Lantern Lounge Serves Last Boozy Juice Box on SE Grand

Opening at the tail end of November 2016, Lantern Lounge looked to fill the space left by Oso Market and Bar at 726 SE Grand Ave. — located next door to Kachka and Dig A Pony — but the restaurant has now shuttered and vacated the venue. Say goodbye to those boozy “gin and juice boxes.”

When it opened, Lantern Lounge had aimed to supply the missing link on bustling SE Grand. Kachka would provide the on-point Russian cuisine, and Bit House Saloon, Dig a Pony, and Lantern Lounge would furnish a sidewalk-clogging nightlife scene. Looks as though Bit House Saloon and Dig a Pony will continue to battle for SE Grand nightlife dominance this summer.

Lantern Lounge was owned by Zachary Edwards, Santino Monteblanco, Will Storey, and Eric Mann, owner of Lake Oswego’s Aji Tram. Opening chef Adam Merlin (Le Pantry, Depature) prepared a French and Vietnamese-inspired menu that received some love from Merc critic Andrea Damewood, but a staff member at the Le Pantry food cart tells Eater he left the restaurant in January. That means Merlin is back preparing farmer-driven salads and plates at the popular French-by-Oregon food cart he helped establish in 2016.

• Lantern PDX [Official Site]
• All Previous Lantern Coverage [EPDX]
• Oso Market & Bar Will Become French-Vietnamese Drinking Lounge, Lantern [EPDX]