Bluto's is a
Greek restaurant in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
, United States. An outpost is slated to open in
Beaverton.
Description
Named after
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...
's character in the 1978 comedy film ''
Animal House
''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller (writer), Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom ...
'',
Bluto's is a
Greek restaurant on Belmont Street in
southeast Portland
Southeast Portland is one of the sextants of Portland, Oregon.
Boundaries and features
Southeast Portland stretches from the warehouses along the Willamette River through historic Ladd's Addition to the Hawthorne and Belmont districts out to ...
's
Sunnyside neighborhood.
Menu
The menu includes
souvlaki
Souvlaki (, , ; plural: , ) is a Greek food item consisting of small pieces of meat and sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot. It can be served with or inside a rolled pita, typica ...
, spinach lentil soup, salads (including a citrus and chicory variety),
hummus
Hummus (, ; , , also spelled hommus or houmous), (full name: Hummus Bi Tahini) is a Levantine cuisine, Levantine Dip (food), dip, spread (food), spread, or savory Dish (food), dish made from cooked, mashed chickpeas blended with tahini, le ...
,
pita
Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...
, and soft serve yogurt (chocolate or vanilla). Sides includes spanakopita hand pies and
braised
Braising (from the French word ''braiser'') is a combination-cooking method that uses both wet and dry heats: typically, the food is first browned at a high temperature, then simmered in a covered pot in cooking liquid (such as wine, broth, c ...
beans.
History
Established in early 2022, Bluto's operates in the space that previously housed the Japanese restaurant Tonari.
The restaurant was established by Rick Gencarelli (
Grassa,
Lardo
''Lardo'' is a type of ''salume'' made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary and other herbs and spices.
The most famous ''lardo'' is from the Tuscan ''frazione'' (hamlet) of Colonnata, where ''lardo'' has been made since Roman times. ...
) and the ChefStable restaurant group.
A second location is slated to open at
Cedar Hills Crossing in
Beaverton.
Reception
Bluto's ranked sixth on ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
'' list of the best new restaurants of 2022. The newspaper's Michael Russell recommended ordering "as much souvlaki, flatbread and hummus as you can eat". He later included the business in the newspaper's 2025 list of the 21 best restaurants in southeast Portland.
Andrea Damewood included the hummus in the ''
Portland Mercury
''Portland Mercury'' is an alternative bi-weekly newspaper and media company founded in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. It has a sibling publication in Seattle, Washington, called '' The Stranger''.
History
A prior version of ''The Mercury'' was ...
'' "best bites" in Portland in 2022. Emily Harris and Meira Gebel included Bluto's in ''
Axios Portland'' overview of the city's best soft serve ice cream. Bluto's was a runner-up in the Best Mediterranean Restaurant category of Willamette Week annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2024.
See also
*
List of Greek restaurants
Following is a list of notable Greek restaurant, Greek restaurants, which typically specialize in Greek cuisine:
* Anthos (restaurant), Anthos, New York City
* Berbati's Pan – Portland, Oregon
* Bluto's – Portland, Oregon
* Daphne's Greek ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Sunnyside, Portland, Oregon
2022 establishments in Oregon
Greek restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Restaurants established in 2022
Restaurants in Sunnyside, Portland, Oregon