Bar Cala is a

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

cocktail bar and restaurant in northeast

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

's Concordia neighborhood, in the United States. Established in 2022, the business operates from the

Northwestern Electric Company – Alberta Substation The Northwestern Electric Company – Alberta Substation, or simply Alberta Substation, is an historic building on the National Register of Historic Places in northeast Portland, Oregon's Concordia neighborhood, United States. With The buildin ...

, a former

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Description

Bar Cala is a

cocktail bar and restaurant at the intersection of 27th and Alberta in the

Alberta Arts District Alberta Arts District is a commercial district in Portland, Oregon which connects the Concordia, King and Vernon neighborhoods in the Northeast quadrant of the city. The district centers on NE Alberta Street, and stretches approximately , from ...

and

northeast Portland Northeast Portland is one of the six major divisions of Portland, Oregon. Northeast Portland contains a diverse collection of neighborhoods. For example, while Irvington and the Alameda Ridge feature some of the oldest and most expensive homes i ...

's Concordia neighborhood. The business operates from a concrete and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

building called the

, a former

listed on the

. The exterior is painted pink and above the teal wooden door is neon sign with the text "Bar Cala" in

cursive Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionalit ...

. The interior features concrete-wood floors, cacti and palm trees, and Rattan light shades above the bar. A back patio has string lights and tables with umbrellas. Brooke Jackson-Glidden of ''

Eater Portland ''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by ...

'' said Bar Cala has a "breezy, cool" aesthetic. She wrote, "While the bar's food and drink derives most of its inspiration from Latin American countries and cuisines, the design of the space is meant to mimic the interior and landscape design of Palm Springs: Desert plants, gold midcentury modern light fixtures, a blend of indoor and outdoor aesthetics." The website's Alex Frane and Janey Wong wrote, "The bar’s high ceilings are festooned with lush greenery and fairy lights, and music pumps steadily through the speakers, giving the place a Palm Springs party vibe." The menu has included burgers, steak with chimichurri and grilled octopus, as well as

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

options like potato-carrot dorados, prickly pear

aguachile Aguachile (“chile water” in Spanish) is a Mexican cuisine, Mexican dish made of shrimp, submerged in liquid seasoned with chiltepin peppers, lime juice, salt, slices of cucumber and slices of onion. Raw vegetables such as cucumber are usually ...

with seafood, and fish tacos with

salsa verde Salsa verde () is a type of spicy, green sauce in Mexican cuisine based on tomatillo and green chili peppers. The tomatillo-based Mexican ''salsa verde'' dates to the Aztec Empire, as documented by the Spanish physician Francisco Hernández, a ...

. Cocktails use spirits such as pisco and tequila. The Sandia Es Vida has Cappelletti,

prosecco Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. It ...

, watermelon, and grapefruit, and the La Toxica has serrano-infused tequila, watermelon juice,

Aperol Aperol is an Italian bitter apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb and cinchona, among other ingredients. It has a vibrant orange hue. Its name comes from ''apero'', an Italian slang word for apéritif (''aperitivo''). History Aperol was original ...

, and vermouth. The Mama Coco is made with vodka or gin, melon, coconut water, and yuzu soda.

History

Victor Daniel Cerda Zamorano opened Bar Cala in June 29, 2022, after purchasing the building with friend Fernando Damas. Mauricio Dimas created the food menu. During a heat wave in July, the restaurant temporarily changed the menu to focus on raw and fresh dishes to avoid oven usage.

Reception

In '' Portland Monthly'' 2022 list of the city's top 50 bars, Matthew Trueherz wrote: "Bar Cala is, no doubt, a place to be seen. But pink neon and vibey tropical plants aside, this place knows how to put together a warm-weather cocktail 365 days a year. Expect loud music, cross your fingers you won’t have to wait in line to get in, order the Tepaché Mode drink once you do, and snack on Bar Cala-monogrammed chips while you sip the fermented pineapple cocktail sitting on a gold stool at the bar."

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Drink, Food, Oregon 2022 establishments in Oregon Concordia, Portland, Oregon Latin American restaurants in Portland, Oregon Restaurants established in 2022

Description

History

Reception

See also

References

External links