Swanky Dinner Parties and Afternoon Tea Set to Hit NE Portland

Portland’s dynamite restaurant scene is about to get a new contender for It Girl restaurant to try. Lansdowne Social is set to open Friday, February 28 from a small team of ambitious chefs. The restaurant comes from owner and chef Martin Pfeifer and maitre d’ Owen Perry. The two met at Quaintrelle, the now-closed fine dining restaurant; the space will soon reopen as 82 Acres. “We both loved that atmosphere,” Pfeifer says, “but there’s an exclusivity to that. We wanted to provide a nurturing experience to as many people as possible.”

The idea in his head is to make an affordable family dinner with no compromises to the quality. There’s a huge communal table and diners all eat together at the same spot. The five-course dinner runs $75, and there’s a vegetarian and allergy-sensitive version of the menu, too. Beverage pairings cost an extra $45. Beverage director Chris Mateja, recently hailing from N Mississippi Avenue’s Kooks, provides those powerful wine and cocktail pairings.

Moni Kovacs

Moni Kovacs

Menus will rotate with market selection; Pfeifer is particularly excited about sourdough focaccia and a winter squash ravioli, flanked by pumpkin seed pesto and ricotta, on the debut menu. There’s some live fire cooking going on, too. Afternoon tea service will run throughout the week before dinner gets going. Unlike the long table, communal-style plated dinners, the tea service will play by the books: drinks with a tower of sharp triangle sandwiches, desserts, and other lunch-y fare.

Pfeifer calls on the classic Pacific Northwest inspiration for motivation, highlighting the wildly rich produce of the region. He grew up in Southern California but lived in Montana for a spell before getting into the restaurant industry in Seattle. After making his way to Portland and Quaintrelle, he pulled a stint at pop-up Aniks, located at Opal 28. Now it’s the space where Lansdowne Social will take up residence.

Moni Kovacs

Moni Kovacs

The restaurant comes at a complicated time for Portland restaurants. The scene is considered amongst the best in the country, regularly pulling in accolades for restaurants including Kann and Langbaan. Yet local loves, such as the original Sizzle Pie location, are closing left and right, creating a state of precarity at the same time. Pfeifer hopes Lansdowne Social fits into the former, and that five years down the road people know the restaurant as a place they can come for weekday dinners, a reliable standby that provides an excellent and homey experience every time. “I just want to show love to the Pacific Northwest,” Pfeifer says. “I want people to know they’ll be taken care of.”

Lansdowne Social (518 NE 28th Avenue) debuts Friday, February 28, and is open for afternoon tea service 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Moni Kovacs