Little Bird Bistro was a French
bistro
A bistro or bistrot (), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. In more recent years, the term has become used by restaurants considered, by some, to be pretentious.
Style ...
in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, in the United States. The restaurant opened in 2010, and closed on October 27, 2019.
Description and history
Little Bird was a French
bistro
A bistro or bistrot (), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. In more recent years, the term has become used by restaurants considered, by some, to be pretentious.
Style ...
in
downtown Portland
Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...
. It opened in 2010,
and has been called
Le Pigeon
Le Pigeon is a French bistro in Portland, Oregon's Buckman, Portland, Oregon, Buckman neighborhood, in the United States.
History
Le Pigeon was previously known as Colleen's Bistro. Head chef Gabriel Rucker invested in the restaurant and became ...
's "downtown sister".
''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'' Michael Russell described the restaurant as a "Swiss Army knife, stately enough for a business lunch, lively enough for an anniversary dinner, yet able to handle a drop-in at 10:45 p.m."
The dining room was designed by Mark Annen, and featured
robin egg blue
Robin egg blue, also called eggshell blue or robin's-egg blue, is a shade of teal (a blue-green color), approximating the shade of the eggs laid by the American robin, an abundant songbird of North America. The egg pigment is biliverdin, a prod ...
walls, tall mirrors, and
taxidermied
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...
birds.
[
In 2015, ]Gabriel Rucker
Gabriel Rucker is an American chef and owner of the restaurants Le Pigeon, Canard (restaurant), Canard, and previously Little Bird Bistro, in Portland, Oregon. He has received two James Beard Foundation Award, James Beard Foundation Awards.
Early ...
replaced opening chef Erik Van Kley. Rucker's team of chefs included Marcelle Crooks, Andrew Gordon, and Su Lien Pino.[ As of 2015, Kristen Thoennes served as general manager and Andy Fortgang is Little Bird's wine director.][
Little Bird Bistro closed on October 27, 2019.][ It was replaced by the restaurant Grits n' Gravy.
]
Reception
In 2012, Little Bird was ''The Oregonian'' selection for "Restaurant of the Year".[ In 2016, the newspaper ranked Little Bird number 16 on its list of "Portland's 101 best restaurants". ''The Oregonian'' Michael Russell included Little Bird is his list of "Portland's most painful restaurant closures of 2019".]
See also
* List of French restaurants
This is a list of notable French restaurants. French cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices from France, famous for the rich tastes and subtle nuances with long and rich history. France, a country famous for its agriculture and indepe ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Defunct restaurants in Portland, Oregon
2010 establishments in Oregon
2019 disestablishments in Oregon
Defunct French restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Restaurants disestablished in 2019
Restaurants established in 2010
Defunct restaurants in Southwest Portland, Oregon