1407 SE Belmont St

Astera Restaurant offers a unique dining experience characterized by its fun, casual approach to fine dining, which Chef Aaron describes as "fine dining adjacent." Specializing in plant-based, vegan cuisine, Astera focuses on rejuvenating and celebrating complex, layered flavors. Side dishes might include fermented strawberry, radishes, and charred cucumber oil, showcasing their dedication to innovative and flavorful plant-based dishes. The service and atmosphere were outstanding and casual, which I love. The chefs and the staff were relaxed, focused, and expressive in explaining the Oregon-based food and wine. I was here to celebrate my retirement from my 40+ years as a teacher and educator leader--if my colleague had prefaced this celebration as "fine dining," I would have been dreading it, based on my past, snotty experiences in such restaurants. However, Astera is fun, joyous, and far from a stressed out staff and table-turnover pressure. Other reviews aptly explain the process of how Astera functions, so I'll focus on the food: --Imagine savoring a chilled dish on a hot June evening: delicate porcini and cured tofu raviolo, bathed in a vibrant basil sauce. The raviolo rests on a bed of sungold tomato fondue, its sweetness perfectly complementing the earthiness of the porcini and tofu. Bright calendula petals adorn the dish, adding a splash of color and a subtle floral note. This dish not only refreshes but also delights with its harmonious blend of flavors and textures. --Envision a sophisticated dish perfect for a summer evening: tender lion's mane mushrooms glazed in a rich umami sauce, bringing out their meaty texture and deep flavors. Accompanying the mushrooms is a crispy seaweed buñuelo, infused with Oregon dulse and hemp, adding a delightful crunch and a hint of the ocean. Fresh herbs and agretti garnish the plate, offering bright, herbaceous notes that balance the umami richness. This dish showcases a masterful blend of textures and flavors, capturing the essence of gourmet plant-based cuisine. --Picture a dish that is both elegant and rich in flavor: herb-crusted aged cashew-hazelnut cheese, offering a creamy and nutty profile. It is paired with a sweet and tangy boysenberry jam that finished with a bit of heat and a smooth garlic "honey" purée, creating a delightful contrast of flavors. Alongside, you'll find lacto-fermented Hakurei turnip and unripe strawberries, adding a refreshing and tangy element to the plate. To complete this culinary experience, seeded crackers provide the perfect almost crunchy vehicle for savoring each component. This dish is a testament to the artistry of plant-based cuisine, balancing complexity and simplicity. And I thought I knew what strawberries tasted like. Astera teaches as much as it delights. We savored our food, our conversation, and our learning. Our plan is to return each season to discover what Chef Aaron and his brilliant team is dreaming up and delivering so well. If I hadn't experienced Astera myself, I might have thought it was a Portlandia caricature featuring Fred the Turnip. But it turned out to be the perfect celebration of my beautiful career, leaving me rejuvenated and hopeful.

I've loved this place so much ever since it was first opened around the corner and called Farm Spirit. I've been for just about every iteration (including pickup and take home during the pandemic, but my plating and plates at home didn't measure up, LOL). The food is always magnificent. So inventive and creative. Since you purchase your meal experience ahead of time, you don't know specifically what you'll get until you arrive. Half the time, I'm still not sure what I'm going to get until it arrives in front of me, but in a dozen or more visits, I've only ever disliked two bites (one was cilantro and one was celeriac ice cream ). The whole experience feels special. The music is well curated and I actually look forward to certain plates and bowls in their collection - how dorky is that? Was delighted to be able to bring two of my bestest friends as a holiday gift which made it even better. Chef Aaron and his team are always growing and always changing so don't miss out on Worshop or anything else they offer!

Wow, Workshop Food & Drink blew my mind (and taste buds) with their amazing 8-course vegan culinary experience! My friend Jen gifted it to us as a Christmas present, and it honestly was one of the most unique and incredible dining experiences I've ever had. Five stars for the immersive concept: Forget menus and ordering - here, you're in for a pre-paid journey of culinary magic. The entire restaurant gets served the same dishes simultaneously, which creates a cool sense of shared delight. The owner and chef personally introduce each course, explaining the unique ingredients and cooking techniques. It's like a live cooking show you're directly participating in! Four stars for the "meaty" vegan magic: As an omnivore, I was skeptical about a fully vegan experience. But wow, Workshop proved me wrong with their inventive dishes that evoked all the richness and satisfaction I usually associate with meat. The cornbread starter was fluffy, but dense, heaven, and the mushroom creations were pure umami delight. They nailed the "meaty" textures and flavors without any animal products, which was seriously impressive. Three stars for the sweet finale: While the savory courses were phenomenal, the desserts weren't quite my jam. The celeriac ice cream, well, let's just say it wasn't my favorite (no celery fan here!). Most of the other sweets leaned a bit too sweet for my palate. I would've loved to see some lighter, more refreshing options to round out the meal. Overall, Workshop Food & Drink is a must-try for anyone seeking an unforgettable dining adventure. The service is warm and attentive, the atmosphere is intimate and buzzy, and the food is pure culinary artistry. Just maybe skip the celeriac ice cream!

I so appreciate a full tasting menu, beautifully prepared and presented and paced expertly. Such passion and professionalism in every bite. I know when I come here I will be eating healthy, fresh, gorgeous, local, filling, fabulous food prepared thoughtfully and passionately by chef and his team. Each time I come I'm presented with new flavors and an adventurous menu that really satisfies. Highlight for me this trip were the tempeh, gazpacho, tartlet, stoopwaffle and dumpling. I wasn't crazy for the desserts this go around but such a wonderful and surprising offerings overall. Well worth the price. The location is a bit cramped and loud, but when a course comes out it doesn't seem to matter if you can hear ;-). I highly recommend- it's an education in food and a work of art in addition to being a blast for your taste buds.

Chef Aaron and Team present an off-the-charts seven course dinner that will far surpass any expectations you have. Chef Aaron explains each dish which showcases his knowledge and passion for every element of each dish. You can see, feel, and taste the entire team's love and passion in the food and beverages. Book this experience now, you will have no regrets! I highly recommend adding the temperance pairing, for unique, one-of-a-kind beverages by the very special Alma. The interior is somewhat romantic, dim, and cozy. The space is perfect, small, but not too cramped, and not so big you feel a lack of intimacy with Chef, Team, and guests. Worth every mile traveled (from SoCal)!

Oh my Aaron Adams. Workshop is THE best new plant based culinary experience. You have truly outdone yourself this time. Farm Spirit was a favorite special occasion spot for us before it closed and we kept HOPING for a new spot. This was BEYOND our expectations. When you walk in it feels like a large dining area. A community experience. Not just a "date" spot but something you share with everyone dining together. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. Unique and fun decor with a full view of everything food related. It's cozy, and intimate. The service is of course 5 star. You are served and treated TOP NOTCH. Now, the FOOD. Just like anything else, when you're sampling MANY items, you are going to LOVE some and some will be meh. I'd say 95% for me was WOW. And 5% was good but not my favorite. The cashew onion profiterole was MIND blowing. I could have eaten a dozen. The texture was just the best. Slightly crispy, creamy center. Soft cashew cheese with a pop of onion. Yum. The seaweed jerky was one of the biggest surprises in the opening plate. It was crunchy and chewy, neither too much over the other and had such great flavor. It was subtle but absolutely delicious. The onion Stroopwaffle with mushroom pate was so delicious it left me wanting many many more. Definitely a close call between if this was my favorite or the profiterole, on the opening plate. Crunchy, creamy and of course well balanced. The next course of the Sungold tomatoes, figs, fennel, pickled green strawberry & caramelized soubise was good. What stood out so much to me was the pickled green strawberry. It had such a bold acidity which was a fun palate party paired with the smooth and rich caramelized soubise. The next course came out and I was not really interested. I felt like whoop dee doo it's soup. Tomato consomme is a fancy way to say soup. With "corn custard" and basil essence. It sounded pretentious even. And I expected cold tomato soup. WHY would I think such nonsense?! For Chef Aaron Adams to serve that would have been a real joke. What came out was beautiful. But the flavor was MIND BLOWING. What I thought would be the most basic dish was killing me with flavor. I savored absolutely every bite of this dish. I tasted each component separately and with them all together and it was PHENOMENAL. Next up the Homs Kousa squash, Abenaki corn porridge, fermented Jimmy Nardello, cashew yogurt, tomatillo and smoked eggplant. The flavor was good but this dish didn't give me the texture I love to have. I always need something crunchy in some way and it was creamy and felt like fall but I wanted more texture. Lions Mane, elderberry demi glace, potato puree and pickled red onions came next. This was perfect. All of the flavors combined beautifully. Soft mushrooms with acidity from the pickled red onions, sweetness from the demi glace and SOFT and creamy potato puree (literally the best mash EVER... Because it was a puree it was smooth and delightful!) Dessert came too soon but the Charentais melon granita, lemon cream, filbert hit the spot. I dislike ALL melon. All. I know. I'm weird. But I do. I loved this dessert. It had such light flavor in the granita and the lemon cream & filbert just brought in a perfect palate cleanser and freshness. Our last plate was the Blackberry Tarte, sweet cashew cheese, stirred custard and flax tuile was as beautiful as it was delicious. And we took lots of photos of the tuile as it looked like RBG's collar. Our group of diners on 8/11/23 got a real treat by Chef Aaron sharing about his upbringing and culinary loves as well as his family's influence on his cooking. We got an extra special treat to sing his Nana Happy birthday as a group. I don't recall her exact age but she was a healthy older lady with a lot of spunk left and clearly many healthy years ahead. I'm CRAZY in love with this new dining experience and I'll be back!!! Thank you Chef Aaron and the team at Workshop for a phenomenal experience.

Gosh where do I even begin? I'd definitely been a fan of Fermenter so when I heard about Workshop, I knew I would have to try it out. After looking at the reservations on and off for weeks, my husband finally said let's GO, we're pulling the trigger. And off we went. We prepaid for a Saturday dinner seating and opted for 1 wine pairing for me when booking. We arrived a little before our seating time and waited outside while they finished setting up; not too long and thankfully it wasn't too cold or rainy. Once inside, we were all directed to our tables/bar seats. I will say right off the bat that if you sit at the bar, it will be much more interactive and involved. If that's your vibe, go for it! However, if you're a little bit more of an introvert, opt for a table -- it'll still be interactive, but not to the same degree or frequency. I will say every single thing we tried during our tasting was delicious. I was hesitant about some of the flavor combinations but honestly, everything had a lot of thought put into it. The dishes were all delicate, subtle, and well balanced. I will say being a fermented food junkie, I will dream of the fermented watermelon rind for days to come. Honestly, salivating as I type this because it was just the perfect, salty/tart little bite. That's not to say that everything else wasn't amazing. I will say the standouts for me were the celeriac and the lions mane. Good lord, I can't stop thinking of just how savory the lions mane was; perfectly paired with the potato puree and the demi glace was honestly one of the best things I have ever tasted in my life. The one course I wasn't huge on was the squash but it was mostly a me problem because I'm not huge on cinnamon or classic fall flavors. Hence, didn't like it very much. The apple cake that we ended up on delicious and would absolutely eat that again! As others have noted, I will say the wine pairing was a good experience, but not quite sure I'd do it again. My husband did get a no proof drink to try but it was quite intense and sweet so he sipped at it in between bites. Service was very friendly and we were definitely well taken care of. Parking wise, street parking in the area is not the worst! I think the price of the tasting is worth every penny when you look at all of the time, effort, and detail put into the dishes. Vegan or not, I highly recommend checking out this place -- I can guarantee you will not leave disappointed.

I love tasting menus because they take the decision making out of eating and let you sit back and enjoy what the chef deems best. And with the super-local ingredients and seasonality of Workshop, you're always in for a treat. Every one of the 6 courses was so different and unique. Some of the dishes were amazing misdirects - meaning you had no idea what taste would accompany the beautiful art on the plate in front of you. "This is vegan!?" was said several times because of the richness and textures of the dishes. The space is cozy and intimate with fun and quirky art. The tables are small and best for 4 people or less. Chef Adams even came over to say hello. Highly recommend dropping by this Workshop!

We were one of the first patrons to arrive on Sunday right when it opened at 5pm. We were worried there would be a wait, but the restaurant continued to have plenty of seating for the next 1-2 hours. We grabbed a table right next to the window. The restaurant is more suited for parties of 2. We heard from the waitress that they only accept reservations for parties larger than 5. We love Fermenter next door, so of course we had to visit Workshop once it opened. I love all of the details included in the space - the portraits on the walls, the lamps on each table... We ordered the Yes Whey cocktail & two appetizers (popcorn sazón & tiny peppers con queso blanco), which were discounted because we came during happy hour. I would order the tiny peppers again because it was creamy and tart. The Vegan Caviar was very unique and savory. I loved how fun it was to put it all together. Tempeh, pepita curd & calçots was so delicious. We were glad to have ordered the Citrus & Kohlrabi salad as a nice refreshing balance to the rich tempeh dish. For dessert, we ordered the orange olive oil cake. It was super moist.

Have been waiting weeks to try this place out and tonight was finally the night. They're doing dine in only with reservation (except for limited bar seating), so we'd booked our prime spot several weeks in advance. We came into tonight with no expectations (other than the great things I'd heard about Fermenter). From start to finish, there were zero disappointments tonight. THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! With its boutique atmosphere, Workshop mixes Cuban chic vibes with vintage touches leaving you feeling instantly comfortable. Every detail floor to ceiling felt thought, the dishes were decorative and functional and my absolute favorite touch were the silverware rests, unique to each table. We had a wiener dog and a moose on our table. From the top down, service was extremely friendly. We had to wait just a couple minutes for our table to be ready and while we waited, Chef Aaron struck up a conversation with us and had a couple glasses of wine brought over. From Chef to the bartender to our server, it was truly an A+ experience. We started with glasses of the Jean Aubron, a delightfully light and just sweet enough white. Food wise, we started with the tiny peppers con queso blanco which I could easily have eaten all of myself. Good thing I didn't, or I wouldn't have had room for all of the deliciousness to come. For mains we shared the black beans and rice, tempeh and charred carrot enchilado, and the big darn empanada (which was darn big as advertised!). The empanada was great, but the enchilado stole the show. That dish was truly amazing and paired perfectly with the beans and rice. Even though we were stuffed, we had to make room for the pineapple sundae with housemade sorbet. So glad we did, because it was fantastic! The sorbet was bright and light and the whipped cream was smooth and just sweet enough. Perfection from start to finish!

Today was our second time at workshop. Food is absolutely amazing. Their vegan caviar is die for. First time they had consommé which was amazing and my favorite thing on the menu. Second time around the beets and celery root in apple sauce were the stars. It is evident that the food takes a lot of prep and the effort is evident from the bursting flavors. Not 5 star because the wine pairing is pretty blah. Skip it, you'll be better off ordering a glass or a bottle. Also try to request seats at the counter. Better service and experience at the counter. The chefs interacted with us which made the experience superior during our first experience. Second time around we were given a table even though we had requested counter seating. The server said they lost that request. Server was also rather curt and annoyed. But oh well food was good, we will be back for that!

I was really looking forward to this Vegan experience. The area is a bit awkward and the individual who was announcing the next dish stood in the main area so those on the side could not hear what was coming. Overall the food just never leveled up with Farm Spirit.

The service was excellent and the meal was delightful. We got the wine pairing to go with our course meal. I would highly recommend. The space was cozy and personal to the group served in our timeframe.

Chef Aaron Adams does it again!! Yet another amazing vegan restaurant! Just last week, he opened up Workshop Food & Drink right on the other side of his other restaurant, Fermenter. When you're dining with Aaron, you truly can't go wrong. Workshop is his latest project and is a vegan Cuban restaurant paying homage to his family and heritage but with his own special twist and unique flavor. We love Fermenter so much that we were stoked to try Workshop. The ambiance is cozy and intimate. There aren't too many seating options, so it's likely best to set a reservation. We got their right as doors opened and sat at the bar. We were warmly welcomed by Aaron himself as we walked in and enjoyed hearing about his love and passion for this new project. Alma took care of us at the bar, making some great food and drink recommendations. We enjoyed the Beet Tartare, Aguacate Salad, and the Enchilado. Each plate was beautifully presented and had such unique, wonderful flavors. It felt like each dish was made with care! Drinks were also quite the treat. Our favorite was the Hey Whey!! If you've not experienced Chef Aaron Adams, you're missing out. Go visit his new baby, Workshop Food & Drink!!

This is similar to the Farm Spirit experience we had several years ago with our Workshop visit. The service and ambiance are amazing and the flavors of the food are incredible. I'm not a super adventurous eater but Workshop had me cleaning my plate with every course.

Fantastic and unusual vegan food. Even the meat-eater in my group was happy. The stuffed little peppers are a great mix of pickled and creamy/salty. The vegan caviar is the best thing we ordered, followed by the Koji beets, and the empanadas. server advised that the menu changes regularly; we will definitely return.

We had an exceptional dinner on the second night of Astera's opening (note, this new iteration has been developed and tested as Workshop F+D during 2023). Astera offers a plant based tasting menu led by Chef Aaron Adams of Fermenter, Farm Spirit and Portobello fame. Adams describes Astera as love poem to Oregon's vinified, farmed and foraged and it extensively features items grown of harvested locally and sustainably. Even the dishware is produced by local artisans. Adams offers a single seating concept. with a lovely, slowly paced multi-course meal (see menu photo), with each course introduced by Adams, who though busy preparing the next course, engages in conversations with his customers from behind the counter or as he circulates. The food is delicious and uniquely Adam's as he uses all the modern methods he has learned over 30 years with an emphasis on fermentation methods he has developed. Will absolutely be back.

Lovely ambiance with great service. Drinks were delicious with unique zero proof liquors and mixed drinks (not just mocktails, beverages that truly taste like there's alcohol, but there's not!). The food is very unique and everything we ordered was delicious. We ordered 7 dishes (caviar, appetizer, and 5 small plates) for 4 people and had to take leftovers home.

Beautifully done vegan fare. My favorite dish was either the cauliflower or the vegetable charcuterie plate. Great service, food and drinks.

We tried this based on a vegan food blogger and it did not disappoint. We enjoyed every dish immensely. It was well priced and the service was great. The chef came around a few times to talk to us. Ambiance was super nice.