Look Inside the New Quaintrelle - Eater Portland
"Quaintrelle spent the better part of five years serving as Mississippi Avenue’s fine-dining destination. In the dark, two-story dining room, guests would imbibe brightly colored, wildly garnished cocktails and local wines alongside equally colorful dishes of hyper-seasonal seafood and produce. Chef Ryley Eckersley, chef de cuisine Jamie Wilcox, bar manager Camille Cavan, and wine director Chris Cooper work as a team, pairing drinks and wine with elaborate but playful tasting menus. But the restaurant made the surprising announcement in May that it would be moving locations, closing the Mississippi space and moving into a building on Clinton Street that formerly housed Burrasca. This weekend, Quaintrelle is ready to reopen with a blend of the familiar and new. Eckerlsey, too, was able to shape his space, rebuilding the kitchen with help from a team to meet his specifications. The large wooden slab used to plate dishes was brought over and extended. He calls it his easel, and anyone who has seen his food before knows why — each dish looks like a piece of art, playfully adorned with local and seasonal flowers, fruit, herbs. The menu often refers to ingredients simply as 'crunchy things' or 'pretty things.' Eckerlsey feels it’s more fun this way, building the experience from the moment diners look at the menu. It’s always purposeful, though, too: he uses his food as a chance for expression and to deliver a memorable — and thoughtful — experience. There’s a reason diners still flock to the somewhat pricey tasting menu. It’s whimsical, yes, but never superficial. Alongside the tasting menus — which are offered as five, seven, or nine courses with available add-ons and drink pairings — a la carte dishes are available. With this new iteration of the restaurant, the tasting menu will be entirely separate from the a la carte dishes, and the latter will stick around a little longer on the menu than before, though they’ll still reflect the seasons and locality. Eckerlsey has a talent for emphasizing ingredients and flavors without relying heavily on fats. He’d much rather season something with fish sauce, garlic, and chili than by adding butter, salt, and oil. It’s also not a meat-dependent restaurant — there’s plenty of seafood and produce. The beef tartare does carry over from the old space, though, a seasonally changing dish that Eckersley says is very non-traditional, currently including bread-and-butter pickled squash, sesame egg yolk, and smokey British cheddar. These dishes can be enjoyed in the artful dining room or out on the back patio; the spacious outdoor area can comfortably fit around 40 diners, and the team is currently building a covered pergola for the rainy season. Quaintrelle opens officially on Sunday, August 29 at 2032 SE Clinton Street. Reservations begin on September 1. Diners will be required to provide proof of vaccination and wear a mask unless seated." - Alex Frane
