Mississippi Destination Quaintrelle Is Moving to SE Clinton

After almost five years on Mississippi, Quaintrelle — the refreshing, creative restaurant with colorful plates of Oregon seafood and produce — will move to Southeast Portland, taking over the former Burrasca space at 2032 SE Clinton Street.

David Foulke, the restaurant’s general manager, says the decision to start looking for a new location predated the pandemic, but the need for outdoor dining space was only exacerbated by the heightened spread of COVID-19 indoors. “We’ve been looking for some place that has a little more patio space for a while,” Foulke says. “It’s not strictly covid-related, but it gave us a kick in the pants to get moving.”

In the new location, Quaintrelle will add a bar indoors and begin building a permanent covered dining space on the patio, a “four season space” surrounded by live plants. “We just want to have a beautiful outdoor space, very organic, very plant-based,” Foulke says. “The space there is already gorgeous — old bamboo — but we want to add to that, have a space we can use year-round.”

Quaintrelle opened in 2016 with chef Bill Wallender, who worked at Portland big-names like Ava Gene’s and Little Bird. After Wallender left in 2018, Ryley Eckersley, who had worked at DOC and Olympia Provisions, took over the kitchen. Despite the resume, Eckersley wasn’t necessarily a known entity in Portland; that changed pretty quickly, as he began serving congee in oversized urchin shells, slicing crudos dotted with fiery chiles, and decorating plates with colorful piles of pickled and roasted Oregon vegetables in captivating sauces. Over at the bar, Camille Cavan, who predated Eckersley, continued to serve some of the city’s most underrated cocktails, given oomph with house syrups and amari.

Quaintrelle will move out of the Mississippi location after service on May 16th, celebrating with a “grill day” — the restaurant will serve grilled steaks, whole rockfish, and other grilled meats and vegetables on the patio. Otherwise, the restaurant will generally stick to tasting menu options until it closes on Mississippi, reopening for indoor dining May 7. “We loved being part of the Mississippi community, that’s one of the things I’m going to miss the most,” Foulke says. “In light of what’s been happening in Portland over the last year socially, being in a place that’s a part of that has been great.”

• Quaintrelle [Official]
• Previous Quaintrelle coverage [EPDX]