Le Pigeon

"A celebrated restaurant helmed by chef Gabriel Rucker, offering a unique dining experience." - Erin DeJesus

"Gabriel Rucker, in his years at Le Pigeon, often molds the casual or unexpected into a fine dining format, from fried chicken to coconut shrimp. More than 15 years after its opening, Le Pigeon is as inventive as ever, thanks in part to the recent appointment of former Canard chef de cuisine Dana Francisco to head chef. The current menu involves courses like beef carpaccio invigorated with habanada and crowned with thinly shaved matsutakes, and sturgeon pastrami circled with a Swiss cheese and caviar sauce. While Rucker has consistently revamped his tasting menus over the years, the finale — a foie gras profiterole — remains a testament to Rucker’s cheeky culinary style. Vegetarian tasting menus are available." - Eater Staff

"A reservation at Le Pigeon is an impressive option for date night — but not one that feels stuffy. The tasting menu shows off chef and co-owner Gabriel Rucker’s playful style; past meals have paired roasted swordfish with escargot or beer can chicken with black truffle alfredo. Each dinner finishes with his signature foie gras profiterole. Sommelier and co-owner Andy Fortgang’s wine pairings are worth the bump in price, and Le Pigeon offers a vegetarian tasting menu for those looking for a little less liver with dinner." - Katrina Yentch, Thom Hilton, Brooke Jackson-Glidden

"Ask us who makes the best French food in Portland, and we’ll say Le Pigeon every time. At this Lower Burnside restaurant, traditional French technique transforms hyper-seasonal ingredients and integrates unexpected flavors like apricots and shaved truffles on Chinese-style shrimp toast and huitlacoche syrup drizzled on sweet corn panna cotta in ways that feel thoroughly modern. The $140, seven-course tasting menu (with a vegetarian option) is served in a rustic sage green space that has bare brick walls and a tiny open kitchen with pots and pans hanging above it. If you’re celebrating an engagement or new job, this intimate restaurant that’s beloved by splurging locals and culinary tourists will always be the right call. photo credit: David Reamer Food Rundown The menu at Le Pigeon changes frequently, but here’s an example of what you might be served. Foie'nte Cristo You’re probably not going to see this exact luxe play on a monte cristo since the menu switches up day to day, but there’s usually a $25 tasting menu supplement featuring foie gras, which you’re going to want to try even if it kills your appetite for the rest of the meal. Foie Gras Profiteroles Le Pigeon’s iconic foie gras profiteroles with caramel are always served as a meal-ender, and we now refuse to eat duck liver with heated sugar any other way. Sturgeon Pastrami This reuben-like dish of seared pastrami-spiced sturgeon, surrounded by a swiss cheese sauce dotted with caviar, garnished with pickled ground cherries and marigold petals, is our new favorite autumnal addition." - Krista Garcia

"Chef and owner Gabriel Rucker’s flagship restaurant is one of the city’s most beloved culinary institutions for its modern, playful, and uniquely Northwestern take on French cooking, including its famed foie gras profiteroles. Since 2006, Le Pigeon has solidified its status as a quintessential tasting menu destination, where visitors will find creative plates with the chef’s seasonal flair. Whether Rucker is dressing freshly caught kanpachi with calamansi crème anglaise or stuffing arancini with a koji-carrot hummus, the constantly rotating menu incentivizes patrons to return for any and every special occasion. To bring the wine tasting experience home, Sergio Licea and Le Pigeon wine director and owner Andy Fortgang have opened Flor Wines, a complementary retail venture housing lesser known bottles inspired by the restaurant’s cellar sales." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Katrina Yentch, Rebecca Roland