Bone Sine: A Buzzy Portland Restaurant Is Opening a Powerful Burmese Tavern on Mississippi Avenue

The Rangoon Bistro team is opening a sister operation just next door. Bone Sine will open on Thursday, July 17, on Mississippi Avenue. The team brought in Tyler and Devon Treadwell of Tulip Shop Tavern to design a punchy menu ideal for pairing with drinks. The name is an homage to taverns in Burma from the 1940s to 1970s, under the radar houses for drinking liquor as friends put their money together to share drinks and snacks. That doesn’t mean the dishes are slouches; the Rangoon Bistro chefs cut their teeth at Michelin star-holding kitchens.

To that end, the menu skews upscale while homey. Bar nuts here are thrown lime leaf, shan spice, brown sugar, and butter. The flavors Rangoon Bistro has dealt in for years, big spiciness and deep saltiness for instance, will get cranked up to a 15 at Bone Sine. Sherbo says that’s perfect for true fans of Southeast Asian drinking food as this is how he and co-owners David Sai and Alex Saw actually season their own meals. Diners can expect assertive bitterness and acid; the fermented tea leaf- and fried egg-topped rice dish lahpet htamin is a main character here, for instance. The full Rangoon Bistro menu is also available thanks to a shared kitchen.

On the drinks front, the idea is to have classic cocktails using Burmese ingredients and local spirits from Tuff Talk Distillery. The hope is that a few friends can pool money and share equally in all the dining and imbibing. When still a farmers market operation, the Rangoon team offered a pay-what-you-can option. Sherbo says Bone Sine is channeling that energy with a menu composed of dishes priced under $20.

Prior to Bon Sine, the address was home to Blue Star Donuts. Part-owner David Sherbo says both the Rangoon Bistro outposts get full quickly, so when the shop went on the market, the team decided to take over the lease. Rather than simply add more seating, this acquisition provided a chance to do something new. “That’s when we decided we should revamp the bar program, give it its own menu, and treat it like its own special thing,” Sherbo says.

Rangoon itself began in 2017 as a pop-up from the three owners, evolving into a full-fledged restaurant in 2022. Down the road, they plan to introduce DJ nights on the weekends and crack-of-dawn Arsenal viewing parties with breakfast. (The three bonded over Arsenal early into their friendships.) Getting ready, Sherbo says the team feels they’re firing on all pistons. “The food is dialed in,” Sherbo says. “I think Tulip Bar is the best bar in the neighborhood. Getting that quality of drinks is going to improve the overall experience.”

Bone Sine is located at 3753 N Mississippi Avenue; opening Thursday, July 17, from 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays and Sundays and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.