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Foie gras torchon is plated on a wooden board and garnished with flowers at Le Pigeon
Foie gras torchon at Le Pigeon
Le Pigeon/Official

11 Charming French Restaurants in Portland

From the provincial countryside to the cafes of Paris, Portland has French food down

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Foie gras torchon at Le Pigeon
| Le Pigeon/Official

French restaurants in Portland—like much of the city’s cuisine—vary in levels of traditionalism. Some, like Woodstock’s Bergerac or the mini-chain of French boulangeries Petit Provence, hew closer to familiar French cooking, while places like Normandie and Paley’s Place tend to incorporate ingredients and techniques from across the world.

Whether strictly traditional or bold and innovative, every French restaurant in town was forced to deal with the pandemic that struck the city, shuttering restaurants and reshaping the culinary landscape. Some places, like Belgian cafe La Moule or the Parisian-inspired Bistro Agnes are on hiatus, and will hopefully return to the city soon. But others remained open, offering takeout, meal boxes, wine delivery, and hotel room dining experiences. Here are some of Portland’s top French restaurants currently operating.

For this list we’ve skipped over the city’s many excellent creperies, which have their own map, to consolidate. As usual, this list is organized geographically, not ranked.

A number of Oregon restaurants have resumed dine-in service. The level of service offered is indicated on each map point. However, this should not be taken as endorsement for onsite dining, as there are still safety concerns: for updated information on coronavirus cases in your area, please visit the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID update page. Studies indicate that there is a lower exposure risk when outdoors, but the level of risk involved with patio dining is contingent on restaurants following strict social distancing and other safety guidelines.

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Ripe Cooperative

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Chef Naomi Pomeroy’s iconic, intimate dining service Beast was yet another victim of the pandemic, having officially closed for good in October of 2020. However, its spirit, and cooking, lives on in Ripe Cooperative, a takeout meal package service, market, and wine shop. Here, customers can pick up meal boxes each weekend, ready-made, mostly cooked dinners that just need a bit of finish at home. And while it doesn’t involve bumping elbows with strangers on long wooden tables, it does involve hearty French cuisine that changes regularly. Packages are labeled as air (fowl like ducks and chicken), land (pork tenderloins, steak, etc), field (vegetarian and pasta dishes), and sea (fish), and can be purchased individually or as part of a subscription service. Either way, it can be ordered online.

[Disclosure: Naomi Pomeroy has contributed to Eater.com]

Petite Provence Boulangerie & Patisserie

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With numerous locations across town, stepping into Petite Provence feels like stepping directly into a boulangerie on the streets of Nice. Wicker chairs adorn the tiled floors, and pastries line the shelves and countertops, shining with sugary glazes and topped with chocolates, creams, or ripe berries. Visitors can stop in for a coffee drink and a flaky pastry, or opt for a hearty sandwich built on thick, rustic breads cooked daily. During the pandemic, diners can even order ahead using the company’s own app, or call in for orders to-go. Most locations offer some kind of outdoor seating, too.

Verdigris @ Daisy Bar & Cafe

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Chef Johnny Nunn’s intimately rustic dining room for Verdigris really wasn’t designed with a pandemic in mind. Because it’s currently dormant, his casual cafe and bar acts as Verdigris’ temporary home. There, diners can pick up three-course dinners with a variety of options for each course, all of which is hearty French indulgence like French onion soup, cassoulet, beef Bourguignon, and steak frites. The restaurant also offers daily and weekly specials like Sunday prime rib. When the weather permits it, outdoor dining is available for happy hour drinks and bistro sandwiches.

St. Jack

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Decadent French dining served in a casual bistro environment, Aaron Barnett’s St. Jack is an homage to the cafes of Lyon and Paris. Chicken liver mousse, steak frites, and roasted bone marrow fill the menu, alongside elegant French wines and bold cocktails. Like many other restaurants in 2020 and 2021, St Jack had to make a few pivots, and its menu is now available both indoors and outdoors, as well as to-go and via delivery through third-party apps for those who don’t feel ready yet for on-premise dining. Ordering can be done through the website.

Paley's Place Bistro & Bar

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Since its early days, this Northwest Portland restaurant in a restored Victorian home has been known nationally for its French-Northwestern style, using Oregon-grown-and-raised ingredients for thoroughly French and Slavic fare. However, like so many places, the restaurant was forced to adapt to the landscape of a pandemic; now, diners can order chef Paley’s fine-dining to heat at home, or order from a menu of more casual, ready-to-eat à la carte items like burgers and steak frites. It’s all available through the website.

Le Pigeon

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Chef and owner Gabriel Rucker’s flagship restaurant is one of the city’s most beloved culinary institutions for its modern, playful, and uniquely Northwestern take on French cooking, including its famed foie gras profiteroles. Today, it offers its menu in a few ways. One is the Bird Boxes, a meal for two that changes weekly and should be heated at home, ideal for enjoying chef Rucker’s cooking while sitting on your couch. The other avenue is Le Pigeon at the Next, a multi-course French dinner with wine and drink options served in a hotel room at the Jupiter Next, just down the street. The dinner is $100 per person, and comes with the option of sleeping off the dinner at the hotel for just $99 more.

Maurice

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This elegant and charming French-Nordic luncheonette, with its white-washed walls and kitchen-side counter, is the place to be for leisurely brunches of oysters, quiche, and French wines, though these days those brunches have to happen at home (or at a picnic somewhere). The pastry selection is really where it’s at, with gooey lemon soufflé pudding cakes and rich chocolate pavé. Shoppers can place pre-orders and day-of orders online for takeout.

Canard may be more laid back than its sister restaurant, Le Pigeon, but by no means less provocative. The marble bar and high tables make it look like a cafe of the Belle Epoque, and it has quickly gained local and national attention for its fried chicken wings, foie gras dumplings, and french onion steam burgers. However, some of the restaurant’s simplest French dishes — oeufs en mayonnaise, duck rillettes, its french omelet — are essential orders on any visit. At the moment, its menu is available for takeout only.

Normandie

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Considering its name, this eclectic and chic restaurant really doesn’t lean that heavily on the cuisine of Normandy — the dinner menu includes everything from miso deviled eggs to marinated hamachi with yuzu-kosho aioli. However, the restaurant does scratch the French itch with its selection of Calvados cocktails, plus dishes like chicken liver mousse with duck fat madeleines, mussels in bouillabaisse broth, and its “Normandie Board,” which comes with Bayonne ham, pork rillettes, and rotating cheeses. Normandie currently offers dining at its covered front patio, as well as to-go, and it’s encouraged to order meals in advance online.

St. Honoré Boulangerie

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A boulangerie with multiple locations around town, St. Honoré offers quick and casual, deliciously golden pastries. Those looking for more filling fare can find salads and sandwiches, but the real treasures are the pastries, with croissants and brioche tasting like they came straight from the ovens of a 19th century provincial baker. The canelé, delicate little baked custards in a shell of hard sugar, are a particular treat. The casual, counter-service nature of the cafes meant that they weren’t as dramatically affected as others by the pandemic, and the shops are still open for diners to stop in to pick up some treats.

Bergerac

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Tucked away in the reaches of southeast on Woodstock, Bergerac may not be as prominent as other French spots in town, but its friendly, snug space and rich French dishes have earned it a dedicated local following. Named for the home of its chef, Joris Barbaray, Bergerac offers three-course dinners of robust plates of classic French dining including escargot, duck confit, and a poisson du jour. Additionally, it offers ready to à la carte dishes like its entrees, quiche, sauces, sides, pantry items, wines, and even cocktails, all available for takeout via Tock.

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Ripe Cooperative

Chef Naomi Pomeroy’s iconic, intimate dining service Beast was yet another victim of the pandemic, having officially closed for good in October of 2020. However, its spirit, and cooking, lives on in Ripe Cooperative, a takeout meal package service, market, and wine shop. Here, customers can pick up meal boxes each weekend, ready-made, mostly cooked dinners that just need a bit of finish at home. And while it doesn’t involve bumping elbows with strangers on long wooden tables, it does involve hearty French cuisine that changes regularly. Packages are labeled as air (fowl like ducks and chicken), land (pork tenderloins, steak, etc), field (vegetarian and pasta dishes), and sea (fish), and can be purchased individually or as part of a subscription service. Either way, it can be ordered online.

[Disclosure: Naomi Pomeroy has contributed to Eater.com]

Petite Provence Boulangerie & Patisserie

With numerous locations across town, stepping into Petite Provence feels like stepping directly into a boulangerie on the streets of Nice. Wicker chairs adorn the tiled floors, and pastries line the shelves and countertops, shining with sugary glazes and topped with chocolates, creams, or ripe berries. Visitors can stop in for a coffee drink and a flaky pastry, or opt for a hearty sandwich built on thick, rustic breads cooked daily. During the pandemic, diners can even order ahead using the company’s own app, or call in for orders to-go. Most locations offer some kind of outdoor seating, too.

Verdigris @ Daisy Bar & Cafe

Chef Johnny Nunn’s intimately rustic dining room for Verdigris really wasn’t designed with a pandemic in mind. Because it’s currently dormant, his casual cafe and bar acts as Verdigris’ temporary home. There, diners can pick up three-course dinners with a variety of options for each course, all of which is hearty French indulgence like French onion soup, cassoulet, beef Bourguignon, and steak frites. The restaurant also offers daily and weekly specials like Sunday prime rib. When the weather permits it, outdoor dining is available for happy hour drinks and bistro sandwiches.

St. Jack

Decadent French dining served in a casual bistro environment, Aaron Barnett’s St. Jack is an homage to the cafes of Lyon and Paris. Chicken liver mousse, steak frites, and roasted bone marrow fill the menu, alongside elegant French wines and bold cocktails. Like many other restaurants in 2020 and 2021, St Jack had to make a few pivots, and its menu is now available both indoors and outdoors, as well as to-go and via delivery through third-party apps for those who don’t feel ready yet for on-premise dining. Ordering can be done through the website.

Paley's Place Bistro & Bar

Since its early days, this Northwest Portland restaurant in a restored Victorian home has been known nationally for its French-Northwestern style, using Oregon-grown-and-raised ingredients for thoroughly French and Slavic fare. However, like so many places, the restaurant was forced to adapt to the landscape of a pandemic; now, diners can order chef Paley’s fine-dining to heat at home, or order from a menu of more casual, ready-to-eat à la carte items like burgers and steak frites. It’s all available through the website.

Le Pigeon

Chef and owner Gabriel Rucker’s flagship restaurant is one of the city’s most beloved culinary institutions for its modern, playful, and uniquely Northwestern take on French cooking, including its famed foie gras profiteroles. Today, it offers its menu in a few ways. One is the Bird Boxes, a meal for two that changes weekly and should be heated at home, ideal for enjoying chef Rucker’s cooking while sitting on your couch. The other avenue is Le Pigeon at the Next, a multi-course French dinner with wine and drink options served in a hotel room at the Jupiter Next, just down the street. The dinner is $100 per person, and comes with the option of sleeping off the dinner at the hotel for just $99 more.

Maurice

This elegant and charming French-Nordic luncheonette, with its white-washed walls and kitchen-side counter, is the place to be for leisurely brunches of oysters, quiche, and French wines, though these days those brunches have to happen at home (or at a picnic somewhere). The pastry selection is really where it’s at, with gooey lemon soufflé pudding cakes and rich chocolate pavé. Shoppers can place pre-orders and day-of orders online for takeout.

Canard

Canard may be more laid back than its sister restaurant, Le Pigeon, but by no means less provocative. The marble bar and high tables make it look like a cafe of the Belle Epoque, and it has quickly gained local and national attention for its fried chicken wings, foie gras dumplings, and french onion steam burgers. However, some of the restaurant’s simplest French dishes — oeufs en mayonnaise, duck rillettes, its french omelet — are essential orders on any visit. At the moment, its menu is available for takeout only.

Normandie

Considering its name, this eclectic and chic restaurant really doesn’t lean that heavily on the cuisine of Normandy — the dinner menu includes everything from miso deviled eggs to marinated hamachi with yuzu-kosho aioli. However, the restaurant does scratch the French itch with its selection of Calvados cocktails, plus dishes like chicken liver mousse with duck fat madeleines, mussels in bouillabaisse broth, and its “Normandie Board,” which comes with Bayonne ham, pork rillettes, and rotating cheeses. Normandie currently offers dining at its covered front patio, as well as to-go, and it’s encouraged to order meals in advance online.

St. Honoré Boulangerie

A boulangerie with multiple locations around town, St. Honoré offers quick and casual, deliciously golden pastries. Those looking for more filling fare can find salads and sandwiches, but the real treasures are the pastries, with croissants and brioche tasting like they came straight from the ovens of a 19th century provincial baker. The canelé, delicate little baked custards in a shell of hard sugar, are a particular treat. The casual, counter-service nature of the cafes meant that they weren’t as dramatically affected as others by the pandemic, and the shops are still open for diners to stop in to pick up some treats.

Bergerac

Tucked away in the reaches of southeast on Woodstock, Bergerac may not be as prominent as other French spots in town, but its friendly, snug space and rich French dishes have earned it a dedicated local following. Named for the home of its chef, Joris Barbaray, Bergerac offers three-course dinners of robust plates of classic French dining including escargot, duck confit, and a poisson du jour. Additionally, it offers ready to à la carte dishes like its entrees, quiche, sauces, sides, pantry items, wines, and even cocktails, all available for takeout via Tock.

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