Portland, OR Restaurant Review: Daily Grill in SW Portland, Weekday Dinner

Some problems are good problems to have, and other problems are just problems. If one thing strikes a person as an eater in the city of Portland, it’s this — lots of restaurants, bars, coffee joints and food carts are absolutely the unique vision of a single mind, or a few like-minded people brave enough to put their financial lives on the line to open an eatery that defines their singular tastes, visions, and styles. There’s no hemming, no hawing, no lowest common denominator in terms of the menu, etc. This is not a ‘big box” type of town when it comes to eating — this is a “mom and pop” kind of place, or a “hand-painted sign” kind of place, or a “barber, butcher, flower shop” kind of town.

All that’s just to say that bringing a franchise, or a traditional grill-style menu, or else just a solid, established, well-maintained restaurant operation to town can be a difficult thing to do. Maybe this is the problem with Daily Grill, or the Portland version of the Daily Grill — that specifically, there is no real problem here. The restaurant, in the end, has everything you need to have a high quality, great tasting dinner among friends. But in a city like Portland, which both caters to the neighborhood experience and also to the very very specific in the way of restaurant personalities — sometimes a high quality, great-tasting meal is simply not enough. And this is a bit of a problem. Do I think that some Portlanders should get over this and venture into parts unknown (read: a neighborhood that isn’t one’s own or adjacent to one’s own) to find a really delicious meal? Of course I do. Because if they don’t then they’re gonna’ miss out on things and places like the Daily Grill Portland. Fortunately for our sake, we did not miss out on this downtown spot.

Daily Grill on SW Alder St.: Breaking Down the Dinner Menu and Ambiance

Located in the ground floor of Portland’s beautiful Westin Hotel, the restaurant itself has street-facing windows, clear signage and a great spot in the middle of a lot of downtown hotels, stores and art galleries. So there’s no excuse if you make it downtown — you won’t be able to miss the restaurant. Once inside, the atmosphere is that of a classic hotel grill — sophisticated and moderately well-lit, comfortable booths and contemporary accents, a gorgeous bar and cozy seating area surrounding it. We were almost immediately met by a friendly, courteous hostess who found us a great table, and then an equally high quality waitress who walked us through the menu, brought us a well-made and delicious cocktails from the bar, and then served us our tasty meals. As far as the staff goes, no complaint whatsoever.

If you’re staying at the hotel, I’d have to say that this is a special situation — the restaurant and bar has the feeling of a singular restaurant: it’s spacious, beautiful and filled with interesting black and white historical photographs and ephemera. You could get lost in the place with all the stories going on. And the double hit comes from the fact that it’s actually not a one-off restaurant. So in fact, the Daily Grill formula has been worked out to perfection in other locations around the country — you get the sense of a restaurant for which there are no duplicates, while also getting the confidence and swagger of a dining establishment that knows how to serve a great meal. And a great meal, we did indeed have.

We were told that while there were steaks, pasta and seafood entrees on the menu, the hamburger and the Classic Meatloaf were serious contenders for best of Portland. (DG Homestyle Meat Loaf, $17.75 on dinner menu : Ground Fresh in Our Kitchen Daily, Mixed with Wild Mushrooms, Topped with a Tomato Glaze, Served with Bordelaise Sauce and Red Skin Mash; Limited Number of Orders Available). Now, I grew up in a home where the meatloaf was actually delightful, moist, classic and looked forward to, so I was not afraid to jump in and take the advice of our server. And indeed, I was not disappointed. Be prepared: the dish tastes rich, with dark flavors of wild mushrooms, onion, parsley and spices throughout the meat and gravy. I’m not the biggest fan of sweet tomato-based sauces, and the meatloaf does feature this on its top surface, but it’s nowhere near a deal-breaker. Both the meatloaf and the burger are made of hand-ground beef that is prepared daily in-house. If you’ve never had a steakhouse-style burger, you owe it to yourself.

But that was the main course. Let’s talk about the pre-entre goodies that we had. Below, the bread, which was like a warm, rustic sourdough that was slightly sweet, floury and baked to perfection. According to the menu, the Levain bread that Daily Grill serves is from a “recipe developed by their culinary team and made exclusively for” the restaurant. Don’t be afraid of the carbs and get a few slices in your belly.

Fried Calamari, $10.95 dinner menu (Calamari Rings, Lightly Seasoned, Served with Cocktail and Cajun Tartar Sauce). Holy paprika, Mr. Cajun Tartar Sauce, you do satisfy. Excellent option for a quick appetizer, especially if you walk in off the street hungry and want to satisfy that situation before things get out of hand. Not too greasy, but still the light oily flavor that you expect from Calamari. The Cajun sauce has the interesting taste of capers in it, which I personally love, as well as loving tiny twists to time-tested classics. And just like in the picture, it’s a pretty big portion, plenty for two hungry people.

I loved the salad — maybe even more than the rest of the meal — which is saying a ton, as the meatloaf was excellent. And the salad — Endive, Spicy Pecans & Romaine with Gorgonzola Cheese, $9.95 on dinner menu (Tossed in a Walnut Oil Vinaigrette Dressing) — not too much of anything overwhelming here, which would be the danger, given the ingredients. Chopped romaine leaves offer a nice dark green touch, while also providing a great base of flavor for the salad, complementing the slightly spicy endive’s flavor and crispiness to a tee. Candied pecans were the highlight of the dish, the standout overall flavor, with a spiciness that is a welcome surprise, not too crispy and not too sweet. We split the full salad, which the restaurant was kind enough to do for us, and it was a great little palate-cleanser before getting into the bigger main dishes.

Filet Mignon with Bleu Cheese Herb Crust, $31.95 on the dinner menu (with Spinach Mash and Bordelaise Sauce; Simply Grilled Upon Request). We also had the Filet Mignon, which was grilled to perfection. With a bite of this steak in your mouth, garnished with just a hint of the melted, herb-bleu cheese, you will be a very happy person. Mashed potatoes are done in a style just like you’re used to at home — and with the spinach, fresh and generous, mixed in to the potatoes and skins, again — another real treat awaits you.

Fudge Brownie (we had the half- or mini-version, upon request). I’m not sure if you’ll have the same luck as we did, but with ridiculously full bellies, we couldn’t fight off the temptation to get just a bit of dessert, and the server and chef were both kind enough to grace our table with a miniature version of the Fudge Brownie, pictured above. Again, just like it tastes when it comes out of mom’s oven. Plenty of crispy corner areas, moist and rich dark fudge chocolate everywhere. Dressed with  candied pecans (like on the salad above!), chocolate sauce, a kind of caramel-syrup and powdered sugar, the dessert is more than enough to put you in the hospital. Served on top of rich, creamy vanilla ice cream, be cautious when approaching the full version on your own.

We also tried the Jovino Pinot Noir (Dundee Hills, Oregon, 2009, $10.50 per glass), which was delicious and an excellent pairing alongside the meatloaf. Light and clear with subtle hints of prune and later, dark cherry, almost like it’s a thinned out version of a tawny port. Maybe a hint of blackberry, too. After that, we sampled the J. Lohr Cabernet (Paso Robles, California, 2009, $10.75), which was also paired pretty well with either meat dish. Although fairly widely available and seemingly not the dark horse you’re going to be lucky to find on a vacation or anything, J. Lohr cab is a solid wine to have available for just about any meal. A very smooth example of a cab, the wine’s subtle oaky flavor and smooth berry hints provide an easy finish going down. The smell is slightly rosy and floral, with just a whisper of cinnamon in the nose. You pretty much can’t go wrong with most of what they’ve selected for the wine menu at Daily Grill.

And while we did not get a chance to attack the Daily Grill Happy Hour menu, we did give it a long look, and it’s pretty impressive. With drinks and menu items paired and classified in different pricing tiers, there’s plenty to choose from — with everything looking pretty delicious and not too expensive, either. Get out of your comfy chair, figure out how to get downtown or if you’re already there, take a little walk and find the Daily Grill for a solid dining experience that might not blow your mind with its weirdness, but will certainly make you satisfied and pleased at your choice for a night out on the town.

Portland, OR Restaurant Details: Daily Grill Portland on SW Alder St.
Daily Grill in Portland, OR
750 SW Alder St (south side of the street, just off of SW Park Ave.)
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 294-7001
Southwest
Hours: Monday – Thursday and Sunday 6:30am – 10:00pm
Friday – Saturday 6:30am – 12:00am
Happy Hour and Special Appetizer menu starting at 3.95 in the bar: from 4–7pm daily.
VALET parking only, bring a tip!

Portland, OR Restaurant Map: Daily Grill in SW Portland
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Daily Grill in SW Portland: Pictures

Editor’s Note: This review was solicited by the restaurant. In no way were the opinions of this food writer swayed by the exchange. Portland Restaurant Review is always available to review your restaurant, and we pride ourselves on our honest, thorough approach to food writing.

Daily Grill on SW Alder St. at SW Park Ave., 7.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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