Barwares

By WW Staff

If the resort planet from The Fifth Element had a Portland lounge, it would be Barwares: spacious and somehow sci-fi, with a marble bar, glowing bulbs and dangling glassware, plus communal tables and space-cat chalk art. There are excellent cocktails, and neighboring restaurant Smallwares' much–lauded "inauthentic Asian" menu is always available. But if you're into natural wine, weird wine, "real" wine—stuff with some funk—then this is perhaps the city's best glass list. There is a selection of about 18 pours each night, from a cloudy, quaffable Mamacita sparkling Malvasia to a silvaner from tres–trendy Swabia to La Stoppa Ageno, an orange wine from revered Emilia- Romagna producer Elena Pantaleoni. The list changes regularly, organized by descriptors like "fizzy," "crisp," "earthy," and "funky." But you'd be foolish to just drink here: That wine goes perfectly with the genre–fucking food, from oxtail curry to oysters with fish sauce to miso ice cream.

Entertainment: Occasional movies, patio.

4605 NE Fremont St., 971-229-0995, smallwarespdx.com/barwares. 5-11 pm daily.

JORDAN MICHELMAN

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