ASTERA — Restaurant in Portland

We had fantastic experience at Aspera for our anniversary, starting off with being greeted by name at the door and immediately seated. The basic offering is a five-course meal with fourteen different items made from locally sourced foods. Each item was unique both in flavor and presentation. And they were all delicious and beautiful. My partner had a non-alcoholic pairing with five different offerings. Two are made in-house including an amazing tomato kombucha, the other three are made by small batch fermentation houses elsewhere. The pairings were brilliant and none of the drinks were sour or vinegary. The service is impeccable. I would characterize it as self-aware pretentious with a good dash of humor and honesty. At the end of the meal, we were given a personalized menu of everything we had as a memento.

The space is quiet enough for comfortable conversation even with the open kitchen. It is intimate and has a library-worthy cookbook collection on the shelves. Reservations are required; there are two seatings per night. Plan on two hours. We were flexible on times and got a reservation five days ahead. But with the recent New York Times review, the wait may get longer. It...

Chef Aaron Adams does it again!! Yet another amazing vegan restaurant! Just last week, he opened up Workshop Food & Drink right on the other side of his other restaurant, Fermenter. When you're dining with Aaron, you truly can't go wrong. Workshop is his latest project and is a vegan Cuban restaurant paying homage to his family and heritage but with his own special twist and unique flavor. We love Fermenter so much that we were stoked to try Workshop. The ambiance is cozy and intimate. There aren't too many seating options, so it's likely best to set a reservation. We got their right as doors opened and sat at the bar. We were warmly welcomed by Aaron himself as we walked in and enjoyed hearing about his love and passion for this new project. Alma took care of us at the bar, making some great food and drink recommendations. We enjoyed the Beet Tartare, Aguacate Salad, and the Enchilado. Each plate was beautifully presented and had such unique, wonderful flavors. It felt like each dish was made with care! Drinks were also quite the treat. Our favorite was the Hey Whey!! If you've not experienced Chef Aaron Adams, you're missing out. Go visit his new baby, Workshop...

My partner and I had been looking forward to returning to Portland, and this dinner was one of the highlights we planned the trip around. Having spent just over a decade in the hospitality industry, I notice and appreciate even the smallest thoughtful details and from the moment we stepped into Astera, Chef Adams and his incredible team delivered just that. The experience at Astera goes beyond "fine dining" it's warm and so approachable you want to give it a big squeeze.

This was my partner's first fine dining experience, and watching his face light up with each course is something I’ll never forget. Do yourself a favor: treat yourself and someone you love to the chef’s counter. It was a true delight to learn about the ingredients, many of which had been picked from Chef Adams’s own garden earlier that morning.

I’ll be dreaming about the fried morel and sweet corn mousseline for a long time. We can't wait to come back...