Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, April 2025

Welcome to another roundup of top 5 posts on Bridgetown Bites: April 2025 edition. This time it was pretty much all about openings: restaurants, a bar, and a food cart pod. Nice to see that two cuisines we don’t see too much of here in Portland—Greek and Puerto Rican—were of interest to readers.

As far as traffic goes, numbers gained ever so slightly compared to last month—unique visitors stayed about the same and we had a 2% gain in page views. On the other hand, compared to this time last year we have an increase of 78% for unique visitors and 92% for page views. It’s good to see this kind of growth.

As always, thanks for reading, sharing, commenting, and sending tips!

5. Sabor del Rio Cafe Will Bring Puerto Rican Food to Marine Drive in Portland

The view from Sabor del Rio toward the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon.

A new restaurant called Sabor del Rio Cafe will open in the Sunderland neighborhood out in one of the floating buildings on the Columbia River just west of NE 33rd. I often go up there in the summer to hang out at The Deck, so having yet another option there (Salty’s on the Columbia and The Sextant are also nearby) is also pretty exciting. I am sure the folks who live in the area are also happy to see this new development.

4. Souvlaki Queen Will Open in Downtown Portland

The storefront of Souvlaki Queen in Portland, Oregon.

I randomly came across the Souvlaki Queen Instagram page (thanks, algo) and was pretty chuffed to see another Greek spot poised to open. They will operate out of the space on SW 6th Avenue that was once known as the home of Bunk Sandwiches.

3. Taste of Szechuan Has Opened in the Old Eastern Cathay Space in Portland

Taste of Szechuan in the Montavilla neighborhood in Portland, Oregon.

Eastern Cathay, a Chinese restaurant that operated for around 15 years on NE 82nd Avenue across from the MAX station, is no more. This is now the location for Taste of Szechuan (not to be confused with Taste of Sichuan), and offers a new menu with things like pork wontons with chili oil, smacked cucumber salad, Westlake beef soup, cumin lamb, some offal dishes, and more.

2. Bar Hollywood Opens in Portland

A new lounge is opening next to the Hollywood Theatre, who owns and operates it, called Bar Hollywood. It is in the space that was formerly home to Vivienne, which ended their time there in late 2023, and subsequently moving to the Alberta Arts District. Bar Hollywood is described as “David Lynch-themed.”

1. Now: Brooklyn Carreta Is Open in Portland (Photos)

Brooklyn Carreta signage in Portland, Oregon.

The new food cart pod Brooklyn Carreta is open in Portland after months—no, years—of preparation and construction. I stopped in for a sort of soft opening at the end of March and was very happy to see the place (mostly) complete. The people seemed to be enjoying the final product.