About
Brasserie Montmartre is a new, rustic-refined French-American brasserie under the design and leadership of chef-restaurateur, Pascal Chureau who collaborates with Michael Hanaghan, esteemed chef of former Ten 01. Hanaghan brings a love of charcuterie, a Thomas Keller pedigree, and an instinct for how to translate the gastro-pub menu into crave-worthy offerings for downtown shoppers, an after-work crowd, or those enjoying a night on the town.
"We call it a French-American brasserie to signify the collaboration between us, and the melding of our culinary styles," says Chureau, who was raised in the Bordeaux region of France. And it signifies the priority of using local, farm-fresh seasonal ingredients for the French-style menu.
While the ingredients are readily recognizable to any Portlander, the food is definitely brasserie style," says Hanaghan, referring to the French definition which means “to brew." “It's food to drink by," explains Hanaghan.
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Executive Chef Michael Hanaghan |
The 30-foot bar stretches down the length of the room, offering an array of delectable small plates. Perched comfortably atop a bar stool or at the community bar table, patrons can select one of three variations of French fries – duck fat and rosemary, pork belly with tarragon, and black truffle with sel gris. Or there is Bacon-Wrapped Veal Pate, a Croque Madame, the Seafood Plateau piled with fresh shellfish, or a flight of fresh-shucked oysters all begging to be paired with one of the 10 beers on tap. At lunch and dinner, guests can relax in the 80-seat dining room amidst live, playful gypsy jazz, and enjoy the French Onion Soup, Escargot, House-Made Rabbit Boudin, Olive Oil Poached Salmon, Steak Frites, or Pork Belly Steak.
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Proprietor-Chef Pascal Chureau |
The rustic-refined theme has been brought into the décor as well and emanates a comfortable, gastro-pub feel--an area of exposed rebar where would-be thieves attempted to drill through a brick wall to the neighboring jewelry store, and a large steel door, presumably to allow entry for large trucks, slices through the back of the restaurant down to the lower banquet room. An old church pew offers seating to waiting guests, and two sets of booths offer additional seating in the bar area. The soaring 16-foot walls are painted a creamy white, and exposed filament bulb lamps at the bar, wrought iron globe chandaliers, and the large windows allow natural light to warm the room.
Pastoral accents such as a charcoal fleur de lis drawn by local artist April Coppini, an antique pig canvas tapestry, and bucolic rooster statues are all lovingly added to evoke the true essence and spirit of word "Montmartre," defined literally as the highest point in Paris, and now figuratively as a perfectly French-American respite for food, drink and conviviality.