L'Orange

We were fortunate that we had houseguests arriving shortly after L'Orange gained notoriety via the NY Times. We were able to get reservations before they became overwhelmed.I love the space - they're located on the second floor of a building that's seen all kinds of uses in the 100+ years that it's been standing. Rooms are laid out in a compact maze that reveals itself bit by bit. It's a delightful place for a meal where you can feel like you're almost the only ones present.The menu is small, but with enough variety of starters, salads, and entrees that everyone will be able to find something they like. On the night we were there, beef, sturgeon, duck, mussels, and gnocchi were offered. The wine list had items that were exclusive to the restaurant, as well as others that were made by the owner. We had a lovely owner's Albarino, only the third local offering of this Spanish white that we've encountered.As I write this, I just looked at their reservation page, and, while prime time seating is unavailable, I'm seeing early and later availability on multiple nights. Grab 'em while you can.

I'd been wanting to check them out, but after the NYT article dropped I thought I better jump on. Went mid-week the day after they were named one of the 50 Beat in America Now and we were not disappointed. You'd hardly know there was a restaurant there from the street. Upstairs in a typical looking home near Ladd's. You do have to go up a flight of stairs, which they note on their website, in case there are mobility issues. We were warmly greeted right away and seated at the bar/chef's counter seating. Both the purple and blue dining rooms looked great, but loved the vibe at the counter. Kat, our server and sommelier, oriented us to the menu and the restaurant and we enjoyed interacting with her throughout the evening. The place has a wonderful homey French farmhouse style, with orange le Creuset Dutch oven lids on the walls, hooks for your coat or purse, and a convenient drawer at each place for your phone. We started with oysters and wine pairing which was fabulous. We then moved on to the cheese rosette, which is a marvel to behold and taste, and the poached and grilled cauliflower with pear and pistachios. We also tried the garlic soup which was delightful. For our main we had the smoked sturgeon, which we almost skipped, and the pork. It was all superb. We were so glad Kat talked us into the sturgeon. For dessert we split the L'Orange cake, which is not to be missed. The cardamom icing had an almost crème brûlée-like glaze that added a contrasting texture to the warm soft cake. There wasn't a misstep in the whole meal. One of the things we loved was the way Kat paired different wines with each course, letting us taste first to make sure we were happy with it. We could do full or half pours, which allowed us to try lots of different wines and Kat was always happy to educate us and answer questions. We also loved that this is in the inKind network. This will certainly become a new regular for us. It's a great date night, but also an easy midweek spot to come in early for light bites and great wine in an incredibly inviting space. Highly recommended

If you are looking for a quaint, delicious, date night location -- this is the place for you. Step into this restaurant and be transported from Portland to France. It is located upstairs of an old house, steep twisty staircase. The food was excellent. The service was attentive, helpful, and very lovely. I had made reservations which I suggest!My husband and I started with the soup -- so many flavors and very delicious. We then had the chicken liver - very creamy and flavorful. Limited menu which I appreciated. I think had the gnocchi and my husband had the braised beef. The beef was the most tender we have ever had. The gnocchi was to die for. . This has definitely landed on our top Portland restaurants and we will be going back again.

Fantastic meal here for my wife's bday. Very intimate space on 2nd level of a house in SE Portland. Excellent service throughout. Chef Joel Stocks (previously at Holdfast which was awesome) impresses here with innovative farm to table cooking. All dishes were solid, the wine was good, not great. Started with 2 house specials: Uni custard  with cured salmon roe and smoked scallops, topped with cured radishes - this was special! And baked oysters with summer veg relish, roasted gruyere on top with a shishito hot sauce. Then, a chicory salad with smoked trout roe, anchovies, bottarga - wow! The main was mussels, clams, baked cod, bok choy, blistered tomatoes ,zatarain sauce - best Mussels and clam dish I've ever had! Great baguette too to sop up the sauces! The wine was a French Old vine Syrah - Lionel Fury's Saint Joseph. Good, but was hoping for a little bigger, more dusty... All in all, this is a spot not to miss in the great Portland culinary scene!

I wanted to try a new place for date night and picked a good one. The food was excellent, the service was warm. I made a reservation for the purple room which has about 4 small tables. There is another room that has more tables and a bar. The restaurant is on the second floor of a converted house. I don't think they have an elevator, so you're aware.We got mostly what the waiter recommended. The chicken liver mousse tart was savory and delicate, crust being flaky and good contrast to the vinaigretted frissee. The grilled cauliflower still had crunch and umami. I picked the duck confit which had delicious crispy crust and a slight sweet, salty sauce. My husband had the pork coppa which is a braised pork shoulder over a sauce with delicious huge beans. I thought all the food was outstanding, the presentation was great and flavors well balanced. Ended the night with an almond flour orange cake, not too sweet. I might have skipped that one because the gelee was a little tart and cake a denser than expected. The waiter was great at helping us navigate the menu. I liked all the choices available and can't wait to try more of them. I don't think there is a wrong choice here. Their menu options rotate.

This was such a wonderful dining experience. Each dish had varying flavor profiles and delicious at that. I love the cozy and intimate atmosphere of the place, it felt like a fine dining experience in someone's home. The service was attentive and each dish was presented and explained to us with care. I haven't had a meal like this in a while, so I was eager to try many dishes. From their menu (which rotate seasonally), we tried the Leeks, Fall Salad, Cauliflower, Duck, and Boneless Short Rib. The stand outs for me were the Leeks, Duck, and Boneless Short Rib. The crab mousse in the leeks were so smooth and flavorful and paired so well with the soft poached leeks. The short ribs were perfectly tender and had such a rich flavor of beef that was complimented by the braised wine. I surprisingly loved the combination of the chickpea fritter and harissa together with the beef. Highly recommend!

Visited last Tuesday with reservations via Resy (deposit required). Street parking is pretty easy. Not very accessible though, you need to walk up some stairs to get to the restaurant.The restaurant itself is very nicely decorated... and air conditioned, which was very helpful for the 100 degree day that we visited! We arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation and were seated right away. It appears that they serve only wine and beer for now. The wine selection was decent, with glass options for sparkling, red, white, orange and rose. However, the beer selection was poor, with only 2 options.My husband and I ordered a glass of orange wine, the lyonnaise salad, the gnocchi, and the mussels & clams. The lyonnaise salad was very tasty, bright, savory, crunchy, creamy... it had all the right elements. The gnocchi was also delicious, but sadly the amount of gnocchi was really small. The mussels & clams was a fun dish with the corn, potatoes, artichokes, sauce, and sourdough bread. However, one of the three clams we opened was full of dirt. We pointed this out to the waiter when he collected our dish, and he kind of just shrug it off and stated that "it happens." His response added to our disappointment; an apology would have went a long way.Overall, I was expecting a lot more from one of Portland's hottest new restaurants. The menu looks great, but the execution wasn't quite there for us.

This place hits every single time. Food is incredible and a we've never had a dish that we didn't love! The chicken liver tartlet is a must have but can sell out pretty quickly which is a bummer if you have a later rezzie. I recently had the duck which was probably the best duck I've ever had. Our favorite spot to sit is at the counter - Erika usually does counter service and she's so much fun and makes great food and wine recs. The whole restaurant is quaint, cozy, and comfortable. Only note is that I don't think they have elevator access - if someone in your party isn't able to navigate stairs, I'd def call ahead to confirm.

Amazing. Great space. Love the funky decor. Amazing meals. Very reasonably priced. Nice and knowledgeable server.

Loved the location and atmosphere, friendly service. But here to rate the food. 1. chicory salad - 3.5/5, bagna cauda made up for too much chicory, cured pork belly was highlight, wish there was more of it2. cauliflower - 4.5/5 most successful dish, poached/pickled pear and pistachios, great combo3 crepe - 3/5 shrimp and corn wrapped in a burrito, with various pepper slices. expected traditional barley crepe ( french/belgian influence), got a tex mex burrito 4 beef 1/5 - description and expectation was too high, slow braised, should be rich and juicy what you get... 1" disk cut of (short rib) meat, thats seared on both sides till its black. dry like the desert. I would say its worth check out for the wine and space, not the food