Yalla

"One branch of the Sesame Collective restaurant group, Multnomah Village’s Yalla features a menu of Mediterranean dishes like meze platters, pastrami, kebabs, and a pretty excellent fried chicken with harissa honey and pickled cauliflower. Opening in the summer of 2020 meant patio seating was essentially required, so the team went all out. In front, diners can find individual picnic pods, covered and partially walled, complete with cherry-red bussing trays. In back, a covered wooden deck with heat lamps and white metal seating provides for small groups." - Thom Hilton

"Located in downtown Multnomah Village, this restaurant from Sesame Collective is a mix of Eastern European and Mediterranean cuisines, featuring meze like warm olives, hummus with burnt beef ends, and falafel alongside house-smoked pastrami and schmaltz cornbread with bourbon glaze and honeycomb butter. Desserts like burnt Basque cheesecake, halva ice cream, and chocolate chip tahini cookies are worth the visit alone." - Rebecca Roland, Nick Townsend, Thom Hilton

"This Multnomah Village restaurant recently started serving brunch, and the menu includes a number of dishes that are hard to find around Portland these days, like chocolatey babka and egg-topped khachapuri. Both are must-orders on the brunch menu, as well as the huckleberry caramel Dutch baby, the jammy shakshuka, and the schmaltz cornbread sweetened with a judicious dose of bourbon glaze. Pair the meal with a pistachio gin fizz or the Daily Dose, a Wilderton mocktail with sage, grapefruit, and rose. Brunch runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Paolo Bicchieri

"This Multnomah Village restaurant recently started serving brunch, and the menu includes a number of dishes that are hard to find around Portland these days, like chocolatey babka and egg-topped khachapuri. Both are must-orders on the brunch menu, as well as the huckleberry caramel Dutch baby, the jammy shakshuka, and the schmaltz cornbread sweetened with a judicious dose of bourbon glaze. Pair the meal with a pistachio gin fizz or the Daily Dose, a Wilderton mocktail with sage, grapefruit, and rose. Brunch runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Jenni Moore

"Yalla, the Sesame Collective restaurant, will begin serving brunch on November 18, offering dishes like shakshuka, khachapuri, and a Dutch baby with honey labneh, as well as an extensive selection of desserts. Brunch will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday weekends." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden