The Most Anticipated Portland Restaurant Openings, Spring/Summer 2023

As we look forward to spring and its promise of beginnings, a crop of new restaurants and bars cultivated during Portland’s rainy season will soon sprout. Some of the city’s biggest rock stars are expanding their empires, like Thai maven Akkapong Earl Ninsom and his highly-anticipated ode to Bangkok’s Chinatown, or Carlo Lamagna’s westside expansion with Filipino-style rotisserie meats. In Northeast and Southeast Portland, two new bars will add a touch of mystique and playfulness to the city’s still recovering nightlife scene. And downtown, the lofty Ritz-Carlton will opens its restaurant and food hall, stacked with Portland talent and the former chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Keeping in mind that the dates listed below are tentative and menus may metamorphose, we’re excited for the incoming class of spring and summer 2023. Is there a restaurant or bar opening in the next few months that we should know about? Get in touch via our tip line.

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Hapa Pizza

At this farmers market stand-turned-restaurant, owners Aaron and Natalie Truong marry Neapolitan pizza-making techniques with Asian flavors, resulting in perfectly blistered pies with flavors like pho, tom yum, and Thai peanut sauce with lemongrass pork. Although longtime Hapa Pizza proponents will still be able to enjoy made-to-order pizzas at its Beaverton Farmers Market origin point, diners can watch the restaurant step up their game with the restaurant’s brand-new brick oven.
Address: 12755 SW Broadway Street
Anticipated opening date: March 10
Read more: This Farmers Market Stall Tops Pizza With Pho-Braised Brisket

The Uncanny

Industry vets from Lightning Bar Collective and Hey Love have joined forces to open this bar that walks the line between speakeasy and dive. Bartenders will stir chanterelle syrup into Sazeracs and shake martinis with miso-infused vodka and sugar snap pea-infused vermouth. In the kitchen, chef Tamara Hattar of the pop-up Euzumeh will code Middle Eastern flavors in pub food, resulting in spiced lamb burgers and cumin-and-cardamom-seasoned chicken wings served with yogurt sauce and zhoug.
Address: 3560 N Mississippi Avenue
Anticipated opening: Late March or early April
Read more: An Uncanny New Bar From Local Cocktail Vets Will Serve Chanterelle Sazeracs and Meze

Magna Kubo

At this casual sister spot to beloved Filipino restaurant Magna Kusina, chef Carlo Lamagna will use a churrasco grill to emulate the style of rotisserie meats that he grew up eating in the Philippines. The lechoneria’s menu will leave it to the diner to build their own meals, selecting sides like pancit Canton or taro leaves cooked in coconut milk to eat with mains like lemongrass-marinated chicken, smoked brisket, or whole rainbow trout.
Address: 12406 SW Broadway Street
Anticipated opening: Early April
Read more: Magna Kubo Is Bringing Filipino-Style Rotisserie Meats to Beaverton

Duality Brewing

Designed to be a laidback hangout where beer-guzzling Portlanders can enjoy a midday low-ABV brew, Duality Brewing will also serve brunch, lunch, and dinner in its new Kerns warehouse space. Brewer Michael Lockwood, who previously cooked at high-profile restaurants Eem and Kachka, brings a chef’s approach to beer, incorporating produce like Hood River apples and grapes from Oregon’s wine country. The buzzy pop-up Astral, who previously partnered with Duality for summer pop-ups last year, will helm the new brewery’s food menu, bringing rotating ceviches and tacos to the party.
Address: 715 NE Lawrence Avenue
Anticipated opening: Late April
Read more: Hot Nanobrewery Duality Brewing and Buzzy Pop-Up Astral Will Open a Kerns Brewpub

Houston Blacklight

Not too far from Oma’s Hideaway, one of their smash-hit Southeast Asian restaurants, Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly will open their new ’70s fantasy of a bar in the old Night Light space. Category is: comfort food, with playful menu items like French onion soup ramen and cocktails adorned with Jell-O shrimp garnishes. The in-development drink menu, a collaboration between Mariah Pisha-Duffly and beverage director Em Warden, currently involves large-format punches, slushies, and house liqueurs as jumping-off points.
Address: 2100 SE Clinton Street
Anticipated opening: June
Read more: The Couple Behind Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway Will Open a Fantastical Bar on Southeast Clinton

Untitled Peter Cho and Sun Young Park Project

The team behind the nationally renowned Han Oak and downtown breakout hit Toki will open another Korean restaurant in Southeast Portland, unlike any other in town. The yet-to-be-named restaurant will source whole animals raised in the Pacific Northwest — Pat-n-Tam’s beef, Cattail Creek lamb — for Korean barbecue, marinated and un-marinated meats roasted in a wood-fired oven or grilled over the restaurant’s hearth. The restaurant’s banchan will source heavily from Oregon farms, as well.
Address: 626 SE Main Street
Anticipated opening: June
Read more: The Han Oak Team’s Next Restaurant Will Specialize in Whole-Animal Korean Barbecue

Pasar

From the team behind Indonesian restaurant Wajan comes this snack bar and restaurant, which will explore the treasures found in Indonesian open-air markets. In the mornings, Pasar will serve jajanan, sweets and snacks like dadar gulung, pandan crepes filled with coconut and palm sugar, or martabak daging, a deep-fried pancake with seasoned ground beef. In the evenings, the menu will shift to Hokkien-style cooking, including noodle dishes like bakmi and mie goreng.
Address: 3023 NE Alberta Street
Anticipated opening: Spring
Read more: Pasar Will Bring Indonesian Snacking Culture to Northeast Portland

Ritz-Carlton Restaurant and Food Hall

The building housing the downtown Portland Ritz-Carlton will host two notable dining destinations. The luxury hotel’s food hall, complete with an attached taproom, will be teeming with Portland talent: Eater 38 stalwart Birrieria La Plaza, longstanding Korean food cart Kim Jong Grillin’, breakout star pop-up Sunrice, among others. Up on the 20th floor, chef Pedro Almeida — an alumnus of the Michelin-starred Midori at the Penha Longa Resort in Portugal — will run an all-day restaurant with a tasting menu, featuring Pacific Northwestern seafood and mushrooms.
Address: 812 SW Washington Street
Anticipated opening: Summer
Read more: What We Know About the Ritz-Carlton’s Restaurant-Packed Portland Debut So Far

Yaowarat

With a handful of successful restaurants under his belt, Akkapong Earl Ninsom has solidified himself as a legend in Thai cooking among Portland chefs. Inspired by and adopting its name from the main artery in Bangkok’s bustling Chinatown, Yaowarat will explore the genre of Thai-Chinese cuisine. On board for the journey are chef Sam Smith, longtime collaborator Eric Nelson, and a Thai chef whose resume includes a three-year stint in Beijing; the team’s recent research trip to Bangkok will directly inform the work-in-progress menu, but early recipe testing included dishes like cuttlefish curry, sweet basil clams, and claypot prawns with glass noodles.
Address: TBD
Anticipated opening: Late July or early August
Read more: Portland Legend Akkapong Earl Ninsom Will Open a Restaurant Inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown