Fine dining destination Castagna’s cheery new wine bar is now open, and cheddar-filled beignets and strawberry balsamic blizzards have hit Hawthorne in earnest. OK Omens, a revamped version of Castagna’s casual counterpart Cafe Castagna, is a major shift from the butter lettuce salads of yesteryear; James-Beard-nominated chef Justin Woodward has taken the menu in a seriously playful direction, served alongside master somm Brent Braun’s reasonably priced wine list. But the restaurant’s makeover, complete with minimalist white walls and a touch of sky blue behind the bar, only adds to OK Omens’ optimistic feel.
Owner Monique Siu announced plans to close Cafe Castagna in Portland Monthly earlier this year, before quickly leaking the spot’s new, cheeky name to Michael Russell at the Oregonian. After Cafe Castagna shut its doors in May, a quick revamp brightened up the space for a June 11 open. Holst Architecture tackled the project, adding some natural light with two walls of windows and a pale color scheme with borderline blonde wood countertops. In the center, an asymmetrical banquette provides clusters of seating throughout the restaurant.
During the renovation period, chef Woodward worked on developing some menu items for the new space. He’s taken a few of the restaurants’ popular dishes — its butter lettuce salad, its burger — and given them a bit of Woodward charm. His burger arrives swiped with a smoked beef fat remoulade, as well as cheddar. Woodward has also been hyped about a new caesar inspired by El Torito’s in California, an update that still feels nostalgic. The chef tosses romaine in a cilantro dressing with corn nuts and cotija.
In true Portland fashion, the menu at OK Omens also offers fried chicken and a doughnut. The former arrives with a smattering of spicy greens and a hot sour cream; the latter is a beignet filled with Tillamook cheddar, something like the French version of a gougere or a panzarotti. Also very Portland are the Southeast Asian influences in certain dishes; for instance, a chicken liver mousse arrives with banh-mi-style pickled veggies and grilled bread. Tuna butsu, tartare-meets-poke, gets some aromatic acid from limeleaf, with potato chips as a vehicle for scooping.
Of course, it’s not a wine bar without wine, and Braun isn’t playing when it comes to pairings. Like Gabriel Rucker and Andy Fortgang’s wine bar, Canard, OK Omens wines are reasonably priced with a few high-end bottles for the real nerds looking for hard-to-find, cellared wines — like, 1990s cellared. Surprising no one who knows Braun’s style, the wine list has a whole introductory list of natural wines (“What is Natural Wine?”); more surprisingly, the bar has a whole list dedicated to rieslings (“All The Rieslings in The Land”). The bar has 20 wines by the glass, priced between $9 and $20, and more than 100 bottles, with some as low as $35. Not bad, considering plates don’t exceed $22 — most stay under the $20 mark. OK Omens is open from 5 p.m. to midnight daily.
• OK Omens [Official]
• After 17 Years, Portland Icon Café Castagna Will Close Mid-May [PoMo]
• First Look: Castagna Café Reboot OK Omens Is Ready for Prime Time [PoMo]
• OK Omens brings natural wine, progressive food to Cafe Castagna space [The O]
• Get a Taste of OK Omens, the New Bar Filling Cafe Castagna’s Shoes [EPDX]
• Castagna’s Casual Neo-Bistro Will Open June 11 [EPDX]
• All Ok Omens/Cafe Castagna coverage [EPDX]