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Angel Face: A Lyonnaise-Style Bar in Portland, Oregon

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.

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

Above: Michel Thonet Era Chairs and Era Backless Barstools lend a French bistro feel to the dining room.

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

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.”

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

Above: The restaurant’s name is branded into the custom walnut bar.

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

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.

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

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.

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

Above: A detail of Paulus’s painted wall.

Angel Face in Portland, Oregon

Above: Embossed cocktail menus and coasters.

For more from the owners of Angel Face, see our posts:

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