Two Brothers: 20 Years of Classic Balkan Food in Portland

Earlier this summer I chatted with Valdan Vlaski, current co-owner of Two Brothers Rakia Bar & Grill (Fun fact: He is one of the “two brothers”). I love food from the Balkans and have enjoyed meals at Two Brothers. Also, I had read some assertions online about the restaurant, and I wanted to get his take on them. Here’s what we talked about.

About Two Brothers

The restaurant, which refers to Vladan and his brother, opened in August 2006; they celebrated their 20th anniversary on August 28, 2026. There, they offer food you’d find in parts of the former Yugoslavia (it existed from 1918 to 1992), where Vladan’s parents are from.

The restaurant has multiple points of origin. “It was my mom’s dream to have a restaurant,” Vladan explained. “She’s always done a lot of cooking and everything. And my dad—-he was working for a wood manufacturing company, and during an accident he ended up cutting off his left hand. He’s had over eight surgeries on it.” His father remains fully disabled in his left hand.

He did, however, receive a worker’s comp settlement. And since nobody would hire him due to his disability (this was in the early 2000s), they decided to start their own business—a restaurant. “They decided to take a risk and open it up,” said Vladan. “Thankfully, it paid off, because we’re here 20 years later.”

They’ve leased this location on SE Belmont since the start of Two Brothers. They chose this spot because it was convenient to their home in Northeast Portland and fit their budget at the time.

Vladan relatively recently joined his parents as co-owner of Two Brothers, but eventually he will be fully taking over. “We’re trying to transition them into retirement,” he remarked.

Transition means they’ll spend their time both here and back in Europe, depending on how they feel. It’s understandable to want to escape winters here, but as summers get hotter and hotter in Europe, Portland may end up being a place to escape from the heat. And, grandkids are likely in the future, so that will also help determine where they spend their time.

“Family is really important to us,” Vladan added.

Selling Two Brothers?

They did consider selling it at one point, but in the end they chose not to. “Every time that it was close to being sold, I just felt like a sadness in me because I grew up working there,” said Vladan. “So that’s why I decided to go back, because now my parents need to retire—they can’t really work anymore. My dad’s 70, my mom is 64.”

He continued, “And I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to give it a go and try to do it!’ If I’m successful—and hopefully I am—then I will stay. If I can’t do it without them, then we’ll just end up putting it up for sale again later.”

The Former Yugoslavia: Getting Our Bearings

The landmass that was the former Yugoslavia has changed a lot over the years as far as geopolitical borders go, and it’s complicated to talk about. But by the early 1990s, the countries within Yugoslavia broke apart and gained independence, an event that paralleled the demise of the Soviet Union. The former Yugoslavia is known today as the independent countries of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Kosovo is still in dispute.

The greater Balkan peninsula also includes the southeastern seaside section of Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Eastern Thrace (the European side of Türkiye). Below is a map of the greater Balkan peninsula (click to enlarge).

Yugoslavia at Two Brothers: Food Unites People

As far as what you’ll find at Two Brothers, Vladan says it’s a mixture of Bosnian and Serbian food. “We’re Serbian, but from Bosnia,” he explained. “But much of the food in the Balkans is very similar. Croatia has the coastline, so they may have bit more of seafood and things like that.”

“We believe that food unites people, and that’s what we try to do with Two Brothers,” said Vladan. “We want you to experience the Balkan culture, where everybody can come and experience what the former Yugoslavia used to be. It doesn’t matter if you’re Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, or Albanian or anything like that to us.”

Eating and Drinking at Two Brothers

I asked Vladan what is notable on the menu. “What we’re known for is ćevapi (chevapi)—that’s our signature dish. These are beef sausages with different spices inside (our secret recipe). And it comes in our homemade pita bread.”

He continued, “We make everything here, but our homemade pita bread is not like your typical Middle Eastern pita bread, where it’s big and flat. Ours is a lot smaller, but it’s very thick and fluffy; people love our pita bread.” The pita they serve is also known as lepinja.

“My favorite is the group of combos where you get a little mixture of everything,” he explained. “You get five of the ćevapi, a pork or chicken kebab, and you get a side Greek salad, fries, and a pita bread.”

He continued, “We also have the mixed grill and that one is a big plate that serves at least two people. Sometimes groups of three or four will share it. And there you get a big mixture of things. The combos is a smaller version of that.”

He also talked about their burek, describing it as a “Balkan pie.” It’s a phyllo dough pastry filled with a variety of things like cheese, spinach and cheese, potatoes, or meat. They do it as a special, as it is complicated and time consuming to make. Vladan has been learning how to make it himself.

Rakia and Wine

They have a selection of rakia, a brandy made from distilled fruits. The one I’m most familiar with is made with plums (Slivovitz), but it can be made with other stone fruits and pomes. At Two Brothers you’ll find rakia made from plums and apricots, and apples, pears, and quince (all pomes).

If rakia is not your bag, they offer wines from the region—mostly red but one white, from Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

The Vibe at Two Brothers

Two Brothers has gone through renovations and changes in decor over the years. At one point they added of a bar to the restaurant, though they consider the place to be primarily a restaurant, with a bar. Two Brothers is family-friendly.

“We want to bring homemade-style food and a part of our culture that everybody can experience,” said Vladan. “Where they can come in and have good food—and if they want to have some drinks, they can. But we’re not like your typical bar that’s going to stay open up until 2am, that’s going to be crazy loud, and all of that.”

He added, “It’s more of like a laid back atmosphere to experience a homemade Balkan food.”

The interior isn’t super modern or super rustic. “It used to be, back in the day, more like Balkan style to the core. But over the years, we’ve changed it to be a mix of styles.” There’s wood paneling, but also a modern bar, which has given it a more modern feel.

About Those Rumors …

Money laundering? Mafia connections? Closures? These are topic Vladan wanted to talk about.

“Somebody told me that people have said that Two Brothers is money laundering or that we’re the mafia,” he stated. “This is something I did want to clear up.” One of the critiques he read had to do with the restaurant being empty, and that it was suspicious. “I think one of the comments was something like, ‘Well, every time we drive by, that place is empty. I don’t know how they make a profit or anything like that—they’re always closed.'”

He explained, “People can drive by during lunch when it can be completely empty; and sometimes we have nights, too, where we’re completely empty. We do a lot of to-go orders; sometimes there’s not a lot going on. But then Saturday and Sunday can be absolutely packed.

“I just hate that people would give that impression of our culture, when we work so hard. We came to America in 1998 as war refugees.” Valdan was just five-years old at the time, so it was him and his parents immigrating to the U.S.; his brother was born here in Portland.

“The only reason [my parents] came here was so that I could have a better life,” said Vladan. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have even come—they would have just stayed in the Balkans.

The Need to Recharge

He also touched on the times they’ve closed down the restaurant for what seems like a long time. Since it’s a small family-run restaurant (though they do employe other people outside of the family), they work very long hours—12 to 13 hour days, six days a week. Vladanj says his parents are older now and they are slowing down. It’s easy to burn out, so they choose to take time away to recharge—even if it means losing business during that period.

They also closed down the restaurant for an extended period this past year for Vladan’s wedding back in the Balkans.

But back to the accusations of mafia connections and money laundering: Vladan says these rumors are hurtful to the business and encourages a kind of reputation nobody wants, but he also knows there’s not much he can do about it.

“The only thing I can say is that it’s 100% not true,” he stated.

And on that note, I hope folks will stop by Two Brothers for some excellent Balkan food.

Two Brothers Rakia Bar & Grill
829 SE Cesar E Chavez Blvd, Portland
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