The Resy Hit List: Where In Portland You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

This nighttime concept, which took over the daylight La Fondita along the NW Park Blocks, focuses on beautiful, nostalgic Mexican dishes from across the country. Guests will find, as at many of the Republica & Co. restaurants, an ever-shifting menu, metamorphosing between a daily mole, tetelas mixtecas, memelas Veracuzanas, quesadillas Oaxaquenas, and tacos Yucatecos that elegantly incorporate seasonal produce. The entire menu can be experienced as a prix fixe, or you can order a la carte. Next door, Bar Comala shakes up beautiful cocktails alongside an unrivaled selection of mezcal sourced from across Mexico.

This longtime slice of “Old Portland,” has been serving the Northwest Portland neighborhood French-influenced PNW classics like steak frites, grilled salmon and Dungeness crab salad for 15 years. The all-day, every day restaurant has something for everyone at almost any time of day, whether it’s blowout weekend brunch, daily happy hour bites from 3-6 p.m., midday lunch or Wednesday $9 cocktails, glass pours and plates for its weekly “Girls Night Out.”

Peter Cho and Sun Young Park’s (Han Oak, Toki) latest restaurant is dedicated to upscale Korean barbecue. The menu takes guests through a quartet of banchan, a cold and hot starter — recently a dry-aged Hawaiian kampachi and the signature pan-fried mandu with lace resting in a pool of black vinegar bone broth — before a hearty ssam spread of wood-fired, whole-animal barbecue chosen by the chef. Meats range from bulgogi marinated steak and pork coppa to spicy sausages made in-house and sliced short rib, as well as substantial vegetarian options. After dinner, in true Han Oak family fashion, guests are welcome to try their hand at karaoke, though your audience will be your previous fellow diners.

Portland’s arguably most sought-after restaurant proudly focuses on chef Gregory Gourdet’s Haitian heritage. And it’s still worth trying to snag a reservation. The James Beard Award-winning menu is truly best suited for joyous reunion, with groups of four to six (or more in the private dining space!) getting a chance to try a little bit of everything if you’re sharing across the table. Don’t miss the signature dishes — the plaintain brioche and the griyo twice-cooked pork — as well as any number of plates emerging from the wood-fired hearth. Try red cabbage with smoked herring and African pepper sauce; shimmering glazed duck breast and leg, lacquered with cane syrup and snappy pineapple; and a hearty coffee-rubbed, bone-in rib eye. Add in sides to share, and desserts, and you’ll see why Gourdet is so lauded.

It’s not a stretch to say there’s no Vietnamese restaurant in town like this. At Paper Bridge, which opened late last year in the same building as Scotch Lodge, most of the Northern Vietnamese menu book is dedicated to extensive descriptions of each dish. For every item, the restaurant offers a miniature history lesson and glossary entry, often noting the origins, regional significance and geography alongside descriptions of ingredients and cooking techniques. Last month, we spent nearly 10 minutes getting ready to order, as we flipped between the menu and its descriptions, settling on rare-to-Portland dishes like stir-fried morning glory with three types of garlic, a classic bún chả Hanoi, and the addictive, piping hot Hai Phong-style breadsticks with pate. Post dinner, we asked for menus again … to study up for next time.

Since it opened a little more than a year ago, No Saint has emerged as one of the best new pizza restaurants in the city. Find a handful of simple antipasti: think housemade focaccia and olives alongside composed plates like a fall burrata with blueberry mostarda and mortadella. Salads highlight seasonal bounty; a recent radish and apple salad showcased a highwire act of bitterness and sweetness. And of course, the pizzas, with a wonderfully chewy, fire-kissed crust supporting a cast of toppings you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. Don’t miss the quince and pepperoni, the Portland version of a Hawaiian; or the a pear and sausage, which brings the best of a pear salad and sausage pie together.

Xiao Ye, a “first generation American” restaurant from partners Jolyn Chen and Louis Lin (Rose’s Luxury in D.C., Felix in L.A.) was one of the city’s most anticipated restaurant openings last year. The short-but-sweet, dinner party-esque menu boasts five sections, with each offering two to three multinational dishes. Plates kick off with mini madelines with whipped butter and jalapeño powder and butter-basted chicken hearts, then weave between “cold,” “warm,” and “bigger stuff,” and land at “sweets.” A radicchio and winter citrus salad with cashew yogurt and vegan XO and squash toast in the cold section balance out headliner dishes like the rigatoni all’amatriciana, the half fried chicken with S&B curry jus, or Japanese sweet potato with miso butter and celeriac slaw.

L’Orange, the new winery restaurant from Joel Stocks (Holdfast) and winemaker Jeff Vejr (Holdfast, Les Caves), is one of those born-beloved Portland spots you forget has only been around for a short while. The western Mediterranean plays heavy inspiration here, with much of the menu frolicking between seasonal salads, composed small plates, and larger entrees, often incorporating some form of seafood, like mussels and clams with roasted fennel and smoked and roasted sturgeon with oil-cured black olive. Wines will be a particular draw here as well, with bottles representing southern France through the Italian Riviera.

This beloved Argentine grill has had a commanding presence over Portland’s dining scene since it opened a decade ago. There’s the always fantastic cocktail list (the Dirty Grandma Agnes martini is a must), not to mention a beautiful wine selection — plus, a great outdoor patio for summer nights. The by-land-and-sea menu combines iconic dishes, like the clam chowder with a smoked marrow bone and the tripe and octopus with a fantastic line-up of meats, vegetables, and fish grilled to perfection on the central cast-iron hearth.

While it has been briefly closed after a kitchen fire, expect it to return mid-May — and when it does, keep an eye out for halibut collar on the menu, which should be on everyone’s table (assuming that’s your thing).

Yaowarat, the newest restaurant from the ever-popular Langbaan and Eem family, opened to fanfare and lines out the door of the former Lazy Susan space last year. A meditation on Thailand’s Chinatown, Yaowarat combines the cocktail prowess of Eric Nelson and Kyle Linden Webster (Expatriate) with the culinary might of Thai chefs Kanokwan “Nok” Jinuntuya and Taweesak “Tee” Teesompong. The menu – more of a meditation on a summer trip than a 1:1 recreation of the bustling neighborhood – features both new and familiar dishes, including Yaowarat road squid, spiked with garlic and Thai chiles; lap cheong fried rice studded with gingko nuts and prik nam pla; and mapo tofu, simmered with ground beef and pork and soft egg tofu.

Find more info here.

This warm, subterranean cocktail bar, whose menu was built for “whisky lovers,” might be one of the coziest spots in Portland. Cocktails remain some of the best in town, highlighting Japanese whiskies, Islay Scotches, and ingenious infused spirits in creative drinks like the Islay daiquiri, shaken with pineapple rum and coconut-oolong demerara and the Loch Stock, stirred with Scotch, mezcal, and lapsang souchong-infused sweet vermouth. The food menu sticks to small and shareable, with salty snacks and bites to balance your drink (the pickle spice fries and something from the raw menu are a must), with a handful of mains — like the beautiful soft-shell crab sandwich — to make it a meal.

Delight in bright and spicy (and dietary-restriction-friendly!) dishes from chef and owner Fatou Ouattara. Having opened one of the city’s few West African restaurants, Ouattara brings her Ivorian cooking expertise to new, larger Division Avenue digs. Here, chicken wings arrive dusted in an aromatic dry rub alongside a duo of sauces, sweet plantains balance out the heat of beef brochettes and jolof coconut meals, and hearty mafe is filled out with beef, chicken, lamb, or oxtail. Don’t miss a side of fufu, a staple for many West African countries, here made from corn.

More info here.

There’s a reason Laurelhurst Market, with its side-by-side in-house butcher shop and restaurant, remains one of Portland’s most popular restaurants. Known for its ultra high-quality meats —  available, alongside housemade sausages and charcuterie, for purchase in the adjacent butcher shop — Laurelhurst has been a local stalwart for the past 15 years. The menu has remained simple but fantastically executed: a handful of lovely starters, including an all-made-in-house charcuterie board; a trio of seasonal salads, punched-up sides, and a wide variety of mains that follow a similar meat-and-veg formula. Don’t feel like you have to always go with steak or a pork chop, either. The eponymous burger, topped with grilled onions and white cheddar, is one of the best in town.

This airy, all-day cafe not only boasts some of the best pizza in town, but one of the best brunches and some of the best baked goods. (And lunch? And bread?). During the day, the simple, seasonal menu veers toward both sweet and savory things served with or on toast. There’s a fantastic breakfast sandwich on a housemade milk bun and a whipped ricotta toast that could also double as a decadent, but not overly sweet, dessert. At night, the menu keeps its simple mantra, trading out toast and eggs for pizza, pasta, vegetables, snacks, and protein-rich mains. The absolute can’t-miss pizza stunner is a simple one: the pomodoro pie with added stracciatella (+$4) and a side of Calabrian chile honey.

No reservations.

Taking up residence in Southeast Clinton’s former Burrasca space, Quaintrelle has continued its fine-dining flair in a space that feels much more like home. The menu here spans a range of options and levels of commitment, from a la carte dishes to tasting menus in seven- and 10-course iterations. Dishes, regardless of menu choice, all remain ever-changing but always seasonal and gorgeous. Menus typically start with some form of oyster, often delivered on a bed of shells mimicking tidepools, before winding through a luxurious caviar course, salads, meats, and fish, all set with local produce. Cocktails, too, remain as ephemeral as the changing seasons, built out with fresh fruits, herbs, and savory elements.

Indonesian stunner Wajan recently got a new sibling. Pasar, which opened along Northeast Alberta this past winter, showcasing harder-to-find Indonesian dishes and more “everyday” Indonesian dishes. For diners, this means salty, fried snacks like deep-friend curry beef and egg pockets and vegetable fritters with peanut sauce; larger, Chinese-Indonesian plates like fried chicken and shrimp meatballs in sweet & sour tomato sauce and Longtong Cap Go Meh, a rice cake and fried tofu rich soup in a creamy coconut shrimp broth; and jewel-toned desserts, sweetened with coconut, pandan, and palm sugar.

Find more info here.

Still arguably the most talked-about Russian restaurant in America, now with a cookbook, market, frozen dumpling line, and a sinus-clearing bottled horseradish vodka for sale, Kachka has remained a shining star in Portland’s dining scene since it opened nearly 10 years ago. The menu – broken into four sections — showcases dressed up versions of classic dishes from Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia. It has, gratefully, changed little since its first days. You’ll still find the ombre-like Herring “Under a Fur Coat,” the mayo-laced Russian “salad;” boards boasting caviar and roe, pickles, house-cured meats, and breads; phenomenal pelmeni; and the iconic cozy clay-pot rabbit. Now wonderfully expanded: the restaurant’s phenomenal house-infused vodkas that shift with the seasons.

Call 503-235-0059 for more info.

Portlanders got an early taste of spring for a brief moment in March. The all-70-degrees weekend startled the city out of its wintery stupor to remind us of patios, lazy weekend lunches, and grilled chicken. And with April here, Slabtown’s Mama Bird, from chef Gabe Pascuzzi (Stacked Sanwich), is a perfect spot for all three, with a heavily wood-fired menu offering everything from arancini and wagyu tartare to salads and of course, smoky grilled chicken. The main bird, served in half or whole options, arrives with a range of sauces, from smoked garlic miso to vadouvan yogurt, and pairs well with grilled herb potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Former farmers market pizza pop-up Grana Pizza – with their dual Ooni setup roaring at full blast – retired those portable ovens for a brick-and-mortar space last fall. These days, find bubbly, charred pies topped with everything from the classic margherita to black truffle specials. Grana’s other claim to fame, besides just great Neapolitan pies, is their entry into Portland’s burgeoning portafoglio and panuzzo market. These folded pizzas and “pizza dough sandwiches,” whose mortadella-stuffed pockets have been popping up as specials across town, are the perfect amalgamation of sandwich, calzone and pizza. Grana’s range from mortadella (natch) with fontina, chicory and pistachios, to diavola, filled with salami, Calabrian chiles, and honey.

This longtime Portland French bistro remains a citywide favorite, thanks to its straightforward menu, excellent attention to culinary detail, and a fantastic beverage list. Start with the butter lettuce salad, one of the city’s most recognizable salads (it’s Portland, there are a few!), layered with avocado, sliced radish, and croutons, tossed in a Dijon vinaigrette and a dusting of fine herbs, before diving into chicken liver mousse, beef tartare, and maybe a foie gras terrine. From there, the menu stays on the bistro track, with a classic and wonderful steak frites — one of the few in town — moules marinère, and duck l’orange. We love grabbing a seat along the bar near the iconic melted wax candles that have been a constant since the restaurant’s early days in Southeast more than a decade ago.