Aquariva

Ashley Gartland 

on Citysearch

15 years ago

Italian meets Northwest cuisine on the Willamette River. – South waterfront retirees and guests from the adjacent Avalon Hotel say buon appetito over appetizers of braised pork cheek and silken carrot and goat cheese ravioli at this off-the-beaten-path spot. An elegant meal in the showy, white-table clothed dining room progresses with well-executed entrees such as a seasonal sweet pea risotto, housemade pastas and meaty mains like braised lamb shank served over root vegetables. Ensconsed in a sleek gray booth in the lower di... read more

bryan8718 

on Citysearch

15 years ago

Nice view, but don't let it fool you – So, how do I put this?? The food was just bad. It was poorly paired with sides and not presented well. My partner started with the seasonal soup, a chilled cantalope soup with basil. It was a bowl full of pureed cantalope with tons of olive oil drizzled on top. It has no basil taste at all and the olive oil did not go well with the soup. I had a salad which was average. The bread that both came with my salad and what was brought to our table was terrible. Supposed to be focaccia, but it... read more

smurphy13 

on Citysearch

15 years ago

DON'T EVEN GO HERE! – Don't even bother eating here! It is a total waste of money! We were hotel guests and treated so rudely. The young waiter obviously had very little training and was preoccupied with tables of women clients. The waiter brings us foccia bread and NO BREAD PLATES or DIPPING sauces. We order salad.... he brings the salad and then the entree shortly after. We are OBVIOUSLY done with our salads and he doesn't pick up the plates. We have to ask another waiter to bring us BREAD PLATES and DIPPING SAUCES, and fo... read more

ReviewOpinion 

on Citysearch

16 years ago

Good food, but not good for special events – I head good things about Aquariva and it had a beautiful view, so we booked the place for our rehearsal dinner. I will start by saying the food was good and the view is beautiful. Not great, but good. Wine was very overpriced. However, there were some very unacceptable occurrences that night. The first was the wine. We wanted to bring our own wine, but it was going to cost $18/bottle for them to open it and a room rental fees (I will explain below). It was amazing how approximatel... read more

shannonrana 

on Citysearch

16 years ago

Avoid – Having heard wonderful things about Aquariva, our party of 6 decided to go on New Years Eve. Upon making reservations, my husband inquired about the menu for New Years and was told that we could have the choice between the Prixfix menu or the Casual Sunday menu. We all looked online and chose what we would be having before going out New Years. Upon arrival, we could not find parking and the "complimentary valet" was not well communicated with signs. After driving around, we had a member of our party go inside to ask ... read more

alee1 

on Citysearch

16 years ago

Our new favorite spot! – We were looking for a restaurant to celebrate our anniversay and since it was New Years Day, the selection seemed slim. On a whim, we called Aquariva, and we were pleasantly surprised to find it open for dinner. We read a review of New Year's Eve that was not positive, but since one of us had eaten lunch here and was impressed, we decided to give it a go. We were very pleased with not only the super service, but also the great meal and drinks. We had salmon, chicken, spinach salad, side of green bean... read more

J R. 

on Insider Pages

16 years ago

The View & ambiance are fabulous This site has been home to many things over the years and the latest version is Aquariva--the food is good, can be a little pricey as the little plates add up--but the view and the interior, a pallette of greys and red are elegant and festive for any occasion.--go for happy hour! 

ScubaCarl 

on Citysearch

16 years ago

Worst restaurant meal in memory – I fly to Portland often for work and usually stay down town but occasionally stay at the Avalon. After work I didn't feel like taking a cab to a restaurant so I walked to Aquariva next door. Big mistake. I ordered the flatiron steak with tomato-horseradish vinaigrette & arugula as well as a glass of cabernet and a side of mashed potatoes (didn't come with the steak). When it arrived I couldn't believe it; the steak was about the size of a silver dollar pankcake but sort of square. On two sid... read more

PDXFolks 

on Citysearch

16 years ago

Very disappointing! – We were excited to check out Aquariva as the reviews were quite good and we were staying at the Avalon Hotel and Spa. We arrived on a Saturday night at about 8:30pm to find the entire place completely empty. We sat at the bar and were literally 2 of 4 patrons. There was not one single guest in the dining room. The bartender was friendly and helpful with the wine list which I found to be quite small for a 'wine bar'. Cold and stark is how I'd describe the decor - black and gray. I did notice some red dra... read more