City Cast Portland logo

Food and Drink: Best New Bars

Posted on June 2, 2023   |   Updated on September 30, 2025

Rachel Monahan

2 of the Country’s Best New Bars

Kann, chef Gregory Gourdet’s Haitian restaurant, made Esquire’s list of the best new restaurants last year. Now his bar Sousòl has made the magazine’s list of best new bars.

Also on the list is one of the Portland bar scene's most unexpected success stories: Mendelssohn’s, the self-described “craft cocktail and classical chamber music themed bar” (though it is owned by people with highly successful ventures — Mississippi Studios and Revolution Hall).

In years past, ​​Northwest Portland’s Takibi (2022), Southeast's Scotch Lodge (2021), and Northeast’s Expatriate (2019) made the Esquire list. [Esquire/Oregonian]

Shake Shack to Bridgeport Village

Shake Shack is opening a third location in Oregon, this one at Bridgeport Village in the fall. Portland got one, near Powell’s on West Burnside, in April. And the first opened in Beaverton in 2021.

Bridgeport Village will also be the site of the second Tanaka, a Japanese bakery in Downtown Portland whose specialty is milk bread and the sandwiches made with it. [KGW/Oregonian]

Plates of taquitos and plates of desserts as well as drinks with colorful beverages on a table

The new restaurant will be closed this weekend but reopen on Tuesday. (@titostaquitospdx)

Tito’s Taquitos Opens Restaurant

One of the best food carts in Portland has opened a restaurant. The location is on industrial Swan Island, an unexpected spot for a restaurant (though the location was the original Tilt Burger). The tacos there get the thumbs-up from the Oregonian’s critic, as do the desserts. [Oregonian]

Share article

Hey Portland

Stay connected to City Cast Portland and get ready to join the local conversation.

Can't subscribe? Turn off your ad blocker and try again.

Food & Drink

See All
Food & DrinkApril 7

Where To Find the Best Deals for Portland Groceries

For the last year, Stumptown Savings’ Bryan M. Vance has been tracking where to find the cheap groceries in Portland. His one-person medi...

A grocery store aisle.
Food & DrinkFebruary 17

Where To Find Portland's Best Dumplings

Dumplings are a comfort food, a Portland favorite, and perfect for the rain. Eater Portland editor Brooke Jackson-Glidden recently shared...

Bamboo basket of xlb dumplings, Portland, Oregon
Food & DrinkJanuary 26

Portland Kids Eat Well and More Restaurant Updates

Portland restaurants offer a foodie take on the kids menu. Kann hosts a Georgia king of barbecue. Rangoon Bistro is moving its original l...

hush puppies and a dip next to a golden colored basket, Parallel Wine Bar, Portland, Oregpn
Food & DrinkJanuary 6

The 5 Portland Restaurants To Try Right Now

January is a quiet month for restaurants and bars, while everyone minds their budgets and their waistlines after the holidays and New Yea...

bar scene at LaVerne's in Portland, Oregon
Food & DrinkDecember 22, 2025

Portland Restaurant and Bar Closings As 2025 Comes to an End

a hush puppy from Parallel Wine Bar, Portland, Oregon
Food & DrinkDecember 17, 2025

The Best Things We Ate in Portland in 2026

Portland had an abundance of good restaurants to choose from. As we head into a new year, the City Cast Portland team is sharing a person...

a white table clothed setting with raw shrimp and sauce in one dish and a curry in another, and empty plate
Food & DrinkDecember 15, 2025

December 2025 Updates on Portland Restaurants and Brewers

The Oregonian names the restaurant of the year, as well as the top 10 new restaurants — places like Paper Bridge, Baum's on Oak. And more...

lanterns along the ceiling
Food & DrinkNovember 25, 2025

The Latest Portland Restaurant and Bar Openings

This month, we have a couple of standout additions to the Portland bar scene: Bone Sine and Madame Bar Bar.

red bricked walls line this bar with half a dozen green bar chairs medium brown wood bar