Where to Eat in October: Sousòl, Gold Room, Phuket Cafe, and More

This might be the last month of patio-sitting for a long while, so make sure to enjoy it before the rain sets in. Bar West, the 40-seat, wood-fired restaurant and bar in the former Wildwood space, pays homage to the restaurant’s origins with a casual menu supporting those familiar wood-fired pies. The menu ranges from light finger foods and salads, like rosemary and chile almonds and roasted cauliflower with radicchio and fennel seed, to larger plates featuring summer’s-end produce like ratatouille pasta and chickpea Parmesan sandwiches. Settle in for cocktails featuring almost every major liquor, plus a duo of herbaceous and fruity non-alcoholic cocktails, too.

From the team that brought you Backyard Social comes a wine lounge with a little “class, trash, and sass,” in the former Wild & Free event space. The bar, which opened in May, features a well-balanced wine list, focusing mostly on Oregon, French, and Italian wines by the glass, as well as a trio of beers, and a not-insignificant Japanese whisky list. Plates range from snacky, like Marcona almonds and marinated olives, to the snackier, like French onion soup and shaved brussels Caesar.

You don’t have much time to catch this one, so make your travel plans quick. The Gold Room, eastern Oregon’s (yes, five-hours-away Eastern!) best pizza spot is hanging it up after three years in the shadow of the stunning Wallowa Mountains. The pizza haven, located in the dreamy Jennings Hotel, is the brainchild of Ross Effinger and JoMarie Pittino, who met while working at Southeast Portland’s Ava Gene’s. The menu here is simple and lovely, focused on fantastic wood-fired pies topped with locally sourced veggies and meats (right now, the pancetta and peach with Calabrian chile is catching our eye), paired with simple salads and roasted veg. With closing day coming soon, make sure to grab a reservation since this spot is always packed. Our move? Grab a pie or two to go, drive down Main St. until you reach the boat ramp, and watch the sunset beyond the snow-peaked mountains.

There’s always a ramen shop lurking beneath the Hawthorne Bridge. The newest of the bunch, joining Wu-Rons on the other side of the Waterman Building, is Menya Hokusei from Salem’s Ryan Callahan, who ran Oniyatai Ramen. The simple space focuses on noodles made with Camas Country Mill wheat or barley with toppings inspired by the Northwest. Purists will want to look toward the miso, either regular or spicy, served with chashu and ground pork. The Santiam shio combines a classic chicken broth with salmon dashi and is filled out with sous vide chicken and salmon meatballs. And less traditional, but regionally inspired, is the Hokusei shoyu, simmered with local beef bones until rich and deeply hued, and filled out with sous vide rib eye and finished with garlic truffle oil and shaved truffles.

Find more info here.

We don’t ascribe to the idea that only summertime is grilling season. And at the decade-old Ox, that’s never been true. This beloved Argentine grill has had a commanding presence over Portland’s dining scene since it opened, thanks to its always-fantastic cocktail list (the Dirty Grandma Agnes martini is a must), a creative menu (you’ve seen it on Instagram, and it lives up to the hype: the clam chowder with a smoked marrow bone is really that good), and the fantastic line-up of meats, veg, and fish grilled to perfection on the central cast-iron hearth. Meats rotate throughout the year, but when the halibut collar is on the menu, don’t forget to order that, too.

We never want to leave the place where we can drink a zippy rosé “that tastes like you planted a watermelon Jolly Rancher in your backyard and it sprouted a big tree full of fruit that tastes like watermelon Jolly Ranchers and then you picked that fruit while it was tart, and you juiced it and froze it and turned it into summer popsicles.” Try saying that three times fast.

OK Omens, the never-too-serious little sister to fine-dining restaurant Castagna, offers arguably the most casual yet actually deeply explanatory tasting notes in town, and pairs it with food to back it all up. Pair the lemon-lime tennis ball sparkling pet-nat with the fried chicken bites with Thai basil and green Sichuan peppercorn (it is the fried chicken wine!) or the textural French wine that tastes like pears and apples mashed with wet rocks with the McFarland Springs trout with chunky gribiche. If you’re into wine, you’ll feel right at home.

Earl Ninsom and Eric Nelson’s Phuket Cafe has been bumping since the day it opened. By day, the globetrotting Thai restaurant takes on shareable plates, with dishes like Thai chicken biryani rice with cucumber salad; fried pompano with miang kum dressing and herbs; and kaya French toast with kabocha puree and Thai tea syrup. At night, while Langbaan diners huddle nearby, the kitchen flexes its chops, with everything from snacks and salads, like pandan cheese roti and salted, glazed pork belly bites, to curries, mains, and sides. Those familiar with Ninsom’s family of restaurants will find new curries here, like Phuket’s prawn version with turmeric and lemongrass, and the seafood-studded Tom Yum Hang with pompano, mussels, and shrimp. Cocktails and desserts here are also musts, from the venerable Eric Nelson and Maya Erickson, respectively. Whatever it is, just order it.

After opening a host of fantastic new restaurants in the past few months, the team behind Republica can add one more accolade to their resume: Bon Appetit Best New Restaurant winners. The Mexican-forward, five-course tasting menu is singular in the region, combining local ingredients and dishes inspired by Mexico with storytelling and history to create a unique dining experience every time. It’s also one of the few spaces in Portland where the staff is almost exclusively BIPOC, with conversations often happening in Spanish across the restaurant and to diners, which drives home just how special this place is. Don’t forget to raise a glass of mezcal or Latine-produced wine to celebrate. Just make sure to make your reservation soon.

Call 541-900-5836 for reservations. Find more info here.

Mere weeks after Kann made its Portland debut, its subterranean sister bar Sousòl has finally opened. The moody space, highlighted with Caribbean blue tile, is inspired by the cuisines of Haiti, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Mexico, and beyond. The plates, like Trini-Chinese chicken wings, accra [fritters] with fermented pepper remoulade, and vanilla-roasted pineapple ice with guava jelly and coconut cream, showcase those pan-Caribbean flavors with chef Gregory Gourdet’s award-winning flair. Fun and bright drinks, too, will feature those flavors — in versions both alcoholic and not — in beautiful glassware, with flavored ice and Caribbean-specific ingredients and spirits. We can’t wait to grab a seat.

Find more info here.

We’re so glad to have Woodsman Tavern back. We missed the Southern-ish spin on the steakhouse concept, and all the tasty dips, spreads, raw fish, and salty meats we had come to love. All meals should start with oysters, whether on the half-shell or fried with tartar sauce. There’s also a crispy, ice-cold shrimp cocktail and Lowcountry smoked clams with fried Saltines if you’re feeling particularly seafood-y. Then there’s the trio of spreads, from onion with “every onion” to the classic pimento, and salads you knew would be there (it’s a wedge and a shrimp Louie, grilled or chilled). If you’re still hungry, head to the charcoal and plancha section for strip steaks, smoked half chickens, and burgers. Really make it a steakhouse night with a baked Alaska or banana Nilla pudding for dessert.