As we eagerly await spring and its promise of beginnings, a crop of new restaurants and bars grown during Portland’s rainy season will soon sprout. Some of the city’s biggest rock stars are expanding their empires, like Thai maven Akkapong Earl Ninsom and his highly anticipated ode to Bangkok’s Chinatown, or Carlo Lamagna’s West Side expansion with Filipino-style roast meats. In northeast and southeast Portland, two new bars will add a touch of mystique and playfulness to the city’s still-recovering nightlife. And downtown, the lofty Ritz-Carlton will open its restaurant and dining hall, filled with Portland talent and the former chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Bearing in mind that the dates listed below are tentative and menus may change, we are excited for the incoming Spring and Summer 2023 class. Is there a restaurant or bar that will be opening in the next few months that we should know about? Contact us via our telephone line.
haha pizza
At this farmer’s market-turned-restaurant, owners Aaron and Natalie Truong marry Neapolitan pizza-making techniques with Asian flavors, resulting in perfectly blistered pies with flavors like pho, tom yum and Thai peanut sauce with lemongrass pork. While longtime supporters of Hapa Pizza will still be able to enjoy made-to-order pizzas at its Beaverton Farmers’ Market origin point, diners can watch the restaurant step up its game with the restaurant’s brand new brick oven.
Address: 12755 SW Broadway Street
Planned opening date: March 10
Learn more: This farmer’s market stall tops pizza with braised brisket with pho
The strange
Industry veterans Lightning Bar Collective and Hey Love have joined forces to open this bar that separates speakeasy from dive. Bartenders will mix chanterelle syrup in Sazeracs and shake martinis with miso-infused vodka and snow pea-infused vermouth. In the kitchen, pop-up Euzumeh chef Tamara Hattar will code Middle Eastern flavors into pub food, resulting in spicy lamb burgers and cumin and cardamom seasoned chicken wings served with yogurt sauce and zhoug.
Address: 3560 N Mississippi Avenue
Early opening: Late March or early April
Learn more: A strange new bar created by local cocktail veterans will serve Chanterelle Sazeracs and Meze
Magna Kubo
In this casual sister location to the beloved Filipino restaurant Magna Kusina, chef Carlo Lamagna will use a churrasco grill to mimic the style of roast meats he grew up eating in the Philippines. The lechoneria menu will leave it up to diners to create their own meals, selecting sides like Canton pancit or taro leaves cooked in coconut milk to eat with dishes like lemongrass marinated chicken, smoked breast or whole rainbow trout.
Address: 12406 SW Broadway Street
Early opening: At the beginning of April
Learn more: Magna Kubo brings Filipino-style rotisserie meats to Beaverton
Mixing of duality
Designed to be a casual hangout where beer-hungry Portlanders can enjoy a midday low-ABV beer, Duality Brewing will also serve brunch, lunch and dinner at its new warehouse in Kerns. Brewer Michael Lockwood, who previously cooked at renowned restaurants Eem and Kachka, brings a chef’s approach to beer, incorporating produce like Hood River apples and Oregon wine country grapes. Lively pop-up Astral, which previously teamed up with Duality for summer pop-ups last year, will lead the new brewery’s food menu, bringing rotating ceviches and tacos to the party.
Address: 715 Lawrence Ave NE
Early opening: End of April
Learn more: Hot Nanobrewery Duality Brewing and Buzzy Pop-Up Astral will open a Kerns Brewpub
Houston Blacklight
Not far from Oma’s Hideaway, one of their successful Southeast Asian restaurants, Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly will open their new 70s fantasy of a bar in the former Night Light space. The category is: comfort food, with playful menu items like French onion soup ramen and cocktails adorned with Jell-O shrimp toppings. The in-development beverage menu, a collaboration between Mariah Pisha-Duffly and beverage director Em Warden, currently includes full-size punches, slushies and house liquors as starting points.
Address: 2100 SE Clinton Street
Early opening: June
Learn more: The couple behind Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway will open a fantastic bar in Southeast Clinton
Untitled Peter Cho and Sun Young Park Project
The team behind famed Han Oak and downtown hit, Toki, will be opening another Korean restaurant in Southeast Portland like no other in town. The restaurant, which has not yet been named, will source whole animals raised in the Pacific Northwest – beef from Pat-n-Tam, lamb from Cattail Creek – for Korean barbecue, meats marinated and unmarinated roasted in a wood-fired oven or grilled on the restaurant hearth. The restaurant’s banchan will also be sourced largely from farms in Oregon.
Address: 626 SE Main Street
Early opening: June
Learn more: The Han Oak team’s next restaurant will specialize in whole-animal Korean barbecue
Market
From the team behind Indonesian restaurant Wajan comes this snack bar and restaurant, which will explore the treasures found in Indonesian open-air markets. In the morning, Pasar will serve jajanan, sweets and snacks like dadar gulung, pandan pancakes filled with coconut and palm sugar, or martabak daging, a fried pancake with seasoned ground beef. In the evening, the menu will switch to Hokkien-style cuisine, including noodle dishes like bakmi and mie goreng.
Address: 3023 Alberta Street NE
Early opening: Spring
Learn more: Pasar will bring Indonesian snack culture to northeast Portland
Ritz-Carlton Restaurant and Food Hall
The building housing the downtown Portland Ritz-Carlton will host two notable dining destinations. The luxury hotel’s food hall, complete with adjoining dining room, will be brimming with Portland talent: Eater 38, stalwart Birrieria La Plaza, longtime Korean food cart Kim Jong Grillin’, pop -up featured Sunrice, among others. On the 20th floor, chef Pedro Almeida – a Michelin-starred Midori alumnus of Penha Longa Resort in Portugal – will run an all-day dining restaurant with a tasting menu, featuring seafood and mushrooms from the northwest of Portugal. Peaceful.
Address: 812 SW Washington Street
Early opening: Summer
Learn more: What we know about the Ritz-Carlton’s early days in Portland so far
Yaowarat
With a handful of successful restaurants under his belt, Akkapong Earl Ninsom has established himself as a legend of Thai cuisine among Portland chefs. Inspired by and adopting its name from the main thoroughfare of Bangkok’s bustling Chinatown, Yaowarat will explore the genre of Thai-Chinese cuisine. Aboard the voyage are chef Sam Smith, longtime collaborator Eric Nelson and a Thai chef whose resume includes a three-year stint in Beijing; The team’s recent research trip to Bangkok will directly inform the work-in-progress menu, but early recipe tests included dishes like cuttlefish curry, clams with basil and clay prawns with glass noodles. .
Address: To be determined
Early opening: Late July or early August
Learn more: Portland Legend Akkapong Earl Ninsom will open a restaurant inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown