The Most Anticipated Portland Restaurant Openings, Fall 2023

Often, as the final quarter of the year approaches, Portland chefs and restaurateurs push to open new restaurants, cafes, and bars before the year ends. 2023 is no exception: With the impending change of seasons, the city will see substantial shifts to Portland’s dining landscape. This fall, the city will add dozens of restaurants to its ever-changing roster — a brewery centered around the tabletop game and roleplaying community, a restaurant celebrating the cuisine of Bangkok’s Chinatown, a luxurious skyscraper restaurant helmed by two powerhouse chefs, and a swanky cocktail-and-dessert bar from a celebrated pastry chef about town.

Keeping in mind that the timelines listed below are tentative and menus may morph prior to opening, we’re excited for fall 2023’s incoming crop of restaurants. Is there a restaurant or bar opening in the next few months that we should know about? Get in touch via our tip line.

Xiao Ye

Named for the midnight snacks that Michelin-star restaurant alums Louis Lin and Jolyn Chen would share post-shift, Xiao Ye will be an amalgamation of Lin’s lived experiences, former restaurant gigs, and places he’s traveled to. In that vein, diners may expect dishes like Sichuan beef tongue dish remixed with salsa macha, or coppa steak served ssam style with his version of toum. Lin and Chen have brought an old colleague on board: chef Samuel Meoño, who formerly headed up the Michelin-starred Washington D.C. restaurant Rose’s Luxury.
Address: 3832 NE Sandy Boulevard
Anticipated opening date: Late September
Read more: Michelin-Starred Restaurant Alumni Will Tackle ‘First Generation American Food’ at This Incoming Portland Spot

TPK Brewing & Hapa Barkada

A team of gaming industry professionals is transforming the former space of Tabor Bread into an inventive pub, where staff will run tabletop roleplaying games complete with self-published storylines and brewing recipes. The brewpub’s Hawaiian-meets-Filipino food menu is covered by Hapa Barkada, a collaboration between the Hapa Howie’s food cart and dinner series Barkada PDX. This summer, chefs Kiaha Kurek and Melvin Trinidad hosted a pop-up which previewed dishes like arroz caldo arancini, halo halo cereal milk rice pudding, and embutido shu mai.
Address: 5051 SE Hawthorne Boulevard
Anticipated opening date: Early October
Read more: Queer/Women-of-Color owned TPK Brewing to be first tabletop roleplaying game brewery in Portland

Yaowarat

Amid delays, hype continues to build for restaurateur Akkapong Earl Ninsom’s ode to Bangkok’s Chinatown, which will land in the former Lazy Susan space. Having previously devoted attention to Thai barbecue and Southern Thai food, Ninsom will introduce Portland to another facet of Thai cuisine, rolling out Thai-Chinese dishes like crispy noodles, seafood omelets, and fish ball curry alongside cocktails from longtime collaborator Eric Nelson.
Address: 7937 SE Stark Street
Anticipated opening date: Early October
Read more: Portland Legend Akkapong Earl Ninsom Will Open a Restaurant Inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown

Icarus

Sesame Collective co-owner and chief marketing officer Jamal Hassan, an alumnus of the cocktail bars at Ox and Mediterranean Exploration Company, is opening this new cocktail bar under his restaurant group’s umbrella. Inspired by Italo disco and the Greek mythological figure Icarus, the lounge’s two-part cocktail menu will present drinks on separate ends of the spectrum: simple and straightforward to complex and extravagant. Sicilian-style pizza-by-the-slice will arrive from next-door neighbor and Sesame Collective sister restaurant Dolly Olive.
Address: 1215 SW Alder Street
Anticipated opening date: October 19
Read more: At Incoming Bar Icarus, Cocktails Will Very Intentionally Fly Too Close to the Sun

Libre

The bustling crossroads of Southeast Clinton Street and Southeast 26th Avenue will become even more buzzy with the addition of this luxe cocktail bar from Nan Chaison (Mestizo, Norah) and dessert maven Gabriella Martinez of Sweet Creature. Along with a wider team composed entirely of women of color, Chaison and Martinez will pair a selection of mezcal- and agave-forward cocktails with elegant desserts incorporating ingredients like cajeta, fish sauce, and produce from local farms.
Address: 2601 SE Clinton Street
Anticipated opening date: October 20
Read more: At Libre, Whimsical-Yet-Daring Drinks and Desserts Are a Team Effort

Bellpine and Flock

Portland still awaits the Ritz-Carlton development’s planned restaurants after the building delayed its previously planned opening this summer. The hotel’s flagship restaurant, Bellpine, plans to serve dishes built from ingredients indigenous to Oregon — like purple uni and sockeye salmon — under the direction of lauded Portuguese chef Pedro Almeida and Clandestino owner Lauro Romero. Flock, the building’s first-floor food hall, will be home to well-known Portland names like Kim Jong Grillin’ and Birreria La Plaza, while details surrounding a lobby cocktail bar remain under wraps.
Address: 900 SW Washington Street and 917 SW Alder Street
Anticipated opening date: Late fall
Read more: The Latest Updates on the Restaurant-Packed Portland Ritz-Carlton Building