and YUM. This is the first time I havent ordered the hashbrowns which was a real struggle but I reeled myself in from ordering both.
Re having a wait for food? If they are behind they will tell you. Last Sunday the place was SLAMMING (remember this is a good sign) and their stoves and cooks can only cook so much at one time. It was worth the wait.
Ive only been here for breakfast. Please go. Please chill out. Please take in some Portland history. This isn’t a new joint that puts old pictures up and pretends to be historic… this is historic. You will be sitting in history and knowing how we mow our history down and pave over the spaces… it will be gone someday.
I could go on– but I wont.

What do you do when you have two hours without your barnacle baby (er, tween) on a Saturday?
Grab a buddy. Go to Dockside and have some breakfast.
Yummy blueberry pancakes with fluffy eggs, crispy bacon, sausage links and an orange slice for $ 8.95. Yay.
Small oj for $ 2. Coffee (it was ok) for $ 2.
Service was friendly, casual. Good. Vibe is cool. Plenty to look at. Good people watching. The place has some charm.
I watched in amusement as a pitcher of beer and glasses were set up on an empty table next to us. Three bicyclists (slightly older gentlemen) arrived shortly after their brew was set up for them.
I think they’ve been there before maybe ;)
Sweet!
I’ll be back. Totally.

Dockside = my divey new breakfast love
Lots of wood, old décor, TVs playing sports, great staff, good menu… perfect.
HUGE plus is that they have their own parking lot. Score.
Here’s some of my reasons for loving this place:
1. The breakfast menu is excellent. Many of the meals named after local bridges.
2. Prices are fair and you get a lot for your $$
3. Full bar. Good beers on tap. $ 5 mimosas
4. Staff will treat you like family. Super nice and accommodating.
5. Food overall is good… here’s the run down of my ‘Vista Bridge’ meal:
$ 9.95 for Chicken Fried Steak, 2 eggs, Hashbrowns, and toast (or my choice of homemade biscuits.
Biscuits = pure love. Buttery, fluffy, and great with honey.
Hashbrowns…tasty. Crispy outside and not overcooked. Just the way I like them.
Eggs…I asked for over medium. Got over easy. No biggy.
Chicken fried steak… not bad. Not great. I was having troubles cutting it with a knife. The outer ‘fried’ layer was tough. Meh. It tasted OK but was just really hard to eat and I could not finish. The gravy however made up for it.
Overall I would say definitely give this place a try. I did notice that the ground was uneven in the place and if you aren’t seated in a booth you are slanted. Odd. You likely won’t leave here hungry though. Everything was overall tasty.

Yes. Just hell yes. When hungover, and I suspect even when feeling superb, this place puts out an awesome brunch. At the time, just the idea of having another drop of alcohol was nauseating so I was unable to order one of the amazing looking Bloody Mary’s. My brunch buddies though, they ordered their fair share and mine too. Next time I go back, I really must have one of those Bloody Mary’s. My Ginger Ale was pretty satisfying though and our server kept them coming.
The menu and the specials menu is quite extensive and made it difficult for me to choose but I ended up ordering the chicken fried steak and a side of bacon. When it arrived I felt rather daunted as it was freaking huge and even the plate of bacon was huge. In my delicate state, I barely put a dent in it all and ended up with huge amounts of left overs.
When I woke up from my food coma and hangover cure later in the evening, everything was just as awesome the second time around.
Dockside RULES.