Best American Restaurants in Jacksonville, Portland / Oregon

It’d been several years since we drove down from Roseburg to see a play for a special occasion and discovered Decant—one of the few nice restaurants that offered late night food. What a find! Last year, we moved to the area in part because of the caliber and selection of fine dining options. Our recent visit was for my birthday, which we usually celebrate with a Chef’s Meal. Hostess Lily happily sat us extra early and her gracious welcome set the stage for the caliber of attentive service we enjoyed throughout our meal from our server and sommelier. Our visit had virtually all the trappings of the Chef’s Meals to which we’ve become accustomed, only with larger portioned entrees. Ordering multiple Appetizers, Shareables, and Desserts (in addition to an entree each) allowed us to avoid deciding and taste several delectable options that bridged my husband’s carnivore cravings and my lean towards seafood. Tropical cocktails helped whet our appetite as we perused the just-right-size menu. The Lamb Meatballs, Morels, Grilled Shrimp and Ahi did not disappoint. Flavorful sauces, savory Focaccia, and a young, jammy Willamette Valley Pinot from Beaux Frères balanced the surf and turf on our plates. Halibut and Filet Mignon… superb. Enough said. Somehow we had room to try three desserts, some espresso and a wonderful Cognac. The rich Chocolate Mousse was an absolute favorite, the Mango Passionfruit Panna Cota was light and creamy, and the elevated Buttermilk Pie was surprisingly satisfying. It is worth noting that the restaurant filled up quite quickly with two larger parties of 6 nearby shortly after we were seated at 5:30. By the time we left about 7:30, nearly all the rest of the smaller 2- and 4-tops up front were filled. For a random weekday summer evening, that speaks to this restaurant’s success. Next time, we will shoot for the last available time slot for (hopefully) a slightly lower dining volume. Overall: Fabulous. We will definitely return. Soon.

Delicious dinner in a beautiful setting. Service and ambience were great.

Outstanding in every way! Very friendly family run! We had halibut and duck confit. Very best we’ve ever eaten. We can’t wait to return!

Very nice place, the food was good and the wine excellent. Will definitely come back

Wonderful meal. Lots of good selections and portions for starters and entrees were generous. Lovely to sit outside overlooking the river.