Portland's most iconic global tavern — the brunch destination that defined SE Division for a generation. Permanently closed in 2020. A restaurant that deserved more time.
When John Gorham and Renee Gorham opened Tasty n Daughters on SE Division Street in March 2019 — in the former Woodsman Tavern space — they were building on a template that had already proven itself. Tasty n Sons, the original Gorham brunch institution, had defined NW 23rd Avenue for years. Tasty n Daughters was the next chapter: a global tavern with a family-style menu drawing from Turkish, Ghanaian, Italian, and New American cooking, served from morning through evening in a space that felt welcoming from the moment you walked in.
The menu was adventurous without being difficult. Shakshuka arrived with the authority of something that had been perfected over years; Turkish pizza offered unfamiliar flavours in an immediately satisfying format; Mediterranean influences threaded through dishes that could have been precious but were, instead, genuinely fun. Plates priced between twelve and fifteen dollars made the sharing format accessible rather than exclusive. Portland brunch culture — already one of the richest in the country — found in Tasty n Daughters a room that matched its ambition.
The restaurant survived barely a year before the pandemic forced its closure in 2020, alongside sibling restaurant Tasty n Alder. The loss was felt acutely by Portland diners who had come to consider it essential — a room that had not yet reached its potential when it was taken away. In the years since, Gorham's influence on Portland's dining culture has been acknowledged repeatedly. What Tasty n Daughters represented — global flavours, generous pricing, joyful service — continues to shape what Portland's best restaurants aspire to.
Portland's brunch and globally-influenced dining scene has continued to produce exceptional restaurants since 2020. For the spirit of what Tasty n Daughters offered — global flavours, family-style sharing, celebratory group dining — the following restaurants carry the torch most convincingly.
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