Ataula is one of Portland’s hottest tapas restaurant. It has been labeled as one of the best restaurants in the Portland, which is a bold statement.
Ataula sits in Slabtown. Slabtown is a little charming area filled with trendy restaurants, shops, and bars. It’s a couple of blocks from Portland’s famous ice cream parlor — Salt & Straw. The creative Spanish tapas restaurant is lined with artwork; in addition, it offers sidewalk seats to enjoy Portland’s crisp air.
After extensive research, I decided Ataula would be my snack before snack before my dinner at Beast. It was a lot of food to eat within 5 hours, but I was determined to check out as many restaurants in Portland as possible. I was three meals deep into the day and Ataula was going to be my fourth. People told me Portland has a blossoming food scene, so I wanted to confirm whether it was true or not.
When I arrived, I found the restaurant fairly occupied around 4:30 PM. There were a few opened tables and the sidewalk seats were full. I was getting hungry. My eating schedule allowed me enough time to digest Ataula before my next snack — Salt & Straw. I quickly opted for the bar and the bartender greeted me. She gave me a menu then the smiling waitress came by. She gave me a few recommendations.
After looking over the menu, I decided to trust her judgement. I went with some of her recommendations. Here are my thoughts:
- Cojonudo – It was labeled as their most popular tapas. The Cojonundo was a toast topped with chorizo, piquillo pepper, and a fried quail egg. It had a contrasting textures and flavors. The salty chorizo was met with the silky quail egg yolk then the slightly sharp piquillo pepper. It was a solid dish.
Cojonudo - Croquettes – Croquettes could be found on any Spanish tapas menu. The crispy outer shell filled with soft fillings makes them an easy pick. Ataula fills its croquettes with salt-cod fritters; it came with a smoked piquillo ali-oli dipping sauce. The piquillo brought some spice to the croquettes and its flavor was similar to sriracha. However, it wasn’t as sharp.
Croquettes - Pato – The “salad” dish. The farm greens were filled with prune-goat cheese, viridian beans, quicos, a vinaigrette, and duck jamon. The duck jamon caught my attention as I usually pass on “salad” dishes. However, the Pato was the best dish of the four I tried. The chewy jamon complemented the dish and the vinaigrette brought life to it.
Pato
Overall, Ataula is a pretty solid restaurant. After a few days in Portland, I was starting to lose confidence in Portland’s food scene. Everything I had tried turned out to be mediocre at best. However, Ataula took me by surprised with its non-traditional tapas and it’s probably my favorite restaurant in the city.
Check out our review of Beast and Andina. Need things to do and see while in Portland? List one and two.
- Service - 7.5/107.5/10
- Presentation - 7/107/10
- Flavors - 7.5/107.5/10
- Decor - 7/107/10
- Ambiance - 7/107/10
Summary
Ataula is a pretty solid restaurant. After a few days in Portland, I was starting to lose confidence in Portland’s food scene. Everything I had tried turned out to be mediocre at best. However, Ataula took me by surprised with its non-traditional tapas and it’s probably my favorite restaurant in the city.
