Going Out No. 7: Yaowarat
This restaurant can GET IT.
Welcome! This is the “Going Out” edition of Riley’s Recs, where I review a restaurant, bar, or activity here in Portland. Every Sunday, I also share “Staying In” recipe recommendations for your week. What should I write about next? Feel free to leave a comment on this post or submit your idea here. And don’t forget to check out pdxrecs.com for even more recommendations and follow RR on Instagram at @rileysrecs. Enjoy!
Meal: dinner
Price for four including tip: $168
To eat: Pickled Cabbage Salad, Chive Cakes, Chinese Sashimi, Kuay Teow Kua Gai, Char Siu Pork (special), and Toasted Buns
To drink: Maharat, Grand Palace, Pochana, and Singha.
The restaurant space that is currently home to Yaowarat is fated for greatness. There’s something about this little corner of Montavilla that works. First, it was the beloved Southern brunch spot, Country Cat (which is survived by its airport location in the D/E concourse outside security). Then, it was Lazy Susan, a charcoal grill New American-style restaurant. And now, it’s Yaowarat: a Thai Chinese eatery from chef-turned-restauranteur Akkapong “Earl” Ninsom, who has risen to notoriety for opening places like Eem and Phucket Cafe.
While Ninsom also owned Lazy Susan, Yaowarat feels more on brand. Much like Eem and Phucket, Yaowarat’s interior is dripping with decor. No custom-upholstered cushion left unturned, the team has taken every opportunity to add color and personality. The bathrooms are plastered with a collage of photos. The lighting is primarily provided from paper lanterns. Everything is red. It’s FUN.
Ahead of the opening, Ninsom and the three other veteran chefs/mixologists who helped bring Yaowarat to life—Eric Nelson, Kyle Linden Webster, and Sam Smith—went on an eating odyssey in Thailand. Yaowarat is named after Bangkok’s Chinatown, one of the largest in the world, and is a love letter to the unique Thai and Chinese hybrid cooking that comes from the food stalls and street vendors you’ll find there.
This inspiration is so clearly evident when you walk into Yaowarat. The team has a vision, and, more importantly, the funding, experience, and good taste to make it happen.
I recommend going to Yaowarat with a group. Not only because the atmosphere is festive, but because a) when you have a large group you can try more menu items and b) you can skip the ones that end up being a tad too spicy. The pickled cabbage salad, for example, was so searingly hot one night that it took me 10 minutes to recover. Thankfully, because we had several more orders on the way, I didn’t feel guilty letting the rest of my friends finish off the plate.
Now would be a good time to ask: how are you with spice? Great? Great.
If you’re not, the best antidote to spicy food is a creamy cocktail. I ordered the Maharat, which is essentially a piña colada, and is, unfortunately, no longer on the menu. It was the next best thing to a tall glass of milk.
The mastermind behind the beverage list is Kyle Linden Webster, co-owner of Expatriate. If you’ve been to Expatriate, you won’t be surprised to learn this. It’s known for its elevated drink menu, “Pan-Asian” decor, and the Southeast Asian street eats that Chef Naomi Pomeroy, Webster’s wife and trailblazing Portland chef who recently passed away, cooked up. But if cocktails aren’t your thing, you can’t go wrong with a cold glass of Singha or NA beer.
To start the meal, you’ll probably want to get an order of chive cakes, which have the texture of mashed potatoes, the look of fried tofu, and the taste of fresh-picked herbs. You’ll see them on almost every table, along with the crispy bean curd dumplings—a poppable crunchy snack that feels like the appetizer every wedding caterer wishes they could recreate.
As far as the rest of the menu goes, my two favorite dishes have been the BBQ pork and the toasted buns dessert, which a server described as “stupid good.” They are plush, warm, come with plate-licking dipping sauces, and smell like Auntie Anne’s in the best possible way.
The food is delightful at Yaowarat, but so is the service: straight-forward recommendations when asked, appropriate gauging of how much to order, and when chopsticks are dropped, new ones arrive. Servers also introduce and describe each dish in detail as they arrive, which is kind of an old school thing that I love.
If you’re at all intimidated by a cuisine that may be unfamiliar to you, don’t be. Not because chefs water down spice levels or serve Americanized classics like pad thai, but because everybody is clearly proud of the establishment they’ve built and are more than willing to answer any questions you might have.
It’s a special thing they’ve got going at Yaowarat, and it’s the team, particularly Ninsom, who is to thank. He is acutely adept at defining restaurant concepts that quickly become fan favorites. As Greg Denton, the owner of Ox, told Portland Monthly, Ninsom’s restaurants “may not work out every time, but when it does, it changes the entire Portland culinary landscape.”
When it’s time to go, the party doesn’t have to stop. You’ll exit Yaowarat to find people trickling down Stark Street for a late night movie at the Academy Theater, to play games at the new board game bar across the street, or to grab a drink at one of the many dives nearby like Thatchers.
Everyone always says that Montavilla is on the rise, but it’s the small businesses that work day-in-and-day-out that make that sentiment so very real. Restaurants, and the attention and joy they bring to our city, are no exception. A belated welcome to the neighborhood, Yaowarat. This little corner of Montavilla is much better with you in it.