My wife and I try to get out at least once a week. Here’s our list of the best dinner spots in Portland:
1.) Toro Bravo www.torobravopdx.com
Located in NE Portland, it’s a tapas restaurant. The first time we ate there, I looked at the menu for five minutes and declared to my wife that nothing sounded edible. We asked the server to make some recommendations and everything was outstanding… some of the best tasting food I’ve ever had. If you check out their website, you can see their menu. Don’t let it scare you away. It reads like an adventure but trust me, everything you eat you will love. The restaurant is small and crowded. Expect to end of waiting a bit for a table (they don’t take reservations)… there’s a cocktail bar next door that helps with the wait. I can’t overstate how worth the wait this place is. 120 NE Russell Street
2.) 10-01 www.ten-01.comThis does not look or feel like a Portland place. It’s in the Pearl District but it feels like LA. They have a new chef and I have tried a few things from him but can’t speak to the entire menu. The previous chef left to work at a luxury hunting lodge in Alaska. Everything is beautifully presented, the servers are cool and the food is great. High attention to detail here. 1001 NW Couch Street at the corner of Couch and 10th Avenue. Reservations: 503-226-DINE
3.) Le Pigeon www.lepigeon.com
They’re filming several movies and TV shows in Portland right now and the Hollywood folks have discovered LePigeon. It’s the most “Portland” of the places on this list. You sit at community tables, elbow to elbow with your neighbors in what can best be described as the kitchen (that is VERY Portland). Gabriel Rucker, the chef was named by Bon Appetite as the best young chef in America. The food is perfect. The local daily paper, The Oregonian, named it as Co-Restaurant of the Year in 2008. It’s very possible that you’ll see celebrities here. 738 E Burnside Street Reservations: 503-546-8796
4.) Paley’s Place www.paleysplace.net
Portland’s most famous restaurant. It’s an annual nominee for the James Beard Award. It was the Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year in 1999 so it’s not all that hip, but the food is excellent. It’s kind of along the lines of the Palmer House that we ate at on one of your previous visits. It’s local cuisine with a French twist. 1204 NW 21st Avenue Reservations: 503-243-2403
5.) Nostrana www.nostrana.com
Italian with a local Portland flavor. Their specialty is anything they cook in their wood oven. My favorite is to order the Margherita Pizza (it’s virtually a salad on thin bread) and the Tagliata flat iron steak. 1401 SE Morrison Reservations: 503-234-2427
6.) Beast www.beastpdx.com
Shared Restaurant of the Year honors with Le Pigeon last year. It’s expensive and eating there will take all evening. You sit in the kitchen at community tables. There are two seatings per night and everyone gets the same thing, served at the same time. You will converse with the chef and enjoy 6 (yes, six) courses of some of the best food you have ever eaten. Dish after dish will blow you away. It would be higher on my list except for the price. I couldn’t find it online exactly, but I think it was $75 per person, not including gratuity. We ate there about 2 months ago and had a great time. No one at our table was from Portland. 5425 NE 30th at the corner of 30th and Killingsworth Reservations: 503-841-6968
7.) Nuestra Cocina www.nuestra-cucina.com
A new discovery for us. Authentic home-cooked Mexican cuisine. We sat at the counter and enjoyed Portland’s best margaritas. The food is good and simple. We are looking forward to going back. It might just end up higher on my list but we’ve only been there once and were dazzled with our food. 2135 SE Division Street. Reservations: 503-232-2135
