Vya brings paella and late-night tapas to Southeast Division
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Small plates, including blistered shishitos and croquettes, are highlights on Vya's tapas menu. Photo: Courtesy of RTFaith Photography
What happens when two former Intel executives fall in love while on a work trip in Barcelona? They open a restaurant specializing in paella and tapas to bring the drop-in late-night conviviality of Spanish dining to Portland.
The big picture: Vy and Steve Chao — the duo behind Doja Tea House and Balkan restaurant Alma — opened Vya (pronounced "via") last month in the former Palomar space on the busy stretch of Southeast Division Street.
- While the city has plenty of small plate offerings, Vya hopes to fill a gap when it comes to true made-from-scratch paella, a notoriously difficult rice dish to execute because it requires precise timing to build up layers of flavor and texture.
- It's a hard-to-find commodity here, with only a few restaurants regularly serving it.
Best bites: Paella is currently the sole entree on the menu at Vya, with two options: classic Valencia mixta (with tomato-based sofrito, chicken, shrimp, mussels and clams) and a vegan version (with kombu shiitake dashi, lima beans and sweet peppers).
- Order the paella for the table first because it typically takes 25 minutes to make and is designed to share.
- Chef Connor Gallaher, formerly of Urdaneta and Bar Casa Vale, was tapped to craft the menu, which also includes traditional Basque-inspired bites including gildas (skewers of pickled peppers, olives and anchovies), jamón (salt-cured dry-aged ham), blistered shishitos with green curry foam, octopus carpaccio, croquettes and beet-based tiradito.
The vibe: The Chaos designed Vya to be a place you can drop into on a whim, whether for a quick glass of Spanish wine and a couple tapas or a full paella dinner — a format they told Axios is largely missing from Portland, where dining out often requires making reservations ahead of time.
- "There were a couple of things that we really enjoyed about Barcelona that we felt was lacking here," Vy Chao told Axios. "We tried to cultivate a place where you could feel happy, a place that was loud, that had energy, but wasn't overbearing. You can be in and out in 30 minutes or stay longer and have a full dinner."
- The result is a swanky neighborhood hang with two floors, colorful wallpaper and decor and plenty of greenery, plus intimate two-person red leather booths and a glowing bar that anchors the space.
If you go: Vya (959 SE Division St. #100) is open 4:30-11pm Wednesday through Saturday.
- The team plans to open the rooftop patio this summer for private parties, events and music, with more to come down the line.