What are Portland’s best restaurants? It depends on who you ask:
🥇 Portland’s James Beard Semifinalists
For a list of must-visit restaurants, consider the prestigious James Beard Foundation national semifinalists, which were announced earlier this week. Here’s a list of locals who are up for awards:
🍴 Outstanding Restaurant
🧑🍳 Outstanding Chef
Lovely’s Fifty Fifty’s Sarah Minnick
😀 Outstanding Hospitality
🥐 Outstanding Bakery
🍷 Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
🧑🍳 Best Chef, Northwest and Pacific
Winners will be announced June 10.
⭐ Best Restaurant of the Year: Yaowarat
Earlier this week, Portland Monthly named Yaowarat their Restaurant of the Year. In case you haven’t made it there yet, the food and ambience is inspired by Bangkok’s Chinatown. The Portland food scene would not be the same without Yaowarat co-owner Akkapong “Earl” Ninsom, who was born in Bangkok and now has an empire of local Thai restaurants. [Portland Monthly]
- Critic Karen Brooks put it this way: “It’s a restaurant like no other. One reason: It’s rare to find a menu devoted to this food outside of Thailand, with this level of flavor truth and storytelling. Think silky Chinese comforts meets Thailand’s head-rushing vibrancy, backed by hundreds of years of tradition.” [Portland Monthly]
The competition had different picks last month:
- The Oregonian picked Ki’ikibáa for their 2023 restaurant of the year.
- Eater Portland’s best new restaurant was Xiao Ye.
