Can Font Happy Hour

Can Font opened to a huge buzz last year, bringing Spanish cuisine, specifically Catalan cuisine, to the Pearl District in Portland. This week they are launching a happy hour menu, so I wanted to highlight their offerings. You will be able to enjoy Can Font Happy Hour Tuesday-Thursday 5 – 6 PM and 9 – 10 PM and new, they will be open on Mondays and serving All Day Happy Hour (Mondays only, and it’s only the happy hour menu available) from 5 – 10 PM.

 

Can Font has quite the pedigree – there is also an original Can Font in Barcelona that is Michelin recognized that Chef Josep Vidal opened there. Then, Chef Josep moved to Portland, and partnering up with investor and fellow co-owner Vladimir Zaharchook-Williams, now here in Portland we have our own oasis of Catalan cuisine at Can Font. What makes Can Font different from other Spanish restaurants in Portland is that they are really dedicated to bringing in many of their ingredients and products used from Spain, including a lot of their seafood and wines.

 

The design of the restaurant is classy that blends traditional and modern. It’s beautiful from the outside looking in, with just enough warm lighting that it twinkles.

The interior of Can Font is very elegant, so could be a great dressy destination meal for dinner. With an interior of mixed materials and blue tones, it is also a contemporary atmosphere that feels almost like dining by the water under the stars in the evening, and nods to the Mediterranean seas in daylight. That is probably intentional, given that quite a bit of the menu stars seafood. Whether in sunshine or romantic shadows, I’ve always enjoyed the atmosphere during all my visits – I can feel the change just stepping inside through the front doors like I’m escaping the Pearl and Portland for a bit.
 

In the back, you see the iconic Gaudi building of Casa Mila in Barcelona while in the bar area if you just want drinks and are feeling only a bit peckish you’ll also find a mural with from the main estate calling back to the original Can Font in Spain.

Their most popular cocktail is the Spanish Manhattan with Maker’s Mark bourbon, Atxa vermouth, Licor 43, and orange bitters, followed by the Magrana Sacsejada concocted with Ketel One vodka, pomegranate, and lime juice.

If you’re here at happy hour, the red wine by the glass or their Sangria Vermella aka Red sangria (they also use Spanish red wine in their sangria, along with brandy and more) is the winning drink to get, IMHO. When I visited the sangria is by the glass, but they are working by having them available by the carafe for the table too.

An open kitchen lets you see the amazing kitchen staff at work slicing Iberico meats and setting up paellas. There are even kitchen counter seats so you can dine watching all the action your whole meal.

First, I have had their Canelons Trufats, a dish of Stuffed Canelons, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Foie Gras, Black Truffle-Parmesan & Ementhal Cheese many times. It is sooooo good.

You MUST order this dish. The layers of the different meats all combine together into a soft rich medley of flavors that melt in your mouth, and then add that cheesy and truffle sauce that you’ll want to wipe up and not leave a single drop. The version at happy hour is much smaller then the regular starter size at dinner, but it’s also more then half the price.

Croquetas de Pernil Ibéric, found on both their happy hour menu and in the starters section of the dinner menu, Spanish Fritters of Iberico Ham, Piquillo Pepper Sauce are another great dish to order.

To make sure you get all that sauce in both these above dishes, consider one of their happy hour Montaditos, which are a tapas of bread with then topped (aka mounted, which is where the word Montaditos nods to) with various ingredients. You can find several options of montaditos. Always on the menus are the vegetarian starter of Pa amb Tomàquet with Grilled Catalan Bread and Tomatoes. This is Catalan classic with bread smeared with tomato, oil, and garlic.

If you arrive after/before happy hour, and looking for the fine Spanish meats, go to the Assortiment d’ Ibèrics i Pa amb Tomàquet, where the Pa Amb Tomàquet is served with an Iberico Cured Meats Platter.

The best version of this though is the one on the happy hour menu, the Montadito de Llom with grilled Catalan bread, tomatoes, Iberico cured loin which is everything the Assortiment is but already stacked on the bread for you, and at 1/3 the price!

Another huge happy hour steal? The Patatas Bravas with potatoes, brava sauce, garlic chips, and optional add on of Filet Mignon.
 

If you come any other day besides Monday which is exclusively the happy our menu only, you will see at the dinner tables probably a parade of Paella that gets delivered. They offer several paellas off their dinner menu that are priced about ~$20-30 or so per person. The paella options  includes mostly seafood though there is a vegan paella available. The seafood is a mix of local seasonal seafood, and they also bring in seafood from Spain and Portugal.

If you are usually iffy on squid ink, I urge you to try the Arròs Negre Paella here anyway because they are very restrained – the paella comes with Squid Ink, Fish of the Day, Clams, Mussels, Shrimp, Picada, and Garlic Aioli. If you are a larger party, instead of going for just the upsized paella, consider ordering multiple paellas instead.

I find the paella pretty good here – I love soccarat (the slightly crispy burnt parts of rice) and they stir it too much here during preparation for it to form. But, it is still full of great flavors, you can see it’s full of lots of seafood, it’s just a more on the risotto side texture-wise because of all the moisture it absorbs. Whether you don’t want paella or if you’re a solo diner,  they also have entrees that don’t require you to eat a whole paella pan either (all the paellas are for a minimum of two people) if you’d like. Or do what I enjoy, keep filling up on tapas dishes by ordering all the small plates, and if you can, save room for dessert!
 

My favorite is actually the affogato, which is available on their happy hour, the Affogato with Jacklyn’s Espirtus Levantados Cinnamon and Lemon Ice Cream, almond turron, Espresso. The ice cream is the recipe of one of the chef’s daughters, how cute is that? And, this is super delicious and a great way to perk yourself up just enough to get home after all the indulgent dishes and drinks this evening. Don’t put all the scoops in the cup – definitely spoon a few bites directly to your mouth to enjoy.

Have you visited Can Font yet, are you a fan of Catalan cuisine or paella?

Disclosure: I attended a complimentary media meal but also have dined here on my own dime. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.