The Next Wave: 5 Brand-New Restaurants to Look Out For
Lauretta Jean’s
3402 SE Division St; laurettajean.com
Farmers market favorite Kate McMillen takes her pie-high reputation to a real sit-down shop, sealing SE Division Street’s reputation as Portland’s new culinary headquarters. Come for comforting breakfast pastries, blissful quiche, egg sandwiches on the city’s best biscuits, and, not least, unstoppable pies. —KB
Roe
3113 SE Division St; roe-pdx.com
A dark and sexy seafood destination with limited hours and big ambitions, Roe is housed in the back room of Wafu. Modernist fish man Trent Pierce casts out poached lobster with grapefruit custard and briny things foraged from Oregon’s coast in this long-awaited sequel to his short-lived Fin. —KB
Ava Gene's
3377 SE Division St; avagenes.com
In the neighborhood that birthed his Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Woodsman Tavern, Duane Sorenson uncorks his love of spit-roasted meats, rustic handmade pastas, and a serious Italian wine list, with help from a major ringer: New York culinary vet Joshua McFadden. —KB
Pepe le Moko
1014 SW Stark St
This destined-for-cooldom speakeasy beneath downtown’s Ace Hotel comes courtesy of two of Portland’s savviest: Clyde Common kingpin Nate Tilden and his trendsetting barman Jeffrey Morgenthaler. Walk through a late-night Spanish sandwich shop and head downstairs to find a hidden 30-seat bar and a 1930s, French-Algerian vibe. —BT
Trigger
128 NE Russell St
The fun-loving lords behind Bunk Sandwiches go underground with a rock-’n’-roll Tex-Mex eatery tucked beneath the Wonder Ballroom. Trigger’s playful love letter to roasted chiles, queso, grilled meats, and torta sandwiches is penned with serious craft, while the bar aims for the perfect margarita. —KB
