Portland for large groups

Going to a bachelor party in portland beginning of May. Any recs for great restaurants that can handle 10 people?

One saturday night dinner: Slightly fancier/nicer (but not crazy expensive) Corkage is a plus, a good wine list would be nice as well but not necessary.
Two lunches: tasty and casual.

Nostrana sounds like it fits the bill for dinner. Great food, cool list and they can handle 10 with no problem. $25 corkage but the Wine Director waved ours when we offered him a glass from each bottle and purchased a few from the list.

Lunch - Podnah’s BBQ, Lardo, Country Cat, Tasty n Sons, Expatriate

Lot’s of others but these I can vouch for…have fun!

Fire on the Mountain

the problem with Nostrana other than the quality of their food is that for a group over 6, they are going to force you into a 3 course menu of salad, entree, panna cotta.

Check out Headwaters in the Heathman Hotel. Prices are quite reasonable for the incredible local seafood and the atmosphere is right for a bachelor party. Ask for Garret Peck when you schedule it.

You have enough notice you could do one of the two tables at Beast too. Note their prices are service included. Dame and Expatriate are next door for after dinner drinks.

The Multnomah Whiskey Library has a private dining room and a very cool bar. Again, you’ve got enough advance notice, that’s an option.

Both of Chef Jose Chesa’s places would be a ton of fun too: Atuala and Chesa. They have Paella to share and lots of small bites. $20 corkage. Christina or Ingrid will respond to your e-mail.

As for corkage, I don’t know of a place that doesn’t allow bringing your own wine. Fees are typically $20 with a couple places $25.

Darren’s lunch recs are spot on, but if you’re there on a weekend, that’s actually brunch, which doesn’t change his list, but do know you’ll have a wait at everywhere with a group that size. I’d add La Moule to the mix.

Thanks for the recs guys!

only visited Portland once (a couple of months ago, Dec) and not a native like some of the others above, so prefacing these recs with that caveat…

as a visitor, Multnomah whisky library was really cool, great selection of older/rare whiskies. However I didn’t like how they had such a brief set cocktail menu, and rather simplistic drinks at that, almost well drinks. The bartenders are good though and can make custom/other cocktails by request but sometimes part of the fun is seeing what kind of cocktails they can come up with thematically (kinda like Walker Inn here in LA). Probably not their focus since it seems like more of a whisky library in the truest sense of the word. It did bother me however when I saw other groups there order stuff like vodka sodas or Bud Light (like… really??), fostered a sense of people not really caring about why they were there, but more because it seemed “cool,” and the environment/decor is definitely nice.

Our favorite restaurant there was Superbite in downtown Portland, walking distance from Multnomah, and there were a few large groups there (8+) so I think they could accommodate you. Don’t know about corkage, but they had great cocktails, and the food was inventive and really enjoyable.

Pine Street Market could be fun for a big group. Thank you to whoever posted in another Portland thread about Shalom Y’all – the food there was indeed awesome, and they had a surprisingly good bar/drinks. There were some other fun options in the market, including Salt & Straw for dessert, etc. Overall PSM reminded me of a cleaner, smaller Grand Central Market, without the old-school Mexican vendors and in a better neighborhood.

Deschutes and Hair of the Dog both have decent bar food and great beer, and looked like they could easily fit big groups. Hair of the Dog was in a super random location right by the water, though, in an almost abandoned-looking neighborhood; prob not a problem if you guys drive/uber, not walk across the bridge and down a few blocks like we did after misjudging how close it looked on Google Maps…

I don’t have a ton of Portland experience but Beast could be fun for a large group. They have a big communal table that should fit 10. They were pretty relaxed about bringing wines when I was there. List is small but solid. Heavy on the hipster wines. Cocktail bar across the street is a great place before or after.

We went to Olympia Provisions SE last night and they pushed together some tables for a group of ~12. Lively atmosphere and uncomplicated menu ($20 corkage) might make it a stress-free event.

What about Ox?

Olympia is always my answer to where to eat 3pm. I agree with all your points but I’d emphasize the house made charcuterie is excellent and the wine list is interesting and fairly priced. Jason Hagen just went there and had a great time–at least I think that’s what his text meant

I still refer to them as Olympic Provisions, rented office space to them and had many lunches and a few dinners at the NW location, always good. We had a great dinner at the SE location and buy their cured meats at New Seasons among others.

Loved it! We decimated a serious amount of raw oysters. The chef/owner really impressed. The ceviche was killer and she did some roasted mushrooms that were outstanding. Great selection of cheeses as well.

Jason