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Screen Door (restaurant)

Screen Door is a popular Southern and soul food restaurant with three locations in Portland, Oregon, in the United States.

Description

Screen Door is a popular Southern and soul food restaurant with three locations in Portland, Oregon. The original restaurant is located at 2337 East Burnside Street in the Kerns neighborhood.[1][2] In 2021, a second location opened in Northwest Portland's Pearl District. The business also operates at Portland International Airport in Northeast Portland.[3][4]

Screen Door often has a line. According to co-owner David Mouton, the restaurant can host as many as 500 customers per weekend. Wait times are sometimes shared via voicemail.[5] Screen Door warns guests, "Good fried chicken takes time. Please consider this when ordering."[6]

Menu

Screen Door's specialty is crispy buttermilk-battered fried chicken, sometimes accompanied with sweet potato waffles.[7][6][8] The menu also includes biscuits, fried green tomatoes, grits, macaroni and cheese, po' boy, pulled pork, and brisket; weekend brunch features Bananas Foster French toast and biscuits and gravy (sausage or vegetarian).[2][9] The restaurant's hushpuppy recipe has been published by The Washington Post, and subsequently other outlets.[5][10]

History

In 2013, the restaurant's head chef Rick Widmayer left after serving for six years.[1] Screen Door's current culinary director is Dominic Finzo.[11]

Screen Door opened a second location in the Pearl District in 2021,[12] and operates at the airport as of 2024.[3]

Reception

Screen Door has been associated with Portland's reputation as a food destination.[8][13] In 2012, ABC News named Screen Door as one of the "Top Ten Restaurants in the Nation".[14] The Cooking Channel has recommended the restaurant for the "best Southern breakfast on the West Coast".[15] Glamour recommended the fried chicken and sweet potato waffles on their "must-try list for "serious foodies'" (2013).[7] The Portland Mercury has described the restaurant as "spacious yet cozy", with a varied menu.[9] Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post wrote, "If you have time for only one breakfast, make it this convivial Southern charmer, easy to spot due to the inevitable line out the door".[5]

In 2012, Portland Monthly reviewed and contrasted the restaurant's fried chicken and waffles with Simpatica's recipe in the magazine's search for the city's best chicken and waffles.[16] The magazine also included Screen Door's "Spicy Creole Bloody" recipe in its list of Portland's best Bloody Marys.[17] The New York Times featured the restaurant in the 2015 article, "36 Hours in Portland, Ore."[18] The restaurant's mashed potatoes and tasso gravy recipe was a contender in Portland Monthly 2016 "Spud Bracket", which recognized the city's best potato "creations".[19] The magazine also included the chicken and sweet potato waffle in a 2022 list of Portland's twelve best breakfasts.[20]

Screen Door was a runner-up in the Best Brunch Spot category of Willamette Week annual 'Best of Portland' readers' poll in 2022.[21] The restaurant ranked second in the same category in 2024 and 2025.[22][23] In 2024, Screen Door was featured on Yelp's top brunch list.[24] In 2025, the business ranked ninth in a Yelp list of 50 restaurants serving the best fried chicken in the U.S. and Canada,[25] and was included in Eater Portland list of Portland's best brunch restaurants.[26] Screen Door ranked fourth in the "best brunch" category of The Oregonian 2025 Readers Choice Awards.[27]

See also

External links

References

  1. Benjamin Tepler. Chef Rick Widmayer Out at Screen Door Portland Monthly, March 1, 2013, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  2. Screen Door Travel + Leisure, Time Inc., retrieved January 30, 2016^
  3. Zoe Baillargeon. Where to Eat and Drink at Portland International Airport Eater Portland, 2023-07-27, retrieved 2024-06-20^
  4. Janey Wong. The Best Restaurants, Bars, and Cafes at Portland International Airport (PDX) Eater Portland, 2023-07-27, retrieved 2025-05-20^
  5. Tom Sietsema. No city does breakfast quite like Portland The Herald, July 22, 2015, retrieved February 8, 2016^
  6. Screen Door Food Network, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  7. Julia Raymond. Portland Food in the News Portland Monthly, June 14, 2013, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  8. Tom Sietsema. The 10 best food cities in America, ranked The Washington Post, December 21, 2015, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  9. Screen Door The Portland Mercury, Index Publishing, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  10. Screen Door Breakfast Hush Puppies The Washington Post, July 1, 2015, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  11. Emma Jerome. Screen Door serving up special Easter brunch KOIN6, retrieved 21 July 2025^
  12. After a Yearlong Delay, Portland Brunch Destination Screen Door's Pearl Location is Opening Next Week 9 May 2021, retrieved 10 May 2021^
  13. The Washington Post Names Portland America's Best Food City Portland Monthly, December 21, 2015, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  14. The Nation's 10 Best Restaurants ABC News, retrieved 2017-06-22^
  15. Screen Door Cooking Channel, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  16. Zach Dundas, Rachel Ritchie, Martin Patail, Karen Brooks, Dan Gay. Portland's Battle for the Best Fried Chicken and Waffles Portland Monthly, February 23, 2012, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  17. Rachel Ritchie, Karen Brooks, Allison Jones. Portland's Best Bloody Marys Portland Monthly, February 23, 2012, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  18. Freda Moon. 36 Hours in Portland, Ore. The New York Times, New York Times Company, retrieved 24 July 2025^
  19. Kelly Clarke. The Spud Bracket Portland Monthly, January 15, 2016, retrieved January 30, 2016^
  20. The 12 Best Breakfasts in Portland Portland Monthly, retrieved 2022-06-01^
  21. Food Winners Willamette Week, 2022-07-13, retrieved 2025-07-16^
  22. 2024 Best of Portland Readers' Poll: Food Willamette Week, 2024-07-16, retrieved 2025-07-16^
  23. Promotions. 2025 Best of Portland Readers' Poll: Food Willamette Week, Anna Zusman, retrieved 24 July 2025^
  24. Meira Gebel. Three Portland restaurants on Yelp's top brunch list Axios, retrieved 21 July 2025^
  25. Jashayla Pettigrew. 3 Portland spots included in Yelp Elite's roundup of the nation's best fried chicken KOIN, July 22, 2025^
  26. Zoe Baillargeon. Portland's Best Brunch Restaurants Eater Portland, 2016-08-09, retrieved 2025-01-22^
  27. Mims Copeland. Here are the 5 best brunch spots in the Portland area: 2025 Readers Choice Awards The Oregonian, 2025-10-03, retrieved 2025-10-05^