The Kingdom of Roosevelt

Best Gazpacho ever
Very well executed deer tartare
Super slow service, on a Friday you think there would be more than one waitperson at these prices.
Drinks are a bit pricey as is the recommendation to order 3 dishes per person (works out to about $ 45 with just food.)

Well, color me impressed. We had a foursome on a Tuesday night and we had this place to ourselves, which is a crime in and of itself. The concept of this restaurant is impeccably executed. The food feels old-​timey, each dish a curiosity that evokes a feeling of eating something that dear old Teddy hunted down himself. But don’t get me wrong, the food satisfies the modern palate with its complexity.
The only criticisms I can really levy against this place are not worth deducting a star. I think it could greatly benefit from a bar that served some old-​fashioned cocktails to match the mood. All of their beers are sour beers and most of them are served in 750ml bottles. They also have American ciders in the big bottles. I think there were just two drafts — one beer, one cider. Theme aside, I would like to see non-​sour beers as they aren’t my favorite generally. The wine list looked good, we had two bottles of red at $ 52 a pop and I felt like we got our money’s worth with a really unique wine.
We were basically too stuffed for dessert. We should have gotten it anyway, I’m sure it would have been good, but I’m always disappointed when a restaurant — theme or no — doesn’t have something chocolate to finish me off.
But bottom line is, this is a great gourmet restaurant with a serious theme and no gimmicks. Service was perfect but we were the only ones there so your mileage may vary! Go give this one a shot. Don’t forget your backup wallet.

Very pretty food. Fun and tasty. I’d say that you should go expecting it to be a little different and to spend some $$. The food is local and some «foraged,» so if you’re expecting to pay farmed chicken prices, you’re going to be disappointed. I enjoyed the bread and fat (because who doesn’t like that) and the wood pigeon liver custard. It’s a fun experience and totally worth a date night. Don’t forget, Salt and Straw opened up on Division, so when you’re stuffed just take a walk down the street for dessert.
Yes, the prices of the beer was a surprise. Don’t take someone here who doesn’t like food that is «gamey.» So, if they love chicken and think that lamb tastes funny… probably avoid.

Wow! Went to Kingdom of Roosevelt tonight with my foodie buddy and we walked out very, very happy. This place is the real deal if you want a little adventure when you eat. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we ordered. Some of the highlights were the wood pigeon liver custard, the wood pigeon pie and the beauty of the dishes. The fallow deer tartare was amazing. Any restaurant that dedicates a section of the menu to the egg is awesome. Our waitress was awesome. She was very knowledgable on the menu, and the interesting beer/​cider selections on the menu. The pigeon served at Roosevelt is not those fat nasty pigeons on every sidewalk in PDX. These wood pigeons are similar to duck. Extremely tasty and when they are prepared the way Chef Bechard knows how to, you are in for a real treat. The presentation of all the dishes were beautiful. This place is the real deal. Very impressive! Excellent job of using the bounty of our great state.

We went to this very eclectic restaurant knowing it was going to serve some «interesting» food, mostly wild game.
We tried 5 different dishes. The very publicized wood pigeon pie was worth a photo but tasted slightly like a glorified Swanson chicken pot pie from my childhood. We tried the quail with the quail egg «hat». A sweet looking dish — loved the egg.
The best dish we tried was a wheat berry salad. It was fresh and full of flavor. I would have this dish again. The pâté was good but not memorable.
At 6 pm on a weeknight, we were the only people in the place. At about 7 pm, other diners started showing up. The service was stellar. Very friendly and upbeat. If you aren’t a wild game fan (which I am), this isn’t your place. It’s worth a try if you are.

Went here for my mom’s birthday, since we read the review in Portland Monthly, which basically said that it was a cool concept but wasn’t executed great. We went anyway, and tried 4 dishes.
PROS: great décor and concept
CONS: food took a long time to come out, as did beer. Beware, all the beer is «sour» except maybe one — the Commons Flemish Kiss. It’s a small space, so service shouldn’t take that long. The food was tasty and had unique ingredients, but the flavors weren’t amazing/​mind-​blowing, and they were overpriced. The forager’s pie was good (it’s like a shepards pie), but the Hunters Stew was not a stew, and it was small, so therefore overpriced.
Won’t be back, as there are sooo many other good restaurants to try in Portland, that are much cheaper.

Never Unilocaled before… I’m a bit of a cheapskate and usually don’t really enjoy eating in restaurants, but this was a wonderful experience! Everything was delicious. My initial reservations were the price, the small portions, and the unusual menu. While the menu sounds intimidating for someone who is not a foodie, the flavors were all completely accessible — like elegant comfort food. The portions are small, but we shared 8 dishes between 4 people, and were able to sample much of the menu. We truly savored each unique bite, and each dish is so rich, a larger serving may be overwhelming. I certainly couldn’t afford to eat here often, but the dishes were so creative and well prepared they were totally worth it.

The husbandus and I had a wonderful date night here while ordering the tasting menu. Everything was well prepared, fresh, and extremely well balanced.
Our courses:
Netarts Bay Oysters in Their Shells with Verjus
Pickled Roosevelt Elk Tongue with Bush Berries and Mustards
Soft Cooked Eggs and Smoked Steelhead Roe
Beetroot with Wood Sorrel Yogurt and Horseradish
Acorn Dumplings with Brassicas and Caraway
Roasted American Blue Rabbit
My only qualm would be the beverage prices which were just crazy even for an upscale place which you would expect to have a high-​end beer selection, at nearly triple the bottle cost it was a bit much.

This restaurant isn’t really meant for me, because I’m not a very adventurous eater.
Go here if you like things like organ meats, quail eggs, and random vegetables, a fancy version of the sort of food medieval woodsmen might have eaten.
The food is really interesting and well prepared but the point seems to be to use the strangest possible ingredients. I was taken here without being warned of what it was, so I was a little taken aback. It’s also very pricey so be aware of that.
Dessert was good, try the rabbit blood cake and the birchwood sap tart.

After trying 5 menu items, I’d say this one is hit-​and-​miss. Soft-​boiled egg with steelhead caviar was pretty boring, at a rather steep price. Acorn dumplings reminded us of small gnocchi, and since the sauce was so rich they could have easily been mistaken for such. Venison saddle was perfectly cooked, very tender and I loved the herb-​yoghurt sauce that it came with. Not sure about «on-​the-​bone» for this though, which makes it rather labor intensive unless you only want a few bites. The rye porridge with stinging nettles and black trumpets was good but didn’t knock us out of our boots. Bread and duckfat-​potato spread would have been better without the potato. Desert didn’t tempt us (blood-​pancake and something else), so we skipped. Ambiance is good. We sat in a booth and the benches are pretty uncomfortable (could easily be fixed with thin cushening). Overall it’s pricey for what you get, and I’m not sure if the «wild forest» food concept is a winning ticket in this case.

I enjoyed the food a lot. However, the person I was with could not stand our server for some reason. He thought she seemed snoody. And she would always question me if I left a single bite left on the plate. (we tried the 6 course tasting menu)
Oysters — ok.
Bread and fat — totally amazing. I loved it.
a crab, radish and roe dish — pretty light, fresh and flavorful
cured duck breast w apple — I really enjoyed this one. a new experience indeed.
pickled elk tongue w beats and horseradish — pretty good
Rye Porridge w a poached quail egg, and snails — MY FAVORITE THING!!! I absolutely recommend and love love love this plate. So hardy, rich, flavorful, tasty, delicious and so good. The egg yolk is what made it perfect.
Acorn dumplings w suncrests and seared pigeon — It was very good. I liked the pigeon and suncrests a lot. But the best part about this was when I dipped my last bite of bread and duck fat into the sauce at the bottom of the plate. Best bite of the evening!
Pie — I have no clue what this pie was, but it tasted like a fancy, tiny pumpkin pie. :)
It was a cute, charming little place. I loved the inside. And they served everything on the most adorably cute lil antique plates.

The menu can be quite intimidating, but definitely a breath of fresh air. It covers other parts of the forest that people usually avoid.
I started with the duck broth with poached egg, snail and wild rice. The flavor reminded me of wood. it was so subtle, yet simple and earthy. My next dish was the wild rabbit. It was perfectly roasted. The meat was tender and delicious.
I’ll be looking forward to my next visit here. Hopefully, they’ll have beer on tap by then. Until then, I’ll have to take ½ star off for the price and another ½ star off for the lack of beer on tap.

Our experience here last night was so memorable, it’s causing the resurrection of my Unilocal account.
Let’s just state outright that this style of restaurant suits me perfectly. I’m an Oregon Native. I like wood. I like game. I like organs. I wear lots of wool. Been known to not shave. The Kingdom of Roosevelt feels like home.
Our server Jules was spot on. She recommended the quantity to reach perfection. Every dish we ordered left nothing to be desired. All of the meats were fall-​a-​party in my mouth.
If you look at this menu and possibly get scared, it’s understandable. You will not find your average offerings here. This place will change your mind about your childhood memories and make you call home about it.
We ordered:
— Upright «Billy on the Mountain» sour beer
— «Bread & Fat» (duck fat & potato purée)
— Salt Cod, Pickled Sea beans, Radish, Cucumber
— Quail liver Custard
— Acorn Dumplings
— Hunters Stew (Rabbit Leg, Duck Leg Confit, Elk Meat Balls)
— Maple Syrup Pie
— Coffee
The food was all around awesome. The service was superb. The experience was pure enjoyment.
We get around and this place just went to the top of our little black book.

Best new restaurant to open in Portland since Ox. My girlfriend and I went here last night & got
— amazing recommendations from our server
— excellent, attentive service
— one of the most memorable meals we’ve ever had.
Roosevelt is essentially a heartier, wintrier version of Thistle (our favorite restaurant, in McMinnville).
We ordered
— pickled elk tongue
— greens
— quail with alliums
— acorn dumplings
— hunter’s stew
The clear winner was the hunter’s stew, with the BEST meatballs (elk) and best rabbit I’ve EVER eaten.
Overall, as long as you’ve looked at the menu before you come here, you will not be disappointed. The dishes are definitely not your usual fare, but prepared SO amazingly.

I really, really wanted to like this place. I was excited to go and invited friends and family to try it out. We were a party of 5 on a Saturday night that was not busy. Our server had a bad case of «trying too hard» syndrome. The serving sizes were entirely too small for the prices but everything we ate was good. We asked at the beginning of our meal for the check to be split for a couple and a threesome. When it came time to do that the server went on this long winded, completely nonsensical story about why she couldn’t, wouldn’t split the check and then finally agreed to do it and proceeded to take a very long time where she just circled the items on the one list and gave it back to us for us to figure out. Fine, I guess but it really was an off putting experience. In short I wouldn’t return until they figure out the value proposition and get better servers.