Thơm (which means "smells good")[1] is a Vietnamese restaurant in northeast Portland's Concordia neighborhood, specializing in pho.[2]Portland Monthly'sKaren Brooks has described the restaurant, which has a seating capacity of 10, as "tiny" and "casual". She wrote, "The feel is of stepping into a hidden studio in a mid-century home—blonde wood everywhere, painterly shades of green, a trio of hanging Isamu Noguchi Akari light sculptures, and customized wood speakers, four of them, strategically placed around the room."[3] The menu has included Phở Bo (beef noodle), Phở Chay (vegan phở), Bún Thịt Nướng (barbecue pork noodles), and Cơm Gà (chicken and rice), vermicelli, and rice plates.[3][4]
History
Brothers Jimmy and Johnny Le opened Thơm in August 2021, in a space which previously housed The Big Egg and Sugar Cube.[3]
Reception
In 2021, Michael Russell of The Oregonian called Thơm the "second-wave Vietnamese restaurant Portland has been waiting for".[5] He included Thơm in a list of Portland's best new restaurants[6] and the bún thịt nướng in an overview of the year's "most memorable" dishes, writing:
The phở is great. So is the five-spice chicken and rice. But my favorite thing to eat at chef Jimmy Le's new four-dish Northeast Portland restaurant is the bún thịt nướng, a bowl of 'dad’s grilled pork' served over slick rice noodles with pickles and nước chấm. Yes, you’ve had this dish before — you can get it at the airport! — just never with pork this sweet and juicy.[7]
Karen Brooks included Thơm in Portland Monthly's Best Restaurants list.[8]Brooke Jackson-Glidden included the restaurant in Eater Portland's 2022 overview of recommended eateries on Alberta.[9]
^Russell, Michael (December 12, 2021). "Portland's best new restaurants". The Oregonian. p. 003.
^Russell, Michael (December 26, 2021). "The year's most memorable dishes Our favorite Portland-area bites came from all over the place, from our best new restaurant to short-lived pandemic pop-ups". The Oregonian. p. 006.
