As we roll into our fourth summer, Chef Chris and his team is ready for the patio boom we will encounter. Availability of seasonal ingredients leads to changes represented on the plates and the items we serve. We now move towards fresher, vibrant looks; lighter, brighter tastes; and crisper, focused flavors - all to suit summer!
Such items currently are ...
Calamari & Shrimp with bean noodles, fresh greens and ponzu vinaigrette
Ahi Tartare with cara cara orange segments and papadum chips
Ancient Grain Kamut Salad with lemon vinaigrette
Dates, Oyster Mushrooms, cipollini, arugula and goat cheese cream
Broiled Skate with Isreali couscous, capers and navel orange slaw

The eternal favorites and core items hardly change, they remain as standard bearers as their strong suits are unmistakably entrenched in the daily fare. And, for us they happen to be ...
Hand-cut Tagliatelle & Braised Pork
Relish Cheeseburger
Boston Bibb Salad
House French Fries & malt-horseradish aioli
NW Salmon and seasonal garnitures

More exciting fare to follow as in Portland we celebrate summer bounty in the latter half of it ...

The New Year is well under way and we're to the end of month One. Winter on the West Coast has brought us more sunshine than ever expected, so far, while the lack of rain is quite unreal for Portland. That said, let's take in Vitamin D and hope for rain, as it is the lifeblood of the NW.

Moving on to food & drink related things. As the Seasons move along, and it warms, the market availability changes and this directly reflects on our menu ... great dishes comprising of Brussels Sprouts, Root Vegetables, Brassicas and such go away, leading the way in for late Winter and early Spring goodies! The best thing about this is, that it keeps the creativite mind of the Chef cranking. He must figure how to tantalize one's palate with alternatives to some wonderful, hearty and popular items, viz., pot roast, cassoulet, winter salad. Gladly, that's his expertise and we simply get to savor the labor of his love for food!

Looking forward to many tasty renditions of the next seasonal shift, and to Spring!

Its cutting it pretty close, but the holidays are just around the corner ... Have you reserved the space for your office or family holiday party yet? Why not make this year’s event a night to remember? Host it at the Relish!

Whether you have a few co-workers, a small gathering or large, our exceptional menus and extensive selection of drinks from the bar are guaranteed to please everyone.

Just let us know what kind of party you’re envisioning, and we’ll make it happen. How about appetizers and 2 hours of open bar? Party platters of your favorite dishes? A customized craft beer dinner with expert pairing advice? We’ll tailor the evening just for you.

Check out our dinner menu on our web site, as well as our private dining menus, and then give us a call at 503 208-3442. Tell us about your group, how many people you’re expecting, and your budget. We’ll work with you to create the ideal holiday party. Conveniently located on SE Milwaukie at Claybourne, 2 blocks N of Bybee in the Moreland/Sellwood neighborhood. But don’t delay! Book now because spaces will fill up fast!

"The Mother of All Grains"

Quinoa, the quintessential grain of the Andeans dubbed as above by the Incas, is here to stay. Thanks to Peruvians' business sense - a boon for us all!

As we roll out of Summer, Chef Valoff has dialed in several exciting updates to the emnu ... quinoa, watercress, avocado & mint-yogurt; chicken, wild chanterelles in porcini brodo, & kamut (yet another ancient grain); penne, ricotta, chanterelles, rainbow chard pesto; roasted & raw root vegetable salad ... all simply delicious!

All in all, like it or not, we're ready for Fall! Are you?

Once the sun's out, as it is now, here in Portland, it brings a serenely new style in dining out, the outdoors. There are also fewer barriers in this warm atmosphere that are of note, and must be touted, especially the fun of drinking while grazing through the evening is probably the best one.

Now, I know that some people frown upon the notion of drinking the dinner with food as the complement, that's their rule! I'm in favor of enjoying this in the company of friends ... start the evening with a cocktail [or two] & sides of snacky items; then who knows, it may just follow with a glass of wine & some shared plates, [or just a juicy burger]; and this might even lead to more wine being sipped alongside a dessert passed around, or a pint of good brew to round it all off!

Now that's just me ... reflecting on my take on enjoying this weather in good company, imbibing while noshing on food. This nourishes mind, body, and soul. Simply put, an evening of more ... just the way I like it!

When Relish opened in Westmoreland-Sellwood three months ago, Chef Valoff teased us with smatterings of winter's bounty [including brussels sprouts, root vegetable hash ...]; and now with spring here, his offerings have penne in a pecorino [cacio di roma] sauce with cremini, asparagus, radicchio & kale to start.

Also of note are three updates to the greens and the house kalamata sausage stuffed pork loin with butter bean, cauliflower, pickled kumquat-pepper salad. To everyone's delight, the house cut tagliatelle with white wine braised pork shoulder still rules, while the bavette steak and the burger haven't missed a beat!

As the weather continues to heat up, so does the outdoor spots - the cozy porch and the deck are gaining popularity with the local drinking and eating crowd.

Finally looking forward to May, following Mother's Day, a Premiere Grand Wine tasting is in the works for Sunday the 19th - hold that date ...

Relish Gastropub on Thrillist!

Thank you Thrillist for the great feature on Relish Gastropub... and all those wonderful pictures you took! Read the Thrillist post. We were extremely busy trying to get our doors open and didn’t really take many “before & after” photos. We definitely like the “after” shots in the post. You make Relish Gastropub look warm and inviting, and of course we appreciate the kind words, too. Thank you, Andy Kryza. We’ll even forgive starting off the article with “Ugh” ;-)

Reading about us in the feature, witnessing the neighborhood support and having old friends come in to say, “Hi!” definitely feels like we’re off to a great start!

Image courtesy of Thrillist
Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter
Call: (503) 208-3442

Relish Gastropub Menus Now Online

Wow, what a first opening week! Thank you to everyone who came to check out our modern public house in Sellwood-Moreland [PDX]. For those of you who haven’t made it in, please take a peek at our opening menus here. We’re sure you’ll find plenty of enticements on these pages. If you enjoy a happy hour snack as part of your “culinary reconnaissance” before committing to the full dining experience, we invite you to our social hour Tuesday through Sunday 3-6pm.

We couldn’t be happier with our first week. We appreciate the neighbors who came by to support our endeavor and the folks who dined with us from neighborhoods further afield. Thank you, Portland!


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter
Call: (503) 208-3442

Relish Gastropub Opens Today in Sellwood-Moreland!

The waiting is finally over, and our official opening is today for dinner service at 5 pm! We look forward to seeing you in Sellwood-Moreland.

We are closed Mondays. We reopen on Tuesday, February 12th for “social hour” from 3 – 6 pm and begin regular dinner service at 5 pm Tuesday through Sunday. Lunch service is coming, please stay posted via twitter or our blog for the commencement date.

Chef Valoff, Marla and Akhil look forward to feeding you!


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter
Call: (503) 208-3442

Relish Gastropub Introduces Our Bar Manager,Andrew Stearns

Portland native Andrew Stearns is our Bar Manager. He met Chef Valoff when they worked together at Bluehour and most recently worked for Lapellah in Vancouver. We know you’ll be as excited as we are to share in his vision for the bar program at Relish Gastropub. Here’s what to expect in his own words:

“It’s a gastropub, so we’re going to have an exceptional selection of beers on draft and wine as well. Portland is a craft cocktail town and that’s what we’ll be doing here, but one thing I feel has kind of gone by the wayside is that old-school style of bartending, ‘the personable bartender.’ Although I love everything in the Portland cocktail scene right now, I just want to make sure what we are doing at Relish Gastropub is providing a place where people know they’re going to get a great product, but they also might come here for a particular person. I want good bartenders, but what I really want is great people on staff. Basically, I just want to make everyone feel like it’s their home. I know everybody tries to, but it’s something that we are going to be very focused on.”

We are moments away from officially opening the doors. We’ll see you soon in Sellwood-Moreland!

Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter

Relish Gastropub - a sneak peek at our wine program

Neighborhoods are the sum total of the emotions, experiences, occasions, and coincidences of the folks who live in them. Sometimes the occasion for going out is a solitary moment to enjoy a quick snack, a brew and your favorite book. Other times, it might be a simple dinner with friends or maybe family visiting from out of town. And then there are the special occasions, the celebrations, and milestone moments when the simple must be transcended.

We’re curating our wine list to fit the needs of the community for all occasions. For the daily rhythm of Portland neighborhood life, Relish Gastropub will present a 150+ label list, highlighting affordability with 60+ labels under $39, and 27 by the glass selections. In addition, we will offer a selection of rarities such as 1998 Gaja [Barbaresco], 1975 Château Palmer [Margaux], and 1999 Dominus Estate [Napa Valley]. These wines are for special nights when you are treating yourself or toasting with loved ones.  We’re not planning to hang the proverbial hat on a prestigious list by any means.  It’s not an everyday occurrence when wines such as these sell, but one of the gems found in our modern public house is a wine cellar at the ready. Our rare wines will be nestled in it, poised to meet any occasion which calls for their uncorking.

We’re opening soon and looking forward to toasting our own milestone moment with you!


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter

Relish Gastropub “The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting”

Hello Portland! We’ve pushed back our opening date to early February.  The delay is necessary for Relish Gastropub to have an excellent opening launch in Sellwood-Moreland [PDX]. We are very excited to open our doors, but at the same time, everything has to be perfect or as close to perfect as can be.

Andy Warhol once said, “The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.” Maybe that’s true, but we promise we’re not trying to heighten the suspense!  We’ll see you in February.


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter

Relish Gastropub: Casual-Upscale vs. Upscale-Casual

Our owners and chef have been working toward opening Relish Gastropub all of their lives. This endeavor is the culmination of their lives’ work and experience. As rich and complex as their careers have been up to this point, their pursuits are still quite simple: for Chef Valoff, to cook really good food; for Marla and Akhil, to take really good care of people. To say the team is eager to open the doors is an understatement.

In Portland, as a brand new opening restaurant, the top questions we’re asked are: what’s it going to be like and of course, what type of food will we serve? We all have backgrounds in fine dining, working at places that have great food, attention to detail and guest focus, and the prices of some of our previous employers might be considered upmarket. Keep in mind, places that execute food, drinks, atmosphere and service at a very high level, even with a high ticket price, still provide excellent value. As it is said, when quality comes first, value follows. This is the philosophy with luxury goods: the handbag is pricey, but the quality superior; and so, a great value. This is in contrast to the idea of affordability.  Affordable things fit into the very day to day of our lives. They provide comfort such as an ice cold IPA or a perfectly seasoned burger.

So while our working backgrounds are upmarket-fine dining, the place we are creating in Sellwood-Moreland [PDX] is a neighborhood restaurant. We think of Relish Gastropub as casual-upscale. The prices will be affordable [casual], the food will be exceptional [upscale].  We couldn’t consider ourselves a neighborhood spot and be pricey at the same time. They don’t go hand in hand. Then you become an upscale-casual place that happens to be located in a Portland neighborhood. This is not our intention. Instead, our raison d'être is to create a casual and warm gastronomic experience within the walls of a true neighborhood restaurant, even if the gastronomic experience is an ice cold IPA and a perfectly seasoned burger! :-)

We’ll see you soon!


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter

Relish Gastropub – what to expect

At a certain quality level of restaurant in Portland, Oregon, it’s a given that ingredients will be: local, seasonal, responsibly-raised, organic, sustainably-farmed, and the like. This is our status quo. With Oregon’s climate and dedication to ingredients, it isn’t even difficult to execute as say other restaurant markets to the East. We are a chef’s paradise. This happy state is celebrated, written about, and envied worldwide. This is why culinary minded folks live and visit here.  It doesn’t really give a new PDX restaurant anything to shout about, since we all embrace this status quo of “gastropolis” like the very air we breathe.

So, where does Relish Gastropub fall in the Portlandia culinary scheme of things?  In the kitchen, Chef Josef Valoff believes in assertive flavors and executing techniques required to get the most out of the ingredients he hand selects. Many of the processes he uses take days [weeks even] to reach the desired effect. While there is simplistic beauty in the farm to plate minimalist mantra of taking a beautifully raised piece of meat, seasoning it perfectly and throwing it on a grill, Chef is a proponent of seasoned through preparations such as brining, smoking, rubbing and curing to take that same responsibly raised livestock to deeper layers of flavor.

In the dining room, our commitment to Sellwood-Moreland and the folks that make the trip to our little neighborhood public house in a word is graciousness. We feel somewhere in the development of the farm-to-plate-artisanal-craft proliferation, the notion of Service got lost in the shuffle.  While much is written about our mixologists, micro-roasters, craft distillers, brewers and cuisine, nary a word is jotted regarding Service. Service somehow moved from a lost art to a forgotten art. First and foremost, our owners Marla and Akhil enjoy taking care of people, which is their reason for opening Relish Gastropub. They are committed to bringing their version of graciousness to Portland’s restaurant landscape. Aside from creating a comfortable spot, free from pretentiousness, Relish Gastropub will feature one of the city’s most affordable wine lists [150+ labels] with 60+ labels under $39. Additionally, 27 wines will be offered by the glass, 20 taps will rotate craft beers and the bar program will focus on making crave-able cocktails.

We’re a few days out from opening, and we’re beyond excited to serve you.


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter    

Relish Gastropub Introduces Our Chef, Josef Valoff

Relish Gastropub is excited to announce Josef Valoff as our Executive Chef. Josef most recently held the Sous Chef position at Noisette, working with the renowned Chef Tony Demes. His experience level is tremendous, particularly in the Portland market. Previous to Noisette, Josef’s work and vision shaped Serratto’s reputation as a beloved NW neighborhood restaurant when he was Executive Chef there. Josef’s talents have also contributed to Irving Street Kitchen and Bluehour.

Chef Josef cooks for the love of cooking.  In his own words, “Enjoying making food is what makes food taste better.” He’s excited to be part of the Sellwood/Moreland Neighborhood.  “The type of restaurant we are creating couldn’t exist in downtown and succeed at the prices we will be offering. I enjoy making fine dining food, but in the end that’s not my dream.  My dream is to make casual, really good, affordable food. Our dining room will be very comfortable, yet not laden with overhead such as tablecloths, fine silverware or expensive china, but we’re going to make really delicious food. We will foster an environment to create regulars by high quality, comfort and affordability, which is what everyone comes to expect from a great neighborhood spot.”


Visit Relish Gastropub
Follow us on Twitter