By Cat Wurdack
726 SE Grand Ave.
Tues – Thurs : 11 am – 10 pm
Fri – Sat: 11 am – 11 pm
Sun: 11 am – 7 pm
503.232.6400
Oso Market, the recently opened bottle shop, market, and Southern European style restaurant in Portland’s SE Industrial neighborhood, offers internationally-inspired drinking, snacks and small plates, weekend brunch, and an astonishing selection of sustainable and biodynamic wines and cider.
The front half is the restaurant/bar — dusky poplar wood and smoke-colored walls with a delicious pop of red metal chairs. A west-facing window overlooks the Morrison Bridge, the Grand Avenue trolley line, and on a good day, a sunny view of the west hills.
Walk to the back and discover a cozy tasting area where you can browse the shelves for beer and wine to enjoy at your table or take home. (Ten dollar corkage for wine, a dollar corkage for beer.)
If you want a small bite with a drink, roasted carrots with dill yogurt dressing and chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon with cumin honey are worthy choices. Notable salads include warm chickpea and pickled fennel on mixed greens with lemon vinaigrette and a smoked trout Nicoise with deviled duck eggs and sardine vinaigrette.
Look to the plates section to satisfy a hearty appetite: steamed mussels with chorizo served with focaccia and garlic aioli, wild boar bratwurst with house kraut and german potato salad.
A montadito sampler (choice of 4) offers an opportunity to enjoy a variety of savory ingredients and flavors including marinated octopus and chorizo on Peruvian potato; romesco, goat cheese and balsamic reduction on polenta; and bresaola, tomato-mint jam, and basil on focaccia.
The first weekend of each month, enjoy what owner Colin Howard calls “adventure brunching” where head chef Jason Buss prepares a globetrotting theme menu. (In March, Buss prepared a traditional Korean-style brunch based on recipes passed down from his grandmother.)
April 5-6, look for an Alsatian (French-German) menu featuring savory meats, grainy breads, mustards, pickled veggies, and fruit. A Vietnamese theme will follow in May and a Caribbean menu in June.
Owner Collin Howard said, “We think of Oso as a place to celebrate good food and wine.”
Stay in touch with Oso for menu updates on Facebook.
