Bar Sprezzatura Will Open at The Heathman Hotel in Portland

I have seen the good news floating around the internet, but wanted to talk about it here, too: Bar Sprezzatura, from award-winning (James Beard Awards, Michelin stars) Chef Michael Mina, will move into the Heathman Hotel this fall.

This will be his only restaurant in the PNW. Here is what we know (and what to expect).

Michael Mina

Chef Michael Mina has over 30 restaurants to his credit. He is described as a celebrity chef and restaurateur. He has also authored two cookbooks—“Michael Mina: The Cookbook” and “My Egypt: Cooking From My Roots.”

He was born in Egypt in 1969, making him part of the elder Gen X cohort. When he was young he immigrated to Ellensburg in central Washington state. He is an alumnus of the Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY), graduating from there in 1989. After that, he worked at Tribeca Grill in NYC and at Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles.

Mina Group

In 2003, he founded the Mina Group with partner and former professional tennis player Andre Agassi, and went on to open multiple restaurants across the U.S. and internationally. Those include The Handle Bar in Jackson Hole, WY; Taleed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Orla in Las Vegas and Santa Monica; and Bourbon Steak in a dozen different U.S. cities, among others. Details on the Mina Group restaurants can be found here—including Bar Sprezzatura.

What Is Sprezzatura? Music, Words, and Fashion

As a harpsichordist, “sprezzatura” is a term I heard regularly when working with 16th and 17th century Italian art songs literature. So, I am familiar with this concept primarily through that lens of early music and historically informed performance (HIP).

Italian Art Songs of the Late Renaissance and Early Baroque

A composer named Giulio Caccini (1551–1618) was well-associated with this term, sprezzatura, which yields a kind of flexibility, fluidity, ease, and grace in expression. There is a kind of effortless freedom from the player or singer; this music is not metronomic.

One of my favorite examples of sprezzatura in the vocal realm is the song, “Dalle più alte stelle” (“From the highest spheres”) by Antonio Archilei (1543–1612), a contemporary of Giulio Caccini. Here is a recording of it by the magnificent Catherine Bott with Philip Pickett’s New London Consort (approximately 4 minutes long):

The effortlessness of these very challenging runs is impressive, as is the ornamentation and diversity of vocal inflection that she uses. She employs a kind of rhetorical style, too, and allows her the freedom to take time for effect. This all adds up to the world of sprezzatura.

Other Uses of Sprezzatura

The word, “sprezzatura” was first used by Baldassare Castiglione in his philosophical dialogue, “Il Cortegiano” (“The Book of the Courtier”) from 1528, where he wrote about a kind of effortless, natural expression of thoughts, ideas, and persuasion. I would hazard a guess that Dale Carnegie in his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” was influenced by this concept.

I have also seen the word used in the realm of fashion, describing an effortless look that took time to complete; the “no makeup” makeup trend (see: Alicia Keys) I think would also fall into this category.

Bar Sprezzatura

As I mentioned earlier, Bar Sprezzatura is the name of the restaurant Chef Mina is opening at the Heathman Hotel, and it is an expansion of the restaurant of the same name in San Francisco, located at One Maritime Plaza.

There is also a Bar Sprezzatura in NYC, which opened in 2024 at the Kimpton Hotel Theta by TableOne Hospitality, which initially managed the San Francisco location, as well. Bar Sprezzatura San Francisco and Bar Sprezzatura Portland are managed by The Mina Group.

Bar Sprezzatura is descried as a “bar-forward, all-day dining destination inspired by the traditional bàcari of Venice.” A bàcaro is a kind of bar: I’ve seen words like “osteria” and “tavern” to describe it, too, but it sounds a lot like a neighborhood local. And bars in Portland are required to have food, so no doubt there will be some great options.

Leadership at Bar Sprezzatura

Executive Chef Justin Ramirez will be at the helm of Bar Sprezzatura. Local to Portland, he has been in the kitchens at a number of familiar spots in town: Coquine, Arden, The Hoxton/La Neta, and more. He also worked with Chef Mina for a number of years, including a tenure at Michael Mina San Francisco in 2013.

The Mina Group will oversee all food and beverage operations at Heathman Hotel when they arrive this fall, in late October.

Drinking at Bar Sprezzatura

I’m starting with the drinking side of things, as the bar program is at the center of this project. At their San Francisco location, the cocktail program has been led by award-winning Mixologist Carlo Splendorini, and it would not surprise me if he will have some input into the cocktail program here in Portland.

I’ve been told that you’ll be able to enjoy spritzes, Negronis, martinis, and classic cocktails, alongside a serious dedication to and interest in amaro, regionally-specific liqueurs, gin, vodka, and whiskey.

There Will Be NA Drinks, Too

I’m told they will have a robust non-alcoholic menu, too. To start, they are planning to have a number of classic offerings that can be made without alcohol. Think NA martinis, NA Negronis, NA spritzes, etc. They’re looking at preparing some seasonal NA drinks, as well.

Eating at Bar Sprezzatura

They’ll be putting together both lunch and dinner menus, and I expect they will be designed to be complementary to the drinks side. With that in mind, they will serve cicchetti, which makes for a classic combination with drinks at any bàcaro.

Cicchetti are small, savory snacks—some compare them to Spanish tapas, but I get the impression that this is a controversial topic! But it would be an enjoyable and fascinating discussion.

Along with these snacks, they’ll also offer handcrafted pastas, local meat and seafood, pizzettes, and more. Chef Ramirez and the culinary team are working to feature as many locally-sourced ingredients in their cooking as they can, and offer dishes that suit everything from everyday occasions to celebratory meals.

The Space

On that topic of gathering together, Bar Sprezzatura will feature small cozy spaces designed for group dining. 

I’ve been told that when Chef Mina toured the Heathman Hotel, a historic space in downtown Portland, he knew immediately that this was the place for the next Bar Sprezzatura.

Al the best to Chef Mina, the Mina Group, Chef Ramirez, and their team as they prepare to create the Portland location of Bar Sprezzatura!

Bar Sprezzatura [projected opening late October 2026]
1001 SW Broadway, Portland
Bar Sprezzatura website | Instagram | Facebook

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