Smallwares is back, although it kind of never left.
When it debuted in 2012, Chef Johanna Ware’s restaurant, which introduced Asian flavors never before seen in Portland, earned top critical marks across the board. The spot in Northeast Fremont’s Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood made an indelible mark on the city’s dining scene, with iconic dishes like deep fried kale with candied bacon doused in fish sauce and mint.
In 2016, Ware closed up shop—the restaurant’s bold fusion never took full hold on a street where pancakes, burritos, and mini donuts fare best. In 2017, there came Wares in Northeast Sandy’s The Zipper, featuring greatest hits like ramen, oysters, and that kale.
2018 brings the new old Smallwares, now open in the former Chalino space on North Fremont and Williams. The hits are back, along with an array of new plates that, for the most part, keep pushing Ware’s inventive palette forward.
