8 Best New Restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Residents of Portland, Oregon have a problem—the city has way too many standout restaurants to choose from! This being Portlandia, most are locavore and sustainable, and none have a dress code. And why would they? You’re there to eat. These are eight new delicious spots that will have you hopping the next flight out.
Bistro Agnes
Opened last month in Portland’s trending West End neighborhood, Bistro Agnes is a Francophile delight by James Beard Award winning chefs Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez. On the dinner menu: duck confit and roasted pork belly cassoulet, a beef short rib bourguignon that would impress Julia Child herself, and, profiteroles with malted chocolate semifreddo and fudge sauce. Your drink order: Cavalier King Charlie, with gin, lemon, blue pea flower and champagne foam.
Afuri Ramen
The beloved Japanese ramen chain Afuri just opened its first American outpost in Southeast. Why Portland? The spring water that flows off nearby Mt. Hood is just as ideal for ramen as the headwaters in Japan’s Afuri mountains. Sit by the open kitchen for a steaming bowl of truffle miso, turnip and white shoyu butter skewers, accompanied by the Endomame Pea cocktail, a frothy blend of housemade sugar snap pea vodka, mint, lemon and egg white.
Can Font
Chef Josep Vidal worked in multiple Michelin-starred restaurants across the globe before founding Can Font in Barcelona, Spain. His new Portland location of Can Font may not be in a centuries-old farmhouse, but it’s as airy as a Catalonian field, with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on to the Northwest. The paella is unmissable (and includes the locally-caught fish of the day), as is the Iberico ham fritters in Piquillo sauce. Locals love Can Font for its on-point happy hour, where grilled Catalan bread with Iberico cured loin is served alongside inventive cocktails.
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Chalino
This entirely chef-run ode to Mexico’s best foodstuffs is much, much cheaper than a trip south of the border (no passport necessary) and every bit as delicious. Chalino’s menu has made it the new breakout star of North Fremont street—think halibut ceviche with bitter orange and watermelon radish and desserts like roasted pineapple ice cream, with mezcal dulce de leche and toasted pepitas. The cocktails are even better: we love the Clapping When the Plane Lands, made with tequila, horchata and clement coconut.
Jackrabbit
Hidden within the new Duniway Portland, A Hilton Hotel, Jackrabbit is an ode to nose-to-tail dining. Nab a seat in a leather booth, and prepare to be wowed by Top Chef Masters winner Chris Cosentino’s hearty dishes: yes, pig’s ears in herbs and lime and pine bone steak with bone marrow dip _really does _taste this good. JS Tip: The raw bar is among the best in the city; come by at happy hour for $2 oysters in mignonette.
Nomad.PDX
Chef Ryan Fox spent years in the kitchen at three Michelin-starred Joel Robuchon, but he’s done away with white tablecloths at Nomad.PDX. This place offers a different sort of fine dining—a foodie “think tank” where the 20-course tasting menu could include anything from pine ice cream with toasted meringue and crispy butter to parsnip leather.
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Tanner Creek Tavern
Named after a 19th-century tannery, Tanner Creek Tavern is every bit the woodsy man’s restaurant. Oregon ciders, meads and (of course) craft brews are a hallmark, as are Northwest-inspired dishes. You’ll want to taste the hazelnut dusted butternut squash agnolotti and the radicchio salad with pickled grapes and candied pecans. For drinks, you can’t go wrong with the Twice Bitten cocktail, with maple, Dickel rye, egg white and pechauds bitters.
XLB Portland
For years, the only thing missing from Portland’s dining scene was xiao long bao—a.k.a., soup dumplings. No longer. The “Chinese comfort food” restaurant XLB has come to the rescue. Go ahead and slurp down the pillowy pork and ginger-filled delights under the glow of 40-year-old Chinese lanterns; you’ll also want to order the addictive five spice popcorn chicken and chili shrimp wontons.
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