The most important American restaurant to open this decade. Gregory Gourdet's live-fire Haitian kitchen changed what Portland — and American dining — could mean.
James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet spent a decade cooking at Departure, Portland's rooftop Asian restaurant, before stepping back to ask the question that produced Kann: what would it look like to cook the food he actually grew up with — Haitian food, the food of his family — at the level of ambition he'd developed over his career?
The answer, which opened in August 2022 at 548 SE Ash St in the Lower East Side, became almost immediately one of the most celebrated restaurants in the country. Esquire named it the best new restaurant in America. Eater and The New York Times called it a best new restaurant of the year. By 2025, Kann had been ranked among the 50 Best Restaurants in North America — placing Portland in a conversation that previously required a Michelin presence to enter.
The cooking channels Haitian culinary tradition — griot (citrus-marinated pork shoulder), djon djon (black mushroom rice), tablette (coconut pralines), pikliz (fiery pickled vegetables) — through Pacific Northwest ingredients and a wood-burning hearth that sits at the centre of the open kitchen. The live fire is not decoration. Every protein, every vegetable, every fish passes through those flames, which impart a smokiness and char that is fundamental to the flavour architecture of every dish.
The dining room is warm, dark-toned, and unpretentious. There are no white tablecloths and no performance of fine dining formality. What there is, instead, is the feeling of being cooked for by someone who genuinely wants to share something important with you. It is that quality — generosity of spirit, matched to technical mastery — that makes Kann remarkable.
Kann has a festive, generous energy that makes it one of Portland's best celebration restaurants. The food is bold and shareable — whole fish from the hearth, whole roast meats, vegetables that arrive in dramatic, fragrant presentations. Groups gather naturally around the communal format.
The warm, buzzing dining room never feels stiff; the service is attentive without being obsequious. For a birthday, the combination of food that genuinely excites conversation — "what is djon djon? what does griot mean? how do they get that char on the fish?" — with a room that crackles with energy is exactly right.
The restaurant does accommodate dietary restrictions, including the gluten-free and alcohol-free requirements that are part of Gourdet's own lifestyle. The beverage programme includes excellent natural wines and non-alcoholic options that are treated with the same seriousness as the rest of the menu.
Birthday — Verified Diner
"Took my partner here for her 40th birthday. The whole table ordered the griot and it arrived at the table smelling like a dream. The pikliz woke up the whole meal. Gourdet came out of the kitchen to check on the table — gracious, warm, entirely unpretentious. The best birthday dinner we've had in fifteen years of celebrating in Portland."
Impress Clients — Verified Diner
"I brought three clients from London who had been dismissive about American food. This meal changed their minds. The djon djon rice alone was unlike anything they'd encountered. Kann is doing something genuinely original — Haitian cooking at the highest level of technique. It belongs on any world list."
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See the best birthday restaurants in America, or browse restaurants for impressing clients. For more Pacific Northwest dining, explore our Seattle restaurant guide. Return to the full Portland restaurant directory, or discover what's ranked #1 in Portland at Le Pigeon.