Evoe also hosts special
events, including wine tastings, thematic dinners and private parties.
Evoe in the Press
Ben Waterhouse,
The Oregonian Dining Guide 2013
"Named for the celebratory cry of the worshippers of Bacchus, this narrow eatery attached to the Hawthorne Pastaworks grocery store is a retirement project of sorts for Kevin Gibson, who spent 15 years helming the kitchens at some of Portland's finest restaurants. At Evoe, he offers a small, ever-changing selection of small plates, sandwiches and salads from noon to 7 p.m., five days a week. If he stayed open until 10, it'd be the hottest wine bar in town.
Try this: Don't miss the sandwiches -- the Dansk, with cured salmon, horseradish and dill on rye, is a favorite -- though the same can be said for the small plates. A recent artichoke heart, fennel and fried guanciale salad was salty-tart perfection, but it couldn't measure up to a plate of the rich chicken, leek and morel sausage, seared and served with a salad of shaved asparagus.
Inside info: Evoe's best deal is the $25 combo plate, an enormous wooden board laden with five cured meats, three cheeses and assorted nuts and pickles. Pair with wine from Pastaworks at just-above-retail cost (corkage $5)."
Liz Crain,
The Guardian, May 24, 2013
"Sit at the chef's counter at this tiny Euro-vibe cafe on bustling SE Hawthorne Boulevard and watch the magic that Evoe's chef Kevin Gibson unleashes with a handful of countertop, plug-in devices and no proper stove. Gibson has worked in some of Portland's top kitchens, but has a soft spot for the simpler side of things. His cafe, which is next door to and connected to one of Portland's premier food markets, showcases local, seasonal food that sings with freshness, such as pickled fiddlehead ferns, octopus salad and nettle dumplings. The always-changing menu (only the sandwiches are set) is written on the chalkboard behind the exposed kitchen. Consider the Little Bo Peep lamb meatball sandwich on ciabatta, which you'll dream about if you're smart enough to order it."
Zagat Guide to Portland
"Every bite" of chef Kevin Gibson's "unusual, creative" sandwiches and small plates is a "burst of flavor" insist insiders who "sit at the counter" of this Hawthorne "gem" and watch as the European-inspired dishes "come together"; it's set in a "simple, small" space in an "odd location" (inside the gourmet grocery Pastaworks), but a "large collection" of wines by the glass, modest prices and that "exquisite" chow overcome all; P.S. closes at 7 PM; closed Tuesday
Karen Brooks,
Portland Monthly
"In 2008 Kevin Gibson, one of Portland’s most accomplished chefs, left the high-end restaurant scene to become the master of his own universe inside the Hawthorne Pastaworks. Food formulas don’t exist here. In a space no larger than a dorm room, Gibson’s mood reigns whether he is grilling a cheese sandwich, slicing up wild-boar pâté with sour cherries, or rubbing anise into duck to be paired with fresh kumquat chutney—a dish you’d be thrilled to find at a fancy restaurant at twice the price. Check for a scallops salad—a Gibson signature—or squid baked in an earthenware crock with hot peaks of blood-orange aioli (garlic mayo). If you’re on the run, grab one of the nearly dozen daily sandwiches. Best is the Little Bo Peep: exquisite lamb meatballs stacked with frizzy greens on ciabatta bread. Even by Portland standards, Evoe is quirky. But for anyone who loves great food, it’s Exhibit A for why we are the envy of the country. Closed Tue."
Katherine Bauer,
Good Stuff NW
"When people ask me what the best restaurant in town is, Evoe is my hands-down favorite. Despite its nonstandard hours (Wed.-Sun., noon-7 pm) and absence of even nominal restaurant equipment—just a slide-in electric stove/oven and plug-in pancake griddle that would have been at home in the kitchen of my childhood—chef Kevin Gibson (top, holding some red mole from Mexico) makes magic. Give the guy a mandoline and a pot and he's golden. It doesn't hurt that he's got years-long relationships with top local farmers who bring him the best of the best of our local produce. Or that he's a master charcutiere of the highest order (I'm still working on him to let me take a picture of his walk-in).
Suffice it to say that his deviled eggs—such a simple, yet, in his hands, sublime mouthful—were divine. The tomato salad with chevre and a sprinkling of olive oil, the duck salad (kill me now), the chistorra (Basque sausage) sandwich, even the pickle plate (left, with "mouse melons" and aji dulce peppers), all over the top. If you have friends who love food, you can do no better than to go here. If not, you can sit at the counter and make new ones."
Details: Evoe, 3731 SE Hawthorne Blvd. 503-232-1010.
Portland Monthly Best of the City 2012 :Food
"Part art, part supper, heavy glass jars filled with Evoe owner Kevin Gibson’s twisted, brightly stained produce line the communal table at Evoe—evidence that Gibson has been dutifully transforming the choicest of the season into his dynamic pickle plate. A recent visit brought a seven-piece platter loaded with kimchi-spiked turnips, star anise–steeped chard stems, and hard-boiled eggs dyed yellow with a cumin and coriander soak. For maximum pucker, try Gibson’s experiments like supertart sour cherries and Guindilla peppers braced with zippy spices."
Ruth Brown,
Willamette Week Restaurant Guide, October 19, 2011
"[SLOW BAR FOOD] Evoe has always felt more like a bar than a restaurant to me. A place where you can pull a stool up to the big butcher-block counter and shoot the shit with the chefs. You glance at the day’s menu, scrawled in chalk on the blackboard. Tell them what you like, they’ll tell you what’s good. Conversation continues as they prepare your dishes, leisurely but attentively, and delicious plates of fresh, seasonal goodies sporadically appear. Most dishes feature very simple but elegant flavor combinations, and almost all are considerably more than the sum of their parts. On a recent visit, a salad made from thinly shaved slices of raw squash, soft and salty feta cheese, hazelnuts and mint was “summer” captured in a single, flawless dish. Thick slices of a light and fluffy garlic-puree tortilla española came with a lick-your-plate romesco sauce. A simple caprese salad was transformed with a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes. There is always a long list of very good sandwiches for a quick lunch, but if you have the time, put aside a few hours and sit down for two or three plates and a good conversation with the guy who made them.
Danielle Centoni,
The Oregonian, June 20, 2011 (
full review)
"Intimate, informal, relaxed. Evoe is like those small tapas bars on the back roads in Spain, filled with regulars and overlooked by tourists. The small plates are perfect examples of bold, elemental Mediterranean flavors harnessed into harmony, from the earthy-salty-sweet salad of shaved fennel, artichoke and guanciale, to the oily, spicy Gallego sandwich stuffed with anchovies and peppers. Fall in love with a wine or an ingredient, or want to re-create a dish at home? Just wander into Pastaworks next door, the source of just about everything on the menu."
Roger Porter,
The Oregonian, June 16, 2010 (
full review)
"... Evoe is perhaps the only place in town where, it seems to me, each item is near flawless. It is the first restaurant to which I've given a straight A in four years of reviewing for The Oregonian.
Let me hasten to say it is not at all the best Portland restaurant I've been to in that time; and because Evoe is somewhat like a tapas bar, the sheer informality of the place would seem to call for a less exalted grade. But gram for gram, it furnishes the most perfect collection of dishes I've experienced in town."
