Lechon

My boyfriend and I were in Portland for a day and he found this little gem and it was one of the best dinners I’ve ever had! We ordered a bunch of small plates… grilled octopus, crab-​stuffed peppers, brisket empanadas, shrimp ceviche, side of potatoes with the winter sangria and chocolate lava cake for dessert (we were hungry, we went hiking, ok!). Absolutely awesome, all of it. Not to mention the amazing service… highly recommend!

Was excited when I saw there was a new restaurant that was part Argentinian and Chilean. I’m from Chile BTW. Looked at the menu online and was a bit skeptical because non of the dishes looked traditional. Went in tonight with a group for Happy Hour. Ordered the Braised beef emanadas, glazed pork cheeks and smoked bone marrow. I am no longer skeptical. Although not «traditional «it was absolutely amazing. The food, service and drinks where beyond my expectations. I even called my Mami at the end to tell her how yummy it was.
If Latin Heat likes it, so will you.

The Moscow Mule was great, the food is always good and the ambiance is perfect. Location is within walking distance to my home so even better! I will keep coming back.

Wow.
Went here on a whim with my partner on a Friday night, late night. Cam back AGAIN the same Sunday with my parents in tow.
The food was simply the best combinations I’ve had in Portland for this style.
What amazes me most is the owner had his sleeves rolled up and was serving alongside the staff — which shows his investment and dedication to the business. The attention to detail and cleanliness is amazing. The server came by and wiped up a small amount of food that I had spilled on the table– I’m talking like a grain of rice– the fact that he did that so swiftly without thinking shows how attentive the staff is.
The forest mushrooms and squash ravioli with pumpkin seeds on top are a must. For each bite I experienced a multitude of flavors that hit my pallet in rapid succession.
To top it all off, the atmosphere and design of the place is the tits.
I will be a repeat customer again and again.

Went here for a work event with a party of 12; reservation made far in advance. Appetizers had been arranged ahead of time and arrived piping hot withing a few minutes of our arrival. Empanadas were flavorful and had a flaky crispy crust. Sweet potato ceviche, however, completely missed the mark, as cold chunks of cooked sweet potato and avocado in lime juice topped with flavorless foam– the concept of proteins being «cooked» or denatures by the acid in citrus does not apply to a starch such as the sweet potato, and it is a shame that a restaurant so close to the ocean couldn’t manage a ceviche made from fish.
The winter greens salad presentation was beautiful and the greens very fresh. The butternut ravioli had a delicious filling but the brown butter sauce was incredibly thick and heavy, sitting like a brick in my belly. After such a rich meal, the ideal dessert would be light fruit or fruit ice, but alas all the options were also quite rich.
Staff was ridiculously smiley and kind. Prices as expected. Ambience conversational and comfortable.

It’s automatic: when I see Chilaquiles on the menu I order it. Lechon’s version is probably the most varied I’ve had, those from the south of the border would probably shudder. But this unique concoction somehow works. There’s no shortage of succulent brisket pieces. In fact, the overall portion size is ample and a good value for $ 11. I’m not crazy about the base sauce, or maybe there’s just too much of it.
The three complementary homemade biscuits with purple squash (?) butter were yummy.
Beautiful space, great service, parking on a weekend morning was easy (not sure about weekend nights though.)
The only head scratcher is that for all their attention to detail, they served boring cheap Cholula hot sauce! This place warrants a homemade condiment of some kind. It’s not a snob thing as I like Heinz ketchup, but just don’t expect to see it at made-​from-​scratch eateries.
I look forward to working the menu.

Was rather impressed with the selection of happy hour food, with good vegetarian offerings. The Guavarinha cocktail was also good. Service was very good. Food came out rather quickly. Will definitely go back to try dinner.

In Short:
LeChon has a great happy hour! With tasty Tapas that are perfect for sharing, and very generous pours for the cocktails.
The Food:
We had several small tapa plates, most notably was the Gaucho bread with Chimichurri sauce! So delicious, fresh, fluffly, crispy bread with an amazing cilantro Our Next favorite was the Chimichurri burger. Very flavorful and perfectly cooked medium.
The Ambiance/​Service:
We were waited on by the bartender who was very courteous and attentive to our every need. Always filling waters and noticing when our drinks were getting low.
The restaurant was decorated nicely with exposed wood beam ceilings and wood interior, with cool fish tanks and jelly fish tanks behind the bar!
In all, a great find for happy hour! Delicious food and strong drinks. Must go!

Enjoyed their food.
Seems like too much going on their menu, but most of them sound delicious.
We got shrimp ceviche, oysters, grilled romaine, grilled octopus, and steak with chimimichuri.
Octopus was perfectly cooked, Ceviche was good but needed more onion and lime, and oysters were fresh and nicely presented.
Steak needs more salty, but it was good with their chimimichuri sauce.
Grilled Romaine was extremely salty as I had to spitted it out ;-(
Overall the service was pleasant and we enjoyed most of our dishes.
Recommend!

Perfect, perfect for large groups. Lechon is a newer restaurant in Portland, I saw it mentioned on PDX Eater or something similar and forgotten about it until we ended up having our clinic holiday party there. I was the first one to get there from our party and was asked if I was part of the cardiologists party – nope but, apparently, popular for health professional parties.
They have a decent size dining space in the restaurant, we were at bigger table that had a curtain partition and there was a room in the back with a bar for larger parties. We ordered a couple of the burrata, gaucho bread, shirmp ceviche, fried braised brisket empanadas, and fried smoked butternut squash empanadas for the whole table. I don’t know if I ever came across a burrata that I didn’t like, what’s not to love about creamy mozzarella served with rustic slices of bread? However, what made it was the grilled persimmons. I hate persimmons but being roasted made it so sweet and complimented with the cheese well. The shrimp ceviche had an impressive presentation with tequila foam and a pipette with a chili oil in it. Good acidity and tenderization on the shrimp. The crust on the empanadas were on point.
Everyone chose their own entrée, I decided on the smoked and slow roasted Patagonia pork. As tempting as the bacon-​wrapped duck or mussels sounded… I had to go with the pork since they roast a whole hog there and it looks amazing. Was it as amazing as it looked? Yes, so succulent! You get a mixture of pieces of meat and fat along with a spicy aioli dipping sauce. Everything was served with a side of green and red chimichurri. Got a try a piece of the ribeye steak and duck – grilled to a perfect medium-​rare/​rare and that duck breast was so moist. I am impressed!
Some people passed on dessert, but I took advantage of it because crème brûlée sounded good. I needed something sweet to balance out all the savory dishes. It was light and smooth, the brulee sugar crack beautifully. Will have to return to try the beignets – it was too heavy at the moment because I was super full.
Service was great, our server kept up with everyone’s requests and knew the menu well that he had good suggestions on food choices then kept track of everyone’s order with accuracy. My only complaint it that the water could have been refilled more frequently, they leave water jugs on the table but we kept running out. You could bring your own wine and they charge a corking fee. Overall, food was excellent and they did a great job accommodating a party of 15 people. I am excited to try it again!

I found out about this restaurant from a friend who threw her birthday party here. It was such a hit with us girls that we raved about it on Facebook and now numerous other groups of friends have gone and spent birthday dinners there as well.
They menu is tapas, which means you can all order some small dishes and sample pretty much everything.
I had heard about the burger and am not a big fan of seafood so I stuck with that. I will say that the burger lived up to the hype and was one of the best I have ever had! From the buttery bun to the sauce to the seasoned patty — it was fantastic! They even cooked mine well done, like I had asked… which is rare (no pun intended) because most chefs do not like to cook meat well — as though it is against their culinary religion. lol My group shared everything on the happy hour menu — from butternut squash empanadas and sweet potato ceviche to forest mushrooms to oysters. Not adventurous with food, I savored my fantastic burger and nibbled on their parmesan herb fries. It was a win-​win for everyone.
The décor was very eclectic but in a very good way. I also loved the fish tanks full of jelly fish.
Another nice thing is that the restaurant is located away from the hubbub of downtown (Broadway) and is located on the waterfront, so street parking was not an issue for anyone, ever.
This is somewhere you could go in a group — in order to try a little of everything, or on a date, because it’s quiet enough to be considered intimate.

I am on a business trip to Portland. Portland has many great places to eat. And Lechon is another reason why.
This Argentinean based restaurant is a great place for a team dinner. Argentinians like most Latin American countries are very family oriented. And Lechon carries that tradition.
The food is hearty soulful and served to share.
I came here with 7 of my coworkers for our holiday dinner. We ordered the «What the Chef is eating». It’s pallets of food. I believe the courses change, it’s the chefs choice to make up your menu. They brought 6 different courses. Including desert!
And they serve the courses on trays so that you can easily share it. There was more than enough food for everyone. And every bite was a savory dance on the senses.
It was $ 32 per person and we also ordered a few bottles of wine.
Excellent price! And we didn’t have to decide on what to order, which made more time laughing drinking and enjoying the company.
If you have any guests with special dietary needs, just let them know they are very accommodating.
The place is also very cool. I love the ocean, and as you can see some of the pictures other Unilocalers have posted, they have a jelly fish tank and large salt water reef tank at the bar.
I highly recommend this place for large groups.

Lechon is a newer restaurant in Portland. Everything was fabulous except for the starch dishes. I would have given 5 stars if it weren’t for the paella. It’s been taken off the menu since the last time we were there.
To start, the tapas were fabulous. We’ve sampled and highly recommend the glazed pork cheeks, smoked bone marrow, octopus, and forest mushrooms. Brussel sprouts were good too. We shared the smoked & slow roasted Patagonian pork, chilean pork ribs with lemon honey marmalade, and jumbo shrimp. Very tasty dishes. All were wonderful.
For dessert, we had the pistachio almond cake, chocolate molten lava cake, and tiramisu. All yummy and recommended. Definitely will go back to sample more.

I can’t say enough about this place… when you walk in, the atmosphere, aromas, and décor are awesome and just builds anticipation to whats to come next. Though my party of 8 were of all different ethnic backgrounds and taste palates, every dish we had here was savored and enjoyed.
Cornmeal fried olives: a couple of us don’t like olives, but even I enjoyed these. Paired with almonds, it was a really good taste and texture profile. 4 stars:
Grilled octopus with chorizo 5 stars: so tender, flavor was not too «fishy» and everything in the dish subtly worked together to highlight the octopus — I could easily eat a plate of this on its own…
Forest mushrooms 4 stars: this was really solid dish — bursting with flavors — but it was a smaller portion size and compared to everything else we ordered, wasn’t a huge standout. Still very good though!
Sauteed Mussels 5 stars: generous portion size, large mussels cooked and cleaned perfect — the broth was garlicky and had a good kick to it, and the grilled bread that came with this was so good… on its own as well as to sop up the broth with. The servers kindly let us know there was more bread for us if we wanted it for the broth.
Patagonian pork: 5 stars. Melts in your mouth, addicting, and bursting with flavor! The chimichurri and other sauces that came with it were amazing too!
Chilean pork ribs 5 stars: super tender, meaty, falls off the bone goodness, and good portion size.
Branzino fish 5 stars: This was so moist, flaky where it needed to be, and just sooo tasty. I was amazed how well cooked and flavorful this was!
A huge combo meat plate 4 stars (asado? I forgot the name of it) — the short ribs on here were excellent, not a huge fan of sweetbread, but I know some people enjoyed those… Sausage was seasoned well and filling…
Now I realize that I’ve been redundant in explaining how good the food is here — I definitely need to expand my adjective vocabulary. lol. But words just kind of fail in these kind of situations.
Besides the food, I was also impressed by our servers! Everyone was so kind, attentive and awesome… even patient and gracious with the kids at our table. They went over the top. Wow! Oh, and speaking of kids: I have to say, even the kids menu was impressive in the size and quality of the dish for the price ($ 5 for a burger or a HUGE plate of mac and cheese — solid flavor and cooked a perfect al dente!) What?! Us adults really enjoyed this pasta dish as well!
All in all… I think we ended up over ordering for our group due to not realizing who had already ordered what/​when, nor knowing what the portion sizes would be, but in the end, no one regretted it. It was just awesome to be able to try so many dishes and there were no left overs. In fact, I highly recommend coming with a larger party just so you can try more things! And even with all that food + a bunch of beers, dinner came to $ 25 – 32 a person! Such a great value for the quality of food, service, and totality in dining experience. Definitely one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time! Well done Lechon!

My boyfriend and I finally had dinner here after stumbling upon this restaurant a few weeks ago.
Pros — The first thing you will notice is the design/​décor of the space. A variety of seating, great mixture of materials, eye catching mega aquarium, private dining area and an open kitchen are amazing. You feel like you may have walked into another country. Second, the drink menu is solid with many delicious signature drinks. The happy hour menu is reasonably priced and a great representation of the full dinner/​Argentine inspired menu.
Cons — We ordered a little bit of everything — the mussels, octopus, empanadas, bavette, and bone marrow. I would love to say they knocked it out of the park but the food came so fast and furious. In the mad dash to cover our table with plates, we had a difficult time enjoying each dish and the bavette was extremely undercooked.
We will definitely go back but will stress a more appropriate pacing of dishes. I’m sure I will be able to bump my review up to a 4.

Lechon translation I believe means piglet so a good hint of good things to come. We went there with another couple and when first walk in they have a nice bar area to the right with a big fish tank and also another fish tank at the end of a bar. Cool décor.
We were seated promptly and service was very attentive and at times seem too much but I know that they are fairly new establishment and are really trying their best to make a great impression. We decided to order a bunch of food and share so everyone can get a taste. Our appetizers were glazed pork cheeks; forest mushrooms with farm egg and aged parmersan and grilled octopus. Pork cheeks were delicious; tender and savory. Mushrooms with the farm egg and parmersan had a nice blend of flavors. My favorite was grilled octopus with chorizo and fried potatoes. Nice smoky flavors but so tender too. I would have been happy with this as my entrée.
Our entrees were seafood Paella; sauteed mussels with chorizo and cilantro butter; Chilean pork ribs and smoked and slow roasted Patagonia pork with a side of roasted squash risotto
I did not care for the Paella as I like the thin crust (socarrat) that is formed on the bottom of the pan when you cook the Paella correctly using Valencia rice. This was done with a risotto so was too mushy for me. The winter squash risotto that came with the roast pork had a firmer texture and that was very good.
All the other dishes were great. Ribs were very tender and great flavors. The roast pork was awesome but took longer than the rest of the meal to arrive at our table. Our waitress was apologetic and took an entrée off our bill and comped us two desserts too. That was very nice of them and we told them they didn’t have to do that buy they insisted. All in all it was a great experience and I can tell the genuine effort they are putting forth to make sure everyone has a great experience. We will be back for sure.
Took my whole family there and everyone loved the food. Also on certain Sundays they have a 7 course with wine pairing for $ 45! What a deal.

I was really impressed with Lechon — everything from the ambiance, décor, service and most importantly, the food was excellent.
I like that they serve main dishes and tapas. Depending on your party size, you could get away with ordering one dish to yourself and being full, or order several small plates and share. I feel like the food here is definitely meant to be shared — and you’ll be glad you did!
Our party of 4 ordered a menagerie of delicious items;
— Fried olives — 3.5 — Tasty but small. Would skip next time.
— Gaucho bread — 4.5÷5 — Yummah! Grilled bread with dipping sauce. Can’t go wrong.
— Forrest mushrooms — ⁵⁄₅ — Tasty, not too expensive. Love the fried egg.
— Glazed figs w/​burrata — ⁵⁄₅ — Delicious, highly recommended.
— Panzella salad — ⁴⁄₅ — good if you love panzella salad, but I would skip this one and order the Brandied apple instead.
— Grilled Romaine Salad — 3.5 — just a salad. Not terribly memorable. Big portion.
— Brandied apple salad — ⁵⁄₅ — Yum! Highly recommended. One of the favorite dishes of the night.
— Bacon wrapped duck — didn’t try, but heard it was good.
— Slow roasted pork — ditto. Didnt try.
— Corn empanadas — 4.5÷5 — Great Argentine staple.
— Ice cream sandwich for dessert — ⁵⁄₅ — Huge fancy ice cream sandwich. ‘Nuff said.
Yes, we ordered way too much food and definitely had leftovers. Excellent meal though — I would absolutely recommend sampling as many dishes at Lechon as possible. Good stuff!

I came back and brought 4 friends for happy hour and dinner. Service was nice and allowed us to move a table closer to one of the front booths. You don’t get a view over a huge aquarium with floating jellies everyday.
We ordered a couple things to share:
— Oysters: I’m not a huge oyster expert, but they seemed fresh. The cilantro pesto sauce was outstanding. We dipped our fries in it afterwards.
— Beef stew: Could have used some more flavor; the red sauce that comes with it stole the spotlight. We also used that one to dip our fries. It’s that good.
— Grilled pork wings: Basically these are pork ribs which were ok, not something I would order again. Slighty bland for my taste, my friends liked i though.
— Grilled octopus: Amazeballs! Get it! This is where water meets land, the combination of fresh, sweet octopus and piquant chorizo makes your taste buds dance.
— Bacon wrapped duck: Very tender and tasty! It wasn’t greasy at all, even with the bacon enwrapped.
— Patagonian pork: This was my favorite for the evening! Mouth-​melting slow roasted pork with a hint of smoke. Absolutely delicious!
These two side dishes went really well with the items we shared:
— Gaucho bread: It’s on the tapas menu, but we used it as a side. Crunchy on the outside, succulent in the middle. Perfectly grilled.
— Parmesan herb fries: Well, fries you know, not too soft, not too dry.
We finished the feast with crème brûlée, chocolate pudding, beignet and a digestif café de patagonia. If I had to choose one, I’d go with the beignet.
Drink-​wise, we had various beers and cocktails. Great selection to choose from, they don’t spare the alcohol which is an added bonus. Ginger mezcal (sweet) and vitamin mezcal (sour) are my favorites, so smoky!
Result: We ended up with over $ 240 on our check, not too bad for 5 people. Everyone got full and quenched their thirst, not to mention the variation of exquisite food we had. Tip: The more people you have, the more tapas you share. It’s all about variety!

Came here Monday night — unbeknownst to me it was happy hour [all night]… Score!
I had a couple beers that weren’t on the menu so I’m not sure of their name, but they were very good. All of their beers on tap are local, which was a big plus for me.
I also ordered the Fried olives, octopus and the burger (in order of my least favorite to favorite). The olives were interesting — I felt like I had to order them because I had never seen fried olives before. Not sure that they pulled it off entirely as there wasn’t much batter that stuck to the olive, as expected. The Octopus was really good. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but I would definitely order it again and be happy with my choice. The burger was also excellent flavor-​wise. It’s a big burger with all of its toppings, but the party itself is a little on the small side. Again, though, I would certainly order it again and enjoy myself.
[Edit: I got the olives the second time and they were excellent.]
Overall, great place to have some drinks and enjoy great food. Grab a table on the sidewalk if you can. Glad I chose here!

I’ve already gone to Lechon 3 times. Once for the soft opening when they served appetizers and drinks, then on a date with my wife, and then, with 14 friends for a bday. I can truly say that it is the real deal. The 5 starts that were given before me aren’t exaggerations. Jaco has brought us something very special to Portland. That area isn’t flooded with too many good places to eat, but that has changed.
When I drove by Lechon, I smelled the oak burning from the Argentine Parillas. As you enter, you will see a plenty of seating outside and a beautiful bar that has a giant jellyfish tank behind it. It’s very cool. The décor is calm, but fun. It makes a 1:1 date feel right and also, there’s lots of space in the back for large parties – even a separate room.
Our night started off with some complimentary gaucho bread – delicious.
Burger: I’ve tried all the big players in PDX, and this one didn’t disappoint. It had a smoke taste that no other burger has. The wood fire leaves an aroma that is unforgettable. The meat was juicy and pink, and the veggies will cool your palate exactly how you desire. The fries were crisp and fresh.
Grilled Octopus: I was a fan of octopus, but I am a bigger fan now. It came with little potatoes and chorizo. The texture was perfect and the salsa verde provided that kick that a squishy sea animal needs.
Bacon Wrapped Duck breast: Juicier than I thought it would be. I did hope for more of a duck flavor, but I should’ve known that the bacon would cover it up a little bit. If you’re not a fan of gamey meat, then you might enjoy this dish more than I did. The meat was very soft, and it will keep you wanting more and more. It was very easy to eat it.
Paella: It was only 18 $, so I knew I wouldn’t be getting a fancy authentic paella that has a perfect crust on the bottom, but that is what I hoped for anyway. The first time I had it, it was bland; I couldn’t even judge it properly because the salt wasn’t even there. I tried it again on my 2^nd outing and it was a pretty good bang for the buck. It’s more of a seafood gumbo rather than paella, but if you like seafood, then you should enjoy this. I do with that they would make it a bit more authentic – even if that comes with a cost increase.
Sweet potato ceviche: This is a must-​order if you’re at lechon. While nothing I had was too rich, this ceviche provided that perfect in-​between freshness and palate cleansing that I needed. It’s sweet, sour and leaves your mouth feeling clean like you just drank fresh lemonade in the desert.
Lechon will not disappoint you; it will make you come back for more. Well done, Chef Jaco… well done
PS: cocktails are spot on. On a lonely night, this is a great place to get some drinks and watch the jellyfish dancing and mocking you with their ignorant lives.