Oba Restaurante

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555 NW 12th Ave
Portland, OR 97209

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(503) 228-6161
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Oba Restaurante - Portland, OR
Oba Restaurante - Portland, OR
Oba Restaurante - Portland, OR
Oba Restaurante - Portland, OR
Oba Restaurante - Portland, OR
Reviews
( 43 )
( 54 )
( 20 )
( 21 )
( 8 )

Best

We have been to Oba 3 times now, and every Filet was savory and amazing. They change the preperation frequently so we had different styles each time which makes it easy to go bac...

Worst

Let's face it. When Oba opened, it was unique and that alone was worth the visit. It attacted the ""in crowd"" and was the center of where everyone wanted to be. But newness ru...

Check out the happy hour 11/26/2004

This is by far the best restaurant in town for happy hour! The service can be sometimes slow, but the margarita is worth it! The dining room experience can be hit or miss. go early if you are going to have dinner to avoid the crowd and the noise level that comes with it. The food is great, on and off the bar menu. Great wine list, and the decorations are cool. This is a special occasion place, as it can get expesnive real quick. Pros: happy hour, ambiance, food Cons: , service, loud more
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Excellent! 11/4/2004

I love this place. I have been to Oba a number of times, each time having a great unique experience. The food is always good, the location perfect, and the restaurant beautifully decorated. I love taking out-of-town people there, because it really shows the diversity of Portland's restaurant scene. Oba is by far one of my favorite Latin restaurants. My only complaint is that it can be very noisy, and very hard to have a conversation. Pros: Location, Food, Atmosphere more
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Horrific Experience 9/12/2004

After over a year of frequenting Oba for First Thursday and other nights out, my friends and I had the worst experience ever. After asking the bartender for assistance several times to close our tab, he backlashed at one of my friends, call her names and other very inapprorpriate comments. We asked for the manager but he stood there dumbfounded and didn't do anything except offer free drinks on our next vist. Yeah Right. We will NEVER be back. more
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overated 7/20/2004

This place would be great if the service was better. What joke....it was like they put Denny's level staff in this restaurant. The food is awesome though......and the 1/2 price wine on Sunday night is well worth it. Pros: Food, Wine List, 1/2 price wine Cons: , Service, Service more
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Amazing service 6/13/2004

We had the best service last week when we went to Oba!! The food was outstanding and we had the best server. Thanks for making our dinner a wonderful night! Pros: Food, Service more
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Go on an off night 2/16/2004

My friends and I loved the food. The presentation is fantastic. It came out hot like it should have. However, the waitress was overbooked for her section, and the rest of the floor staff was oblivious to help or were hiding elsewere in the restaurant. The food runners dropped our food so fast, we didn't have time to ask for fork or napkin. For the price we paid, we could have gotten better service at a fast food restaurant. Pros: Food more
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Expensive, but good. 12/8/2003

I have been in the bar for happy hour, many many times, but have only had dinner in the dining room once, years ago when they first opened. But I had the oppertunity to be taken there last night for a ""special"" dinner. And we where not dissappointed. The waiter was very knowlegable and welcoming. I was afraid that the waiter would be rude or pretentious (from some of the reviews here) but she was actually very very nice. I had alot of questions about the food, and she answered them all in terms I could understand, since I don't speak Spanish, and have never heard of half the stuff on the menu. I would highly recommend it for anyone who can afford to eat there to do so. And for those who can't afford it, save up and make it a ""special"" night. Pros: All the flavors, Nice waitress Cons: crowded at happy hour, expensive more
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It has to be the WORST place 10/24/2003

I would NEVER go back to Oba. The service was beyond rude....PEOPLE, please, this is Portland--not New York, LA, etc... 50 year old women should not wear gold-lame halter tops....I still shudder.... The food was good...not great nor outstanding, and NOT worth the price. The drinks were good, but, again, not worth the price. All, though, was over-shadowed by the rude staff....pretentious at what $6/hour? FORGET IT!!!!! Cons: Service, Price more
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Oba has peaked. 10/24/2003

Oba is still a place for very good food and drinks, and the service is still above average, and yes, the people watching is good, especially on First Thursdays and weekends, but... I think Oba's interior, and more importantly, it's ""hip"" factor is wearing just a bit. It is no longer The place to be, or to be seen. There are many more excellent contenders than when Oba first arrived. Top ten, yes. Number one, unfortunately, no. Pros: Style, Service, Great Mojitos Cons: Not as hip, Small portions more
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Pretentious 10/12/2003

Oba used to be a fun, lively place. It has gone very much downhill. I was there a few days ago to see if it had got any better. The place looked like a rundown brothel. Some effort had been made to decorate the place but that effort was a miserable failure. The food matched the decor. For some reason, the drinks in our glasses were barely half full. At the prices charged, Oba should have offered a lot more. I'm never going back. more
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Get on down the road 8/26/2003

Let's face it. When Oba opened, it was unique and that alone was worth the visit. It attacted the ""in crowd"" and was the center of where everyone wanted to be. But newness rubs off after a awhile. As the years have passed, some things have remained consistent: namely, the poor service, weak drinks, and the same old crowd wearing the same old embarassing clothes (was that a bow in her hair?). With the revitalization of The Pearl, there are too many other places nearby that are far worthier of attention: for drinks, try Paragon or even The Low Brow. For atmosphere, and fine dining, try Fratellis. For better service, try Burger King. While the menu is unique, the quality is not consistent. Time to move the party elsewhere. Pros: didn't get hurt, didn't get poisoned, didn't die Cons: weak drinks, poor service, noisy more
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Service was terrible! 8/25/2003

We celebrated two birthdays (five of us) tonight. The food was good but the service was TERRIBLE!!! We didn't get some menu items we ordered (even asked a couple of times) & then were surprised to find one added to our bill! No apology from the server & instead she just had a nonchalant, indifferent attitude. Gifts were opened and she didn't utter as much as a happy birthday (not to mention they didn't offer anything like a free dessert after we spent over $200 on drinks, appetizers, dinner and desserts!). We considered talking to the manager but instead left a reduced tip and a note indicating we were disappointed and most likely would not return. The food is good but pricey, $9 for a small appetizer or salad ($12 for crab cakes and you only get two). Hope your experience is better if you elect to try Oba! Pros: quality food, trendy area of town Cons: poor service, indifferent servers more
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What's the hooplah about? 8/23/2003

The food is good, at best. The ambience is ok, at best. The service was terrible: the drinks took over a half an hour. We called for a reservation, asked for a particular server, and was told ""there are no guarantees"". The portions were small and overpriced. It wasn't the worst, but we are not going back. more
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Ask for alcohol in your drink! 8/22/2003

I like Oba a lot. Great food, decent service...Nice girl-drinks. But the last time I was there, their drinks bordered on 'virgins' and their lemondrop only filled half the martini glass. The waitress said they were ""fixed pours"" but I suggest they loosen up a little and fill the drinks to the brim. Pros: Atmosphere, Food Cons: WEAK drinks more
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Makes for a great evening! 8/14/2003

The food and drinks were delicious (though pricey) and the ambience was just loud enough for private conversation w/o being too loud. One of our drinks arrived with a sad-looking expired lime though it was promply replaced when we pointed this out. The flan is a perfect light finish to any meal on the menu. I think most patrons would feel more comfortable if they were dressed up for dinner at this restaurant. The service was exceptional;just the right mixture of being accomodating w/o spending too much time at the table. We found on-street parking w/o a problem in front of the restaurant. more
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Bad customer service 6/9/2003

I was quite disappointed with the level of service, even though the food was good. Not only did we have to wait for over 40 minutes for some of our drinks, but got no apology from the wait staff for this! Instead, here's what we heard ""you still didn't get your drinks? Oh, that's not a problem!"" In general, the staff was rude and unaccomodating. We were a big group (10 people), crowed in a little corner. On accident we broke two glasses, just as we were paying our bills. The manager just could not wait for another minute for us to be done, but felt obligated to march over to our area and tell us that we had to leave immediately! And their margaritas were warm and did not resemble margaritas at all! Some customer service training is in order! Pros: nice location, good food Cons: Poor service, bad drinks, crowded more
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YES!! 6/5/2003

I celebrated my graduation from college at Oba with 16 of my family members and friends. The staff was so friendly, from dealing with reservations weeks ahead of time, to serving us our food. They pulled out all the stops and were super nice. The food is amazing and so different from anything else in Portland. The cocktails are insanely good and very creative. I LOVE Oba and will definitely be back! Pros: food and drinks, ambience, service Cons: parking, expensive more
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Nice to see 6/5/2003

Nice to see a healthy option menu that does not compromise on taste (The Collins Menu). The bar is fantastic...the drinks are fun! The food was excellent however on the night we ate there, it lacked a bit in atmosphere where we were seated about 9pm. Pros: Menu options, Bar Cons: Atmosphere more
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HORRIBLE service, good food 5/22/2003

Let me say I've been to Oba before and had great times... great food, great service. However, just last weekend my experience was so HORRIBLE I have to conclude that Oba is overrated. Why... reservations don't matter since we waited 15 min. b4 being seated, waited another 15 min. b4 receiving water, had to ask for bread after appetizers arrived, appetizers arrived fresh from the heat lamps with wilted garnishes, bought a $60 bottle of red only to be told that all the Bordeaux glasses were dirty (no offer to wash some), the server dropped the wine's cork, entrees arrived fresh and delicious.... but come on, the service was SO bad. Our server didn't even check to see how our dinner was. Be the judge if you dare. Stick to the happy hour and maybe you'll get what you pay for. more
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happy hour? 5/13/2003

just an FYI - the information you provide about happy hour prices seems to be incorrect. i was there during 'happy hour' last week and was charged $7.50 for a margarita.... Pros: good food, good cocktails Cons: cheesy men, cheesy women more
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Menu for Oba Restaurante


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Editorial

  • This restaurant featuring Nueva Latin food is most family-friendly in the early evening(dinner service starts at 5 pm). Though upscale,...

  • 10/10/2012 Provided by KidScore
Additional information
  • Hours: Fri-Sat: 4pm-12:30am, Sun-Mon: 4pm-10pm, Thu: 4pm-11pm, Tue-Wed: 4pm-10:30pm
  • Payments: American Express, Discover, Master Card, Visa
  • Neighborhoods: Pearl, Neighbors West - Northwest
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