Follow-Up: Teote Tavern Is Open

Note: Teote Tavern has closed.

Back in October I wrote that Teote Tavern—the last remaining representative of the Teote family of establishments—was going to open on NE 30th Ave just north of Killingsworth. Good news: They opened last month! I got some details from the folks behind Teote Tavern, who were kind enough to answer some of my questions about the new place and how it’s going.

First, I may the last person to know that TEOTE stands for “The Ends Of The Earth.” How about that?!?

Enjoying the Neighborhood

Teote Tavern opened on January 23, about a month ago. Their soft opening phase is now over and they are working to have regular hours—currently they are open Wednesday to Sunday 4:30pm to 10pm, with the goal of being open 7-days a week.

They are pretty happy to be in the Concordia neighborhood—as you may know, the other Teotes were in the Alberta Arts District (Teote Mezcaleria) and SE Portland adjacent to Ladd’s Addition (Teote House Cafe, which, true to the name operated in an old house). They love their current neighbors: Wilder, Flour Market, Gabbiano’s, Expatriate, etc. Teote Tavern is currently using the spaces that used to be home to Nonna and YUI. The former YUI space serves as their commissary kitchen and the old Nonna spot is the Tavern’s dining room. Fun fact: they operate a burrito program that provides breakfast burritos for a number of coffee shops across Portland, as well as catering.

“We love this particular location as it has a more ‘neighborhood’ vibe as far as clientele,” says Megan Tramp, a representative of Teote Tavern. “There’s nothing better than getting to know your regulars and making connections and friendships with neighbors. Even the surrounding businesses have been very supportive and excited about our presence.”

Food and Drink

You can check out their menu here, but also know that they also will be doing frequent specials throughout the year. Current favorites are the El Diablo Arepa, a Teote staple and one of the first creations made by the owner and main chef, Michael Kennett, back when he started with a food cart. It’s a Venezuelan-style arepa (the stuffable kind, unlike the Colombian kind, which is flat griddled) stuffed with pork belly in a sweet New Mexican red chili sauce with pasilla peppers, pickled onions, verde sauce, queso fresco, and cilantro.

As for their cocktails, the program was created by their bar manager, Ben, who was there at the old Alberta location—but things are a little different in this location. “We used to focus heavily on Mezcal, and still love to use that particular spirit in a lot of our cocktails, but we are excited to branch out and create tasty and visually stunning drinks,” explained Megan.

Part of that change is the introduction of mocktails to the menu. “We have noticed the appeal for mocktails and wanted to jump into to that as well, so our bartender, Ben, has been creating fresh and innovative mocktails to rotate throughout our drink menu,” explains Megan. “Mocktails deserve a little creativity, as well.”

As far as what’s popular to drink, on the boozy side is the White Lotus (cachaca, St. Germaine elderflower liqueur, citrus, orange bitter, and an agave/lime meringue). On the NA side is the Pom Pom Club (pomegranate, citrus, sparkling soda, and an agave/lime meringue).

How It Looks

As for the look (decor is important), it is similar to previous Teotes, and the buildout was done by owner Michael, who built out the other Teotes, too, so this consistent look makes sense. He created some of the art—wood cutting, agave photos printed and framed, metal work, woodwork—and pretty much selected everything in the dining room. Megan says, “This location, the tavern, was solely designed and created by Michael. This location has more of a tavern’ feel, with a huge bar selection and small plate food items.”

Megan mentions that Covid really did a number on them, as was the case for so many of our Portland restaurants. But they have recovered and are happy to be open in this new location. She tells me, “We are excited to focus on just one location and bring Teote back in a way that we have always wanted to do.”

Teote Welcomes You

And here’s where I learned what Teote means: “Teote is an acronym for The Ends Of The Earth, and we are finally ready to share that philosophy with the people of Portland,” explains Megan. “It was always our best kept secret, but now are ready to welcome those who are on the journey to the ends of the earth.”

She continues, “We welcome them to Teote to reflect upon their lives, share their story with neighbors and friends while enjoying good food and drink. We always say ‘Feed the Fire,’ We encourage all to feed their fire, feed their passions, feed their desires and feed their dreams.”

Have you been to Teote? Let us know in the comments how your experience went. And I look forward to stopping in soon.

TEOTE Tavern [opened January 2024]
5513 NE 30th Avenue, Portland
(teotepdx.com: accessed February 21, 2024; site inactive August 15, 2024)
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Updated August 15, 2024.