Sep 26, 2025 - Food and Drink

Cafe Rown kicks off 3-part chef collab dinner series

Meira Gebel

Dimly lit restaurant kitchen and dining counter with chefs preparing food and customers seated, warm overhead pendant lights, plates, glasses, and utensils visible. — Seats are scarce. Photo: Courtesy of Cafe Rowan

Cafe Rowan, beloved for its high-end brunch offerings and intimate atmosphere, is teaming up with some of the city's top culinary talent for a series of one-night-only tasting menus.

The big picture: Chef-owner Spencer Ivankoe's three-part "Cooking with Friends" will feature husband-and-wife duo Diego and McKenna Palacios of Machetes, as well as Scott Iijima's forthcoming yoshoku pop-up Hiori, Toya Ramen's Colin Yoshimoto and Joel Stocks of wine-forward L'Orange.

Ivankoe said this series is "a chance to celebrate the creativity of our friends in Portland's restaurant community."
Plus: It's part of a larger trend of restaurants catering to diners' ever-changing desires for exclusive experiences, which often sell-out and generate buzz online.

Best bites: Depending on which dinner tickles your taste buds most, guests will have the option to experience a wide range of cuisines — from flame-grilled guisado-filled quesadillas, to umami-rich bowls of hand-pulled noodles and French Riviera-inspired seafood.

If you go: Cafe Rowan's "Cooking with Friends" series kicks off Saturday at 7pm with Machetes.

Find tickets on OpenTable.

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Cafe Rown kicks off 3-part chef collab dinner series

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