RingSide Fish House was a

seafood restaurant A seafood restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in seafood cuisine and seafood dishes, such as fish and shellfish. Dishes may include freshwater fish. The concept may focus upon the preparation and service of fresh seafood, (as opposed to ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The business operated in southwest Portland's Fox Tower from 2011 to 2018.

Description

Mattie John Bamman of ''

Eater Portland ''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by 2 ...

'' described RingSide Fish House as an "old-school"

in the Fox Tower next to southwest Portland's Director Park. In addition to fish, the restaurant served steak,

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

Crab Louie Crab Louie salad, also known as Crab Louis salad or the King of Salads, is a type of salad featuring crab meat. The recipe dates back to the early 1900s and originates on the West Coast of the United States. History The exact origins of the dish ...

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

cioppino Cioppino (, ; from ) is a fish stew originating in San Francisco, California, an Italian-American cuisine related to various fish soups in Italian cuisine. Description Cioppino is traditionally made from the catch of the day, which in San Fr ...

poke Poke may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Poke (Ender's Game), Poke (''Ender's Game''), a fictional character * Poke (game), a two-player card game * Poke, a fictional bar owner in the television series ''Treme (season 2), Treme'' * The ...

, and

onion ring Onion rings (also called French-fried onion rings) generally consist of a cross-sectional "ring" of onion dipped in batter and/or bread crumbs and then deep fried; a variant is made with onion paste. While typically served as a side dish, oni ...

s. The

happy hour Happy hour is a marketing term for a time when a venue such as a restaurant or bar offers reduced prices on alcoholic drinks. Discounted menu items like appetizers are often served during happy hour. This is a way for bars and restaurants to ...

menu included hibiscus punch, as well as oysters for $1 each, as of 2017. Other drinks included in the El Diablo (tequila, blackberry syrup, ginger beer) and the "Five" O "Three" (pear brandy, apple brandy, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup, apple syrup, lemon twist).

History

In 2011, the owner of RingSide Steakhouse confirmed plans to convert a temporary Fox Tower location into a seafood restaurant. The 240-seat restaurant opened on the building's second floor on July 18, 2011, with Johnny Nunn as the initial

executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French language, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that Supervisor, leads a kitchen and its cooks. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is a chef ...

. RingSide started with happy hour and dinner service. Jennie Peterson, the daughter of RingSide owner Craig Peterson, was the general manager, as of 2014, and David Ezelle was executive chef, as of April 2015. Jonathan Gill was the executive chef from 2016 to 2018. Trever Gilbert was also a chef at the restaurant. In 2016, Ringside Fish House hosted Take Your Kids to Work Day, offering lunch to children at no cost. In July 2018, Peterson and RingSide Hospitality Group announced plans to close the seafood restaurant on August 12, after operating for seven years.

Reception

In 2015 and 2018, RingSide Fish House received a Best Of Award of Excellence from ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine, wine culture and wine ratings. It is the flagship publication of M. Shanken Communications, which also publishes ''Cigar Aficionado'', ''Whisky Advocate'', ''Market Watch' ...

'' as part of the magazine's annual restaurant awards. ''Eater Portland'' included RingSide Fish House in a 2015 overview of "where to get your East Coast lobster fix in Portland". The website's Heather Arndt Anderson included the restaurant in a 2017 overview of "where to eat and drink Like a pirate in Portland". She wrote, "If you want Salty's menu options and buttoned-up atmosphere without that pesky riverfront view, there's always Ringside. It's a nice spot for a fancy downtown dinner date." Michael Russell included Ringside Fish House in ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' 2016 list of Portland's 12 best

oyster bar An oyster bar, also known as an oyster saloon, oyster house or a raw bar service, is a restaurant specializing in serving oysters, or a section of a restaurant which serves oysters buffet-style. Oysters have been consumed since ancient times and w ...

s. The restaurant ranked third in the Best Seafood Restaurant category of ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...

'''s annual "Best of Portland" readers' poll. In ''Unique Eats and Eateries of Portland, Oregon'' (2018), Adam Sawyer called RingSide Fish House "the perfect Yin to the steakhouse's Yang" and said the restaurant "proudly sports one of the best early and late-night happy hour menus in Portland". RingSide Fish House received "honorable mention in Russell's list of "Portland's 25 most painful restaurant closures of 2018".

References

External links

RingSide Fish House
at

Thrillist ''Thrillist'' is an online media website covering travel. ''Thrillist'' was founded in 2004 by Ben Lerer and Adam Rich. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands ''The Dodo'', NowThis News, and Seeker to form the digital media ...

{{Defunct restaurants in Portland, Oregon 2011 establishments in Oregon 2018 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct seafood restaurants in Portland, Oregon Restaurants disestablished in 2018 Restaurants established in 2011 Defunct restaurants in Southwest Portland, Oregon

Description

History

Reception

See also

References

External links