Giovanna Parolari and chef John Taboada are behind two of our favorite restaurants in Portland, Oregon: Italian alimentari-style Luce, and Spanish tapas bar Navarre. Their latest restaurant, Angel Face, has a menu of Lyonnaise bistro food and a horseshoe bar inspired by Le Petit Fer à Cheval in the Marais in Paris, a favorite haunt of the couple’s. The restaurant’s name has a double meaning: It refers to the stained glass cherub in the center of the bar, and it’s a nickname for the favorite cheese affineur (“Angel Face”) of Taboada’s culinary mentor. The simple interiors feature unexpected, vibrantly patterned, hand-painted walls and a custom marble-topped bar. Here’s a closer look.
Photography by Jaclyn Campanaro, courtesy of Angel Face, unless otherwise noted.
Above: Michel Thonet Era Chairs and Era Backless Barstools lend a French bistro feel to the dining room.
Above: “The [horseshoe] shape was nice,” says Parolari about the design inspiration (Parisian restaurant Le Petit Fer à Cheval). “But more inspiring was how it provided a feeling of community and the ability to have conversation with almost anyone in the room.”
Above: The restaurant’s name is branded into the custom walnut bar.
Above: The pink hand-painted walls are by artist Michael Paulus. Angel Face, Parolari says, is “a feminine counterbalance to restaurant Navarre next door.” Photograph courtesy of Michael Paulus.
Above: Among the menu items are the Veggie Board (shown), olives dusted with pastis and orange, lavender almonds, caviar, crêpes, Niçoise salad, and egg meurette.
Above: A detail of Paulus’s painted wall.
Above: Embossed cocktail menus and coasters.
For more from the owners of Angel Face, see our posts:
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