Dragonfish Asian Cafe
In the Paramount Hotel
909 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205
503-243-5991
Disclaimer: All reviews and original content Copyright © Mike Blackwell [remove "nospam." or it won't work] of Oregon Sushi -- All Rights Reserved.
Dragonfish is a pan-Asian restaurant, sushi bar and (liquor) bar on the ground floor of the Paramount Hotel, at the corner of 9th & Park. As you enter the main foyer, you discover the Dragonfish is split in two: to the left is the main restaurant and a substantial (liquor) bar, and to the right is the lounge, containing the official sushi bar, several Pachinko games, and an even larger selection of liqueurs.
A friend and I came here on a Sunday afternoon at about 2:20 p.m., a time when most sushi bars are closing for the afternoon break. Since Dragonfish is part of a hotel, however, it is open at 6:30 in the morning, serving breakfast (but no sushi yet, of course).
A few notes on atmosphere. The first thing I noticed was the big purple fish tank inset into the wall of the restaurant. I wonder if the color of the glass influences the occupants' outlook on life. :) Each table had a small vase of real flowers, and not just any flowers: orchids! The waitress says the decorations vary from week to week. And the sugar packets are small, brightly colored paper tubes, not the generic rectangular white packets. Cute.
We eached ordered the $10.90 Weekend Dim Sum Brunch, which includes edamame, steamed rice, a good miso soup, and a choice of three entrees from a mouth-watering list. Since sharing is encouraged, we chose the following six items between us:
The portion sizes were not as large as the various online reviews had led me to believe, but then I remembered those reviews were referring to the regular lunch and dinner portions, not the weekend brunch. We both agreed the dim sum brunch was well worth $11. The quality, service and presentation were excellent, and all but the California roll were new taste experiences for us, which is what counts. We plan to return to sample more of the items on the brunch menu, which is served on weekends from 11 am to 4 pm.
Since we had some appetite left after the brunch, and since we had lingered past the lounge/sushi bar's opening time of 3 pm, we were able to end the meal with our waitresses' recommendation of a Honey Lime Crab Roll ($7.95): similar to a California Roll, but with the avocado outside, and topped with a honey/lime juice sauce. Very nice.
We also want to come back for the happy hour, which is from 4-6 pm and 10 pm-1 am. Although their sushi appears to be limited to five rolls (cucumber, California, smoked salmon, spicy scallop and spicy tuna) and seven kinds of nigiri (tuna, salmon, spicy tuna, inari, shrimp, tobiko and albacore), you can't argue with the price: $1.95 for four pieces of roll, and $1.45 per piece of nigiri. You could get one of each for $17.95.
Another tantalizing item, but not something we could easily try at 2 in the afternoon: they have a wide variety of specialty cocktails that look very appetizing.
Ratings (based on one visit)
Service: A
Food Quality: A
Presentation: A
Cleanliness: A
Value: A
Overall Rating: A