Too Soon — Restaurant in Portland

The TLDR is this bar is great. Awesome space, great drinks, delicious food (especially the desserts), and Nick (the main bartender and owner) is just an incredible person with an encyclopedic knowledge of coktails. I can't recommend this place enough.

The longer review:

I first met Nick about a year or so ago while he was working at other bars around Portland (Deadshot, Solo Club). Nick is just a great dude and an exceptional bartender. I learned very quickly that he knows drinks. After the second or third time meeting him, I learned he knows something like 2000+ cocktails off the top of his head and that he compiled a gigantic list of drinks all properly sorted with description tags that he wanted to use as the basis for opening a new bar. So I was so excited to see this place finally open up back in December.

My wife and I have been 3 times so far (1 being the popup event they did with Sunrice this past Monday) and it's easily becoming one of my favorite bars to go to.

Ambiance: Chill ambiance with plenty of space for people to sit, stand and hang out. There's tables in the back, and about 10 bar seats with enough space between the chairs that you don't feel cramped but can still easily hang out with your group. There's also enough space that you can fit someone standing between you if you have a larger group (for when they are busy and all the seats are taking). There is also a standing bar table behind the bar seats against the wall but still leaves enough space for people to enter and walk through to the back tables or wherever they need to go. Good mood lighting and cool decor just makes you feel comfortable.

Drinks: The menu is compromised of a bunch of delicious and unique highballs for easy sippers, a list of custom takes on some classic cocktails and a few unique creations, some N/A options and then what might be the main draw, the ability to ask your bartender for a suggested cocktail. Again, Nick has an encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails and has also worked very diligently to import that knowledge (with description and flavor tags) into the toast tab system so any bartender working can help you find the right cocktail based on any description you give. I'm a huge cocktail enthusiast and feel like I've tried a large number of cocktails (including dabbling in making my own at home) and this is the first time in a long time that I've had new to me drinks multiple times here. If you're into cocktails at all, or want to get into them, this might be one of the best places to go.

Food: Since this place is still relatively new the food menu is on the smaller side focused on upscale bar snacks. There are no "full" meal options but that doesn't mean you won't get enough to eat here or that you're limited in what you can get. The food is incredibly delicious and I imagine the menu will grow as the business continues to grow. My wife and I each had one of the sliders (the chicken and bbq pork) and they were very tasty. For me the desserts steal the show though. The apple cheddar beignets are a perfectly balanced flavor combination. Sweet and savory with a soft and flaky crust. And not sure if this one will be a staple, but they had a unique take on a s'more. Homemade rice crispy with like a chocolate ganash spread over it on top of a marshmallow whip cream and some chocolate type cookies on top. I'm a sucker for homemade rice crispy treats and this was just a cool mix with s'more type ingredients. Just perfect.

Anyways, in summary check this place out and have Nick make you something you've likely never...

I’m sad to give this place their first truly negative review. Maybe I just caught them on a bad night but unfortunately four out of four orders were a disappointment. Tried the mushroom fritters that were too salty to enjoy. The beignets had a nice outer shell with some good tasting sauce but were ruined but the fact that the inside was completely raw. One of us tried for the bartenders choice drink and after choosing one of three options, I had expected a bit more by way of questions to narrow down what would suit their taste as the menu stated but the “series of questions” ended up just being: are you allergic to anything. Didn’t end up liking the drink. The last order was celery and shiso, which just tasted like soda water with an overwhelming smoky flavor- not at all what was expected based on the description, the unexpected smokiness was very unpleasant. All in all, we left the table with full cups and full plates.

The atmosphere/decor is...

This place is the best cocktail bar in Portland, in my fairly experienced opinion. They are extremely knowledgeable and can make any drink you want and hundreds you've never heard of. This is a bar where you can go in, grab a stool, have the best drink you've had in years, and chat with other people there or the bartenders. Food is awesome as well, always ask what the family meal is, it's always tasty, I recommend the char shiu sliders. Not into booze? They have cocktails that are better than normal cocktails I've paid 20$ for in the past. Overall this place masterfully pulls off high end cocktails without the elitist vibe- you can go there and spend big on fancy top shelf and party or you can get a can of beer and chill. For drinks my favorite would be the aged cachaca caipirinha.

Stay till last call for complimentary fresh...