Dessert: Bar Vivant

My quest for dessert in Portland continues at Bar Vivant. Come for the sweets, stay for the tapas and champagne.

This week my quest for great places to get dessert in Portland continues, with a stop at Bar Vivant.  I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about this place.  It is one of my favorites.  Many people may not recognize the name Bar Vivant.  But if you’ve lived in Portland for a while, you will probably recognize this name: Pix Patisserie.  Bar Vivant is the cafe and bar from the owners of Pix Patisserie.  They serve all the Pix desserts, chocolates and macrons along with a tapas bar and a very impressive drink menu.

Let’s get to business.  The sweets are still star here.  On my last visit, I went big.  As big as I could, by ordering the impressive St. Honre out of the pastry case.  It is a towering pile of cream puffs, chantilly and lots of pastry creme.  My companions ordered the Queen of Sheba cake, a chocolate almond cake, and the Icabod Creme, a tart filled with nuts, caramel and a pumpkin creme brulee.   We all ordered full desserts, but if you don’t need a giant pile of sugar, they also have fantastic selection of macarons, and house-made chocolates.   I think both would go great with a cup of coffee.

But the desserts are just PART of why I love this place.  The biggest reason is their tapas bar.  They have the only true spanish tapas bar I’ve ever seen in Portland.  (But please let me know if I’m missing someplace amazing.)  Lots of restaurants serve tapas, but this one has a bar that serves them like they do in Spain.  A bar full of pre-made small savory snacks that are ready to eat immediately.   Most of the time I’m more of a savory person, so I typically gravitate to this much more than the pastries.

So obviously, I’m crazy about the food here, but you can’t visit Bar Vivant without noticing their insane drink selection.  They have a HUGE champagne and sherry selection.  And of course wine and beer too but the champagne and sherry really  stand out.  The offer bottles, glasses and tasting flights.  I did a sherry flight once which was fun because I know NOTHING about sherry.  How often does anyone around here really drink sherry?  Of course I’m not drinking right now, but they had my favorite ginger beer, Cock n’Bull, so I was a happy camper.

Alright my gushing needs to end.  Needless to say I really like this place for a number of reasons.  The vibe is classy and sexy without being too formal, and they have cool events all the time, like movies, gastronomical trivia, a dim sum night and special tasting events.  So that’s the latest installment of my dessert series.  I declare this place a dessert success!  Stay tuned I have a few more spots coming up.

BAR VIVANT
2225 E. BURNSIDE
2PM-2AM FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
2PM- MIDNIGHT SUNDAY  THRU THURSDAY