Skip to main content
Champagne Poetry has always been more than a flashy influencer bakery.
Dan Bian made herself into a local social media star as a Cordon Bleu pastry chef who’s sustained her second business, the pink Asian fusion bakery Champagne Poetry, since its flagship Hawthorne District location opened in 2022. Her cake-based mousse sculptures, ultra-fluffy Japanese pancakes and rainbow of macarons are nearly too pretty to eat, though coffee and a well-stocked library of Champagne and sparkling wine come in handy if guests struggle with cutting picture-perfect treats. Her pink Lamborghini parked on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard is another photo opportunity, either for social media feeds or for personal memories.
Champagne Poetry’s second location opened in March on the Alphabet District’s northern edge of Northwest 23rd Avenue between Raleigh and Savier Streets, nestled between Kirari West and St. Jack. Instead of another cafe, this Champagne Poetry (with a pink Land Cruiser parked outside) is a brunch and dinner restaurant and cocktail bar with a well-stocked dessert case.
A corner sculpture of red and black roses gush near the dining room’s entrance. White marble tables and pink velvet chairs are set up for intimate duos, with three couch-seating tables against the wall for larger parties. Floor-to-ceiling window panels open on sunny days to a sidewalk patio, making the cozy restaurant even more inviting inside.
Bian tells WW she loves pink for the psychological effects the color draws out of people.
“Pink and colors make people happy, and I like to make people happy,” Bian says. “Pink really brings people energy and happiness. Whenever people see my pink cars, they’re all happy, laughing and staring.”
Early in spring, I visited Champagne Poetry three times to try out the menu and ambience: a solo office lunch, after-work cocktails with a friend, and dinner with a nondrinking friend who appreciates Asian cuisines.
For brunch, I balled out on the duck breast crêpe ($36) with a Queen Kiri sparkling wine cocktail ($16). The menu is now reworded to make it more clear that diners shouldn’t expect a crêpe with duck meat and veggies in it, but rather a platter of compartmentalized ingredients (sliced mango, shredded green onion, and lightly brined, thinly sliced cucumber) for more of a build-your-own taco situation. Having only had disappointing experiences with duck elsewhere, I found the array of two bite-sized cuts—drizzled in gold leaf and sprinkled with flower petals—held both the crispy crunch of grilled skin and the oiled tenderness of the fatty meat beneath. It’s best to eat while hot, before the liquid fat coagulates, so snap those photos quickly.
Queen Kiri turns a lovely violet from the mix of Chambord and curaçao further blended by bubbles. On night two, we tried I Dream of Lychee ($18), a smoked, Disney genie-hue cocktail served in a double-chamber hourglass-shaped glass set that flips to infuse the sweet drink with aromatic wood smoke. I Dream of Lychee is sipped through a glass straw, which presents the drink not unlike a bong. I feel guilty that this drink has become a favorite because it seems labor intensive for the smoke, flipping and all that. But it’s more than social media fodder: Fans of smoky cocktails will find this a dream they won’t want to wake up from, so sip slowly.
My friend on my third visit tried The Year of the Snake ($13), which she enjoyed as one of Portland’s better mocktails. My cocktail, Dan Is a Girl ($16), is an orange drink that comes with a jelly and paintbrush to sweeten the cup’s rim. While I can’t say that the jelly meaningfully changed the drink’s flavor even after pouring it all in at the end, it was very fun to sit and paint my glass with a fine-tip paintbrush, whether I did it for the ‘gram or not.
We both enjoyed the seared albacore salad ($24). The kale variety chosen for this salad had a thicker stalk than I’m used to seeing, with leaves less bristly (Bian says the salad now uses more typical local greens). The vinaigrette dressing was umami-sweet, complementing the greens, blueberries and thick seeds without overpowering anything. The fried dandan rice ($25, or $64 with A5 wagyu) was the clear winner for texture, seasoning and freshness. The pansy petals were still fresh when leftovers were pulled out of the fridge days after our visit.
We tried what was billed as a caviar eclair ($29), which was ultimately served on two brioche croutons (the puff pastry isn’t coming back). This tiny appetizer, served in a glass bell jar, is one of the best examples of how Champagne Poetry’s visual and culinary tastes best meet, and works best as a light bite between dinner and dessert.
Bian has a keen eye for detail and a sharp memory, not only remembering me after my first visit in March as a customer, but remembering my orders and seating almost down to the exact calendar date over a month later. This served her well in her previous career as a fashion buyer. Bian was born in China and lived in Paris for a decade. She says her passion for cars is inherited from her father, who worked for Ford. Bian says she pivoted to a restaurant because she hasn’t found one in Portland that checks all of her boxes, and wanted one where she could bring her family and friends.
Her confidence as a business owner with a distinct creative vision is refreshing. Bian openly admits that Champagne Poetry overhauled its menu at the end of April after its head chef quit. Bian says ex-employees have confessed, or learned the hard way, that they can’t meet her high standards. The Oregonian reported that sommelier Brian Wilkes sued Bian for defamation, claiming that an Instagram post she made about the failure of their partnership damaged his professional reputation. Bian said, in court records obtained by WW, that she posted about Wilkes’ criminal history factually, as a way to warn members of her community about working with Wilkes.
“Some employees think that because they left us we will never recover, but without the wrong people, my business actually runs way smoother,” Bian says. “I have my own standards, and I just want to do nice things, quality things.”
By her side is Champagne Poetry’s bar manager, Reid Gautier, whose understated friendliness complements Bian’s bubbly personality. He serves at her behest, crafting cocktails from her ingredient prompts and drawing inspiration from the eclectic, midcentury modern-inspired glass and dishware Bian picked out. He says the ube espresso martini ($18) and its purple marbling have ruined the drink for him anywhere else.
“She found out that I don’t have an Instagram, and she was appalled and stunned,” he says.
He recommended the Pink Dragon Breath after our interview, but I opted instead for Tori Nectar (both $18). The mix of lychee, yuzu, apricot, and jasmine essence seemed just barely more refreshing on May’s patio-weather day than yuzu, dragonfruit, mint and basil, but here again the menu descriptions undersold both drinks’ crowning features. I would have been sold immediately had I realized the Pink Dragon Breath was also a smoked cocktail, but the Tori Nectar is spritzed with an edible housemade jasmine perfume.
The restaurant is well on its way to becoming a must-visit summer spot for special occasions or one of those days where you want to wear something nice and dine lavishly just because. Meanwhile, Bian has her sights set on Champagne Poetry’s third location, a cafe and cocktail bar, which she says will open in the Pearl District in a couple of months.
“We’re looking for people who want to help people and provide good energy,” Bian says. “We want people who will bring a good vibe to customers, make them happy and have a great experience when they come in. We’re looking for people with real hospitality and not just throw the food on the table, who care about customers’ experiences.”
TRY IT: Champagne Poetry, 1620 NW 23rd Ave., 971-383-3886, champagnepoetry.biz. 11:30 am–10 pm Tuesday–Sunday.