Republic Cafe and Ming Lounge

Food Safety Hazard! Ordered a chicken chop suey and chicken egg foo young. The chicken was spoiled/rotten and smelled rancid. Didn't notice until taking a bite since it was covered in sauce. Had to spit out because of how sour it was! Tried to salvage the dish by picking out the chicken but realized it was in vain since there were flakes of it already mixed all over. Same problem with the egg foo young. Felt nauseous afterwards and lost my appetite. I experienced a similar situation before when ordering a scallion beef dish, the texture was slimy and overly velveted, but thought it was a one-off. I really wish this restaurant the best because I want to love it, there's not many places like this anymore that serves these classic dishes, but unfortunately the food quality control and safety issues really need to be addressed.

The food was delicious and was very filling. When me and my family got there we got waters and menus right away but after we ordered the food it probably took up to an hour to get to us!!. There was only one other group there and they were loud ubnoctios and rude to the waiter. I would come here again if you want really really good food though.

It's definitely a dive, but thia is the place for late night American-style Chinese. My man and I were super hungry and kinda forgot to eat dinner. There was nowhere else really open nearby that wasn't a bar, so we went here. He got ginger mushroom beef and I got a combo plate with fried shrimp 🍤, pork lo mein and egg foo young. Pretty damn tasty. Egg foo young and shrimp were *chef's kiss*. The lo mein didn't have much taste honestly, but it was much better cold the next morning. Would go again!

I was so impressed with the service, my partner and I had just sat down and we got waters and menus. Our meals came about 15 minutes after we ordered our meals. The bartender I had, Heather, knows her booze and makes a mean bloody mary. I would definitely recommend trying this restaurant/bar.

A vintage treasure trove of old school Chinese American food. If the walls could talk. The Ming Lounge completes the dreamy experience. Don’t miss out on a magical Portland icon. Cheers !

Authentic American Chinese food! Reviewed by an American born Chinese. Food: It incorporates traditional Chinese flavors with an American twist. (Importing Chinese produce and ingredients back in the 20th century was difficult so immigrants adopted what they could find in America) Service: Chinese style Atmosphere: Dim lit retro cafe theme. Restaurant/lounge was kinda warm and not much air circulation. Price: American Chinese food at affordable prices $10-$15 range. Open late with many dish options Ordered the "special combo" that has sesame chicken, pork fried rice and chow mein.

Don’t do it! Got fried shrimp, chow mein, bbq pork delivered. I don’t live far, delivery was fast. What a complete and utter waste of 45 bucks. Shrimp was soggy and gross, bbq pork was really tough, dry and grey brown. Safeway has way better and there were no sesame seeds. Didn’t even try the chow mein yet but how can you mess that up? Wish I had that money back but know I know and never again. And no fortune cookie. Complete ripoff.

Mings is special as one of the last Chinese American restaurants and dive bars in a Chinatown that used to be rife with them. That they also throw diy shows makes it an irreplaceable diamond in the gentrified ruff.

Some friends do some club night DJ action here. I did not grab food but my friend (a vegan) was pretty happy to grab some to go vittles. I was please with a tall pour of a well needed drink. Dropping in would be a bit intimidating as this is one of the spots not covered in graffiti and garbage. Our beloved Chinatown gives a pretty poor first impression these days. The staff here are top notch though - a customer came in who was trying to start things. That was handled and I never felt unsafe because they were such pros. Genuinely realize that the businesses over here would love to see you and your support. Don't let the folks trashing the area frighten you away.

Saturday early evening. No one else in the place, one hour wait for food! No condiments on the table. Food was OK. So sad to see a Portland institution in such poor condition.

We came in and were the only ones seated on a Thursday night. Too bad. Because the service was good and the food was excellent. I don't know why it was so lonely here? As I said, the food was excellent. I hope this was just a bad night for them. Maybe it was because it was the day after Christmas?

For 60 years, this was the in spot for Chinese food within 100 miles at least. They were open till four in the morning on weekends. They took no reservations and the place was packed all the time. The food was fantastic. The owner is retired and it went downhill a little bit, but it was still great. Now it's run by some people who seem a little on the shady side. They're not open when they say they're going to open. It says it opens at five, but it never is open at five. It hasn't been open for the last two weeks. They just don't answer their phone nor do they bother to mention it on their website. They list their hours as if they're open and I'm sure people are going down there and knocking on the door. Some of the food is still wonderful. Most of their old dishes are great. An exception would be the fried shrimp. It used to be fantastic and everybody was stuffing in their mouth. The last couple times I had it. It tasted weird. I can't even describe it but , I didn't eat it the second time. The last few times I had a beef dish, the beef didn't taste right. I don't order shrimp or beef anymore. There's really something weird about both of them. However, all of the dishes that don't have those two items in it. I still really good. Their barbecue pork chow mein is wonderful. The tomato pork chop Suey wonderful. The barbecue pork is great, ABC salad is wonderful, all of the chow yucks are good. I like the soups for the most part. The hotness sour isn't the best in the world. I love their egg foo yong, mushroom, duck, sweetness, sour, anything all the basic old time Dishes are pretty good. It's not necessarily the cleanest place in the world. The bathrooms are for emergencies only.. If you need to wash your hands, I would bring hand sanitizer or ask for a wet napkin or towel. You need a code to get into the bathroom, and once you get in , you can't wait to get out. If the beef and the shrimp weren't in edible, and if they were open when they said they were going to be open, I would give it four stars for all their great things with a caveat that some things are not so great. But when a place doesn't care to let their customers know that they are not open when they're supposed to be , it tells me they don't care about their customers. And if they don't care about their customers, what must that mean to their food handling?

I've been going to the Republic since I was a kid and I'm now 74 yrs old. This was my go to for Chinese food but now the food is horrible. Whatever you changed please go back the old way..

Service is slow and they do not allow you to use the restroom unless you are allowed in with a code. Even thought the restaurant was empty service was slow

Worse bar tender in town. Slow AF. Keep track of your tab and count your change. They're most likely to over charge you and stiff you.

The website says the place opens at 5pm. Paid to lark only to find the restaurant is not open. They need to update the website.

why are you guys not open? I've gone downtown three days in row and u havent been open

Awesome Singapore Noodles :) potstickers were very good too. Had carry out, not sure I'd eat in ...little dark and dreary. Also, make sure to have your order confirmation when you pick up. They didn't have an order under my name when I ordered through Yelp.

Excellent food. Fair value. Enter the Ming Lounge for an experience of your own. Find the banquet room.

I've eaten here for at least 60 years. I didn't think the food was as good as days past. In this visit I felt we were eating at just another Chinese foodery. I've never felt that way.

Man, people talk a lot of trash about this place, huh? Well, I didn't see any rats running around in the food or drunk homeless people throwing up everywhere. It was only evening, not the middle of the night, so I can imagine what it might be like late night on a Friday, but my experience here was pretty tame. The building is a little run down, but if it's been open for almost 100 years, what else would you expect? People also complained about the service; it was perhaps a bit no-nonsense, but pretty straightforward. The waitress seated me, took my order, and brought the food. Speaking of which, I thought it was pretty good. Kind of what you'd typically expect at a divey Chinese place -- if you pay ten bucks for a meal at a restaurant, it's what you'd expect to eat. Nothing special, not bad for the price. Overall, I think all the horror stories and drama about it are a bit silly. I'd eat here again.

I'm not crazy about Chinese cuisine, but when I carve it; It better be good. Republic cafe is a little restaurant in china town in Portland, ..its was very tasty Big on Mongolian beef, and that was delicious. Honey walnut shrimp was excellent. I enjoyed my lunch very much. Come have some Chinese

Haven't been down here for at least a decade. Tuck Lung Company, Hung Far Low and all the rest are gone. Except for the Republic. OMG. What a hoot. The lunch was so period correct. Very nice old school Cantonese. My guest and I had a blast. (And no discernible MSG). Clean: Eh. Friendly: Absolutely! Food presentation: Classic Portland China Town

I love Chinese food!! I can eat it pretty much every other day and still be pleasantly satisfied. I ordered food last night and this was the only place that was open. I had read the reviews as I always do before trying a new spot out and the reviews seemed pretty decent that the food was very good. I 100% disagree. I ordered an Egg roll, beef chow mein, orange chicken and sesame beef. Both the orange chicken and the sesame beef had about half that were discolored like the food was sitting and they just added some old pieces to the top. I still was pushing through giving it a chance and I ended up only having one plate, when usually I can eat entire entrees to myself. The egg roll was good but seemed like it was fried a few times. The chow mein I didn't even touch by the look of it. The rest of the night my stomach was gurgling like I hadn't eaten for days! Even though I just got done eating this food. I went to bed woke up this morning threw all the food away and have spent majority of my morning on the toilet because I trusted a fart, because I trusted the food from this place. I spent about 60$ and I'm taking the time to write this review because other people need to know what the outcome may be if they order from this place.

Oh Republic, Christmas 2015 was like the perfect storm, in a shit show kind of way. I'll describe it in a linear fashion beginning with the seating fiasco. Usually, when we sit in the colorful bar area, the waitstaff visits the table and takes our order. Not so yesterday. They moved us to the dining room area and promptly took our order. They brought tea right out to us all of which one would consider a good thing, right? Nope. We waited patiently for a good 30 minutes or so before I finally asked for a sitrep in my most polite "what the fuck" voice. Our server said she'd check on our order and be right back. We waited another 15 minutes and it began to sink in. We were never going to see our food. Meanwhile, the tea took its toll on me and I paid a visit to the ladies room. Oh hello friend blocking entry to the ladies room because your friend in a fabulous leopard print coat is splayed out, face down in front of the toilet upon on what I can only imagine is a filth covered, sticky snd stinky floor. I wasn't getting in there any time soon so visit the men's room I did. Dear God. Just yuck in there. The one stall in the men's room doesn't properly close and the toilet tissue sitting on the tank behind me was soaked with Lord only knows what. Thankfully the soap dispenser was full, the water hot and there was a barely functioning hand dryer. I felt the need for a long and cleansing shower as I left the men's room. Following my harrowing experience in their facilities, I made my way back to the still barren table. We waited another 15 minutes before we decided, "fuck this, we're leaving", grabbed our coats and left in search of somewhere, anywhere for sustenance. I'm still pissed off because my craving for greasy spoon Chinese food is still unsatisfied. I know you are a fucking dive bar but still, you didn't have to excel so brilliantly at sucking at absolutely everything. Merry Christmas. Love, T. 2015 - Review # 89

Two words: Lunch Special Mongolian Beef Cantonese and Mandarin These words made my visit to Republic Cafe splended. Though the decor is early 90s and a bit frayed, it must have allowed them to keep costs down; the lunch special, which included tea, soup, rice, an egg roll and the main entre was only $7.50. And gosh, the main entre of Mongolian Beef was tasty. The sauce was so on point. While there, I heard not one, but two Chinese dialects spoken, Cantonese and Mandarin. The food is somewhat Americanized Chinese, but it is really good, and prices are next level. If you need a lowkey Chinese food fix in Portland, this is your spot.

Ordered on Grubhub for pickup. Got the order confirmation. My partner went to pick it up because he works in the neighborhood. He got there at the pickup time, they didn't have my order, after finding it and making it they charged him there again at the restaurant even though they had already taken it out of my account. He saw the "credit card" for payment but thought maybe I just used it as some sort of deposit incase we didn't pick it up plus the guy working there told him he owed for it still. After all that, Republic has to authorize a refund for Grubhub, ha ah ha, good luck getting them to give a refund and now I have to go there and figure out why they charged us again. Pros: White rice was good. Cons: Asked for little spice, couldn't even touch it the spice was horribly hot. Asked for no onions on soup, got tons of onions. Parchment paper chicken was pitch black and smelled like burnt sugar. Update: After trying to explain what happened to the restaurant, the employee basically informed us it was our fault and her employee did nothing wrong by charging my partner again. She claims, and I will try to quote this accurately "People order from Grubhub all the time, pay for it online for DELIVERY, come pick it up themselves, pay for it AGAIN at the restaurant and then cancel it online through Grubhub". I informed her that makes no sense why someone would choose to pay for there meal 2 times and then wait for a refund for 1 of them. Bottom line, they say we can get our money back through Grubhub if we want, but they won't give us our money back for charging us again.... I am probably one of the nicest people out there and it saddens me to have to give such a horrible review of this restaurant but treating me like this is ridiculous.

This was one of my favorite places to ear at growing up here an was so excited to eat it again after 20 years. The recipes tasted the same but everything tasted like old grease! Shrimp foo young and fried shrimp good but tasted like old grease. Sweet and sour pork ribs were dry. The only decent thing was the chow mein. I want my money back!

Best Chinese food in Portland hands down. Been the same menu for 100 years, stiff drinks and great service. The bar is truly the "last of the Mohicans". Get it while you can folks...

Solid family run restaurant, oldest Chinese restaurant in Portland (since 1922) and definitely showing its age. We went late on a Saturday night (around 9:30pm) and it was pretty quiet. Staff seem to be all family, so decent service and nice people. The food was surprisingly good - I had the Chef's soup (which was tasty and chock full of stuff) and my daughter had the fried rice noodles with shrimp - also very good. The prices were GREAT! I think my soup was under $10 and hers' was around $13. Check out a piece of history and don't go broke doing it - you won't regret it. If you dig slightly worn-out furnishings and a cozy environment, this is your big bowl of beef chow mein for sure...

Horrible food, bad feeling atmosphere. I must be out of my damn mind to have went here and I hope I don't get food poisoning or best believe I'm coming back with the REAL healthy department!! I ordered the teriyaki chicken luncheon meal and that was the WORST crap on a plate I've had EVER!!! Now I know why there was only 1 person eating there!! NEVER COMING BACK HERE AGAIN and I suggest anyone else do the same!!

Too bad it is closed. They had the BEST fried shrimp, egg foo young, and sweet and sour spareribs. Good bye old friend. :(

The shrimp -the butterflied fried shrimp are the best I've ever had! They should know what they are doing since they've been around since before most all of us were born. I enjoy the atmosphere here. It's quiet and you feel like you've stepped into another world or time period. The food is great overall, and very affordable. I enjoy the green beans and the tofu dish here.

This was the best Chinese food I had in a long time, I was very pleasantly surprised! We ordered the garlic green beans, Kung pao shrimp & subgum chicken chowmein..perfection! My new favorite place is now Republic Cafe for Chinese food delivery.

Hands down the worst Chinese food I have ever eaten. Ever. Bland, gray, indistinguishable. Ordered chicken chow mein with a side of egg flower soup. Gross. The soup was a thick, gelatinous mass of "eh". The chow mein was comprised of bamboo shoots, mediocre chicken, and soggy celery, and that's about it. Zero flavor. Zero noodles. Zero appeal. Zero satisfaction. I'm visiting Portland, and will tell you that I expected MUCH more from a Chinese restaurant in china town. F**k me, right?

Absolute trash. Ordered the chow mein and was served white watery bland noodles in a gulag like sauce with very stale beef and literally a ton of mushrooms. Never coming back here. The general tso's chicken was a joke as well. Save your money.

This is my first time in Portland and first night here. This restaurant is more than just a business. The owner and Darryl are caring human beings. I ordered through postmates and The driver dropped off my the wrong food. I went back and forth between postmates and this cafe. The second time around speaking to this cafe the owner then offered to make my food and DELIVER IT TO ME. But get this... They don't have a delivery service! I was speechless. The owner came and met me with the food and then followed up with a text to make sure everything was good. I'm beyond impressed and so appreciative of this kind gesture as I was really hungry. It just reminded me how kind human beings can truly be to one another. Great job Republic cafe!

Finding quality Chinese food is hard to find. The Republic Cafe's food is good! I've been here quite a few times and feel like I know what's good. Their Orange Chicken is good--but surprisingly Panda Express' is better. The best thing I've had on their menu was the Sweet and Sour Shrimp. This is heavenly. Lightly breaded, perfectly crunchy, great sauce. Make it even better by adding pineapple! Pros: Their portions are huge and they have good prices for good food. Cons: The area outside is kinda dingy and the interior is dark and old. The staff doesn't speak very good English and they don't split checks (or at least that's what a sign said). However, the worst con is THE BATHROOM. It's honestly hilarious. Old saloon style doors barley hide and old beat up toilet but that's not the worst of it. Both side stall walls are full mirrors--in case you like watching yourself do your business. I'm sure many a guest has taken a picture of this memorable "rest"-room. Anyway, come for the great sweet and sour shrimp but skip the bathroom.

We came here one evening after zoo lights with the kids. We were seated quickly and staff was friendly throughout service. To start the meal we had egg flower soup, a large to share. We liked it good enough, but definitely not great. For our main meal we had sweet and sour pork, pork fried rice, cashew chicken and chicken lo mien and all were fantastic!! Seriously great great food. It definitely filled us to the max and there were 6 of us. I will say the bathrooms were down due to repair and they took me to the employee bathroom in the kitchen. We walked through a dining hall that was empty and dark that looked extremely run down and smelled like cat pee, and the bathroom was a scary sight with a run down shower...my daughter was quite confused.

They have been great! Thank you for being open!! You all are fantastic, thank you so much! The food was perfect! Hot and fresh! We got the pot stickers, beef chow mein and cashew chicken

Overly greasy food,terrible service. Our chicken smelled and tasted weird. Stomach hurt very badly DO NOT RECOMMEND.

First time trying to order, shop was closed and after calling 6 times to receive my "completed order" to No prevail, I went next door to golden horse. Can't say anything on the flavor but I can say this was super disappointing- already my order taken at a time the shop was physically closed, and then upon pickup, only harassment from a tweekerin a car. Lol.

Soupy chow mein with no flavor and Hot n Sour soup that was neither hot nor sour. The only decent item was our cold white rice

Very very good..fried shrimp..sweet sour chicken..spareribs..house fried rice...u cant go wrong

Place an order online, get all the confirmations, travel across town through traffic to find their not even open. Sign on the door says that should be, telephone number on the door goes to a full voicemail. I heard great things about this place, I'll never bother trying again.

I went there to see The Orbiters and stayed for Slim Bacon, a wandering minstrel and stand-up improv comedian. Some shaggy-haired Basque was holding court in the corner, sipping a Curaçao drink and speaking in tongues. It's always late at the Republic, much later than it seems.

I would give it negative 10 stars if that's an option. Stopped by this place last evening on my way to Seattle, and it was the most horrible decision I made in 2016! I was so hungry so I just picked a whatever Asian restaurant that's in downtown, gosh I shoulda just get a drive-through burger. Extremely long wait time(50 minutes) for just one noodle order at 10pm with only a few "customers", and the place is so dirty and shady with gangsters hanging around going in and out of the place. I felt unsafe the whole time. And the noodle was really 1 out of 10, even if I am only holding it up against the normal American Chinese food standard. This place should totally be shut down, seriously!Avoid it at all cost!

Not for the faint of stomach, Republic Cafe dishes the greasy, crunchy slathered-in-that-weird-red-sauce American Chinese food that's gonna land like a ton of calories in your gut. And I don't recall any signs about no MSG. I love it. The service is pretty good, too.

We are the people of Republic Cafe who aren't afraid of food with possibility of MSG in it. We love cheap Chinese food, like $6.50 cheap. With $6.50, we enjoyed a combo of pork fried rice with sweet and sour short ribs and egg foo yung. We like the rusty and old interior of the Republic Cafe. The women bathroom stall has a swing door for the stall that only about four feet tall, it made it easy for other people to spy on the business that we do in there. We like the service until we need to make a payment. The cashier lady seemed to be confused with the way we split our credit cards and cash, even tho we wrote down whose cards and which amount that supposed to go in that card. She clearly shown how "thrilled" she was with the whole process. We will come back here when we are starving again and want something greasy, fast, and to absorb alcohol that we will consume at future events around Chinatown. Just give us those greasy fried stuff and we are good.

This place is filthy. I mean truly disgusting. The food was poor and all the plates and bowls seem to be stored in a refrigerator. So, the already Luke-warm food becomes ice cold as soon as it hits the plate. The waitress was creepy and a little rude. I think this place must be a "front" for money laundering or something. I doubt it could survive on its merits as a restaurant. Well worth eating elsewhere.

A surreal dining experience at best...It was slightly forbidding, dark, and just a little Stanley Kubrick-esque. At 5pm. No? Just me? Fair enough. Really, the only reason I'm writing this is to talk about the people who came and sat behind me in a booth. An older douche-y guy, a youngish guy, and a strung-out blonde. My only question: What were they on?? The older guy loudly proclaimed this was "the best Chinese food in Portland", "this rice is incredibly smoky", and repeatedly talked about what a "sensual experience" he was having. I wish I was on what this guy was, because he was having the best meal of his life. I, on the other hand, was not. I ordered the Super Special Combination ($7.95). Sounds like it should be super, or at least special. It was neither. The chicken was dry and tough, the shoots were slimy, and everything was bland bland bland. My friend got the I Love Veggie plate ($6.95) and that was basically a gray salty sauce spooned over tepid veggies. I'm getting a little queasy just thinking about it. The waitress also seriously disliked us, but laughed at the crackhead's jokes, which really hurt my feelings. I mean, I thought I was at least better than a drugged out dirty old man, but apparently not. I'm giving it one more star than it deserves because I feel the bar has potential at 1:30am on a Tuesday night. Don't ask me why, it's just a feeling.

Like Ray Liotta said in "GoodFellas", this was "some real grease-ball sh*t." So I was taking a much-needed siesta from many hours hard at it over @ Ground Kontrol, and was seriously jonesing for some salt'n'peppa Squid. This would have been my go-to "litmus test" dish for Asian eateries all these years, but few places indeed even offer S/P squid. So I instead use Shrimp-Fried Rice as my gold standard, and get down on the S/P squid where I can. Imagine my dismay, it being not quite midnight, that right there in Chinatown, to learn that there was only one place open so late---The Republic. What's more, they didn't do Salt-n-Pepper squid, though they do offer S/P shrimp. Fine fine fine, I told the lady on the phone, make up a large order of that, and a side of shrimp-fried rice, and I'll be there in a few minutes. They had the goodies all neatly bagged up and stapled (!) when I got there shortly thereafter. A word about the building and the ambiance..... this place has some eerie similarities to the Old Wishing Well in No Po--think innumerable cozy red leather booths---especially before the forward thinking but anachronistic and highly regrettable ghetto fabulous interior remodel to enlarge the dancing space, etc over at the Well. Fortunately, the big Vegas-like neon signs outside both buildings still remain (thank GOD) and are undeniably of a very similar style and era. Thank goodness the folks at the Republic had the good/poor taste and supreme cheapness to avoid the El Cheapo deluxe remodel! Back to the food. The S/P squid was delicious. Very greasy, but once I caught a sniff of the afore-mentioned Wishing-Well vibe, I knew exactly what to expect. There were also a good amount of very salt-and-peppery onions and green peppers in the mix. Score! The shrimp fried rice, however, *cue horrendous car braking and crashing sound effects* good lordigans, wtf happened??? Not only was the rice drenched in grease, but the shrimp---those beautiful, succulent, jumbo shrimp defining the S/P shrimp basket were nowhere to be found in this rice. Instead, there were tiny pink blobs dotted sporadically throughout the rice--- maybe they were shrimp phoetuses? Shrimp zygotes, perchance? Yeah, probably not a good thing to take one look at your food and suddenly feel compelled to try to recall all the phases of cellular mitosis... The greeter lady waiting for me and my debit card was efficient and no-nonsense in her duties. What she lacked in overt friendliness she more than made up for in a stunning hip-to-waist ratio that would make Beyonce weep w/envy. Not something you see everyday in Asian women, fo sho'! Anyways, this little feast set me back more than 25 smackeroos, which seemed a little steep, to be honest. A couple take out boxes of "take your pick" @ The Wishing Well would have been at least ten dollars less. So. While The Republic scores big retro-fab style points, and makes a good enough Shrimp salt'n'pepper that I would go back for again, the prices and the mucho malo shrimp-fried-rice leaves this rating w/a couple inescapable bullet wounds. S'alright though--- old time joints like the Republic and the Wishing Well wear such wounds w/pride. Just like it was w/Tupac: the bullet wounds only makes their legend, and their 'cool' grow.....

I can't speak to the merits of Republic Cafe's food, but I can vouch for the Ming Lounge, the restaurant's adjoining, vibey and no-pretense bar. If you're in Old Town / Chinatown, and want an authentic lounge that hearkens back to an era when celebrity bar tenders and interior designers weren't creating the next "it" bar on a weekly basis, and where dim lighting and red hues make for a relaxed and loungey feel, this place is for you. It's seen better days, sure. And you're more likely to rub shoulders with someone on parole than you are a web developer or freelance writer or bike messenger. But that's more of the allure. This place is real. And while other bars try hard to recreate the best elements of old-time, dive-y establishments, this place does it with authenticity, no budget, and a collection of stiff drinks, cheap Chinese food, odd-ball characters stumbling in from skid row or the train station, and a friendly bar tender. These places are disappearing all across Portland. So dress down a little, leave the pretense at the door, and enjoy what's becoming a dying breed in Portland.

The worst place ever. Bad food, bad service. I felt unsafe with the homeless traffic in and out of this dive. Will never go back.

We went here after the Davis St. event to fill up the rest of our hungry stomachs, and I for one was not disappointed. Cheap and savory - not usually two words that go together, but in this case it describes the Ma Po Tofu I got there. MMMMMM yeah...I couldn't have been happier after all the cocktails from Davis St. Add to that the seedy ambiance of an old town Chinese restaurant, and you have a winner that is guaranteed to satisfy your Chinese food cravings. I will be returning, and next time I won't be drunk....maybe...

Working evenings I've been on a search for late chinese. I haven't cared if it's "authentic" or which zone it's from. I just wanted good, quality, tasty, and not likely to kill me in the next 15 minutes. In other words basic americanized chinese fast food. And I have found my shangri la! Most nights Republic Cafe is still cooking till midnight. Which means I can get off work in Hillsboro zip down town grab my order and get home to enjoy while it's still hot. 1st qualification met! Since discovering this little gem, in no particular order we've had the sweet n sour spareribs (a little too sweet), fried rice (kinda bland), egg foo yong (best I've had since my fave place for this closed),spring rolls (crisp, fresh, inexpensive), ABC salad (not salad but yummy), mar far chicken, flyboys, fried wontons, shrimp with peapods (delightful), egg flower soup, and creamed cauliflower chicken (tasty). 2nd qualification met! Everything has been good even if not always to personal likes. All has been made with quality ingredients (no question about whether it should've been dumped instead of used), and tasty! Also since I'm writing this, nothing I've eaten from Republic Cafe has killed me yet, though I plan on giving them many more times to try. As most of downtown Portland around burnside can be considered less then desirable for a neighborhood this area of "chinatown" is no different. My biggest problem though has been parking, and on a weekend parking lots that don't post price and then charge you $8 flat fee to go eat. You know who you are! Anyway, this gem that has been here for eons is worth the trip just for the food. The side show the customers put on is just dinner theater anywhere else would charge you for. Hmm, getting hungry perhaps next I'll try the mushroom duck or the kung pao shrimp. So many choices!

When I think Republic Cafe, my mind see's Ming Lounge. The only place to hang out at The Republic is the lounge. Great service from either of the two bar tenders, good late night food; and it's located near the clubs. It's a place to get strong drink and is generally never crowded. My favorites include Orange Juice Chicken and the Singapore Noodles. I once witnessed a woman ignore the menu in her hands and ask the bartender for an all white chicken, gluten, and MSG free dinner suggestion. The bartender was able to keep her cool while the drunk out-of-towner slowly came to the realization that she was no longer in California. She then asked if my Orange Juice Chicken was gluten free. No gurl, it's time for you to leave.