As a city rife with turnover, sitting comfortably on the culinary cutting edge, Portland sees restaurants open doors with regularity, hoping to make a splash in a town that’s overabundant with talent for its size. Some of those newcomers become the talk of the town quickly, among food writers or neighborhood regulars in search of something special. Thus, we present the Eater Heatmap, which covers some of the most exciting restaurants that have opened in the past six months. Know of a spot that should be on our radar? Send us a tip by emailing [email protected]. For more established, bucket-list restaurants in Portland, check out the Eater 38.
Read MoreThe Hottest New Restaurants and Food Carts in Portland, November 2024
Griot-topped fried plantains, gluten-free brioche toast, and other things to eat at some of Portland’s hottest new openings
Bar Nina
The subterranean Alberta wine bar known as Les Caves is now Bar Nina, a dimly lit hideaway for natural or fortified and aromatized wines that also has a small, curated menu of snacks and plates to soak up the pours — think homemade chicken liver mousse, havarti-cheddar grilled cheeses, and Spanish conservas like piquillo peppers stuffed with tuna. Cheese, jams, and Marcona almonds are available to graze on, too.
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Mémoire Cà Phê
Vietnamese American brunch spot Mémoire Cà Phê is a collaborative project between friends — namely, Matta’s Richard Le, HeyDay’s Lisa Nguyen, and Portland Ca Phe’s Kim Dam. The trio apply their own twist to breakfast staples; fried chicken sits on an aromatic pandan waffle, breakfast burritos are filled with fish sauce-lacquered bacon and Thai chile avocado salsa, and cinnamon rolls are enhanced with black sesame filling and dollops of marionberry jam. Order an iced Vietnamese coffee topped with egg cream to enjoy with brunch or on the go.
Seventeen Hot Pot
Golden, miniature cow sculptures, perhaps macabrely stacked with rolls of wagyu beef, land at tables at this new Bethany Chinese restaurant, which is quickly becoming one of the area’s strongest options for Chongqing-style tableside hot pot. Broth options include versions with the tingle of Sichuan peppercorn and the richness of bone marrow, plus the tangy chicken and pickled mustard green-based broth. The restaurant offers a wide range of add-ins, including house-made noodles, seafood, Berkshire pork, quail eggs, offal, and several different cuts of beef; hot pot connoisseurs will appreciate the assortment of dipping sauces as the condiment bar.
Bajala
This new fish taco cart in the Nob Hill pod specializes in the seafood dishes found in Baja California. Crispy, batter-fried sturgeon — mimicking the angel shark tacos spotted in Ensenada — arrives topped with cabbage, pico, pickled onions, crema, and chipotle mayo, plus a choice of cart-made salsas for a touch of heat. The highlight, however, is a Sinaloan dish, tacos gobernador: A crisp, quesadilla-like taco filled with saucy tomatoes and poblano peppers, queso Chihuahua, and juicy, plump shrimp. The octopus “al pastor,” served with a cool avocado mousse and nutty salsa macha, is another strong contender.
Dodo Dumpling
Northwest Portland has a new dumpling house that prioritizes local meat sourcing: Dodo Dumpling brings a robust slate of steamed and pan-fried dumplings, with renditions like traditional beef or pork and cabbage; curry chicken; chive, egg, and shrimp; and corn and cheese. Starters include cucumber salad and luwei beef (a Taiwanese preparation that involves braising the meat); its chickpea-packed wanza noodle dish is available if something bigger than dumplings is needed to sate. Espresso and matcha lattes, plus fresh-squeezed lemonade, are also on order.
The Smokin' Oak Portland
This Rose City outpost of the Vancouver, Washington barbecue staple opened at Cartside Food Carts on North Williams Avenue in September. Here, you can expect the same quality Central Texas barbecue that’s rarer to find in Portland, including plates like the “Texas Trinity” with sliced brisket, spare ribs, and sausage served alongside two sides (white bread slices, pickles, and onions are available upon request). A step-up order, the “Smoke Stack,” adds pulled pork. Diners not in the mood for a tray of ‘cue can go with fatty brisket sandwiches, nachos topped with brisket or pulled pork, and Frito pie; vegetarian diners will have access to things like buffalo cauliflower, a smoked beet salad, and a smoked portobello mushroom sandwich.
Kirari West
Portland’s newest all-gluten-free bakery began its lifetime in Fukushima, Japan in 2010. Four years later, owner Hiro Saito brought his rice flour-based pastries and breads to Redondo Beach in Los Angeles County. Now, he has expanded the brand to Portland, after noticing an uptick of online orders from the region. The all-day menu includes sandwiches, bowls, salads, and smoothies; a bakery side will operate for customers looking to buy whole loaves, rolls, and more. For those dining in, expect tall slabs of gluten-free toast slathered with jam and ricotta, panini-style pressed sandwiches, and veggie bowls packed with quinoa and greens.
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Tap Tap Cuisine
At the new restaurant location of Haitian cart Tap Tap, Dieuson Alix’s warm hospitality can be felt whenever he leaves the kitchen where he shares cooking duties with his mother. To start, an order of bannann peze — fried plantains shaped into little cups cradling griot or shrimp and spicy pikliz — is a good shareable option for the table. Entrees like grilled snapper come with legume, a comforting mixed mashed vegetable dish, and mushroom-infused black rice studded with lima beans.
Parallel PDX
Chef Joey Gibson uses wines selected by sommelier wife Stacey as reference points to create dishes like dirty rice arancini and hush puppies served with luxurious uni butter. Although small plate and wine pairings — a creamy, rich seafood cannelloni and a medium-bodied Italian friulano among them — anchor the menu, the rest of the bar and kitchen’s offerings are no afterthought. Cheese plates are constructed with a balanced trio of cow, goat, and sheep’s cheese from Cowbell and Stumptown cold brew espresso martinis come with an optional dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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Bar Dolly
A visit to Dolly Olive’s sleek, next-door companion bar works equally well whether it’s the destination for the night or a waiting room to grab pre-dinner drinks before space at the main restaurant opens up. The bar’s menu encompasses smaller drinking snacks like marinated olives, as well as pasta dishes and large plates that include Sicilian eggplant parmigiana and grilled prawns with almond romesco. Beverage-wise, Dolly’s focus is on Mediterranean wines by the glass and spritzes like one splashed with bright, homemade limoncello.
Akizawa Japanese Bistro
At this cozy mom-and-pop Japanese bistro, diners begin their meals with appetizers like umagi, delicate slices of unagi-filled rolled omelet, and salmon carpaccio infused with truffle ponzu. Affordable sashimi and nigiri omakase options range from $20 to $40, and teishoku sets clock in under $20, if leaving the decision-making to the chef sounds preferable to ordering a la carte sushi rolls like the Heather Canyon (salmon, hotate, apple, asparagus). Bottles of sake affixed to a wall are arranged by category for easy selection.
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Bar Loon
The second effort from Bellwether Bar co-owner Ansel Vickery offers thoughtfully executed bistro-style dishes by chef Jimmy Askren. Warm lighting and dried flower arrangements provide a romantic ambience for diners to share plates like the tuna nicoise, which delivers the right amount of brine from pickled green beans and caper aioli, further anchored by fried potatoes and a jammy egg. At Bar Loon, cocktails are meant to take a backseat to the wine list that offers a mix of pours from Oregon and Europe, but the corn daiquiri is a must-order.
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Phaya Thai Express
Nan Chaison (Norah, Mestizo) opened this Southeast Hawthorne fast casual restaurant as an homage to the khao gaeng shops found in Thailand, takeout-centric restaurants where visitors customize combination meals while picking from an assortment of curries, braises, and other dishes. At Phaya, diners pick dishes like wagyu beef krapao, fish sauce wings, and massaman curry from a packed deli-style counter — think Chipotle or Panda Express. The earthy and peppery pad ped, a Southern Thai curry packing plenty of heat, complements crispy and juicy fried pork belly or the whole fried eggs in a nicely balanced tamarind sauce. Don’t overlook the snacks in the warming case, particularly the moji, a glutinous fried rice ball filled with ube and coconut.
Oathbreaker Pie
Paladin Pie’s new sibling cart Oathbreaker is the latest addition to Mount Tabor cart pod Hinterland. Here, Leo Brill turns out crispy-bottomed New York-style pies made with slow-fermented sourdough out of the cart’s gas oven. Diners can customize half-and-half pies, opt for a classic pie pocked with pepperoni cups, or try the Bard pie with Calabrian chile cream, feta, giardiniera, and homemade Italian pork sausage. The cart also bakes ingredients like pepita pesto and roasted mushrooms into stromboli — don’t forget to add a side of ranch or chile crisp for dipping.
L'Échelle
Honoring the late Naomi Pomeroy’s vision, the rest of the L’Échelle team — Submarine Hospitality co-founder Luke Dirks, executive chef Matt Mayer, and wine director Michael Garofola — opened L’Échelle in pop-up form until its permanent restaurant space is complete. Despite the restaurant’s star power, dining here is refreshingly casual. Dinner, served Thursdays through Saturdays, is walk-in only. At the host stand slash bar, a chalkboard menu lists bistro plates like country rabbit and hazelnut pate, bib lettuce salad with dijon vinaigrette, and duck confit with braised beans. Once seated at communal tables in the garden, diners clink glasses of French wine while dad rock filters through the flowering trees.
Bark City BBQ
Many barbecue fans mourned the loss of Bark City BBQ when pitmaster Michael Keskin closed his cart and moved to Arizona in 2022. Now, Keskin has returned to Portland and is slinging his Texas-style, oak-smoked meats at Woodstock’s Heist cart pod. Whether slow-smoked brisket, pork spare ribs, or salt-and-pepper turkey strikes your fancy, meats are sliced to order for optimum freshness. The cart’s weekly specials — including a brisket-loaded spaghetti dish using pasta from Dame, available Sundays — are worth a strategically timed visit.