Powell's Seafood Restaurant Reviews

I ordered the sweet and sour chicken, its all thigh meat in case you were wondering. The rice was on the pastey side. Wife got the vegetable chow mean, not good. I would go to HK cafe if you are looking for good Chinese food.

We were driving home from a day of cross-country skiing and saw the bright windows and the crowd waiting for a table, so we thought: "Let's try it!" I'm so glad we did: the food was a true cut above what we usually find in Portland --just excellent. We had the eggplant with minced pork and dried fish, the walnut prawns, a really good mapo tofu, and pea shoots were in season so we had an order of sauteed pea shoots as well. I plan to go back again and again, because everything we saw on the tables around us looked just great. And what folks are saying here about the service is true: fast, efficient and so darned *friendly*! I don't know how they pull it all off. I have a new favorite restaurant in SE. ...and since we live just off "restaurant row" on Division, that's really saying something!

The food here seems to appeal to those wanting a familiar Cantonese lamb and bean curd stew and to people who like a nice sweet and sour pork. The food was delicious, the service was fast, the staff was nice, what more could you want?

We were brought here by a friend. The food was absolutely extrodinary........we had a platter with fried squid and veggies to die for. The place was nicely decorated and the waitstaff attentive.

The food here is amazing. Came with some friends and we enjoyed our dinner here. The servers were very friendly. Parking was relatively easy. The food was served quickly and tasteful.

We ordered the salt and pepper shrimp which was good but salty. We ordered the sizzling flounder platter and it was terribly salty! We ordered the sweet and sour spare ribs - they were out but substituted fresh sliced pork which they deep fried leaving it tough and chewy. We ordered the General Tso's Chicken which was pretty good. Finally we ordered the mixed vegetable platter that was also pretty good. Overall experience was mixed. Will probably not go back.

Great authentic selections, reasonable prices, fast service. Our food was excellent and everyone in the party insists that we go back!

We found this place based on a recommendation from our friends. This is not a fancy place but the food it serves I some of the most authentic you can find in the Portland area.this place has a fish tank, so you can order live fish, crab or lobster.the steam fish is one of my favorites, and so is the ginger and onion lobster.all their dishes are served piping hot although sometimes they are a little too salty, but you can tell the kitchen to take it easy on the salt. Beijing (Peking) pork is one dish we always order, and the chow mien Hong Kong style is the best we have tasted in this area. The service is always friendly and the prices are reasonable. If you are not familiar with native Chinese dishes,try not to order something you are not familiar with, because some of the ingredients (like salted fish) my not agree with your taste buds : )

My friends in Portland swear by it so we had to try it when we visited Portland. Granted the seafood is very good. I loved the salt and pepper crab (server recommended to order it if we didn't want to get too messy) and the walnut shrimp. The other non-seafood dishes, cashew check, mixed vegetable dish, and beef chow mein to me were just OK. Some in my party raved about the garlic eggplant while I thought it was just decent. The decorum and friendly service may be lacking, which without sounding prejudice is something that I have heard about other very good Chinese restaurants. This restaurant gets rave reviews and is rated No. 1 on other websites, but my expectations were perhaps too high. I think if you have all seafood eaters, then I would stick to the seafood entries if you can. I think the non-seafood dishes may not be as impressive as the seafood dishes. I had non-seafood eaters with me.

Canton style cooking, very fast service, generous portions, reasonable. Order take out. Suggest you go with at least 4 people to enjoy variety of dishes as the menu is extensive. We had lunch but took home 1/2 of what we ordered because it was so good and most likely will have no room for dinner 🤪

It's very simple. Powell's Seafood is by FAR the source of the best Salt and Pepper Squid I have been able to find in all my travels around the world. I can't quite figure out their secret, but I have probably eaten the dish in at least 30 different restaurants and this preparation is head and shoulders above the rest!!! Never had "salt and pepper" preparation of squid? If you like fried calamari, you will FLIP for their salt n' pepper squid!!!

My family and I have been going here for over 21 years. The service is quick and friendly. The food is delicious. The atmosphere is fun, and vibrant. Many families have gatherings and celebrations here. I highly reccomend the salt and pepper calamari, salt and pepper prawns, and dried sauteed string beans. They do these better than any chinese restaurant on the west coast. They have some amazing crab dishes too. Crab in black bean sauce os my favorite. The crab is fresh from the tank. Ask them what vegetables are good, and they will reccomend something really good and fresh. Like snow pea leaves in garlic sauce. Or chinese broccoli with oyster sauce. We usually order half a fried chicken, and is always delicious. Their beef and house chow fun are great too. They have the American Chinese standards too. Like General Tso's and Sesame Chicken. All delicious! I could go on and on. If you want a affordable, authentic Chinese meal definitely go to Powell Seafood!

Reliable Cantonese fare coming from a guy from Hong Kong. Of course, there’s always better, but fairly reliable nostalgic taste for Portland. The steamed sea bass was by far the best. And garlic stir fried greens are always good.

Been going here for years and the quality of food and service is consistently good. Most recently we enjoyed a lunch of salt and pepper squid,(calamari), sauteed eggplant, walnut shrimp, sweet/sour pork chops and the standard accompanying steamed rice and a hot soup. This day they were serving a hot and sour soup that was excellent. Even though "Seafood" is in their name, there is a full variety of Chinese dishes including standards with beef, pork, chicken, etc and noodles. The waitresses are friendly and very helpful with explanations about dishes. They also do a big take-out business. Parking is a little tight, a small lot and side street parking is available. Prices are reasonable, our four dishes amounted to less than $50.

Powell's was our last meal in Portland and it was certainly worth waiting for!! The food was delicious, the service was great! If you're looking for tablecloths, and uniformed wait service, this isn't the place for you. If you're looking for amazing Chinese food (not standard American Chinese food), and amazing seafood, THIS is the place!! Prices are excellent! Five of us ate for under $100!!! The dungeness crab in light garlic sauce was spectacular!! One of the best meals I've ever had!

We have been eating here for several years. We usually get the same thing every time we go. They can almost bring us our food without asking us. They serve the best walnut shrimp that we have found. Also, their salt and pepper squid is wonderful. So now you have our order with rice and a pot of tea.

I don't even have to tell Ming the waitress who has been there forever she already knows what I want. The best Pepper Salted Pork in the entire planet.Their good comes out fast as well. Prices are fair and their seafood is awesome!