Powell’s Seafood Restaurant

Excellent. Not as polished of an atmosphere as Wong King’s and much smaller, but quite comfortable. Very fast service, even after a group of 8 was seated simultaneously. Every item we ordered was great, though I will say the wonton soup isn’t as good as Wong King’s. Highly recommend the chow mein — the noodles are thin and delicious. We also ordered a «special» dish, the inoki mushrooms with bean curd in a clay pot. Outstanding flavor.
Each dish could easily serve a group of 3 – 4, including the bowl of Wonton soup we ordered (it was the non-​large size). They have lazy-​susan tables and also smaller square tables for groups of 4 or less.

I’ve been going to Powell Seafood for years now and it’s always been the same ladies that work there. You don’t go for the ambience, you go for the good Chinese food. Their pepper salted squid doesn’t compare to Thien Hong, but is a good second. I like to order the combination of squid and shelled shrimp together (I especially like that they will shell the shrimp for you). The salt fried rice is also really good, but you can’t have sensitive palate. There are so many other dishes that are delicious, but those two are my top favorite!

Wonderful! My family loved this restaurant and the food. It was a madhouse when we visited on Christmas — but we asserted ourselves and were seated and served in a reasonable amount of time. Service was attentive and quick, the food was tasty and delicious. The hot and sour soup was off that evening, hoping it was a one-​off.
Will be back soon. Yum!

Crispy half duck + sole with black pepper sauce is insane. Best Chinese food I’ve had in Portland, and I’ve been searching for a while.

I have never had even the slightest disappointment at Powells! My boy’s family has always been die hard fans so we go regularly (well every few times we are in Portland). This time around there were 5 of us and we filled the lazy Susan in the center of the table completely. Maggi shrimp is a must, I could easily eat only this for the remainder of my life! We also got chow fun, sizzling beef, dry sautéd long beans, black bean clams and steamed fish that was alive in the tank when we arrived at the restaurant. If you don’t leave this place uncomfortably full you did it wrong, or you live in the neighborhood and can eat there several times a day.
The service is quick, water & tea always full and the hostess/​front end lead (who also always takes our order) is always welcoming yet sharp and pushy, in a motherly way. I suggest always eating family style with several people so you can samples many items, they are all worth it!

First time checking out this terrible restaurant. Service was horrible our order was not placed as we sat and waited server did not come up once to ask if we needed anything. We got nasty starch egg soup nothing more. It’s not a soup but starch and water. When I finally got the waiters attention he said he didn’t place our order and kept on asking what you ordered? Terrible I wouldn’t recommend ever:(

Super yummy pepper and salt prawns, low key environment, lots of people, and good energy. Definitely going back to try more on the menu!

Good food quantity and quality. Sauce and marination is good. Environment is nice. Kitchen looks pretty well organized.

This is not only really good Chinese food but it is the best value for lunch on the whole Eastside of Portland. $ 5.95 for lunch is a great deal and you get a large portion, plus rice, and Tea.

Finally, found a great place for Chinese seafood in Portland. Had the dry scallop fried rice, salt and pepper squid, wonton soup, and some spring rolls as an app. The only thing I wouldn’t order again was the spring rolls. Everything else was delivered promptly, hot and delicious
I want to come back and explore the menu more!

Poor service, a hair in one dish, and mediocre food meant Powell Seafood Restaurant left me with scowls and frustration. The definition of 2-​stars is «Meh, I’ve experienced better.» which is exactly the perfect summary of Powell’s.
The place wasn’t very busy for weekend lunch, but the service never seemed to be on the same page as our party. Maybe, it was because 3 of the 4 speak Chinese, but this is a Chinese restaurant, right? Weirdest of all was when they came and took plates from the table half-​way through our meal and boxed up the rest to go. Ok, We got the hint and headed out for dessert nearby.
And the service wasn’t even the worst discovery at Powell’s. That distinction went to the long black hair in our plate of Sizzling Beef Nuggets (aka Beef Stir Fry). Ick.
The headed to Powell’s seeking one of my wife’s favorite dishes Chinese Fried Crab, but the Powell’s version was weak, overcooked and hardly worth the drive, let alone the effort to crack the shells. Skip.
Beef Chow Fun with Bean Sprouts Noodles were average. So, I guess that means ok. However, a plate Kong Xin Tsai (Water Spinach) with Garlic was a let down despite being one of my favorite vegetables … ever. Sigh.
About the only dish I’d recommend or order again was Fried Squid with Garlic & Green Onions. It wasn’t mind-​blowing, but it did have some zest with a light breading on this classic Chinese favorite.
Some reviews are hard to write. Others write themselves. Powell’s Seafood review was written before we even left the restaurant with scowls thanks to poor service and a hair in mediocre food.

This food is fresh and prepared exactly the way it should be. Sauces are light and full of fresh garlic. Fried tofu comes piping hot to burn your mouth and wake up your taste for the salty sautéed Chinese broccoli. Kind service and the sound of families eating Chinese supper all around. I’m happy all by myself.#summerofsingle

Amazing food, I absolutely love Powell. The waitresses are quite friendly.
The weekends are usually extremely busy, busy as in you’ll be waiting there for awhile to get seated. If you go, definitely go on a weekday. When it’s packed, it’s really uncomfortable to get into your seat and it’s very loud.

I like Powell Seafood. They probably have the best tasting Chinese food in the area. The prices are a little higher than other Chinese restaurants in the area. The food always comes out piping hot and the waitresses are very nice (compared to other Chinese restaurants). Parking can be hard to get if they are busy. They only have a small parking area in the back, and if that isn’t available there is street parking (but hard to find as well). The place looks clean and I will come back when I am back in the area.

Not what you would expect from a Chinese Restaurant. Good quality beef, extremely fresh seafood, and vegetables.
Only downside is getting glared at by a live King Crab as you feast upon his brethren…
Will be returning.

This is my new favorite traditional chinese place. The place has a friendly off the beaten path feel with super friendly staff.
Above all things, their portions are HUGE and the food is great.

This place is awesome for solid, «mildly» greasy Cantonese food. From the outside, it looks dingy, divey with questionable food quality. However, the inside, like the service, was much nicer and cleaner than expected. The servers were friendly, they checked on us and responded when we waved them down. The menu was very extensive and some items took some deciphering to read but we easily ordered everything we wanted. If I was a normal person doing family style, it would have easily cost $ 10 per person. But I channel my mom and get into crazy Chinese mom mode when I’m eating so we ended up ordering 5 items for 4 people, totaling almost $ 20/​person, including tip.
We got:
Mushroom soup (pictured on the menu in a wooden bucket): Tasted like chicken bouillon with lots of fresh mushrooms, glass vermicelli noodles. Akin to won ton soup broth. It was fine but I can do without it.
garlic eggplant with salted fish and chicken clay pot: yum! The eggplant was fried enough so that it was cooked soft without being mushy or raw. There was plenty of salted fish and chicken chunks. Went great with the white rice that we didn’t ask for.
salted fish and chicken fried rice: great! Of course, it would be even better if there was some smokiness from the wok but the rice itself was well cooked, al dente (not mushed together) and had good flavor. I was very happy with how they prepared this favorite of mine.
tomato beef Hong Kong style fried noodles: awesome. There was plenty of sauce for the noodles to soak up and its sweetness gave a nice balance to the savory dishes. It wasn’t on the menu and when the server mentioned the noodles, I was unclear about what she said but nodded anyway. They sure made the best choice!
whole fried sea bass in brown sauce: not bad! I usually order fried flounder in soy sauce. This one was great too. I would opt for the tomato chili sauce next time.
vegetables with seafood clay pot: too salty but it was nice to have veggies on my plate. Seafood doesn’t count as a meat, right?
Overall, good food, close late and friendly service. The fortune cookies were soggy stale with very accurate fortunes. :o They also gave us oranges to balance out the meal. The tea pot was kept full and they gave good recommendations when we asked for it. With a fun dive bar next door, we spent the rest of our friday night drinking beer and petting dogs.
Great place to get some good hearty Cantonese food!

I have been here many times with family and friends and they never disappoint. The décor is nothing to rave about but the food is always quick, fresh and delicious. Our regular dishes that we order are the Fish Maw Soup, Salt N’ Pepper Squid, Salt N’ Pepper Shrimp (shelled and non shelled), House Fried Rice, Chinese Broccoli Beef and Black Bean Crab. The waitresses there are friendly although they don’t speak much English. If you want a good meal for friends or yourself then stop by.
We also had them cater for our wedding many years ago and they were a huge hit. You can’t go wrong eating here and don’t go on weekends at night because you can be sure they will be packed!

I feel like everyone has to have their go to Chinese joint and after my first visit, this place is mine. I’ll keep it short and sweet because I don’t feel like a place like this should be mucked by a long wordy review.
The service was fantastic! Attentive, quick and very nice. We ordered beef chow fun, sweet and sour chicken (Chinese style) and their
house fried rice. The food was delicious and loved that they offered the «americanized» and authentic versions of their dishes.

Just okay. Had their pork fried rice, BBQ duck, and Mandarin chicken. The chicken wasn’t crispy but more spongy with sauce on it, did include white rice, however, which seems rare for Portland Chinese restaurants. Duck didn’t come with traditional duck sauce. Fried rice was the best part of the meal. Also pretty expensive for the taste. Panda Express is better.
Also, possible food poisoning? Got sick after eating the left overs with nothing else. Guess I should have assumed when a Google search led to news reports about failing their inspections multiple times but you know…