Touché Restaurant to Shutter After 20 Years in the Pearl District

Located at 1425 NW Glisan St., Touché Restaurant and Bar has been serving wood-fired pizzas and house pastas since 1995, and it appears the beloved Italian spot with a swank upstairs billiards room is closing on to make way for a new development (Eater first reported the possible closure last spring). Touché will serve its final Pasta Sherwood on May 14, according to its Facebook page, but the owners still hope to reopen in some form down the road.

Touché Restaurant and Bar writes on Facebook:

Our wonderful run is coming to an end. We have been faithfully serving food and booze in the Pearl for over 20 years, long before the boom of condos and apartments that is unfortunately pushing us out. We are working on finding a new location, but in the meantime, come down and see us while you can. We love you, and thanks for the two decades of love and support.

Frank Ernandes founded Touché in the space formerly home to Perlina. The Touché website says Perlina — opened in 1992 — was the first restaurant to serve wood-fired Italian pizza in Portland. With Touché, Portland loses one of the more unique nightlife opportunities in the city: a robust Italian restaurant and bar with an expansive, second-story billiards room atop a spiral staircase.

• Touché [Official]
• Touché’s Future Uncertain, But Not All Hope is Lost [EPDX]