Al-Amir Restaurant

Al-Amir is a great old Portland restaurant that we have not been to in years, but luckily we rediscovered it after a few beers at the Oregon Brewers Fest on Friday night. They have a great bar and I highly recommend the Lebanese Margarita to get you going. Then ask you waiter to start bringing you food, you don't have to look at the menu, it's all good stuff. You'll most likely get the Al-Amir Sampler, a platter of Hummus, Baba Ghannooj, Tabooli, Grape Leaves and Falafel. Then you can add an entree or two, I would go with the Shish Kabob, grilled cubes of lamb or beef marinated in Al-Amir's special spices and wine; and the Dajaj, grilled fillet of chicken breast marinated in olive oil, garlic, lemon and herbs.

You'll have more fun if you go with a large group of people, it will allow you to get a wider breadth of the menu. You can also enjoy traditional belly dancing every Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM.

I also found this interesting info about the Bishop’s House, where Al-Amir is located: It was in fact the residence of the Archbishop. The Catholic Cathedral was around the corner and upstairs was a balcony where the Archbishop held prayer meetings and, on occasion, entertained guests with scared music sung by the Cathedral choir. Times changed and by the thirties, the balcony housed a band for the speak-easy that operated in the basement of the building. During the first major refit in the sixties, wires were discovered that ran from the the Bishop’s House to the Police Station. However, history does not relate who was bugging whom.

Al-Amir Restaurant
223 SW Stark Street
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 274-0010