Small Bites: Old Pal Will Close, Oysters, Bar Carlo, and More

Old Pal will close. They’ve decided to close the restaurant and put more energy into their catering side, Field Day Feasts & Gatherings. Their final time of service will be New Year’s Eve.

“Old Pal has been so much more than a restaurant to us. It’s been a place to gather, celebrate, connect, and be part of a neighborhood we love so much. We’re endlessly grateful for every meal shared, every familiar face, every new friend, and especially the incredible team who have helped make Old Pal what it is. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

Until then, they will operate Wednesdays through Sundays, 4pm to 9pm; enjoy $2 oysters every night; December 13 will be the date of their final annual holiday market. They will be missed. 3350 SE Morrison Street, Portland.

Daydreamer Coffee turns 8. They’ve been on the corner of N Fessenden and N Burr in St. Johns for eight years and they will celebrate that (RSVP here). They’ll host their Friday open mic night, “with a few twists.” Get your Daydreamer-inspired flash tattoos, beer and cider on tap, and special treats from mobile donut truck Donut Drop. Everything starts at 5pm tonight. 7315 North Fessenden Street, Portland

Oysters and affordable caviar tomorrow at Yours Truly. Brendan of Chums, an oyster pop-up, wrote to us about their latest event, which will be at Yours Truly in Sellwood on Saturday, November 7: “We’ll be shucking oysters & slinging affordable caviar with some other tasty bites from 2pm to 6pm.” The caveat is always, “or until sold out.” Yours Truly is a sweet little spot in the neighborhood that offers specialty coffee, wine and snacks. 7834 SE 13th Avenue, Portland

Top pasta in Portland. Yelp released their Top 100 Pasta Places list and Campana made it on there at number 68, along with Justa Pasta at 70. Congrats to both! 901 NE Oneonta Street and 1336 NW 19th Avenue, Portland

Best restaurants in Portland, according to PoMo. Portland Monthly, which was acquired this past spring by John Balardo, a guy in the Midwest who is CEO of Hour Media, released their list of top restaurants in Portland. It’s a 49 minute read, penned by familiar local writers. Some highlights:

• Nodoguro is Restaurant of the Year.
• Althea Grey Potter of Bar Nouveau is Chef of the Year.
• Astera has the Best Tasting Menu.
• Bangkok Belly is their Rising Star
• Berlu makes the Breakfast Sandwich of the Year.
• Chisme at Duality Brewing made Best Collaboration.
• Higgins was given their Legacy Award.
• No Saint has the Best New Brunch.
• Oscar Food & Wine has the Best New Wine List.
• República has the Best Lunch.

The list is pretty solid and for me, at least, there are no surprises. You can read the full list here.

And speaking or República… A longtime blogger I read, Michelle Tam of Nom Nom Paleo, highlighted República in her November 2026 newsletter. She and her husband ate at a bunch of places in Portland recently, and her favorite of this most recent trip was at República. Here’s what she wrote:

“We ordered the ‘Feed Me’ menu and worked our way through so many delicious Mexican dishes made with locally sourced Pacific Northwest ingredients. The mole was unbelievable, and the service was wonderful, with our servers sharing the stories behind each dish as it arrived. We left stuffed!

“Henry and I have both been to Californios, the world’s first three-Michelin-star Mexican restaurant, which is fantastic, and República gave us similar vibes at a fraction of the price. Yes, I know that is a strong statement and República is waaaay more casual, but I stand by it.” 100 NW 10th Avenue, Portland

Get the Teriyaki Beef Nachos at Departure’s Pau Hana. We wrote about this new Hawaiian-inspired rooftop pop-up going on on the East Deck last week, and this week Judith and I stopped by to try some things (so, this meal was comped). The fixed me a lovely NA version on a piña colada and we tried three dishes—the Kanaka Plate, the Poke Bowl, and the Teriyaki Beef Nachos.

The nachos, made with wonton chips, were the star of the meal—the bartender talked them up and it was a fantastic recommendation. It’s made with marinated ribeye, roasted jalapeño queso, cilantro lime crema, pickled red onions, and the aforementioned wonton chips, fried yet very light. The queso was incredible and everything was just so yum. I agree with the bartender, and I hope Departure puts this on their own menu. Definitely stop by and enjoy when you can—they’ll be operating the pop-up until the end of January 2027. 525 SW Morrison Street, 15th Floor, Portland

Jackie’s was on fire this week. I got an alert about a building with the “roof on fire” and turns out the building was that of Jackie’s. It happened early this past Tuesday morning. Portland Fire and Rescue thinks the cause was “an exterior furnace heating up exposed wood on the patios.” You can read what PF&R reported here on Facebook (photos). 930 SE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Head to Novel Book Bar this weekend. If you want to carry that Portland Book Festival vibe late into the night, Novel Book Bar is hosting what they call The Afterword. “Keep talking books and sip something good.” They’ll be there 7pm to midnight tonight and tomorrow night. 322 NW Everett Street, Portland

Bar Carlo has some new menu items. And I would be happy to eat them all (descriptions from the restaurant):

• Sandwich de Pollo: Achiote-marinated chicken thigh, pickled red onion, pineapple-jicama slaw & aioli on brioche, served with crispy papas.
• PDMX Hash: Suadero-style beef, roasted veggies, crispy papas, guajillo-pepita salsa macha, crème fraîche & a poached egg.
• Masa Cakes: Three slightly savory masa flapjacks with organic honey-canela-cardamom butter & maple syrup.
• Caesar’s Taco Salad: A classic Tijuana Caesar based on the original recipe, whispered to my grandmother… served spilling out of a mini fried tortilla with an achiote-spiced chicken thigh.
• Pan Francés: Brioche French toast, caramelized baby banana, guava-piloncillo syrup & citrus crème fraîche whipped cream.

I look forward to stopping in soon to check them out. 6433 SE Foster Road, Portland

Tastemaker collab and new bombolini at Sebastiano’s. They’ve got a new sandwich this month, and it’s a collab with brewer Ben Edmunds—the Breakside Braised Beef sandwich. “We’re braising beef in Breakside Black & Tan Barrel-Aged Stout with dried porcini, demi-glace, currants, and aromatics, then melting smoky provolone from Ferndale Farmstead over the top and finishing it with caramelized onions and tangy peperoncini.”

$20 for the sandwich, paprika chips, and a beer (they recommend Breakside’s seaonal red ale, Turkey Time Ale). $2 from every combo is donated to Constructing Hope, an apprenticeship program helping formerly incarcerated folks build skills and find long-term employment in the construction trades.

This month’s bombolini is all about coffee—it features Coffee Crème topped with a chocolate-covered espresso bean. 8235 SE 13th Avenue, #7, Portland

Pastime Coffee has moved. And they are hosting an open house on Saturday, November 7 from 3pm to 7pm. They moved into this new 1,000-square-foot roasting facility back in September, but they want to celebrate with you now. Stop by, have a drink and some snacks. This is the former Colibri Flowers space on NE Prescott. 1454 NE Prescott Street, Portland

Delivery apps had the urge to merge. Some big industry news this week was about delivery apps: DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart for $17 billion.

The folks at Caper, a food newsletter, wrote, “It’s a merger so major that antitrust concerns have been raised (as well as concerns over how delivery drivers are compensated, following Mayor Mamdani’s $131.5 million enforcement action against DoorDash, reallocating most of those funds to drivers), and regulatory approvals are required before the deal is completed as expected in late 2027 or early 2028.”

There’s no argument that delivery apps are very popular, but they do affect the bottom line for a lot of restaurants. Full transparency: I do not use delivery apps, as I’ve never really be a big delivery person, even when I lived in NYC, but I know they can be everything from a preference to a lifeline for others. You can read about this merger on the NY Times (gift link). Online

Tokyo Girl has opened. Their grand opening was Wednesday, November 4. They offer Japanese-style crepes, matcha, bubble tea, breakfast (including strawberry cream sandos and egg sandos), and late night self-serve ramen. You can find them open 7am to midnight, daily. And until Sunday, November 8 you can get free boba in every drink. 1923 SW 6th Avenue, Portland

Catch the end of Walla Walla Week at Bethany’s Table. Throughout this week, Bethany’s Table has been hosting “Walla Walla Week,” to showcase great wines from Walla Walla, Washington. The Walla Walla Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) is an important wine region in the U.S. There are dinners on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8.

Saturday, November 7: Bethany’s Table will host a L’Ecole N° 41 wine dinner featuring 12 L’Ecole wines. Founded in 1983 and based in a historic Frenchtown schoolhouse in Lowden, WashingtonL’Ecole N° 41 is, “one of Washington’s pioneering wineries and a longtime leader in the Walla Walla Valley wine community.” Led by Marty and Megan Clubb (Marty will be at the dinner), their wines will pair with a menu by Executive Chef Janet O’Conner, including grilled shrimp skewers, crab cakes, duck confit crostini, mushroom risotto and prime New York steak. It’s $225 per person (meal, wine, gratuity).

Sunday, November 8: Bethany’s Table will host an open tasting of L’Ecole N° 41 from 1pm to 4pm. This is an opportunity for folks who are unable to attend the L’Ecole N° 41 dinner the night before. The open tasting will feature the same 12 wines that were provided at the previous night’s wine dinner. Small bites will also be offered along with live music from Hummingbird PDX. Tickets are $25 per person.

You can find more information on these events and ticketing links on their Events page. 15325 NW Central Drive, Suite J-1, Portland

Iron Wood Meat Company will pop up downtown for the holidays. They are connected to Iron Wood Cattle Company (a separate ranch operation but owned by the same people), which raises Wagyu and Wagyu-Angus beef in Tillamook. Their holiday pop-up opens today, Friday, November 6. They are offering “full-blood Wagyu beef, other local Wagyu beef, imported Japanese Wagyu beef, other premium meats, artisan cheeses, charcuterie, gifts, and more.” You can mosey over there and pre-order some hams, turkey, and prime rib, too.

They are opening in the old Los Burros Supremos space; before that it was Kenny & Zuke’s. 1038 SW Harvey Milk Street, Portland

Chen’s Good Taste has closed. Located on Mill Plain in Vancouver, they started out in Old Town Chinatown—there’s a new restaurant planned for that old Portland space. This location I believe opened in May 2025. It is reported that this was posted on the door: “We have closed our business and look forward to the new owner after the renovation.” So, perhaps all is not lost. 14930 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver

Spielman Bagels has closed their NW Lovejoy shop. The last day was Sunday, November 1. “A huge word of THANKS to all of the staff there, today and over the years, and all of the good people who have come through the doors, shared a sip or a nibble with a friend, dragged their out-of-town family in for ‘the best bagel OMG!’ donated a scarf to the community rack, shared their art on the walls, fought the powers that be, etc.”

BTW, I stopped by the new NE Fremont Spielman location on Wednesday and they were still closed. 2314 NW Lovejoy Street, Portland

Sazerac and its Ballz bought Full Sail Brewing. Full Sail is one of Oregon’s oldest craft breweries, founded in 1987. Sazerac, a acquired it Monday, November 2, and closed its Hood River brewpub. Apparently, this acquisition “enables us to add additional capacity and capabilities to our network,”🤖 as per a quote the Oregonian read from a company spokesperson. The Session Lager brand is also done.

Interesting detail: In 2015, San Francisco-based private equity firm Encore Consumer Capital bought Full Sail Brewing (FKA Hood River Brewing Company).

As for Sazerac, on their website they boast that they, “operate 18 distilling and bottling facilities worldwide, employ 8,000 team members, and own more than 525 brands.” They love acquiring brands.

Brad Pouty, weekend brewing lead, wrote on Facebook, “Next year would’ve been 40 years that Full Sail has been making beer in Hood River. We just put in a 15 bbl pub/pilot system a little over a year ago and were able to finally start getting creative with new beers again. That is over. To say that I am upset is an understatement.” You can read more on Willamette Week. 408 Columbia Street, Hood River

The Emerald Line celebrated seven years this week. On Wednesday, November 4, they noted their seventh anniversary in Northwest Portland. “Thank you to all the lovely people who have come back again and again, bringing friends and family and over time making this a hub of community and love.” They offer a cozy, comfortable space with dishes inspired by cuisine around the Mediterranean Sea. 1800 NW 16th Avenue, Portland

This month’s Devil’s Dill sandwich special sounds really good. It’s made of housemade falafel, green herb aioli, baba ganoush, and mango-pickled vegetable relish. Sign me up! 1711 SE Hawthorne Blvd and 1620 NE Killingsworth, Portland

Yanni’s says goodbye to their donuts. Their loukoumades are on hold for now, as they announced this past week: “A bittersweet day here at Yanni’s Greek. To make way for the gyro menu, loukoumades will be discontinued until further notice.” But, all is not lost: “They will return.” For now it’s all about the gyro (it has fries in it, which is legit). 1400 SE 9th Avenue, Portland

Cider tasting in Milwaukie. At the 1847 Food Park tomorrow from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, there will be a free tasting event with Alchemy Cider—“We’re pouring standout ciders, featuring Garden of Delights & Leviathan Bite.” Free to attend, no reservations required. 1925 SE Scott Street, Milwaukie

No Sabo has a new home. And it’s at Living Häus! They are doing a grand opening weekend today through Sunday, November 8. On Saturday from 4pm to 8pm there will be DJ Omie spinning some tunes; a dessert special, Micheladas, and $5 taco + $5 ahi tostaditas all weekend.

Non food-related this weekend is a small ceramics market from 2pm to 8pm Saturday at Living Häus, hosted by Clay Commons.

“We are so excited to celebrate this new chapter with everyone as we head into our 2nd year operating No Sabo!” 628 SE Belmont Street, Portland

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Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

World Vegan Month 2026 Has Started in Portland
Hotel Reynard, a Beautiful Tavern and Inn, Opens Today in Troutdale
Durant Celebrates Their 17th Annual Olio Nuovo Festival in Dayton This Month
Double Down Lounge + Morchella 2.0 Arriving 3 Doors Down