Feli Will Open in Northwest Portland’s Slabtown Neighborhood

The folks behind Urdaneta, Javier and Jael Canteras, are opening a second restaurant called Feli in a new space in Northwest Portland’s Slabtown neighborhood. A bit larger than Urdaneta, which celebrated 10 years in business last month, Feli will offer a cozy and upbeat atmosphere in which to enjoy food from the Andalusian region of southern Spain, as well as a full bar.

They look to open in September 2026. I had a really enjoyable conversation with Javier, and here are some of the things we talked about.

Feli: What’s in a Name?

Before going into this conversation, I figured “feli” was a derivative of “feliz,” which means “happy” in Spanish. A good guess, but a wrong one.

“It’s short for Feliciana, which was my [paternal] grandmother’s name,” explained Javier. “Everybody admired her a lot and called her ‘Feli,’ for short.”

Coincidentally, just up the street about a block away is Angelina’s (projected opening fall 2026), which is also named after the owner’s paternal grandmother. But back to Feli.

“And so we were playing around with lots of names, trying to find the right fit—and something easy to pronounce,” explained Javier. Apparently Urdaneta has proved challenging for some in the pronunciation department. “So I thought, ‘Well, she was from Córdoba.'” This is an important city in Andalusia.

Her name paired with her origins in southern Spain are complementary to the restaurant’s concept of offering food from the south of Spain, as well as continuing a tradition of naming his restaurant after beloved family members. “It keeps everything together within this same naming idea,” remarked Javier. “Urdaneta is my grandfather’s [sur]name, and then Feli would be my grandmother’s [first] name.”

Southern Spain Connection at Feli

So the idea behind Feli is to focus on the cuisine of southern Spain—and aside from the familial connection, I was curious to understand what it is about the food from Andalusia that Javier is drawn to. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and he wanted to do something different while still focusing on Spain.

“I’m a very regional kind of chef,” he explained. “I like to pick to a region and really just explore everything that it has.”

He continued, “It’s always been a region that has called to me. Historically, it has an enormous amount of variety because the Moors settled there for almost a thousand years. And then came the Romans, and then Jewish culture, and they all lived in peace for hundreds of years, which is unheard of nowadays. And so for me, all of those things were attractive.”

Also, there are no other restaurants in Portland focusing intentionally on the cuisine of southern Spain and the very large Andalusian region. So this is certainly an advantage for Javier—and an exciting prospect for diners.

Northern Africa’s Influence

The south of Spain—and really, the whole of the Iberian peninsula—was influenced by its neighbors in North Africa, including Morocco and Algeria. Fun fact: the landmass that is Morocco is also the location of two autonomous Spanish cities, Ceuta and Melilla.

“There’s quite a bit [of influence on Spanish food],” he said. “I think it falls back to the Moors being, historically, the dominant culture in that part of Spain for 800 to a thousand years. They brought things like almonds and honey.”

He continued, “The reason why that stuff exists down there is because of those guys.” Javier also brought up olives, and while the Phoenicians and Romans originally introduced olives to the Iberian peninsula, it was North Africans, during the conquest of Iberia, that brought their own varieties with them and expanded the presence of olive trees throughout the Iberian peninsula. And today, we accept Spanish olives as the norm.

Spices and Citrus

Spices and some citrus were also brought to Spain by people from North Africa, and that legacy is part of the cuisine in Andalusia. “There is a more ‘spice-heavier’ influence in the south of Spain than you would typically see in the middle or in the north of Spain,” explained Javier. “There are things like cumin and oregano, and a lot of citrus. The Seville orange [aka bitter orange or sour orange] is very prominent down there, and the climate grows lots of citrus fruit.” Other citrus brought to Spain includes lemons. pomelo, and sweet oranges.

“The combination of all of that gives you a distinct flavor of the South, which is sunny, bright, refreshing, and lively,” Javier remarked.

He also highlighted Sherry wine and jamón, as well as Flamenco music and dance, which was developed within the Andalusian region in the 18th and 19th centuries. As a harpsichordist, I have felt the connection to Spain and its influence on the music of Domenico Scarlatti, a very important composer for the instrument.

“So there’s a lot of things that we’ll pull from there,” said Javier. He’s very excited of incorporating these culinary influences into his cooking at Feli.

The Slabtown Location For Feli

The building Feli will be in is relatively new; the restaurant will be the first tenant in this space (neighbors also include a pilates gym and a clothing store). I had looked on Google Maps before our conversation to see the location and wow, that area has changed dramatically over the past few years.

Previously, the corner of NW Pettygrove and 21st Avenue was the location of a group of concrete warehouses.

The property was acquired by Guardian in 2015, and in its place now is the development Slabtown Square, which broke ground in 2022. From the Guardian website:

“The building includes 200 premium, class-A apartments, approximately 11,500 square feet of retail space, a 16,000 square-foot public square, and subterranean parking with EV stalls and accessible parking. The project obtained the nationally recognized Green Globes environmental certification.”

Javier and his team have been intimately involved with the buildout in a space that started basically as an empty shell with plenty of windows along. “It’s pretty ambitious and a little bit scary, all this; this is the first time I’ve done it,” he remarked. But it gives him and his team a lot of creative control and the ability to craft a space and a vibe that is truly unique to Feli.

Design

To put this space together, they worked with an architect (“The architect has helped me bring it to life.”) but Javier also did some of the design work himself. “Probably about a year ago, I jumped on one of those free online 3D home design sites,” he said. He went through multiple configurations of the space over the months until he settled on something he really liked.

“By the time I handed it to the architect, he was actually super excited about what I’d done,” said Javier. “He made minimal changes, so what I had initially done is pretty close to what it’s going to look like.” One of the things the architect could handle that Javier could not was the electrical, as he has little experience in that realm.

“He did all of the actual technical things that could make it a reality,” said Javier.

The Feli Vibe

As far as the vibe goes, I asked Javier about what he’s trying to achieve there. What does he want his guests to experience? He started with the feel of the region of Andalusia itself.

“I want it to feel cozy, and I want it to feel lively,” he said. “I want people to come in and have fun and want to immediately race back to try all the things on the menu.”

But he doesn’t want Feli to feel overly pretentious, or the kind of place you go only once a year. “I want it to be a neighborhood place doing the quality of food that Portland is known for—what Urdaneta is known for.”

He used a term I really liked: “casual fine dining.” This is high quality, beautifully presented food, in an environment that doesn’t feel stuffy or produced: Great food in an approachable space.

He envisions a lively atmosphere with great music playing in the background, an open kitchen, excellent and friendly service. And an interest by the service staff in sharing more details and a deeper meaning of the food— what the dishes are, where they come from, and what they’re inspired by. He sees this educational part as being both fun and informative for Feli, just as it is at Urdaneta.

“All of those things will be there,” remarked Javier.

The Josper Oven

Javier mentioned they will have a Josper oven, straight from Barcelona, in the kitchen. I was like, “What is that?” Javier explained.

“It’s pretty well used in Spain. It was invented in the late ’60s [1969, to be exact],” he explained. “It’s basically a charcoal wood burning oven, and it’s all enclosed with a door in the front of it.” It’s about three feet wide, similar to a commercial oven.

He continued, “And what you’re able to do is grill, smoke, and bake all at the same time. Not only can you cook food more efficiently and a little bit quicker, but flavor-wise you can accent it with any kind of wood that you want—olive wood, oak wood, things that are not too aggressive.

“You can put a whole fish in there—let’s say, a whole mackerel or branzino—and get this really beautiful kind of grill/smoke flavor out of it that a normal grill won’t give you. It’s a different identity of flavor. It’s like an ingredient all on its own.”

The Food at Feli

As for the food, I asked if he was going to serve montaditos, a dish often compared to tapas. There will be some on the menu but they won’t be the focus. That said, he did mention one he’d like to serve is an anchovy-butter-Manchego-brioche kind of montadito. “It’s basically a massive umami bomb,” he remarked.

He also said that the south of Spain is the birthplace of the tapa, specifically in Granada, which is part of Andalusia. “So they say—and some of it’s debatable—-but Granada is still one of the few cities in Spain left and that gives you a free tapa, believe it or not,” he said.

“The tapa is really the star of southern Spain; in the north, it’s more the pintxo.” He remarked.

Snack

So, pintxos will not be on the menu, but you will see what Javier calls “snacks”—“para picar,” in Spanish. “That’s something that you see on Spanish menus when you’re over there, and it translates to a ‘snack section.’ It could be anything from a little cazuela of olives or almonds, to montaditos or croquetas. It can be any kind of little bites that you just want to have with a glass of wine or a beer on a hot beach.”

He added, “And then we’ll do tapas, of course, because in Andalusia that’s the king of the food down there—the star of the show.”

Large Format Dishes

On the opposite side of the spectrum they’ll be doing large format dishes. “There are a number of things that we’re playing with,” Javier explained. “Vegetables that have been in the coals of the oven overnight—like whole celeriacs.” That about blew my mind. I love celeriac.

“With things like that, you’ll put it directly into the coals and close the oven, and it does its thing. It’s going to be really delicious.”

Iberico pork is another thing they are looking forward to working with. A lot of pork in Spain comes from the south, and they’ll be working with loin chops and pork chops. Also look forward to a rotating rice dish—not necessarily paella, but it could be anything from a duck rice to an oxtail rice. “And, you know, if we feel like we want to do it, we might even make a seafood rice every now and then,” he said.

He’s really looking forward to doing more large format dishes—things meant to be shared by two to four persons, bigger family-style platters. “This is something that I’ve been yearning to do for many years, but Urdaneta is a tiny place and we stick to small plates there, and that’s ok.”

He added, “But now that I have the opportunity, I get to do a little bit larger things.” One of those will be a whole fish, which is what he is particularly excited about.

Dessert at Feli

Javier is still working on the dessert side of the menu but he has some things in mind. One is a burnt honey tart, and another is something called “Pastel de Abuela.”

“Basically all that means is grandmother’s cake or dessert,” he explained. “It’s a very simple one, as you can imagine—we’re talking like grandmas at home, piling things into a casserole kind of dessert. But it’s one of those childhood things that I just love so much.”

Seats

They’ll have around 50 to 55 seats in Feli’s dining room. “Still relatively cozy,” said Javier. “I’m not one that really likes big restaurants or big spaces.”

One of those reasons why is that with a smaller or medium-sized restaurant, he can really pay attention to his guests more and fine-tune the details to make sure that the experience is 100%. “If a place gets a little too big for me, that starts to get more difficult to dial in and you lose that intimate connection with the guests. We want to keep it manageable and keep that experience intimate and cozy.”

Along with those 50 tp 55 seats in the dining room, there will be some seats outside during nicer times of the year, and about 10 at the bar.

The Bar at Feli

Javier is pretty excited about the bar, which is something they don’t really have at Urdaneta, aside from a few seats at the chef ‘s counter.

“There’s a cool, unique aspect to it—one of the sides of the bar is right next to a garage door that opens,” he explained. “And so during the warmer times of year, we’ll actually be able to sit that side of the bar halfway inside and halfway outside of the restaurant, which, again, I think is just like, sunny Southern Spain vibes and fun.”

He added, “Whoever gets to sit there I think will have a really good time because of that!”

They have applied for a full liquor license, so they can offer everything: cocktails (including NA), wine, beer, cider—all of it. “We’re even planning on having Vermouth on tap!” Javier exclaimed. Vermouth culture is something you see in Spain and they are big fans of that, so putting Vermouth on tap seemed like a great fit for Feli.

The Team

Javier wanted to express how grateful he is for all the help he’s had to bring Feli to life. It’s a concept he’s had since 2020, right around the start of the COVID pandemic. From sharing his initial thoughts then about Feli, to fleshing out the concept over the years, to working at the restaurant site, it has been a process.

“I have had a tremendous amount of help along the way,” Javier said. “I couldn’t do all of this without an incredible team of contractors and friends, and other interested people. My wife, first and foremost—there’s no way that this would be possible without her. It’s a lot to do.”

They are aiming for a September 2026 opening; when there are more exact details, I’ll share them here.

Many thanks to Javier for the conversation and I wish him and his team every good wish in getting Feli ready to open.

Feli [projected opening September 2026]
2070 NW Quimby Street, Portland
Feli website | Instagram