Portobello Vegan Trattoria
Portland, Oregon

Couldn't find the place, and went to 11th and 2001 and it was an abandoned building, partly confusing due to my lack of knowledge of the city, but I even map'd it out. Called and found they closed early the last night I'm was in town, bummer. Some one tell me how bomb this place is I'll be excited to try it when I'm back in town, looks so good from the reviews.

Despite Portland's reputation as a vegan haven, we're in dire straits when it comes to vegan restaurants. Vegan cafés? Sure. Food carts? Yes indeed. Restaurants that have great vegan options (or nearly-vegan restaurants with That One Milky Thing)? Absolutely. But as far as somewhere you can go for an actual restaurant meal, with actual table service and everything, where you could close your eyes and point and still get something vegan, you'd be hard-pressed.

And yet here we have Portobello, sauntering onto the scene with plenty of anticipation and high hopes already in play. This is often a recipe for disappointment, but I am positively in love with this place. Could it make its mark just by being the only viable Portland vegan restaurant I can think of (okay, now there's BL's new location as well)? It sure could, but it's a sweet and cozy space, classy without being pretentious, and the food stands on its own as Good Food -- no "well, for vegan food" required. Every dish has its own individual flavor, and if ingredients could talk, every plate would be ready to have a different conversation with you. I have taken a smattering of non-vegetarians here to rave reviews. (Did I love getting to have my birthday dinner at Portobello, a place that excites and delights me and is vegan? Do you even need to ask?)

It's a treat to watch the menu change as the year goes by, even if it will inevitably take something you love away for a while. My first time here, I ate with a friend and split an appetizer (probably the best olive oil and possibly the best focaccia I've had), a side of garlicky green beans, and four little plates -- plus the pannacotta. I had my reservations about the saltimboca, but it ended up being arguably my favorite dish that we tried. The whole meal, though, was like a beautiful adventure, and quite kind on the wallet for how much we got. I am always easily persuadable to return.

Trying to eat here on a weekend without a reservation is generally the work of fools. You might get lucky, but call ahead; we've called at 5:00 for 7:00 and had no problem, but they ended up being closed to walk-ins that night.

***

Original review from January 18th, now updated a bit. Note they also have beer and wine as of May.