Roost Restaurant at SE 14th and Belmont quietly closes
Another surprising close that doesn’t seem to have made the mainstream news – Roost in the SE Belmont area closed a few weeks ago. The restaurant which opened in 2010 was known for a good brunch and excellent Bloody Marys as well as dinner items such as a half-roasted chicken, and chicken paillard. Despite favorable reviews – Michael Russell of The Oregonian called it “One of 2016’s best Portland restaurants, the pull didn’t seem to extend outside of the neighborhood. Overall reviews were quite good. Perhaps the prices were a bit high – it wasn’t difficult to spend $50 a person on dinner.
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Gregory B. Mowery says
Roost wasn’t expensive–not by the standards of other high-end Portland restaurants. The food was was absolutely delicious. Simple with big flavors, cooking was both familiar and unusual. She always had two salads on the menu for dinner and she changed them up several times a year. I always told friends that I dragged to the restaurant from it’s opening year until 2018, that you need to share the salads. There was always bacon in one of the salads. Raddicchio figured prominently. Nuts, dried fruit, avocado, thinly sliced radishes, crumbled cheese, and the dressing were delicious. The burger, which I had only once, was one of the key reasons to visit Roost. But the pork cutlet, which was both crunchy and moist in its panic crust, was fabulous. The decor of Roost was stripped down–basic white with few flourishes allowed diners to catch up on the food. I had heard Roost was the place to go for brunch. I’m not a brunch fan–pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict, leave me cold and having a Mimosa or a Bloody Mary left me sleepy and anxious about the loss of the rest of the day to a nap. I did make it to Roost once for brunch. The eggs, bacon and toast were beautifully respected and made me very happy. Wait staff was always friendly and you were always greeted warmly. Except for brunch, the restaurant was rarely full on the nights when I was there. Critical response was very warm, but for some reason–maybe the location?–fare less worthy restaurants were doing much better business. I will truly miss Roost, and Megan. What a team she had. I know she will go on to do amazing things. That creative a cook won’t stay down and out for long. I wish her well.
Mike jones says
I agree with Gregory. And found the same factories with the salads and even that burger. It was a regular spot for me and I agreed with the reviews it was one of Portland’s best. Sad to see them go and curious why they closed. There was nothing like it. And dinner was always under 50$ a person. Unless you are ordering bottles of wine.