I have been a fan of Nicholas Restaurant for a long time and I’m probably not the only one – this family restaurant has been in business in Portland for more then 35 years. It all started when the original Nicholas, “Dad” to the current owner and daughter Hilda, and grandfather to the Nicholas I met during my recent visit (Hilda’s son), took a risk using his retirement and pension to found Nicholas Restaurant after immigrating from Beirut, Lebanon. Despite this being their first time running a restaurant, Hilda’s parents found their pizzas and calzones were a hit and they were able to expand to the larger Lebanese homey menu you see today. I was sad to see them close up their hole in the wall Grand location, but also thrilled to see Nicholas Restaurant’s new location on SE Madison which now has room for a patio with heaters and umbrellas, plus more space (4x as much square feet) for distancing tables, and a medical grade air filtration system. And look at those cute booths and new bar. The second floor has a section perfect for a larger party of family and friends.
During the pandemic I was thankful and incredibly impressed by Nicholas Restaurant‘s quick pivot to their “Flatten the Curve Healthy Menu” to serve the community. This was one of the fastest reactions to the times – they closed the dining rooms on March 16 2020 and started offering this menu right then. The menu at the time still had the same generous portions, but at a reduced price of $10 or less (with entrees still including salad and rice) to help those suffering financially and enhance their diet from unhealthy or processed food that might be what they think could afford. And, they were taking care of their team and their family with food. I ordered multiple times, and then when I heard they would be closing the SE Grand even stopped for takeout just to see it one more time.
As much as I enjoy the takeout, and especially eating that garlicky toum without subjecting anyone else to my aromatic breath as I eat it by the spoonful, I was excited to check out the patio immediately. There is nothing like having that fresh pita bread hot from the oven presented to your table with the zaatar and oil dip. We love the hummus so added that on as well even though we knew we would also be ordering a Mezza that had more hummus because well, we love hummus. F has a regular order that he doesn’t even look at the menu: the Arabian Breeze Mezza which gives highlights of multiple dishes: Hummus, hamara, caramelized onions mixed with tahini, majadra, fried cauliflower, and falafel.
Same with their pizzas – they offer a Lamb Kabob pizza, Chicken Kabob pizza, Lebanese Sesame Cheese pizza, Manakish pizza (featuring zaatar and oil, cucumbers, tomatoes, mint, green olives, labne cheese). I have always been drawn to the mezzas, specialty dishes, wraps and kabob plates and never had the pizza, but having read that was one of the starting points for Nicholas back in the day, decided to try the Chicken Kabob pizza this visit. It comes warm with a pita bread base, then topped with mozzarella cheese, chicken, toum, red pepper, shredded basil, and parsley. Everything just tastes so fresh.
If you are looking for the perfect lunch bite, look no further then their wraps. My favorite is the Lamb Gyro Wrap, a Classic Greek style lamb gyro. Made with feta cheese and tzatziki, romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickled turnips, and parsley. But they are all good in different ways, depending on what you want your protein to be, or go vegan with falafel instead of chicken, lamb, or beef.
I visited on my birthday, the same week after both of our first Pfizer shots, so decided to treat ourselves. First, the Turkish Cold Brew to get a little caffeine hit surprised us when it arrived at the table with all the fixings! But, it was not overly sweet like what you might think a frappuccino is like. The perfect balance. The Turkish Cold Brew includes chocolate, caramel, cream, and turkish cold brew topped with whip. Their mint lime lemonade is minty and fresh, and if you want you can have the cocktail version with Arak to make it an Arak Mojito. The Beirut Betty cocktail with Aria Gin, Elderflower, fresh lemon, rosewater is also very easy – perhaps too easy… – to drink.
Don’t miss out on dessert. We really wanted everything- regular baklava, chocolate peanut butter baklava, sesame chocolate chip tahini cookies… but we went for the Riz De Haleeb, a Lebanese style rice pudding topped with pistachios, and the Knafa Be Jibany, a sweet Lebanese style cheesecake made with ashta and mozzarella cheese and topped with shredded phyllo dough and simple syrup. Both were huge portions ready for sharing.
The only thing you don’t see pictured is toum, which is shocking because pretty much I always get toum from Nicholas. But, it was already on my chicken kabob pizza so I opted out… though I may have still been thinking about it later hte next day.
Nicholas Restaurant – congrats on your new location! This is one of the three locations they operate – they also have locations on SE Broadway and in Gresham.
Have you had Nicholas Restaurant food before? What do you like to order?
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