Yaowarat (restaurant)

Last updated

Yaowarat
Yaowarat (restaurant) logo.png
Montavilla, Portland, Oregon, May 2025 - 1.jpg
The restaurant's exterior in 2025
Yaowarat (restaurant)
Restaurant information
EstablishedOctober 2023 (2023-10)
Food type
Street address7937 Southeast Stark Street
CityPortland
CountyMultnomah
StateOregon
Postal/ZIP Code97215
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 45°31′09″N122°34′54″W / 45.5193°N 122.5817°W / 45.5193; -122.5817
Website yaowaratpdx.com

Yaowarat is an Asian restaurant in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. Akkapong "Earl" Ninsom opened the restaurant in the Montavilla neighborhood in October 2023, serving Thai and Chinese cuisine. Yaowarat has garnered a positive reception and was named one of the ten best new restaurants by The Oregonian as well as Restaurant of the Year by Portland Monthly .

Contents

Description

Yaowarat serves Thai and Chinese cuisine on Southeast Stark Street in Portland's Montavilla neighborhood. [1] [2] The menu has grilled squid, mapo tofu, and pickled cabbage salad, as well as chive cakes, dumplings, and kuay teow kua gai. The dessert menu includes toasted buns served with pandan and Thai tea custards. [3] On the drink menu, the Same But Prettier has Thai tea-infused rum and coconut-jasmine horchata. [4]

History

Inspired by and named after Bangkok's Chinatown, [5] Akkapong "Earl" Ninsom—whose other restaurants include Eem, Hat Yai, Langbaan, and PaaDee—opened Yaowarat on October 6, 2023, [3] [6] in the space previously occupied by The Country Cat and later Lazy Susan. [7] [8] [9] There were opening delays; [10] in March 2023, Eater Portland said the restaurant was slated to open in late July or early August. [11] In 2024, Sam Smith was the chef [12] and Yaowarat began offering lunch service on weekends. [13]

Reception

Yaowarat was Portland Monthly 's Restaurant of the Year for 2023. [1] The business ranked fifth in The Oregonian 's list of Portland's best new restaurants of 2023. [14] The newspaper's Michael Russell included the chive cakes in an overview of the year's best new dishes in the city. [15] He also included the business in the newspaper's 2025 list of the 21 best restaurants in southeast Portland. [16]

Krista Garcia of The Infatuation included Yaowarat in a 2024 list of the 24 best restaurants in Portland and wrote, [17] "a trip to this fun, casual spot ... is your chance to enjoy grilled squid swimming in spicy dressing, some of the silkiest mapo tofu you've ever tasted, and bright curries like Yaowarat's green version with springy fish balls and winter melon." She recommended the "fanciful" cocktails over the Singha. [4]

Thom Hilton of Eater Portland said the dumplings, chive cakes, Chinese sashimi, wide rice noodles, grilled buns, and limeade slushies were the best restaurant meal he had in 2023. [18] Garcia and Katrina Yentch also included Yaowarat in the website's 2024 overview of eateries for "stunning" Thai cuisine in the metropolitan area, recommending the toasted buns for dessert. [19] The business was included in Time Out Portland 's 2025 list of the city's eighteen best restaurants. [20]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Brooks, Karen (January 24, 2024). "And Our Restaurant of the Year Is..." Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  2. ↑ Zusman, Michael C. (April 23, 2024). "Yaowarat Brings the Thai-Chinese Flavors of Bangkok to Montavilla". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Perkins, Erin (October 6, 2023). "Yaowarat Brings Bangkok's Chinatown to Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Garcia, Krista (January 26, 2024). "Yaowarat Review - Montavilla - Portland, OR". The Infatuation. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  5. ↑ Zusman, Michael C. (February 21, 2024). "Five Questions for Chef Earl Ninsom". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  6. ↑ "A Guide to Portland's Latest Restaurant Openings". Eater Portland. January 27, 2021. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  7. ↑ Russell, Michael (December 18, 2023). "Portland's Yaowarat presents delicious slideshow from Bangkok's Chinatown (review)". The Oregonian . Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ Brooks, Karen (October 2, 2023). "Opening Oct 6, Four Culinary All-Stars Bring Bangkok's Chinatown Street Food to Yaowarat". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  9. ↑ Loeb, Jacob (July 15, 2023). "Lazy Susan Pivots Into New Restaurant". Montavilla News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  10. ↑ Wong, Janey (September 8, 2023). "The Most Anticipated Portland Restaurant Openings, Fall 2023". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  11. ↑ Wong, Janey (March 7, 2023). "The Most Anticipated Portland Restaurant Openings, Spring/Summer 2023". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  12. ↑ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (March 28, 2024). "Portland Cooks Redefine Ramen Hacks with Creative Cup Noodles". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ Spencer, Malia (May 7, 2024). "Restaurant Roundup: Former Tusk, Cicoria chef lands at Zula, Kann collab, KoreaWorld tour". Portland Business Journal. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024. Speaking of lunch service, Portland Monthly's restaurant of the year Yaowarat added weekend lunch.
  14. ↑ Russell, Michael (December 22, 2023). "Portland's 10 best new restaurants of 2023". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on April 18, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  15. ↑ Russell, Michael (December 27, 2023). "Portland's best new dishes of 2023". The Oregonian . Archived from the original on February 27, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  16. ↑ Russell, Michael (September 18, 2024). "These are Southeast Portland's 21 best restaurants right now". The Oregonian. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  17. ↑ "The 24 Best Restaurants In Portland, Oregon 2024 - Portland, OR". The Infatuation. January 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  18. ↑ "The Best Restaurant Meals Eaten by Portland Food Writers and Personalities in 2023". Eater Portland. December 18, 2023. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  19. ↑ Garcia, Krista (October 17, 2017). "Where to Find Stunning Thai Food in Portland and the Surrounding Suburbs". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  20. ↑ Wolfe, Alice (April 2, 2025). "The 18 best restaurants in Portland, Oregon". Time Out Portland.
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