Globetrotting chef Jose Chesa, a veteran of at Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, Barcelona and recently, Portland’s Ciao Vito, is just a week away from opening his first restaurant, Ataula, in the former Patanegra space on Northwest 23rd.

As Eat Beat first reported, Ataula will mingle traditional Spanish and Catalan flavors with subtle modernist inflection and a communal “gastrobar” feel.

Now Chesa tells us he aims to open the 60-seat, 1,800 square foot space next Tuesday, August 20th. Blueprints call for a meandering white concrete and glass mosaic bar top snaking across the room, wooden communal tables and a lengthy banquette hugging the wall.

Per Chesa, a taste of things to come:

◊ A dozen tapas, from house-made burrata with Spanish tapenade and confit tomatoes to slow-cooked lamb shoulder with dry peach coulis and Catalan beans.

◊ Per Picar (Tiny bites) like fried squid ink tempura dunked in tarragon tartar sauce and traditional cocas (Catalan flatbread) with fresh seasonal toppings.

◊ House-cured Oregon seafood served in fancy tins that mimic the high-quality canned cuisine of Northern Spain. Expect spicy escabeche mussels with potato chips and cured salmon with mascarpone-yogurt and black truffle honey.

◊ Paella galore, from creamy, seafood-packed rice steeped in lobster fumet (concentrated stock) to a toasted noodle plate holding chorizo, pimenton pepper, and aioli.

◊ Simple Catalan sweets with homemade ice cream, freshly whipped ricotta cheese, and toasted chocolate-olive oil bread.

For menu details, check out Ataula’s website.

 Ataula
1818 NW 23rd Place
503-894-8904
Tues-Sat, 4:30-10pm
Bar & Late Night Tapas until 12am Thurs-Sat
Brunch: Sunday, 11am-3:30pm