| Fenouil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 2005 |
| Closed | 2011 |
| Food type | |
| Location | 900 Northwest 11th Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97209, United States |
| Coordinates | 45°31′46″N122°40′56″W / 45.52944°N 122.68222°W |
Fenouil was a French [1] and Pacific Northwest restaurant in Portland, Oregon. [2] The business operated from 2005 to 2011.
Grant Butler of The Oregonian described Fenouil as an "enormous", two-story French restaurant next to Jamison Square in northwest Portland's Pearl District. [3] Willamette Week said the restaurant had "coveted see-and-be-seen" patio seating and three "cozy" fireplaces. [4] Eater Portland 's Erin DeJesus described the restaurant as a "French-meets-contemporary-Northwest spot". [5] Fenouil has also been described as an "upscale dining concept". [6]
The menu included escargots, frog legs, and wild boar. [7] According to The New York Times , the "sleek" Fenouil served "brasserie classics" like roast duck with Armagnac prunes and steak frites, pumpkin and mushroom gnocchi, and lobster beignets. [8] The 220-seat [9] [10] restaurant served Pacific Northwest cuisine, as of 2010. [11] [12]
Fodor's said, "The large stone fireplace, expansive bar, bistro menu, and widely revered spring-onion soup are a few of the reasons patrons keep coming back to this warm and elegant two-story restaurant. Notable entrée choices vary by season, but two reliable crowd pleasers are the grilled Kobe sirloin and the wood-fired duck breast with Armagnac-soaked prunes. There's live music on Friday nights. At the end of each month the chef creates an all-inclusive "regional dinner" that explores foods from a unique culinary region." [13]
Fenouil operated from 2005 to 2011. [5] [14] [15] The restaurant was owned by Chris and Tyanne Dussin (Dussin Group). [6] [16] Pascal Chureau was the opening chef. [17] He left in 2010. [18] Jake Martin became executive chef effective February 15. [19] [20] Kristen D. Murray, described by Michael Russell of The Oregonian as one of city's "top" pastry chefs, worked at the restaurant. [21] Ken Forkish developed a raisin-pecan bread to accompany the restaurant's cheese plate. [22]
Molly Hottle of The Oregonian attributed the restaurant's closure to the economy. [23]
In 2006, writers for Willamette Week appreciated the menu but said the restaurant "feels more like a shiny-new Bridgeport Village suburban eatery than an authentic French restaurant". [4] Moon Oregon (2007) said Fenouil was "simultaneously flamboyant and studied", and "visually one of the most impressive" restaurants in the city. [24] In 2010, the newspaper's Deeda Schroeder said "the kitchen has no problem consistently turning out beautiful food. Whether it's a Saturday dinner or a late workday lunch, there's no question the cooks have what it takes to create tiny, work-of-art eats". [25]
The restaurant was rated three and a half out of four stars in the eighth edition of Best Places: Portland (2010), [26] and three out of three stars in the seventeenth edition of Best Places Northwest (2010). [27] Fodor's Oregon (2011) says "Popular destinations like Bluehour, Fenouil, and Andina have cemented the reputation of Northwest Portland's Pearl District as a restaurant hot spot." [28] Grant Butler included Fenouil in The Oregonian's 2016 list of "97 long-gone Portland restaurants we wish were still around". [3] In 2016, Michael C. Zusman of Willamette Week said the "fancy, Francophonic Fenouil flopped". [29] Allecia Vermillion of the Seattle Metropolitan called the restaurant "late" and "lovely" in 2018. [30]
